“Nothing short of remarkable.”
That’s how Sol Rally Barbados chairman Barry Gale summed up the 80 plus entries so far received for this year’s Sol Rally Barbados.
“We are only just into February and we’re now less than 20 away from our entry ceiling of 100 cars. I am aware of three or four more overseas [drivers] that are making serious plans to come, and I am also getting enquiries pretty much every other day, either directly, or through the website.
“I realise that there is scope for one or two to drop out, as happened last year, but in the current climate this sort of response is nothing short of remarkable.”
He was speaking after entries from British drivers Paul Bird and Rob Swann were received on the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) website and moved the number of entries to 83.
Twenty-seven are from international crews, which equals the highest-ever European turnout for the island’s premier event since 2003.
After Ulstermen Kenny McKinstry and Kris Meeke, each of whom won the event twice, Bird has comfortably the best record of any European visitor.
He finished second to Meeke in 2008 in a Subaru Impreza WRC S9 and in 2009 driving a Ford Focus WRC07. He was third for the last two years in his Focus WRC08 with Scotland’s Kirsty Riddick, who is now his regular co-driver.
Bird started his 2012 campaign with a fourth straight win on the Jack Frost Stages at the Croft racing circuit in the north of England three weeks ago and continued his preparation work in the Frank Bird Poultry/Fuchs Titan Race Focus in last weekend’s Legend Fires North West Stages. This will be followed by the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship.
Swann and Welsh co-driver Darren Garrod, who finished fifth in Sol Rally Barbados last year, are facing a new challenge. The Revolution Wheels/Waves Hotel Impreza N14 in which they won Group N in both Barbados and Jamaica in 2010 is undergoing a major upgrade at TEG Sport in England.
This remedial work should be completed by the end of next month, ahead of a tarmac test programme and entry on the Circuit of Ireland at the beginning of April for a final shakedown, before being shipped to Barbados.
In explaining the restoration work on the car, Swann said that the WRC hire option was not possible due to a lack of cars and, with future events in mind, he decided to build a B13 spec Impreza.
“My prodrive N14 is being stripped to a bare shell, lightened, then dipped and resprayed. The engine will be WRC build spec, with a six-speed sequential gearbox, active centre diff and programmable diff controller. I have tested a similar car built by TEG and feel, with some of the upgrades we are fitting to ours, that it will be very competitive . . . and a lot of fun,” Swann said.
Since his last visit, he won his maiden overall rally in last November’s SA Gas Premier Rally, a forest event in the British Midlands.
