Read is new Rally2 Championship leader

Josh Read has assumed the lead of the 2024 Barbados Rally2 Championship after taking maximum points at last weekend’s First Citizens King of the Hill event.

The Barbadian driver mastered a challenging day of tricky road conditions in his Ford Fiesta R5 to carry a five-point lead into the championship’s marquee event, BCIC Rally Barbados, which starts with two floodlit special stages at Bushy Park Barbados on Friday evening.

Read now has 47 points, with Britain’s Rob Swann and Jamaica’s Kyle Gregg now tied on 42 apiece. Roger Hill is in fourth position on 33 points.

Swann led the championship contenders after two runs in his Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo, but was eclipsed by Read’s last run time, while championship newcomer and fellow Fabia Rally2 evo pilot Logan Watson claimed his best result of the season so far in third place. 

For championship contenders, BCIC RB24 is the most important weekend of the year, with a maximum of 60 points on offer. There are also 10 bonus points for all drivers classified as overall finishers.

 Competing in last Sunday’s King of the Hill event, Gregg, the previous championship leader, set the pace in the first run in his Fiesta Rally2 (2:19.14). Swann was the next of the championship contenders, around four seconds slower, ahead of Hill (Fabia R5), Adam Mallalieu (Fiesta R5) and Paul Horton of the Turks & Caicos Rally Team in his Citroen C3 R2.

 Gregg and Mallalieu took no further part in the day’s proceedings, however, as both retired early in the stage on their second run after being involved in accidents.   

Swann emerged fastest of the championship contenders on this run (2:15.42), ahead of Horton, Hill, Watson and Read, who then cut four-tenths off Swann’s mark to top the time sheets on run three. Swann remained second, while Watson was now third, his Fabia by now sporting a white front valance to replace the original which had been wiped out by the Society chicane on the second run.

A determined Read chipped another two-tenths off his time on the final run (2:14.85) and, while Swann and Watson both improved, they could not catch him. (PR/RB)

Championship points after round 3

1. Josh Read, 47 points

2. Kyle Gregg & Rob Swann, 42pts

4. Roger Hill, 33pts

5. Logan Watson, 30pts

6. Andrew Mallalieu, 22pts

7. Paul Horton, 20pts

8. George Sherman, 12pts

9. Adam Mallalieu, 6pts