by Trevor ThorpeGiant-killers will come into sharp focus as an impressive field assembles in Barbados this week to contest the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) blue-riband event, the Sol Rally Barbados, this weekend.In Group SM9, last year’s winners, Josh Read and Mark Jordan, in the Automotive Art/Baram Services Toyota Starlet, and Jeremy Gonsalves and Natasha Farnum, at the wheel of the All Terrain Plus/Makita/Star Products/Quik Start Auto Suzuki Swift GTi, were impressive in the recent Automotive Art Shakedown Stages Rally, the warm-up event for the Sol Rally Barbados.But they could find themselves hard-pressed this year with the presence of last year’s M8-A winners Neil Armstrong and Barry Ward in the Pit Bull Energy Drink/ Hankook/Gunk/Electric Avenue Starlet.Still on a learning curve with the new layout, Armstrong and Ward finished second to Read and Jordan and could be the dark horses in the group this weekend.Also included in that mix would be Scotland’s Allan Mackay and Ulster co-driver Mo Downey, in the Highland Waste Services/Mad Fine Fashions/Graham Curry Photography Ford Anglia WRC, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Vishal Dhanraj and Richard Ramsingh in the Track Batteries/ Lucozade Energy/The Dispensary Starlet.In Modified 7, the Linton brothers – Adrian and Jonathan – will want to address last year’s rare retirement in the Ravensden/Garbage Gobbler/Morris Straker Construction Vauxhall Astra GSi.But they will have to keep their eyes on crews such as Freddie Gale and Kyle Proverbs in the Gale’s Hatcheries/ Redlinefuels.com/Nassco Toyota Corolla RunX and rising stars Kyle Catwell and Justin Harrison, entered in the Star Fish Design/Cutters of Barbados/Freekz Customz/ John Hardman Engineering Volkswagen Golf GTI.Ron Greaves and Stuart Leach, in the McCarthy’s Garage/Williams Tool & Equipment Rentals Honda Civic Type-R, are also expected to be front-runners.A ding-dong battle between veteran driver John Corbin and co-driver Owen Proverbs, in the Corbin’s Garage/Klark-Odio/Automotive Art Toyota Corolla, and newcomers, Chris Ullyett and Derek Ince, entered in the Ullyetts Machine Shop Service Ford Escort RS2000, could also be on the cards.In M6, the mix is more varied. Multiple champions Edward Corbin and Rodney Clarke, in the Automotive Art/ Klark-Odio/Corbin’s Garage/JVM Signage Daihatsu Charmant, currently lead the Virgin Atlantic BRC Overall Class Championship with a perfect record for the season so far. But they may have some sleepless nights this week as a result of the presence of challengers such as the brother and sister combination of Jamal Brathwaite and Talia Mapp in the AM Electrical/FG Wilson/ Autoplus Motors/Meridian Windows/Chicken Pen Racing/Ellesmere Quarries/D2 Racing Suspension/Avon Products Mitsubishi Mirage RS.Dane Skeete and Tyler Mayhew, in the ex-Ian Warren Williams Trading Inc Peugeot 206, are also expected to provide a stiff challenge.That group will also have in its midst Scotland’s Kenny Hall and Dutch co-driver Fenny Wesselink in his ex-works Super 1600 Ford Puma, and Ireland’s Peter Gallagher and Barbadian co -driver Dario Hoyte in the Dublin Crystal/ Peter Gallagher Design Peugeot 206.The challenge from further afield in the region should come from Turks and Caicos Islands debutant Paul Horton and local co-driver Kristian Yearwood in the Sky Rally Sport/H Racing/Horizon Construction/HSE Investments Honda Civic, and cousins Nigel and Jonathan Reece in the Subzero Services/ TGM Air Conditioners/ Trident International Corporation/Ullyett’s Machine Shop Service/ Williams Industries Datsun 120Y.In SuperModified 10, Cliff Roett and Orry Hunte, in the Paulo’s Churasco Do Brasil/ Carters & Co/Lucky Horseshoe/Nassco/ Lubriguard/Roett’s Garage Toyota Starlet, and Daryl Clarke and Russell Brancker, in the Ellco Rentals/Mom’s Pasta Products/Area 5 Auto Works/Paintless Dent Removal Mitsubishi Mirage, will no doubt try to unseat Ian and Robert Warren in the Automotive Art/Shell V-Power/ Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift.
