Competitors in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship have arrived at the last chance saloon. The 2016 title chase will go down to the wire at Sunday’s (November 13) fourth and final round, the Nassco November Safari, with a spread of just six points across the four leading crews, once dropped scores are taken into account.
Having won the March Safari and Chefette September Safari and finished third in the Sol June Safari, multiple Champions Leslie Alleyne and Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max) have amassed 176 points. That places them four ahead of Michael Ward and Warrick Eastmond (Regional Fire & Security/Quality Tyre Suzuki Jimny), who joined the roll of honour of the BRC’s longest-running event with victory on ‘The June’ this year.
A further eight points adrift are Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins in the Birdies Restaurant Ford Ranger, the most consistently successful crew in recent times not to have won an event. Since they first teamed up in ‘The June’ in 2014, they have finished second four times and third twice in the nine events they have contested, so could play a crucial role in the outcome of this year’s MudDogs title chase.
Route-setters for the Nassco November Safari are Willie Hinds and Wayne Manning, who are currently fourth in the Navigator and Driver standings respectively in the Courtesy Garage/Windforce Tyres ZNA Rich, another eight points behind Norris and Watkins.
Once dropped scores are taken into account, however, the picture changes: Alleyne/O’Neal and Ward/Eastmond are tied in the lead on 120 points, with Norris/Watkins and former Champions Chris Armstrong and Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux) tied in third on 114, Manning and Hinds slipping to fifth with a reduced total of 108.
Sunday’s event will feature two routes, the first crew scheduled to leave the start at the Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas, at 8.01am, heading into the northern parishes. The lunch halt will be at Benthams Rubis, St Lucy, at approximately 11.30am, with the finish back at VRW at around 4.30pm.
MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder said: “The heat is on! I think Sunday will be a really good day. It is great to get to the end of the season with the title undecided, and it is not often as close as this, although I know Leslie and Chris have gone into the final round tied on points before. I wish everyone good luck. I’m also really pleased to see some new and returning names on the entry list this time round and hope they enjoy themselves enough to come back for a full season next year. I must thank Roger Hill and his team at Nassco Ltd for its long-standing support of our events and also thank our crew of volunteers, without whom we could not do what we do.”
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship
& Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship
Round 4 – November 13 – Nassco November Safari
Pro Class
1 Ben Norris/Kirk Watkins (Birdies Restaurant Ford Ranger)
3 Dean Springer/Bridget Garity (Eastern Veterinary Clinic Ford Ranger)
4 Chris Armstrong/Wayne Clarke (Toyota Hilux)
5 Michael Ward/Warrick Eastmond (Regional Fire & Security/Quality Tyre Suzuki Jimny)
6 Jean-Marc Cozier/Andrew Croney (Honda Pioneer)
7 Nicholas Lorde/Brett Barber (Konstruk Professional Construction Services/Comfeet/N L Engineering Inc Mitsubishi L200 Sportero)
8 Robert Warren/Ian Warren (Land Rover Defender)
9 Leslie Alleyne/Chris O’Neal (Simpson Motors/Shell Spirax/Shell Rimula/Maxxis Isuzu D-Max)
10 George Mendes/Gary Mendes (G & G Sales & Services Inc Mitsubishi L200 Sportero)
Novice Class
2 Samuel Manning/Ruben Carillo (Toyota Hilux)
11 Richard Hinkson/Kevin-Jon Manning (Goodyear Tyres Suzuki Samurai)
Positions after three rounds
Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship – Navigators:
1st Chris O’Neal, 176 points
2nd Warrick Eastmond, 172pts
3rd Kirk Watkins, 164pts
4th Willie Hinds, 156pts
5th Kevin-Jon Manning, 134pts
6th Bridget Garrity, 130pts
7th Wayne Clarke, 114pts
8th Garry Mendes, 100pts
9th Brett Barber 90pts
10th Ian Warren, 84pts
etc
Drivers:
1st Leslie Alleyne, 176pts
2nd Michael Ward, 172pts
3rd Ben Norris, 164pts
4th Wayne Manning, 156pts
5th George Mendes, 150pts
6th Richard Hinkson, 134pts
7th Dean Springer, 130pts
8th Chris Armstrong, 114pts
9th Nicholas Lorde, 90pts
10th Robert Warren, 84pts
etc
Chefette MudDogs Safari Novice Championship – Navigators:
1st Kevin-Jon Manning, 180pts
2nd Ruben Carillo, 58pts
Drivers:
1st Richard Hinkson, 180pts
= 2nd Christopher Haywood & Samuel Manning, 58pts
For media information only. No regulatory value.
For further media information, robin@bradfax.com
Web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com, www.muddogsbarbados.com
