Bird in the lead

Article by NATASHA BECKLES

The Bird is flying high again.
Fresh off being crowned King of the Hill, Paul Bird now has his eyes set on the 2014 Sol Rally Barbados.
The British driver hit rural Barbados with engines roaring earlier today, to dominate the first stage of this country’s marquee rally event.
After the first stage ended at Sailor Gull in St. Peter early this morning, Bird was a little under five minutes ahead of perennial winner Roger ‘Sheriff’ Skeete.
Paul ‘Surfer’ Bourne, one of the pre-rally favourites, had a rough time at Sailor Gully, and was 14 minutes off Bird’s pace.
A number of drivers had issues this morning, with Dane Skeete crashing off, and Ralph White’s car being placed on a wrecker.
Other drivers reporting mechanical issues were Kenny Hall, who fell victim to clutch problems, and Martin Stockdale exiting with gear box issues.
Also in today’s second-day early stages, Rhett D’Andrade and co-driver Tristan Gibbs had their vehicle towed off the stage. (SW)