Web Posted - Thu Jun 17 2004

A 100 per cent record of Group wins in the five events staged to date has propelled Edward Corbin to the top of the standings and he is the overall leader of the 2004 Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Drivers’ Championship.
The title chase continues at the Vaucluse Raceway on Sunday, where the third round of the VRW RallySprint Cup is also a counter toward the BRC championship.

At the wheel of his Automotive Art/Corbins Garage/Klark-Odio Toyota Corolla, Corbin and co-driver Mark Perkins also lead the Modified 7 Group by a very healthy margin. In 2003, Corbin tied on points at year-end with Group 6 winner Sean Gill, but lost out on the overall title, as he runs in the higher engine capacity Group.

Although each driver’s lowest score will be discounted in the final reckoning, Corbin currently has 84 points to his credit, from a possible 86 he could have scored.

In addition to points earned for Group positions, bonus points are awarded on rallies to the driver who is the fastest of his Group on each route . . . in Rally Barbados 2004, Corbin was bettered by Adrian Linton on the first route, then by Norman Catwell on the last.

Second overall, and leading Production 4 (Group N), is Barry Gale in the Automotive Art/Courts/Kerridge/Yokohama/Simpson Motors Rally Team Mitsubishi Evolution VI, who has 76 points. With co-driver Ryan Rodriguez, Gale claimed a hat-trick of Group N titles on Rally Barbados although, in common with Corbin, failed to claim the maximum four route bonus points, having been beaten on the one stage run in the final route by Geoffrey Noel.

Corbin and Gale are comfortably ahead of the chasing pack, which is headed by Modified 9 Group leader Paul “The Surfer” Bourne in the Banks/Havoline/Pirelli Subaru Impreza WRC. Along with co-driver Louis Venezia, Bourne finished second on Rally Barbados 2004.

Bourne’s 55 points place him just four points clear of reigning overall champion Gill in the Automotive Art/Courts/Kerridge-/Yokohama/Simpson Motors Rally Team Suzuki Ignis. Sunday’s RallySprint at the Vaucluse Raceway is a late addition to the BRC Championship. Gale, who is also the Club’s competition secretary, said that “I polled the drivers on the addition of the extra Vaucluse event, and only one of those who replied was unhappy with the idea.

“It gives us an additional chance to score points, and will be the final sprint event of the year... the remaining BRC championship events are all scheduled to be one-day rallies.”

Compliments of the Barbados Advocate

Sporting islands

Caribbean rally racing

BARBADOS