BRC Gives WRC The Green Light

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Modern World Rally Cars have been given the green light. Last night the restriction on World Rally Cars manufactured after 2008 was lifted, via a vote during the Barbados Rally Club's Extraordinary General Meeting. To be precise, World Rally Cars manufactured up until the end of 2016 are now eligible to compete in local events. This rule change has been met with a sense of relief on one hand, and concern on the other. Either way, things are about to get very interesting.

On the face of it, attention is focused squarely on SOL Rally Barbados. Tom Preston was first out of the blocks , swapping his Skoda Fabia R5 for a 2016 Ford Fiesta WRC. Rob Swann has tested a 2016 Fiesta WRC as well, and was just awaiting word on the vote to determine what to do with his Subaru Impreza WRC S12B. Simon Jean-Joseph posted on social media that he will be bringing a Citroen DS3 WRC. Jeffrey Panton is in the market for a car, and a third Fiesta WRC isn’t that much of a stretch of the imagination. Who else will take advantage of the freedom to bring some more modern machinery to our shores? A Volkswagen Polo WRC and a Hyundai i20 WRC to complete the group wouldn’t be a bad look at all. The potential for a healthy subscription of as recent as possible World Rally Cars has gone from a pipe dream to a highly likely possibility.

Casting a view on the local side of things, where does this leave defending SOL Rally Barbados winner Dane Skeete? Will any other local drivers look to jump in at the really sharp end? There has been an argument put forward about the cost of the newer cars. That however, has been met with the counter argument that spending power will always be a factor, restriction in effect or not. At the end of the day the car still has to be driven to a win. How many of these newer cars are we likely to see on a regular basis at Sunday morning events?

Interesting times are ahead for the rally scene in our island, for both drivers and spectators alike. The door is now open to even more potential competitors to bring their modern cars and add even more diversity to the rally product. Has this rule change opened the gates to the Promised Land, or Pandora’s Box? One thing is for sure, 2020 can’t come soon enough.