Fresh from their recent exploits on Rally Jamaica, Celtic crowd favourites Glenn Campbell (Northern Ireland) and Allan McKay (Scotland) have confirmed that they will be returning for the 2012 running of the Caribbean's biggest annual motor sport international, Sol Rally Barbados (June 9/10).
They are among more than 30 entries already received on-line via the event's official web site, www.rallybarbados.bb. Almost half are from overseas, and entries are arriving earlier than for Sol RB11, for which the organising Barbados Rally Club (BRC) had received only 19 by the same time last year.
Sol Rally Barbados Chairman Barry Gale said: "With exactly five months to go until entries close on May 14th next year, we are already nearly one-third of the way to our entry cap of 100 starters . . . to say I'm astonished would be an understatement, bearing in mind the difficult times people are facing all over the world.
"Five of the 12 international crews are new to the event, but it is always good to welcome back old friends, such as Glenn and Allan, who look set to be doing more rallying in the Caribbean than they do back home! The camaraderie among competitors and the lasting friendships that develop with fans in the island are among the key drivers to the success of the event, and these two guys exemplify that – long may it continue!"
Campbell will be paying his fourth visit to Sol Rally Barbados, returning with the Nissan Micra Kit Car in which he finished 30th overall last year; co-driven by Neill Finlay, this was his best result to date, and he missed out on the Modified 5 class win by just nine seconds to the Suzuki Swift Gti of local brothers Sean and Adam Cox.
Having previously said "if I only ever do one rally a year, it will be in Barbados", Campbell (along with McKay) grew rather more adventurous this year and tackled Rally Jamaica, which celebrated its 20th Anniversary over the first weekend of December. Unlike Sol Rally Barbados, it is a gravel event, and a particularly tough one.
Co-driven by Joseph Gallagher, he placed 11th – just 13 of the 26 starters were classified as overall finishers – and was among only six of the 15 two-wheel-drive cars that started the event to complete all 21 stages run, a significant achievement on his first visit. Unopposed in class JA1, he also took home some trophies.
McKay's priority tends toward entertaining the crowd, something he does with great style in his unique Ford Anglia WRC – in this instance, the acronym stands for Well Run Car! With co-driver Mo Downey, the two-day event started well, the Anglia second in class JA3 on the opening stage, just three seconds behind local ace Bobby Marshall, but suspension damage on stage two dropped them from the overall running. They returned for Sunday's second leg, however, finishing 13th overall and JA3 class-winners for Leg 2.
Sol RB12 will be McKay's third visit to Barbados – having retired with damaged steering in 2010, he finished 29th overall and fourth in SuperModified 10 this year with Stewart Davidson co-driving.
