COMPETITORS entered in Sunday’s Regional Fire & Security September Safari may have a stronger than usual challenge from the elements as a tropical depression gathers momentum in the region.
And by the time the 22 crews entered for the day-long event start their engines, that system could have developed into Tropical Storm Gaston.
The Regional Fire & Security September Safari is the fourth round of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Mud Dogs Safari Championship.
The course was set by Dominic Brooker and Stephen Dear, winners of the Armag March Safari last year and runner-up navigator and driver, respectively, in the 2009 Mud Dogs Safari Championship.
Start
The event will start from the Belle, St Michael, at 8:01 a.m., with a stopover at the end of route one at Chapel Plantation, St Philip. It will finish at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Club House at Searles, Christ Church, around 5 p.m.
Last year’s winners Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke, who will be in the Shellbury Construction Toyota Hilux, can expect some tough opposition from leaders Dustin Edwards/Ryan Corbin (Blockman/Corbin’s Catering Services/Mahogany Ridge/Crane & Equipment/SDRR Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Toyota Hilux.
Also challenging are the reigning Mud Dogs champion driver and navigator, Darrin White and Robert Warren, who will be in the Lucky Locks/Rockstar Nissan Frontier, who are yet to open their account this year.
Of interest this season is that the previous three Mud Dog events have produced a different winning crew.
The pair of Dustin Edwards and Ryan Corbin in the Blockman/Corbin’s Catering Services/Mahogany Ridge/Crane & Equipment/SDRR Hydraulic& Industrial Spares Toyota Hilux, carried off the honours at stake in the Armag March Safari, while Neil Barnard and Barry Gale, in the Huzier/Mahindra Motorsports/redlinefuels.com Mahindra Pick-Up, levelled the score by winning the Chefette April Safari.
Armstrong and Clarke won the June Safari.
Of the 22 crews entered on Sunday, there are nine in the Novice Class, where competition this year has been just as intense as in the Pro Class.
Course setters Brooker and Dear were assisted by Peter Bradshaw, while Leslie Alleyne and Chris Oneal re-checked the final product of the event which will be contested along the lines of BRC and tulip forms of navigation.
