BCIC Rally Barbados 2025 will conclude on Sunday afternoon at the Vaucluse Raceway, pictured here during First Citizens King of the Hill last weekend
A record 122 cars from 14 countries will contest BCIC Rally Barbados (May 30-June 1), which starts under floodlights at Bushy Park in St Philip tomorrow evening (Friday). Last year’s winners Stuart Maloney and Kristian Yearwood are seeded at number one for the 35th edition of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event, which lists nearly 100 overseas drivers and co-drivers on the running order, published at last evening’s (Wednesday) Briefing Meeting at Savvy on the Bay, Bridgetown.
With victory in Sunday’s First Citizens King of the Hill in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, Maloney has now won both Rally Barbados and KotH as driver and co-driver. A new target is potentially within his reach, to win both events in the same year, a feat only once achieved by a Bajan driver, Roger Skeete, in 2011.
Seeded at two, however, in the Subaru Impreza WRC S12 in which his father achieved that double, Skeete’s son Dane and co-driver Tyler Mayhew, are keen to add a third victory to their triumphs in 2019 and ’22, and what would be a sixth for the car. But the pressure is on, as the entry is packed with talent, the next six cars in the running order all from the record-breaking 21-strong FIA R5 class.
At three is Jamaica’s Kyle Gregg (Ford Fiesta Rally2), who beat former Caribbean Junior Karting Champion Adam Mallalieu (Fiesta R5) by just three-hundredths last Sunday, with Gregg’s fellow-countryman and five-time Rally Barbados winner Jeff Panton (Fiesta Rally2) next. The Skodas of Mark Maloney and Suleman Esuf – recently returned to the Rally2 Championship – start at six and seven with Britain’s Rob Swann (Skoda), Joe Cunningham and Kevin Procter (both in WRC class Fiestas) completing the top 10.
All but three of the top 10 seeds featured strongly in last year’s floodlit opening, Mark Maloney and Mallalieu respectively fastest on SS1 and SS3. Friday’s 2.2km Riddara SuperSpecials start between the Clubhouse and Race Control, head through the tunnel and finish in the pit lane; between them, crews will tackle a 6.0km stage at Malvern in St John, but the action inside Bushy Park will be virtually non-stop from 7.00pm as the first cars will be lining up for SS3 as the last are finishing SS1.
With 37 cars in the 4wd classes, the most for 10 years, the highest-seeded driver fighting for the top 2wd award will start at number 15. Having become the first crew to win four back-to-back 2wd titles at KotH, Roger Mayers and Barry Ward lead the 2wd contenders in their Toyota WR Starlet; two-time European Rally Champion Simon Jean-Joseph is two cars ahead, his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup running in the Open R-GT Class.
Barry Mayers (Fiesta) starts at 17, reigning Rally Club 2wd Champion and last year’s top 2wd finisher Rhett Watson (BMW M3) at 19, with the returning Nigel Reece at 28 in his ex-Josh Read Starlet; the unknown quantity in both the overall 2wd tussle and the SuperModified 2 class is the legendary Starlet of Declan ‘The Milkman’ Gallagher, which landed in the island at the weekend for New York-based Irishman Barry McKenna to drive. Based on the ease with which former American Champion McKenna adjusted to a Volkswagen Polo GTi R5 last year, he will certainly be one to watch.
In addition to the battle for overall and 2wd supremacy, there are 13 contested classes, in 11 of which island competitors will enjoy the challenge of pitting their skills against regional or international entries, or both.
Saturday’s nine stages are at high-speed venues in the south-east, with three loops of Riddara Padmore – this stage will run through Bushy Park for the first time in Rally Barbados, adding 1.7kms to the stage mileage – Inchcape Kendal and Malvern; on Sunday, the action moves to the more technical stages in the north, Dark Hole, Automotive Art Hangman’s Hill and Mount Poyer, with the Rally Finish at the Vaucluse Raceway. The Final Stage will not be included in the results for BCIC RB25, but crews must start it to be considered overall finishers. Once complete, competitors, service crews, fans and volunteers will gather for the provisional podium and after-party.