QUALITY ENTRY FOR RALLY BARBADOS 2005

'The Surfer' returns from the sea . . . but not for long

Eighty-six cars appear on the entry list for Rally Barbados 2005 issued today (May 13) by the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) after the 4.00pm final closing date; and there is good news for local Subaru fans, as the list confirms recent widespread rumours of a comeback for Paul 'The Surfer' Bourne . . . but it is just a one-off!

For the fifth time, the BRC's premier event forms part of the Barbados Rally Carnival, which has again attracted a healthy overseas entry; competitors from 11 countries - including host nation Barbados - will take part, with 52 drivers or co-drivers arriving from overseas.

Releasing the entry list, Rally Chairman Barry Gale said: "All in all, we have a world-class entry again this year, the Europeans joined by some determined Jamaicans, Trinis, Vincentians . . . and even an ex-Simon Jean-Joseph Renault Clio JWRC from Martinique. Nine 'WRC-spec' cars is a record entry for us and, even though the total number of entries is a little down on last year, the quality continues to rise, making it better for spectators and the media every year."

Start number 1 has been allocated to last year's winner - and the winner nine times before that - Roger 'The Sheriff' Skeete; this year, he has a new Ford Focus WRC, a new co-driver - Stuart Maloney - but at least two of the same key challenges as last year.

Starting at number 2 is the second Focus crew of Roger Mayers/Max Ferri - plagued by mechanical problems over the past two years - while 1999 winner Trevor Manning starts at 3, co-driven by James Betts in the Mitsubishi Evo VIII. Making for three manufacturers represented in the top four seeds, is the return of Paul Bourne/Louis Venezia in the 2003-winning Subaru Impreza WRC.

Of his return after retirement at the end of last season, Bourne said: "This really is a one-off. When I stopped, the car needed to be fixed up all ready for selling, some bodywork, painting, some rebuilding, so it would look nice, look good to sell. I thought it would have been sold by now. It really didn't matter to me, and I didn't even go and see it while the work was being done.

"Then about 10 days ago, I went over and saw it, and thought, Rally Barbados is only a month away; if I'm going to give it one last outing, then that would be the rally to do it for. It was never in the plan, as I am never going to go rallying again as I did before."

Bourne has only driven the Impreza once since it was back on the road, and realised that he was pretty rusty - his last event was more than six months ago. In a brief Bushy Park shakedown, just to make sure everything was in place, a couple of problems were identified, which have resulted in parts returning to the UK for work . . . so the car has been on stands for the past few days.

Apart from Mayers, Manning and Bourne, Skeete will face some new challenges this year, including two of the highest-seeded visitors: England's Kevin Procter claims the highest overseas seeding - reflecting his fifth-place finish last year - but returns with a rare four-wheel-drive Ford Puma.

And the region could pose a headache or two for Skeete as well: two ex-Carlos Sainz World Rally cars arrive in the hands of Jamaicans Gary Gregg (2001 Ford Focus WRC) and John Powell (1998 Toyota Corolla WRC).

The headline facts about Rally Barbados 2005:
+ the entry stands at 86 cars
+ this includes nine WRC-specification cars, more than ever before
+ competitors come from 11 countries, including host nation Barbados, with 52 overseas drivers or co-drivers on the list
+ they will tackle 26 special stages, totalling 130.60 kilometres (81.15 miles)
+ more than 50 different models from 20 manufacturers are listed in the entry
+ numerically, Toyota is the strongest marque, with 22 cars, while Ford is also in double figures, at 15 entries

Rally Barbados 2005 is organised by the Barbados Rally Club in association with Automotive Art Shell, Banks Breweries, Da Costa Mannings Autocentre, DMS Distributors.com, McEnearney Quality, Simpson Motors, Texaco West Indies and Total Sport. The event is supported by Abacus Builders, The Boatyard, Nassco, SBI Distributors, Stoute's Car Rental and Williams Equipment. The Vaucluse Raceway International RallySprint is organised by the Vaucluse Raceway Motorsport Club.

Key to nationalities (competitor from Barbados unless shown): AUT - Austria; ENG - England; HOL - Holland; IoM - Isle of Man; JAM - Jamaica; MAR - Martinique; NIR - Northern Ireland; SCO - Scotland; SVG - St Vincent & The Grenadines; WAL - Wales

driver/co-driver (group sponsor car)

1 Roger Skeete/Stuart Maloney (M9 Havoline/McEnearney Quality/Michelin Ford Focus WRC)
2 Roger Mayers/Max Ferri (M9 Trivial Pursuit/McEnearney Quality Ford Focus WRC)
3 Trevor Manning/James Betts (M9 Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors/Garbage Master Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII)
4 Paul Bourne/Louis Venezia (M9 Banks/Pirelli Subaru Impreza WRC)
5 Kevin Procter - ENG/Mike Gilby - ENG (M9 Procters Coaches/Swift Signs/PC Vehicle Rentals/Motoscope Ford Puma Evo 4 x 4)
6 John Powell - JAM/Michael March - JAM (M9 Intercontinental Shipping/Trinidad Mooring and Launch Services/Toyota Trinidad Toyota Corolla WRC)
7 Gary Gregg - JAM/Hugh Hutchinson - JAM (M9 KFC/BD Gregg Bros/KIG/NGRacing Ford Focus WRC)
8 Doug Gore - JAM/Mark Nelson - JAM (M9 DMS Distributors.com/Sandals/Walkerswood/Motor Sales and Service/Ricks Café/Slam/Amsoil/Value Buys Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII)
9 Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (M8 Mobil 1/Nassco/Motormac/Michelin Toyota Celica GT4)
10 Barry Gale/Ryan Rodriguez (M8 Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors/Nishikoi Fish Food Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
11 Peter Moodie Jnr - JAM/Mike Fennell Jnr - JAM (M9 Moore's Business Forms/Citrix/Teleform/Jap Auto Supplies/MoTeC/NGRacing/Century Wrecking/Auto Maintenance Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
12 Barry Mayers/Adam Hart (S11 Trivial Pursuit Toyota Starlet)
13 Sean Dowding/Jason Cozier (M8 Pro Pac/Globe Finance/Xypex Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
14 Mark Maloney/Trevor Perkins (M9 Guinness Nissan Pulsar GtiR)
15 Harold Morley - ENG/Geoffrey Goddard (M9 Sunbeach Communications Subaru Impreza WRC)
16 Ray Brammer - ENG/Matthew Whattam - ENG (M8 Ray Brammer Vehicle Repairs/C & R Units /Thurlow Nunn Subaru Impreza WRX)
17 John Hardman - NIR/Jim Holder - ENG (GpB Pirelli/Suzuki Cars/John Hardman Engineering/Headway/Legends Fires/Autosport Ford Fiesta Cosworth 4 x 4)
18 Jonathan Still/Heath Hazell (S13 Hitachi Power Tools/Philips Lighting/Warrens Motors/Crane & Equipment/VP Racing BMW M3)
19 Robert Dick - WAL/Barry Green - WAL (S13 Line Maintenance Contracting/John Hardman Engineering Darrian T9)
20 Cliff Roett/Allan Maynard (S12 DaCosta Mannings Auto Centre/Nassco/Lucky Horseshoe/Thorogood Footwear/Roetts Garage Toyota Starlet)
21 Martin Stockdale - ENG/Mark Swallow - ENG (S13 Plasterland/Drive-a-Matic BMW M3 GTR)
22 Geoffrey Noel/Kreigg Yearwood (P4 Irving Oil/Max Meyer/Autozone/Mix 96.6/ESSCO/Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI)
23 Peter Thompson/Winston Agard (P4 Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Proton Wira)
24 Tom Roberts - ENG/Andy Stobart - ENG (P4 crash.net Subaru Impreza WRX)
25 Keith Bernard - IoM/tba (P4 Subaru Impreza WRX)
26 Sean Gill/Michael Cummins (M6 Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Ignis JWRC)
27 Thierry Ferreira - MAR/Freddy Bernard - MAR (M6 GEL Securite/Credit-Moderne Renault Clio JWRC)
28 Neil Armstrong/Ben Armstrong (M6 Bridgestone/Lubriguard/Nassco/Proauto Toyota Starlet)
29 St Elmo Cumberbatch/Owen Cumberbatch (S13 CaribSupply/Michelin/F Taylor Associates BMW E36)
30 Ernst Harrach - AUT/Johann Pranter - AUT (Hist Porsche 911)
31 Colin Aitchison - SCO/Monty Pearson - SCO (Hist Pearsons Vauxhall Chevette HS)
32 Hugh Peat - ENG/Tom Jordan - ENG (S13 Plasterland/Jordan Road Surfacing Ford Escort RS Cosworth)
33 Nicholas Gill/Tony Pile (S13 McEnearney Quality/Toyo Tyres Volkswagen Beetle)
34 Rajendra Jadusingh - JAM/David Anderson - JAM (M6 Jamaica Electrical Technologies/Hilton Kingston Hotel/Super Plus Supermarkets/Express Air Mitsubishi Mirage)
35 Steve Ollivierre - SVG/Keith Francis - SVG (M6 ECMIL/Empire Cigarettes Mitsubishi Mirage)
36 Kirk Watkins/Justin Gill (M6 Abacus Builders Inc/Planned Maintenance/Bridgestone Toyota Corolla)
37 Rupert Lomax - WAL/Dave Alcock - WAL (S12 John Hardman Engineering/SMS/Dee-Jays of Rhyl/Dig-It Ford Escort MkII)
38 Gary Thomas - WAL/Phil Ralphs - WAL (S12 Ford Escort MkII)
39 Andy Carter - ENG/tba (S12 Ford Escort MkII)
40 Kenrick Husbands/Ian Griffith (S11 Williams Equipment/Hilti Toyota Starlet)
41 Andrew Costin-Hurley - ENG/Bryan Hull - ENG (S13 CA-Automotive/Earl's/Posh Paintworks Ford Puma Evo)
42 Roger Kelly/Corrie Hinds (P4 Mazda Familia)
43 Calvin Briggs/Corey Atkins (S13 RDH Group of Companies Ford Escort MkII)
44 Graeme Finlayson - SCO/Jamal Brathwaite (S10 GGR Communications/Red Line Oils/Rial Wheels/Redline Autos Fluke WR1C)
45 Wayne King/Gregory Farnum (S12 Peugeot 306 S16)
46 Barry Ward/Matthew Staffner (S11 Subzero Services/Ultimate Insurance Brokers/DeeJay Distributors/Dirt Cheap/Altered Scapes Toyota Starlet)
47 Edward Corbin/Mark Perkins (M7 Automotive Art/Kumho Toyota Corolla SR)
48 Adrian Linton/Jonathan Linton (M7 Ravensden/Ocean Park/Crane & Equipment/Garbage Gobbler/Edwin Clarke Furniture/West Coast Garden Centre Vauxhall Astra GTE)
49 Greg Cozier/Antonio Da Silva (M7 Citgo/Hyundai Commercial & Industrial Ford Escort RS2000)
50 Norman Catwell/Kyle Catwell (M7 Alchemy Performance Fuels/Ellesmere Quarries/Earthrace.com Peugeot 205GTI)
51 Kurt Thompson/Sean Whitehead (M7 Glassesco/NKM Clothing/NKM Surf & Skate/Bio-Beauty/JCB Excavators Honda Civic)
52 Geoffrey Ullyett/Jamie Marsh (M7 Ullyett's Machine Shop Service/Sikkens Nissan 200Y)
53 Freddie Gale/Kyle Proverbs (M7 Wurkx Mechanical/Nishikoi Fish Foods/VP Racing/Gales Hatcheries Toyota Corolla RunX)
54 Roger Marshall/Bruce Lambert (M7 Signia Financial/Western Union/Bill Express Hyundai Accent)
55 John Corbin/Rodney Clarke (M7 Corbin's Garage/Klark-Odio Toyota Corolla)
56 Chris Ullyett/Derek Ince (M7 Ullyett's Machine Shop Service/Sikkens Nissan 200Y)
57 Neil Thompson/tba (M7 Lucozade Toyota Corolla)
58 Simon Gillmore/Tricia Gillmore (M7 Halton Graphics/DHL World Wide Express/SRG Engineering/Toyo Tyres Peugeot 205GTI)
59 Ron Layne/Giselle Layne (M7 SDRR Hydraulics/Structural Systems Nissan Sunny)
60 David Brewster/Robert Simmons (M7 ACP/The Tile Outlet/SRG/Castrol Peugeot 205GTI)
61 Reggie Gill/tba (S12 SDRR/Crosland/Kent/Aeroquip/Brakequip Vauxhall Chevette)
62 Lindsay Farmer/Megan Blades (S12 Nassco/Toyo Tyres/Denso/Freezetone/Mobil 1/Philips Lighting Toyota Starlet Turbo)
63 Andrew Jones/Stuart White (S13 AP Jones Pharmacy/Total Sport Ford Escort MkII)
64 Kenny Hall - SCO/Fenny Wesselink - HOL (M5 Lochcarron of Scotland/Simpson Motors Vauxhall Corsa-Suzuki)
65 Wayne Manning/Willie Hinds (M5 Citgo/Black Bess Quarry/Glassfibre Products Peugeot 205XS)
66 Brett Clarke/Garry Clarke (M5 Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Swift GTi)
67 Joshua Delmas/Adam Alleyne (M6 Autolink Service Centre/Ideal Agencies Toyota Corolla Gti)
68 Rob Brook - ENG/John Brook - ENG (M6 Cadbury Adams Peugeot 205GTi)
69 Paul McMullan - ENG/Jane Cowling - ENG (M6 Plaice T & R Insurance/Motoscope/Hardrock Flooring Proton Satria Kitcar)
70 Roger Jordan/Pedro Thomas (M6 Jubilee Supplies/Ullyetts Machine Shop Service Toyota Starlet)
71 Neil Corbin/Jeremy Roach (S11 Nassco/CAC Enterprises Toyota Starlet)
72 Josh Read/Daryl Clarke (S11 Baram Services/ERP Exports/Forever Flowers/D Blades Trophies Toyota Starlet)
73 Winston Thompson/Russel Brancker (S11 SDRR/Precision Packaging/Tropic Ice Unlimited/VP Racing/Alchemy Performance Fuels Toyota Starlet)
74 Derek Roach/Tricia Gittens (P3 Magna/Pine Hill Dairy/Dupont/Sargento Cheeses/Warrens Motors Mini Cooper S)
75 Simon Wallis - ENG/Neil Burgess - ENG (P3 www.DialPrefix.co.uk/Babylon Direct/NewsText.com Vauxhall Astra Sport)
76 Neil Barnard/Chris Hoyos (P2 Shell Helix/Courts/Automotive Art/Kerridge/Simpson Motors Suzuki Ignis Sport)
77 Nigel Browne/Kirk Phillips (M6 West'N'Motors/AS Auto Shop/E W Smith Garage/Motoring News/Simpson Motors/Yokohama Nissan Sunny)
78 Shaun Alleyne/Jim Mark (S11 Rent-A-Tool/AutoLink/Friendly Signs/Champion Auto/photobarbados Toyota Starlet)
79 Mark Sabga/Hally Holder (S13 Billy Boy School Uniforms/Barbados Industries/Romaro Uniform Centre Volkswagen Beetle)
80 Rhett Watson/Logan Watson (Hist The Unknown Entity/Tropical Landscapes/New Media Design Ford Escort MkI)
81 Graham Manning/Ryan Farmer (Hist Ford Cortina)
82 Jeremy Gonsalves/Ian Warren (M5 Suzuki Forsa GTi)
83 Christian Scherr/tba (S12 Toyota Starlet Turbo)
84 Noel Edwards/Jason Downey (P3 Daihatsu Charade GTti)
85 Gary Mendez/tba (P2 Toyota Starlet)
86 Carlos Humphrey/Jonathan Foster (P2 Toyota Starlet)
87 Daniel Williams/Kyle Rodrigues (P2 Peugeot 106)
88 Mark Thompson/Clint Gregory (M6 Glassesco/NKM Surf & Skate/Bio-Beauty Toyota Starlet)