Paul “The Surfer” Bourne has done it again!
After a year of mixed fortune which saw mechanical problems and fine performances, Bourne captured the Barbados Rally Club’s eight-stage Winter Gravel Rally at Black Bess, St Peter, yesterday.
The course was tweaked and with it came some new sections that made it longer and added to the spectator experience.
Roger Hill put in a stunning Stage 4 performance to take the lead at the lunch break as Bourne seemed to hit some trouble.
But in the last four stages – going in the opposite direction – Bourne and co-driver David Cossey fought back to beat their rival with a total elapsed time of 21 minutes, 52.47 seconds.
Hill, who had regular co-driver Graham Gittens alongside him, came second with a total elapsed time of 21:54.78.
The pair of Dean Serrao and Joshua Delmas battled with England’s Rob Swann, who was back in Barbados driving the Production 4 Subaru N10 that is usually campaigned by Andrew Mallalieu.
Although Serrao was faster than Swann throughout most of the day, Swann grabbed the final podium place when Serrao was given a 30-second penalty that saw him slip to fourth place, almost a minute behind the rally winner.
Swann, who teamed with Geoffrey Goddard, was third overall and first in Production 4 with a total elapsed time of 22:37.88, while Serrao was fourth with a total elapsed time of 22:40.85.
Rounding out the top five was Geoffrey Noel and Kreigg Yearwood, with a time of 22:58.35.
Despite the absence of Josh Read and Neil Armstrong, the two-wheel drive category was still hotly contested and the pair of Neil Corbin and Ryan Corbin was victorious with a total elapsed time of 23:43.55.
Logan Watson was second and Jamal Braithwaite, third, with total elapsed times of 23:58.97 and 23:59.65, respectively.
Up to press time, official results were not available for the champion driver race, which Daryl Clarke had led at the start of the day.
