Teams and drivers are hard at work preparing for the restart of the 2024 Barbados Rally2 Championship sponsored by CIBC Caribbean and Ace H&B Hardware. After the three-month summer break, competition resumes next Saturday (September 14) with the 13th running of the Motoring Club Barbados Inc (MCBI) Rally of the Sun & Stars.
Administered by the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) the championship has included the MCBI’s premier event in each of its first two seasons, with the Sun & Stars winner going to claim the title – Stuart Maloney in 2022 and Jamaica’s Jeffrey Panton in 2023, both in a Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo. Neither is registered for this year’s championship, however, so a third different Rally2 Champion is guaranteed.
Barbadian Josh Read and Jamaican Kyle Gregg are the front-runners after five rounds, Read with three wins and 100 points to one-time winner Gregg’s 96. Britain’s Rob Swann (82 points) is third, followed by island drivers Roger Hill (75 points) and Logan Watson (74 points), in his first season of 4wd competition. With just a 26-point spread across the top five in the standings and a further 80 points on offer, the battle is far from over.
The first part of the season comprised nearly 220 kilometres of competitive special stages, culminating in BCIC RB24 (May 31-June 2), with just over 200 planned for the remaining events. After the Sun & Stars comes the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Winter Rally on November 17, with the season scheduled to finish with the Vaucluse Raceway Motor Sport Club’s (VRMSC) Motorsport Island Stages (November 30/December 1), which will offer two points-scoring opportunities.
BRC Champion Driver in 2007, a two-time 2wd Champion with eight class titles on his cv, Read is happy with the year so far in the Ford Fiesta R5 he debuted in 2022: “The key has been the consistency. The competition has been good, and I’ve been able to stay in striking distance the better part of the year. We just need to keep the pressure on now and see where we end up.”
The extreme weather experienced during BCIC RB24 did throw everyone a curve ball: “When it rains sporadically like it did on Saturday, it only takes a 30-second difference in cars running to have a huge change in road conditions and that kinda took the wind out of the sails for a little bit. Sunday was more like I wanted it to be, so I could hold my position and take the fight to some of the front runners.”
Three-time winner of Rally Jamaica, Gregg is also a former multiple circuit racing Champion Driver, and is now in his second season in this championship with a Fiesta Rally2; he finished third last year behind Panton and Maloney. The remarkable rebuild of his car in the week between First Citizens King of the Hill and BCIC RB24 is well documented and testament to the team behind him.
Gregg summarises it this way: “It has been a very tricky season for me so far. From winning the first event to putting the car on the roof at King of the Hill. We were very lucky to have gotten the car running for Rally Barbados thanks to an amazing effort by so many helpers. Despite that, we are very close behind Josh Read so it should be fun going into the last few rounds. The chassis had to be sent back to M-Sport in the UK for repairs but I am definitely looking forward to the Sun & Stars.”
Twice the BRC SuperModified 11 Champion in a BMW M3, Watson also won the 2wd crown in 2012 (finishing 10th overall in RB12) and 2022, then switched to 4wd this year with the ex-Zane Maloney Fabia Rally2 evo: “The biggest difference between this car and the BMW would have to be the mechanical grip and brakes. It stops frighteningly well and the speed you can carry around corners is mind blowing, something that definitely takes some getting used to, and the suspension is incredible.”
Settling into the new car Watson is comfortable so far: “I have progressed better than I originally thought I would, as I continue to gain more confidence with every event and the times show. I’m excited to jump back into the car at the Sun & Stars to continue the road to the top of the time sheets.”
Barbados Rally2 Championship
Points after round 5
- 1st Josh Read (Ford Fiesta R5), 100 points
- 2nd Kyle Gregg – JAM (Ford Fiesta Rally2), 96 points
- 3rd Rob Swann – ENG (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 82 points
- 4th Roger Hill (Skoda Fabia R5), 75 points
- 5th Logan Watson (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 74 points
- 6th Andrew Mallalieu (Ford Fiesta R5), 64 points
- 7th Paul Horton – TCI (Citroen C3 Rally2), 46 points
- 8th Adam Mallalieu (Ford Fiesta R5), 41 points
- 9th George Sherman – USA (Ford Fiesta Rally2), 28 points
