Edward Corbin competing in SuperModified 1
Edward Corbin and Kurt Thompson are the new leaders of the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Driver’s Championship after a major shake-up of the standings following First Citizens King of the Hill (May 25) and BCIC RB25 (May 30-June 1). After a record local entry for the season’s two marquee events, rounds four to six of the BRC Championship, an unprecedented 80 drivers have now scored points.
Respectively the leaders of the SuperModified 1 and Modified 4 classes, two-time Champion Driver Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant) and reigning M4 Champion Thompson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) are tied on 101 points. Each has a 100 per cent record of class wins but competed against under-subscribed entries in the March double-header, scoring fewer points, so had not been among this year’s early-season joint leaders.
After three rounds, Kevin Armstrong, Stuart Maloney and Rhett Watson were tied in the lead on 50 points, with Watson the first to drop back, when he was beaten to the SM2 class win and overall 2wd at KotH by Roger Mayers (Toyota WR Starlet); Watson (BMW M3) still leads the SM2 and 2wd championship standings but has slipped to fifth overall.
After a class win at KotH kept Armstrong (BMW 325) in the hunt, he scored no points in RB25, scored as two championship rounds, and dropped behind Robert Ryan Wood (BimmaCup Too) in the Clubman 3 class – he is now tied for second with Kamal Quimby (BMW) – and also out of the overall top 10.
Having won the FIA R5 class at KotH, Maloney (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) was on track to retain his overall lead, but an accident on Sunday morning of RB25 resulted in him retiring from the championship’s sixth round. He is now second in both the FIA R5 class and 4wd standings, seventh overall on 82 points.
Third overall (96pts) is now Chris Hoad (Clubman 2 BimmaCup), who has been a front-runner in the chase for the Champion Driver title before, losing out in a tie-break in 2021 to Maloney. With 96 points, he is five behind the joint leaders and just one ahead of Neil Corbin (Toyota GT86 CS-R3), who leads M2 and is an impressive second in the 2wd championship to Watson, who is fifth overall on 92 points.
Up to sixth from joint seventh is BCIC RB25 winner, Jamaica’s Kyle Gregg (Ford Fiesta Rally2), who now also leads the 4wd Championship. The overall title is based on points scored by drivers against their peers in each class; Gregg has been second each time, to Maloney in rounds one to five, then to Josh Read on the Sunday of RB25; he now leads Maloney in the FIA R5 class by five points and the 4wd championship by three.
The overall top 10 is completed by Sean Corbin (82pts), who lies second in M2 in his BMW 318ti Compact to Neil Corbin, David-Anthony Balgobin (80pts), second to Hoad in his C2 BimmaCup, and Shawn Brathwaite (78pts), who leads Clubman 1, another class not fully subscribed early in the year, in his Toyota Corolla.
Three rounds remain, the double-header Summer Sprint (August 24) and Winter Rally (October 25), which represent just over one-third of the total points to be scored for the year. There’s a drop score to be taken into account as well, so the championship fight is far from over.
BRC Driver’s Championship
Positions after round 6:
equal 1st Edward Corbin (SM1 Daihatsu Charmant) & Kurt Thompson (M4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 101 points
3rd Chris Hoad (C2 BimmaCup), 96pts
4th Neil Corbin (M2 Toyota GT86 CS-R3), 95pts
5th Rhett Watson (SM2 Rhett Watson BMW M3), 92pts
6th Kyle Gregg – JAM (FIA R5 Ford Fiesta Rally2), 90pts
7th Stuart Maloney (FIA R5 Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), 85pts
8th Sean Corbin (M2 BMW 318ti Compact), 82pts
9th David-Anthony Balgobin (C2 BimmaCup), 80pts
10th Shawn Brathwaite (C1 Toyota Corolla), 78pts
etc
BRC Class Championship
Positions after round 6:
WRC: 1st Dane Skeete (Automotive Art/C O Williams Sand & Lime/Sol Subaru Impreza WRC S12), 48 points
FIA R5: 1st Kyle Gregg – JAM (York Investments/BD Gregg/Elevated Home Decor Ford Fiesta Rally2), 90pts; 2nd Stuart Maloney (Imagine/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia RS Rally2), 85pts; 3rd Jeffrey Panton – JAM (KIG/Ford/Sandals Ford Fiesta Rally2 & Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 77pts; etc
Modified 4: 1st Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/Bio Beauty Day Spa/NKM Clothing/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 101pts; 2nd Kyle Catwell (KFC/BCIC/Chicken Pen Racing/Thomas Tours/Ellesmere Quarries Audi TT-R), 63pts; 3rd Mark Thompson (Glassesco/Bio Beauty Day Spa/NKM Clothing/Realtors Ltd Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX), 44pts; etc
SuperModified 2: 1st Rhett Watson (Chefette/Frosteez/Cargo BGI/Gliptone/Sthil/Hankook/Motul Racing Oils/Bajan Pure Water BMW M3), 92pts; 2nd Nigel Reece (Subzero Services Ltd/Hankook/Royal Purple Toyota Starlet), 66pts; 3rd Andrew Jones (Gale’s Agro Products/GoOn/Weetabix/Tunnocks/Hankook/Southern Surf Beach Apartments Ford Escort MkII), 62pts; etc
SM1: 1st Edward Corbin (Valvoline/Pro-Sales/Bearded Hogs BBQ/Hilti/Bajan Pure Daihatsu Charmant), 101pts; 2nd Darren Lashley (Prestigious Wheels/DKK Industrial Supplies/Hi-Speed Performance/AEC Motorsport Connections/Starboy Performance/Prime Garage 246 Toyota Starlet), 67pts; 3rd Roger Jordan (Lucas Oils/Shipsurebb Toyota Starlet), 44pts; etc
M3: 1st Jonathan Still (New York Pizza/Suga Apple Swimwear/Inogro/Bajan Pure/Quality Tyre/Weddings by Malissa BMW M3), 50pts; 2nd David St Hill/Ian Grimes (Tropical Touch/DG Audio BMW M3), 37pts; 3rd Wayne Archer (Archers Hall Design Center/Total Sourcing & Supply/Arrow Woodworking/Arrow Construction BMW), 15pts; etc
M2: 1st Neil Corbin (Nassco/Stamina Energy/ColourXL/Auto Solutions/Pressout Performance Toyota GT86 CS-R3), 98pts; 2nd Sean Corbin (Super S/Carters Pitstop/FOXIN/Bajan Pure Water/First Step Security/Westlake/GuavaTech/Gunk/Fabblast Barbados/M&M Tuning BMW 318ti Compact), 84pts; 3rd Jermin Pope (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Pedialyte/Sandblasting Powder Coating 2022 Ltd/Caribbean Auto Glass Honda Civic), 11pts
M1: 1st Carlos Edwards (Enermax/Milwaukee/Meukow Cognac/Barrel House/Sign Depot Citroen C2R2 MAX), 53pts; 2nd Jamar Haynes (J’s A/C Auto Clinic/Temperature Pro Inc/Alex’s Home & Property Management Honda Civic Type-R), 41pts; 3rd Natya Soodeen (F) (Standard Distribution/NewTech/Mark’s Auto Spares Peugeot 208 R2), 34pts; etc
Clubman 3: 1st Robert Ryan Wood (Carters Pitstop/Blue Waters/Caribbean LED Lighting/Hilti/Westlake/Sitemasters/C & A Autobody Repairs/Perkins & Son BimmaCup Too), 77pts; equal 2nd Kevin Armstrong (DS Vroom/Armstrong Auto BMW 325) & Kamal Quimby (Fusionz Auto World/Wilkinson Equipment & Rentals/Mally’s Trucking/M&M Engineering Services/Soldierman Trucking & Wrecker Services Trucking BMW), 65pts; etc
C2: 1st Chris Hoad (Subway/Dasani Water/ANSA Merchant Bank/LubeX – Smart Choice/Westlake/GuavaTech/E-travel Services/Color XL BimmaCup), 96pts; 2nd David-Anthony Balgobin (DKK Industrial Supplies/Da-Shem-Rae BimmaCup), 80pts; 3rd Greg Cozier (C2 Perkins & Son Barbados Rum BimmaCup), 68pts; etc
C1: 1st Shawn Brathwaite (Executive Air Ltd/Homeomart Barbados Toyota Corolla), 78pts; 2nd Kyle Gill (Expressionism/Executive Auto Centre/Adhoc Industries/Chicken Stop Mitsubishi Mirage RS Clone), 67pts
Open Class: 1st Mark Huggins (General Distributors/Ultra Quick/Huggins Auto Shop Daihatsu Charmant), 63pts; 2nd Sean Merritt (Seven Creative Media Inc/MB Auto City Toyota Starlet Turbo), 55pts; 3rd Shareef Walcott (Movements Plus/Autobody Plus/Lil Griffs Hardware & Building Supplies/Everything Branded/Fusionz Boutique/Reef Motorsport Toyota Corolla), 45pts; etc
BRC 4wd Championship: 1st Gregg – JAM, 84pts; 2nd S Maloney, 81pts; 3rd Panton – JAM, 74pts; 4th Rob Swann – ENG (FIA R5 GO Car Rental/Cygnet Plant/R A Swann Ltd Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 61pts; 5th Skeete, 56pts; 6th Mark Maloney (FIA R5 Imagine/M-Jet/Bushy Park Barbados/Sign Station Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 52pts; etc
BRC 2wd Championship: 1st Watson, 82pts; 2nd N Corbin, 69pts; 3rd Reece, 66pts; 4th Jones, 62pts; equal 5th E Corbin & R Mayers, 55pts; etc
(PR)