After a week of preperation between our successful outing at the Sunbeach RallySprint, the Rally Barbados was upon us. The rally is the Caribbean's premier motorsport event, comprising over one hundred miles of special stage tarmac on the island and two super specials driven over two days.
The rally is split into two main legs, comprising three routes, which are driven forward and backwards each day. A capacity entry for the event saw us line up along side the assembled WRC, Group A, Group B, Group N and historic machinery.
Our new car had shown up a clutch problem on the Wednesday before the rally, necessitating a clutch being FedEx'd from the US on priority. The clutch arrived on Friday night and only partially solved the issue, adding an extra friction plate on the multi-plate clutch seemed to clear up the issue at 2am on the morning of the rally.
Both cars - our new Fluke WR1C and our sister car, the Bajan Yellow Megabird of Martin Atwell rolled off the start bridge on Saturday morning.
Stage One saw the end of the rally for the visiting Peugot 206 WRC, hitting a telegraph pole heavily mid-stage. Upon driving through the closed stage Atwell's throttle cable snapped, so as we passed, we threw him our emergency tool kit with spares and carried on to the next stage. Upon arriving at SS2 realisation dawned that our pace notes were in the emergency tool kit bag! So, time to drive the rest of the leg blind. Oh joy.
Onto French Village, a tight stage with many crests and most of the route unsighted. Being a brand new car we hadn't actually seen how well it would fly yet, driving the stage blind solved this problem when I mistook a 4th gear crest for 6th gear crest. The answer? They fly quite well actually
Through the stage and onto the infamous Iceland stage, so called because (even by Bajan standards) when hot, the tarmac feels like ice. A fun, yet still blind, run through the stage with the car feeling like it had 1800bhp rather than the 180bhp on tap - traction proves to be a serious issue. Back to service and our sister car is up and running again and we head off for another leg.
A few more runs later and it's back to Hangmans Hill, the one stage I feel I really know. Time to put some times in. A good run through the stage, sees me push just a little to hard on a hairpin right towards the end and the surface change catches me out, the back of the car swings out, stays out, stays out a little too far and I tap the cut rock. One bent lower wishbone.
Ouch. I guess I didn't know it that well after all. The Bajan doing it usual job of catching out the unwary. We limp off stage and back to the workshop to sort out a new one asap.
The Bajan regs allow cars back into the rally even if a stage is missed, this means there are always a high number of cars running and you will always get your money's worth on the event.
As we're putting on the new wishbone Atwell's car limps back with a broken reverse chain. Two cars out, two cars frantically being repaired.
Back on track for SS18 the two cars head out once more, although each start I'm beginning to smell more and more clutch. A few stages later the third clutch dies and we're off to the bar to watch the rest of the rally!
Expletives deleted. Sorrows drowned.
In our absence, Atwell's car is flying, really flying. Posting 4th fastest time overall, then 5th overall, just seconds off the WRC cars and so on on each stage. Until, late in the day, the Westfield reverse box finally decides to completely implode. Atwell limps out, both cars parked, both crews at the bar. Both sorrows drowned.
So, in short, not quite to plan on the second event. The times posted show the cars' capabilities - right up there as group fastest and challenging the higher groups. Now it's just a case of making them bulletproof.
The event was won by Paul Bourne in his WRC Impreza after a nail-biting run with Roger Hill and Barry Gale. The locals, once again, locking out the top positions.
So, onto the next event. Our sister car is out again in five weeks (with the Westfield reverse box placed firmly in the bin) and our car will be back out there for the whole tarmac season starting in February (with a new clutch solution courtesy of Barnett). All in all, as always, a hugely enjoyable event, and partially succesfully with the class win on the RallySprint. Next time we'll go about the class win on the Rally.
Packages for the foreign entries for 2004 are now being put together and will be shown on www.barbadosrallycarnival.com in the near future.
Tempted? Well, thanks to the organising Barbados Rally Club, this years package was a mere £2,000 for shipping, flights, accomodation, insurance, entry fees, recce' van, service vehicle, licenses and all. It sure beats a weekend in the mud in Wales!
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