Jerry Leach, who scored two wins at the opening race meet, will start from pole in the merged Group 3 Classes 1 and 2 on the second day of the Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL) season at Bushy Park today starting at 9 a.m.
At the wheel of the Honda Civic yesterday, Leach posted the fastest time of 45.179 seconds, ahead of Philip Moe who is back in action in a Toyota Corolla after a long layoff.
Moe will start from the second row after posting a time of 46.073 seconds, while the ever-improving Justin Campbell, in a BMW M3, will occupy the third row after returning a time of 46.823 seconds.
The experienced Simon Gillmore in the Peugeot 205, Shawne Eversley in a Suzuki Swift GTi, defending champion Kurt Thompson in a Honda and Greg “Cheezie” Catwell in a Nissan will fill the remaining places on the grid.
Race director Roger Welch-Payne said that the day’s qualifying went well and the drivers who did not make it to qualifying, including Kurt Thompson whose car dropped a valve, should be ready to take their places on the grid today.
“It should be a good day and I am expecting some keen racing,” he said. “The guys are ready to go and the mechanics should have them all ready for the rigours of the day.”
In the day’s opener for Group 1, Peter “Bird” Bryan in the Daihatsu Charmant posted a time of 53.32 seconds and will start from pole.
He will have Charles Lynch on Row 2 after he returned a time of 53.1 seconds, while Samuel Mayers in the Nissan 150Y will start from Row 3 after posting a time of 53.4 seconds, with Kevin Armstrong on Row 4 after clocking 54 seconds.
Promising Jermain Pope, in the Suzuki Forsa, is the pole-sitter for the opening race in Group 2A after he posted a best time of 51.149 seconds, ahead of group champion Dirk Gray in the Opel Corsa, who will start from the second row with a time of 52.137.
Stuart Knaggs in a Toyota Starlet and Kurk Hamblin in a Mini are third and fourth on the grid, while Steve Watson in a Ford Escort Mk1, Peter Small, Eric Ward and Ryan Wood will fill the top four places on the grid among Group 2B drivers.
Former BARL champion driver Jason Harewood, in a Toyota Starlet, has the pole in Group 2C, ahead of Mark Thompson, also in the Toyota Starlet. He is serving a penalty incurred from the first race day, followed by Danny Croney and Kenrick “Snappa” Husbands in a Starlet.
It will be a straight fight between pole-sitter Kevin Griffith in the Toyota Corolla and the American-based Barbadian driver Windell Holmes in the Acura Integra in the new group 2D, but they will have to keep their eyes on David Balgobin and Ron Greaves.
