All-electric 4×4 to compete in MudDogs April Safari

The Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship will welcome its first all-electric off-roader on Sunday, April 13.

Former rally driver and multiple BRC Autocross Champion, Jamaica’s Chris ‘Teach’ McFarlane, will drive the four-wheel-drive version of the Riddara RD6 in the BRC MudDogs April Safari with wife Deborah as navigator, one of six female participants in Sunday’s event.

Now Chief Operating Officer of Megapower Ltd, which launched the vehicle on the local market last week, five-time autocross champion McFarlane is looking forward to his new challenge: “I’m excited to see what the Riddara can do on some of the tricky offroad stages set for Sunday.

“This is as much a test to see just what this 4×4 EV truck can do with the technology it has to control power and torque delivery to each wheel and how it performs relative to the tried and proven ICE-powered competitors.”

Ten crews are listed on the running order for the event, which was set by Garry Mendes and 2023 Class B Champions Stephen and Ben Moore.

It starts from Inchcape Barbados, Warrens at 7 a.m. and visits parishes in the central and northern region, including St Peter, St Andrew and St Joseph. Split into two routes, with a stopover at the Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas at around 11 a.m., the 100-kilometre event will finish back at Inchcape Barbados at approximately 4:30 p.m.

McFarlane will face some experts in the art of off-road navigational rallying on Sunday. Multiple champions Leslie Alleyne and Chris O’Neal (POD Store/Maxxis/Lucky Locks/Flying Fish Sportswear Suzuki Jimny) returned to winning form in this year’s opening round in March after a lean spell last year.

They beat Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins (Jeep Rubicon) by a healthy margin of 264 penalty points, with reigning champions Simon Parravicino and Andrew Croney (Realtors Ltd/Serenity Pest Control Jeep Wrangler) third. All three crews, along with regular front-runners Christopher King and Warrick Eastmond (Suzuki Jimny) are in action Sunday.

As newcomers, the McFarlanes are entered in Class B for less experienced crews. In March, Alexander Gill and Chelsea Clarke (Isuzu D-Max) finally claimed their first class win, having missed out twice last year. They beat Chelsea’s sister Rebecca, currently the only female driver in MudDogs, and navigator Austin Barber in their Mitsubishi Pajero iO, with Tyrone Chase and Sameisha Williams (Suzuki Vitara) third.

MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder said: “I’m delighted to welcome our first all-electric vehicle into the MudDogs family and wish Chris and Deborah good luck on their debut.”

The results of the BRC MudDogs April Safari will be declared at the Prizegiving, which starts at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 15, at Savvy on the Bay, Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown.

(PR)