CLOSE FINISH IN GRUELLING SHELBURY JUNE SAFARI
Manning joins father on oldest event’s roll of honour
After 17 hours of gruelling action, with fog and rain piling additional pressure on crews already challenged by mental and physical fatigue early on Sunday morning, Trevor Manning and Leslie Alleyne emerged the winners of last weekend’s (June 25/26) Shelbury Construction June Safari . . . by a margin of just seven penalty points in 1,000, by far the closest finish in the recent history of the 55-year-old event.
In doing so, Manning joined his father on the roll of honour of the region’s oldest motor sport event with a continuous history – Roger won three times between 1981 and 1988 with navigator David Edwards – while Alleyne chalked up his fourth win, making it now two each as driver and navigator. In addition, Manning joined Sean Gill as the only other winner of both the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) principal events, ‘The June’ and the Club’s international all-stage rally.
Second were Ryan Corbin and Dustin Edwards – ironically, had they won, it would have been Edwards adding another father and son double victory to the June’s statistics, following Manning’s 1980s navigator David! That list also includes Bill and Andrew Mallalieu, David and Neil Barnard, Neil also the first third-generation winner of the June, on which grandfather Trevor Gale triumphed in 1966.
In the convivial atmosphere of Tuesday night’s Prize-giving at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association Club House at Searles, Christ Church, seasoned navigational competitor Alleyne said: “This was right up there with the best of them, and all your skills were called upon. With such a close difference, I consider Dustin and Ryan to be winners as well.” Edwards added: “For a 17-hour event to be decided by just seven points was exciting. Congrats to the winners, it was a great battle.”
BRC MudDogs Chairman Warren Gollop said: “Apart from my thanks to title sponsor Shelbury Construction, I must add a couple of other important thank-yous: to Chefette, for feeding our marshals and competitors and opening up at Warrens at one o’clock in the morning, to Mahogany Ridge for the subsidised breakfast, which was well-appreciated after the final few very rough hours, and to WTI for the trophies.”
From Saturday’s 2.01pm start in the Portvale Factory Yard, St James, it was clear that the third round of the 2011 WTI MudDogs Safari Championship would be a hard-fought affair: by the dinner stop at Chefette Speightstown, just eight penalties split the three leading crews - reigning Champion Novice Navigator Andre Murrell and Adrian Sinckler led Corbin and Edwards, with 2010 winners Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke third.
After a bad start – ninth on route one – Manning and Alleyne got into their stride to win route two, although it was again tight, fewer than 30 penalties across the top three crews; second were Gregory Dickenson and former June winning navigator Peter Bradshaw, with reigning Champion Novice Driver Ben Norris and Darnley Rayside third.
As the fortunes of the various crews fluctuated, Armstrong and Clarke (seventh on route two) assumed the lead, by around 40 penalty points from Corbin and Edwards, with Sinckler and Murrell slipping to third, 80 points adrift, just two ahead of Kerry Renee and Jason Downey, the only crew to finish in the top five on each of the first two routes. The Croneys were by now fifth, with Manning and Alleyne sixth.
Once the crews had refreshed themselves - Chefette Warrens opened at 1.00am to facilitate the stop-over – the final route proved the most punishing, as the combination of fatigue and weather conditions came into play, especially for those drawn with lower start numbers. Manning and Alleyne won the route, while an impressive performance from eventual Chefette Novice winners Alexander Kellman and Gary Mendes placed them second – perhaps helped by running at number one – with Corbin and Edwards third.
Kellman and Mendes might not have expected to win round three of the Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship after route one, in which they had finished fifth; first-route winners Hadley Green and Dane McConney were 10th overall, just 14 penalties and one overall place ahead of Matthew Durant and Trina Griffith, with Aswad Bannister and Nyere Jones third novice crew.
A major shake-up after the break saw Simon Parravicino and Rorie McConney the winners of route two (and eighth overall), ahead of Durant and Griffith, with David Brewster and Winston Drakes third. Durant and Griffith demoted Green and McConney from the lead, with Theo Waithe and Curtis Grazette on their first event in third place.
While Parravicino and McConney were second on the final route, their disappointing performance in daylight on Saturday left them far behind; Kellman and Mendes, who were still fifth after route two, won the final encounter to clinch the Chefette Novice class, while third place allowed Green and McConney to retain second novice crew.
Veteran driver Biddy Barber was the highest-placed female, with son Brett as navigator, but not without some challenges along the way, particularly in the first driver challenge. After Brett had sat and stood on the hood to help dislodge her grounded Mitsubishi Pajero, it was towed down before taking a second stab – with her massive fan base backing her and helping to spot, she was able to complete the challenge.
Afterwards, Biddy said: “It was a very good rally, slippery as well. The tricks were well set. The last bit of BRC navigation was most challenging part of the event.”
The route was set by former ‘June’ winner Stewart Gill and Derek Edwards and rechecked by Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins.
Shelbury Construction June Safari – June 25/26
2011 WTI MudDogs Safari Championship, round 3
Results
1st Trevor Manning/Leslie Alleyne (Garbage Master Ltd/Autozone Inc Toyota Hilux), 999 penalties
2nd Ryan Corbin/Dustin Edwards (Corbin's Catering Services/Sweet Temptations/Crane & Equipment Toyota Hilux), 1006pens
3rd Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (CC Motorsports Suzuki Samurai), 1401pens
4th Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux), 1713pens
5th Ben Norris/Darnley Rayside (Electric Avenue/Pitbull Energy Drink Land Rover Discovery), 1720pens
6th Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai), 1799pens
7th Nicolas Lorde/Warrick Eastmond (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/Sam Lordes/Comfeet Suzuki Vitara), 1956pens
8th Alexander Kellman/Gary Mendes (Lex Fitness/MK Rentals Suzuki Samurai), 1971pens
9th Hadley Green/Dane McConney (Hunte Auto Spares/Automotive Art Toyota Hilux), 2099pens
10th Michael Ward/Willie Hinds (Country Notions Maintenance/Jammin’ Cruises Suzuki Samurai), 2212pens
Route 1 – 1st Sinckler/Murrell, 280pens; 2nd Corbin/Edwards, 282pens; 3rd Armstrong/Clarke, 288pens; etc
Route 2 – 1st Manning/Alleyne, 120pens; 2nd Gregory Dickenson/Peter Bradshaw (Toyota Hilux), 126pens; 3rd Norris/Rayside, 148pens; etc
Route 3 – 1st Manning/Alleyne, 150pens; 2nd Kellman/Mendes, 386pens; 3rd Corbin/Edwards, 408pens; etc
2011 Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship, round 3
1st Kellman/Mendes, 1971pens – 8th overall
2nd Green/D McConney, 2099pens – 9th o/a
3rd Theo Waithe/Curtis Grazette (Atlantic Seafood Inc/Betta Computers Suzuki Samurai), 2261pens – 11th o/a
4th Aswad Bannister/Nyere Jones (Toyota Hilux), 2307pens – 12th o/a
5th Matthew Durant/Trina Griffith (Suzuki Jimny), 2916pens – 16th o/a
6th Brian Collymore/Adrian Jackman (Williams Tools/Owlie’s Trucking/Harry’s Danny Burgers Suzuki Samurai), 3238pens – 18th o/a
Route 1 – 1st Green/D McConney, 742pens; 2nd Durant/Griffith, 756pens; 3rd, Bannister/Jones, 972pens; etc
Route 2 – 1st Simon Parravicino/Rorie McConney (Sweet Temptations Toyota Hilux), 304pens; 2nd Durant/Griffith, 326pens; 3rd David Brewster/Winston Drakes (Champion Wrecker Service/Mark’s Auto Spares Suzuki Samurai), 404pens; etc
Route 3 – 1st Kellman/Mendes, 386pens; 2nd Parravicino/R McConney, 436pens; 3rd Green/D McConney, 685pens; etc
COMPLETE RESULTS
EVENT PHOTOS
For further media information, robin@bradfax.com
