A Trip to Barbados - Barbados Rally Club

A Trip to Barbados
Sun, sea, sand and rally cars. When someone says “will you consider coming to Barbados and doing some media work on a rally?” in a bar, at another rally, it only takes a split second to imagine the smell and sound of rally cars in scorching heat.
Fast forward a few months and with details confirmed, the prospect of two weeks in the Caribbean loomed. It did mean missing some events in the UK (Motorsport at the Palace and The Bullnose, to name just two) but the prospect of media work on an event, exploring a new country and seeing mo-­
tor sport action in foreign climes was an exciting expectation.
The flight over was a typical long haul flight on a Wednesday morning (where they sadly ran out of both meat and diet coke) with no good films to watch – the only ones I wanted to see were films where I am yet to read the book, and I believe in always reading the book before watching the film. After cloud and vast oceans beneath us, we finally saw our first glimpse of Barbados which was to be our home for the next two weeks.
Having collected our hire car, a somewhat uninspiring automatic Suzuki Grand Vitara, we headed to Crick Hill, St James, on the West coast where we were to stay for the next two weeks. We went into Holetown for a quick look to see what was where, and I tasted my first Bajan cock-­
tail, a strawberry daiquiri. After heading to the house and unpacking, a quick dip in the pool was followed by dinner and it was time to crash out and then start making plans and finding out what was required of us.
We arrived in Barbados a couple of days before we were required, and it was a good chance to have an explore and acclimatise. On the Friday night we headed to Oistins as going to Oistins for a fish fry on a Friday is one of the things tourist guides say you must do, and we would be too busy the following week. The tip is to arrive early (either to feed turtles off the pier with scraps the fisherman have left over) or simply because it gets jam packed. The small huts all become bustling hives of activity with everything from shark to dolphin (mahi mahi) to salmon on the menu and patrons sitting on long trestle benches. We had a delicious meal of flying fish, mahi mahi and macaroni pie (another island speciality) whilst listening to steel band music, which included everything from Pharrel Williams to the Little Mermaid theme tune.
Our first work was to take place at scrutineering on the Saturday, where we had to introduce ourselves to crews and get a feel of what was go-­
ing on. Scrutineering in Barbados is rather different to back home – we can’t speak for the actual scrutineering process as we didn’t witness it, but it was simply one big party. It was compulsory for crews to be present between 3pm and 6pm so there was a good chance to catch up with people and with a pumping bass system, interviews with crews and shots of rum punch and rum being handed out like there was no tomorrow, it was an introduction to things to come.
The Sunday was the first day of competition, with the Scotiabank King of the Hill (or KotH from now on in this article). The KotH is a chance for crews to shake down their cars but importantly, it is also used for seeding for the main event, Sol Rally Barbados, the following weekend. We watched the first run from the comfort of the VIP area and the noise coming from the crowd was phenomenal. For the second run (the crews’ first run which counted towards the results) we decided to go and watch with the crowd and be in the thick of it. Crews going sideways, or do-­
ing doughnuts at the junction, of course generated plenty of noise but even crews driving “normally” and neatly and tidily caused the same re-­
action.
Run three saw us move to service, to speak to crews as they came off the hill and generate quotes and information for the media team doing commentary at the KotH itself. Service was not compulsory and with no time controls there, many crews didn’t visit service at all. Run four saw us move to the start of the KotH stage and there’s something rather impressive about being close to WRC cars off the start line. The KotH was won by Paul Bird, despite having an off on the final run, closely followed by Roger Skeete. It was a good introduction to both rallying in the Car-­
ibbean and long days in the full glare of the sun.
The following week was spent with a mixture of rallying socials and sightseeing. There were a few things we wanted to tick off whilst on the island, and we visited St Nicholas Abbey (an old plantation house where I sampled a glass of rum punch and two shots of rum before 11am – a bit too much for me!), Bridgetown for shopping and exploring and Welchman Hall Gully (to see monkeys being fed) amongst other places.
The rally socials started on the Tuesday, with the Chairman’s hog roast and fish fry at Rally Central. Rally Central was an old Banks factory (the beer of Barbados), which is where the cars are stored when they arrive on the island and between events, for crews who have not established links with local garages etc. This was my favourite social of the event, with deli-­
cious blackened or fried mahi mahi, the hog roast, lots of rum punch and Banks beer but more importantly, standing and talking to people about rallying surrounded by rally cars.
It was at the Chairman’s event that “that Endurance rallying crew” became Tim Green and Rob Smith and “that red Micra crew” became us i.e. Suze and Matt. We stood around talking about The Bullnose and the roles we would have done if we had not be in Barbados and discussed the challenges of Worthy Farm amongst other things. It was one of those situations where I recog-­
nised them, but couldn’t quite place them, but then it finally clicked.
By the Wednesday night things were getting a little more serious and rally orientated with the official competitor briefing and welcome party at the Rally HQ hotel down on the south coast. It was an introduction into how some things are done differently in Barbados at times, e.g. all amendments being read to all crews rather than copying things down from a notice board and signing the sheet. We chatted with a few people before heading across the road to Bubba’s, the local sports bar, for dinner, cocktails and to watch WRC on their big screens. It was at this event that Sean Moriarty announced he was no longer drinking until after the event, which meant it really was getting serious.
Thursday saw testing at Bushy Park for crews if they wished, from 12 noon to 3pm. Bushy Park has recently been redeveloped and in the mid-­
dle of May hosted the Top Gear Festival, which included the Global Rallycross. Although crews had the chance to drive the circuit in the conventional manner rather than as the stage would be, the new tarmac and surface was slippier than before and the idea was to give them a taste of this. From 3pm, crews had the chance to recce Bushy Park (as the stage started a few kilometres away before entering the circuit). We went around with the OUMF (Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation) crew and even in the back of a Land Rover at slow speed, that Rally-­
cross jump really is something else!
The Friday was a free day, and we spent it as tourists again, before SS1 for Sol Rally Barbados got underway in the dark at Bushy Park at 18:30. The queues to get in, both by vehicle and by foot, were something to be seen and although I made it in for Car 0 having walked the last bit, Matt was a gentleman and parked the car and joined me later. SS1 didn’t include going over the Rallycross jump (that was reserved for the final stage on the final day) and after a blast around Bushy, it was time for an early night ready for two days of action ahead.
The original plan for the Saturday was to move between mid stage on the Canefield stage and the start of Spring Vale. Canefield used a lot of the same roads as KotH the previous week, and again had the VIP area and commentary on it. We were positioned earlier in the stage than the commentary team with the idea be-­
ing we could tell the commentary team who was coming towards them before they appeared as you couldn’t now rely on the seeding order. We saw the top 30 cars through Canefield and went to move to Spring Vale. By the time we got there we saw…..car 31, so the idea of moving between stages didn’t work. We decided to stay at Spring Vale as it was more valuable for the commentary team to get quotes from all of the crews at the start of the stage, than knowing which car was on stage at Canefield. Cars arrived in vari-­
ous guises;; one deposited his oil all over the road and Matt improvised to make a spill kit, others had body-­
work missing and some were sadly never seen at all. We saw crews three times through here before head-­
ing back to Canefield for the night stages. Again, the plan was to give the commentary team car numbers so they knew who was coming at them but the plan was thwarted by no lights of any form being allowed, so in-­
stead it was trying to recognise car shapes in the dark. Fine when there’s only one Anglia WRC, but a little tricky with many Ford Focus WRCs….
Whilst on stage we heard that Paul Bird had crashed out on the previous stage, Karcher Sailor Gully. I told the Bajans next to me and this quickly went up the rows of spectators with a mixture of glee (as it promoted Roger “The Sheriff” Skeete, the local man, into the lead) and dis-­
appointment, as Birdy or Birdman is also very popular there.
Saturday was a late finish, so it was back to the house, a welcome dip in the pool, dinner and sleep. Sunday was a reasonable start (7am – better than 4am and a cold windy airfield!) and we headed off to the start of the Kendal stage. Again, the task was similar to the previous day, speaking to all crews at the arrival control to find out how they found the previous stage, at Bushy Park, and anything else of note. Some crews arrived with plenty of time to spare but others arrived on the limit, as servicing after Bushy was optional. Many had struggled for grip around Bushy and were frantically playing with tyre pressures and suspension settings. Anybody who had not completed the Friday or Saturday stag-­
es were able to re-join for the Sunday, and it was good to see some of the crews we hadn’t seen at all appear. The first run through the stage saw a mixture of rally cars arriving for the control, which was outside the local church, whilst all the villagers arrived in their Sunday best ready for the church service. Whilst there were no spectators with us for the early run through the stage, by the afternoon it was heaving. It’s an inter-­
esting note that in Barbados, buses take priority through the stages and if a bus turns up, the stage is stopped so that it can pass.
After two runs of Kendal we headed to Bushy Park. We watched SS20 from race control (which doubled as the commentary booth and DJ box) and did live social media updates. We then caught a lift to the other side of the circuit to get to the stop control, ready for SS23 which was also at Bushy Park and the final stage of the event. The final stage saw crews tackle the Rallycross jump and whilst most were unspectacular and saving the car, one crew went all out and didn’t make the finish, having lost both rear wheels…. The sense at the stop line was one of happiness and relief, to finish what was a tough rally;; the attrition rate was high.
After another busy and hot day, the dip in the pool ritual remained, and the competition element was over. Roger Skeete / Louis Venezia won the event in their Subaru Impreza WRC S12, with Skeete claiming his 13th victory in the event’s 25 year history on the island. The rallying element concluded on the Monday evening, with the awards presentation at The Boatyard, a beach bar on Carlisle Bay, and the final chance to catch up and say goodbye to people. We did manage to find time to watch another sport on the Monday though, as we headed to the Kensington Oval to watch the up and coming West Indies cricket team play Bangladesh.
Whilst on the island, it was interesting to learn more about the marshals. They all wear white t-shirts with yellow sleeves with Marshal on the front and the motorsport is dangerous warning triangle on the back. The biggest difference to rallying in the UK is that EVERY control was staffed by female marshals. I spoke to many of them, and amongst swapping sweets and rum punch recipes, wanted to find out why there was such a female dominance. Some said it is because Bajan men are lazy, but many said they simply like fast cars and enjoy the chance to talk to crews and will always volunteer for a control rather than in stage.
Our trip to Barbados concluded with a snorkelling trip on our final day on the island. This really was one of the highlights, and due to flight times and guide book recommendations we went for a two hour 10am trip (the theory being there are less people around). We snorkelled over shipwrecks and coral reefs, seeing an incredible variety of fish, and swam with sea turtles which really was something else.
In summary, what has this article tried to tell you in a long-winded manner? If you get the chance to go to Barbados for the rally (or just for a holiday), do it. Yes some of it is different to what we are used to back home, but the people are friendly and welcoming and it really will be an incredible experience. I can thor-­
oughly recommend apple strudels (a cocktail at Daphne’s) and Bajan Mudslides (available in many places) but the island, history, culture, people and of course the rallying, are not to be missed.
Suze Endean