MudDogs numbers continue to rise
Twenty-seven crews were confirmed for this weekend’s Shelbury Construction June Safari (June 25/26) when competitors assembled last evening (Tuesday) for the Briefing Meeting . . . and good news for the Barbados Rally Club’s MudDogs arm is a further increase in competitor numbers, with no fewer than 12 drivers or navigators listed making their first off-road appearance of the season.
Among them is Trevor Manning, whose rallying activities have been ‘on hold’ in recent times; on his MudDogs debut last year, he paired up with off-road expert Leslie Alleyne to finish second in ‘The June’, the event won three times in eight years between 1981 and 1988 by his father Roger, with navigator David Edwards.
Alleyne, one of only a handful of competitors to have won ‘The June’ as both driver and navigator, currently leads the Driver Standings having won both the season’s earlier Safaris, the first with wife Anna-Lee navigating, the second with Chris Oneal; this weekend he will switch seats, allowing Manning to deal with the driving, while he concentrates on the navigation.
‘The June’ is the region’s oldest motor sport event with a continuous history; first run in 1957, its success led to the formation later the same year of the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrated its first half-century in 2007. This year’s 55th edition is round three out of five in the 2011 WTI MudDogs Safari Championship and the Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship.
If Manning is to join his father on the event’s 67-strong roll of honour, he and Alleyne will need to be on their toes! Last year’s winners, Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke, will present a tough challenge; in their third win together (they had shared the honours in 2000, then won outright the following year), Navigator Clarke became the first competitor to win ‘The June’ for a fifth time, having previously claimed victories alongside Don Hunte in 1991 & ‘93.
The entry also includes Robin Hinds, twice the winning navigator – in 1994, with Prince Willock, then sharing the honours with Armstrong and Clarke in 2002 sitting with David Stoute – who is navigating for Mark Western. Peter Bradshaw is another whose victory was tied: he won, as the driver with Derek Gill in 2002 (victory shared with Ian and Robert Warren), but now appears as navigator for Gregory Dickenson.
The Chefette Novice class promises equally stiff competition: last year’s winning crew, Bryan Collymore and Adrian Jackman, who finished equal sixth overall, are back to defend their title; the opposition includes last year’s route one winners Derek Pinto and Jamal Brathwaite, who are making their seasonal off-road debut this weeked, and Hadley Green and Dane McConney, who currently lead the novice standings.
The route has been set by former ‘June’ winner Stewart Gill and Derek Edwards and rechecked by Sean Dowding and Kirk Watkins. The first crew is scheduled to leave the Portvale Factory Yard, St James, at 2.01pm on Saturday (June 25); a Driver Challenge is planned for shortly after the start and the first route will finish with a dinner stop-over at Chefette Speightstown at approximately 7.00pm.
Route two will run until roughly 1.00am on Sunday, when a pause for refreshment is planned for Chefette Warrens, after which the final route will end close to where the event started some 17 hours before, with breakfast at Mahogany Ridge, St Thomas, at approximately 7.00am on Sunday.
The Prizegiving for the Shelbury Construction June Safari will be held once results are declared final at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association Club House at Searles, Christ Church on Monday, June 27.
Shelbury Construction June Safari – June 25/26
2011 WTI MudDogs Safari Championship, round 3
2011 Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship, round 3
Running order – Chefette Novice class
1 Alexander Kellman/Gary Mendes (Lex Fitness/MK Rentals Suzuki Samurai)
2 Brian Collymore/Adrian Jackman (Williams Tools/Owlie’s Trucking/Harry’s Danny Burgers Suzuki Samurai)
3 Theo Waithe/Curtis Grazette (Atlantic Seafood Inc/Betta Computers Suzuki Samurai)
5 Derek Pinto/Jamal Brathwaite (Shell Six Roads Suzuki Samurai)
9 Samuel Robinson/Damien Robinson (Creek Productions/Robinson Trading Inc Suzuki Samurai)
12 David Brewster/Winston Drakes (Champion Wrecker Service/Mark’s Auto Spares Suzuki Samurai)
13 Matthew Durant/Trina Griffith (Suzuki Jimny)
17 Simon Parravicino/Rorie McConney (Sweet Temptations Toyota Hilux)
18 Hadley Green/Dane McConney (Hunte Auto Spares/Automotive Art Toyota Hilux)
19 Aswad Bannister/Nyere Jones (Toyota Hilux)
23 Dean Springer/Phillip McKinnon (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Suzuki Sidekick)
27 Justin Inniss/Damien Moore (Amalie Motor Oil/Quik Liners Volkswagen Manx)
WTI Pro class
4 Biddy Barber/Brett Barber (JE Security (Fire Detection Division)/Biddy's Visitor Information Mitsubishi Pajero)
6 Sean Mottley/Kreigg Yearwood (CIBC First Caribbean International Bank Suzuki Vitara)
7 Trevor Manning/Leslie Alleyne (Garbage Master Ltd/Autozone Inc Toyota Hilux)
8 Mark Western/Robin Hinds (Yardman/Kar Parts Store Nissan Patrol)
10 Michael Ward/Willie Hinds (Country Notions Maintenance/Jammin’ Cruises Suzuki Samurai)
11 Colin Goodman/Chris Oneal (Suzuki Samurai)
14 Gregory Dickenson/Peter Bradshaw (Toyota Hilux)
15 Ben Norris/Darnley Rayside (Electric Avenue/Pitbull Energy Drink Land Rover Discovery)
16 Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux)
20 Nicolas Lorde/Warrick Eastmond (Niccolls & Edghill Construction/Sam Lordes/Comfeet Suzuki Vitara)
21 Audley Croney/Jeremy Croney (CC Motorsports Suzuki Samurai)
22 Edson Arthur/Renata Roett (Toyota Hilux)
24 Kerry Renee/Jason Downey (Suzuki Samurai)
25 Adrian Sinckler/Andre Murrell (Suzuki Samurai)
26 Ryan Corbin/Dustin Edwards (Corbin's Catering Services/Sweet Temptations/Crane & Equipment Toyota Hilux)
