FINAL COUNTDOWN TO SOL RALLY BARBADOS IS ON!

The final countdown to Sol Rally Barbados 2017 is under way, with just 13 days to go before the first major event, the all-new Simpson Motors Rally Show on Saturday, May 27. Flow King of the Hill will follow on Sunday, with the Caribbean’s biggest annual motor sport International, Sol RB17, running from Friday to Sunday, June 2-4. Nearly all 44 overseas cars on the provisional entry list are now in the island, ready to face the 48 local crews. The first European competitors start landing at the Grantley Adams International Airport in the middle of this week to be reunited with the rally cars they last saw on the dockside at Portsmouth in the UK just over three weeks ago. Thereafter, daily arrivals will carry the number of overseas visitors soaring past 300, those from the wider Caribbean and North America joined by long-haul visitors from as far as Australia and New Zealand, who will be spending more than 24 hours on their journeys. While competing in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event is the key driver for the overseas competitors, many chose to time their visit to coincide with a family celebration, such as a big number birthday. This year, there will be at least two birthdays to celebrate, including Scottish regular Kenny Hall, who marks his 60th year at the same time as the BRC, and two beachside wedding ceremonies between Flow KotH and Sol RB17, while a number of other competitors will be marking major birthdays or wedding anniversaries at different times of this year with their trip to the Caribbean. On the ground in Barbados, preparation work is continuing apace. Since the 132.60-kilometre, 22-stage route was confirmed at the Media Briefing on Wednesday (May 10), crews have been out with yellow paint to mark the starts and finishes of each of the special stages, along with other indicators, such as the location of chicanes. In addition, the organisers have made available on YouTube in-car runs through each of the stages, to help competitors familiarise themselves with the terrain.

Rally Director Neil Barnard said: “It is all becoming very real now. A large number of volunteers have already put in a huge amount of work, and I thank them all for having contributed to our current state of readiness. We still have residents’ letters to hand out, which explain when they will be affected by our road closures, which is a job for the next week or so. Again, thanks to everyone who helps with that.”

Sol Rally Barbados (June 2-4, 2017) and Flow King of the Hill (May 28) are organised by the Barbados Rally Club, which celebrates its 60th Anniversary in 2017; Sol RB17 marks the 10th year of title sponsorship by the Sol Group, the Caribbean’s largest independent oil company, and the second by communications provider Flow. For media information only. No regulatory value. For further media information: e-mail - robin@bradfax.com web sites: www.rallybarbados.net; www.barbadosrallyclub.com