ZiNG Caribbean – May-June 2019

60 | ZiNG CARIBBEAN http://www.liat.com|May - June 2019

SOLRALLY

BARBADOS

2019 WILLBE

HELD^31 MAY-2

JUNEWWW.RALLYBARBADOS.NET

Barbados is no exception, says Bradford. “I remember

the last time a chum of mine volunteered to work at the

Olympics. He was among 2,000 volunteers who helped

make the event function. For our event, the number is

more like 200, which, in a country of only around 260,000

people, is a lot.”

It is incredibly democratic, too, with volunteers’ day

jobs ranging from company directors to security guards

and farmers. “[It is] because they fell in love with the sport

at a very early age,” Bradford adds. “In a small country like

this, family is important in pretty much everything you

do. You will tend to follow your family interests. We have

second- and third- generation motorsport competitors

and organisers on the island.”

Roger Skeete is also quick to credit the wider team.

“The growth of the sport has benefited from exposure to

the international competition, and so too has our ability

to put on a truly international event. That influences

participation of new competitors as well as volunteers who

run these events and provide the timing and safety crews

that are vital to the sport. I am sure we will continue to see

more technology introduced to make the sport even more

attractive by giving organisers, competitors and spectators

greater access to information as the event unfolds. That can

only enhance the quality of everyone’s experience.”

An event that involves up to 100 cars and 25,000

fans, on public roads, always has an element of the

unpredictable about it. “From time to time, one or two

stages have been lost,” Bradford notes. “Perhaps dealing

with an incident in which a car has been damaged may

take some time, so the team will make on-the-spot

decisions to cancel a later stage to bring the event back

on time.” Which, of course, only adds to the excitement

of the event.

TO THE FUTURE

The Caribbean is certainly responding to the international

class on show, with youngsters getting into motorsports

at a fast pace. “The next generation has embraced

motorsports,” says Panton. “This goes for Jamaica, Trinidad

and Barbados, with youngsters competing at a high level,

from karting to circuit racing and rallying.” Barbados is

one of only ten Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile

(FIA) affiliated countries with a population of less than

one million, and has one of the highest per-capita rates of

motorsports participation in the world.

And though Sol Rally Barbados celebrates three

decades of zooming and vrooming, perhaps the seeds

were sown a little earlier in the last century. “The island’s

population of petrol-heads used to turn out in their

thousands back in the 1970s,” Bradford explains. “There is

anecdotal evidence from back in the day of a Test Match

at the Kensington Oval that clashed with a major rally.

The Test Match recorded a record-low gate, because the

fans could listen to live commentary on local radio while

sitting in their favourite cane patch watching the rally!”

l

Above, clockwise

from top left: Sol

Rally Barbados has

welcomed a host of

terrific drivers over

its 30 years, including

Roger Skeete (here

in 1990), Allan

Mackay in 2013, Neil

Armstrong in 2008

and Geoffrey Ullyett

in 2006

“WhenIcame

overthefinishline

ofthelaststageIrealised

thattheteamandmyselfhad

doneit!Afteralltheblood,

sweatandtears,wehadreached

thetopofrallyinginBarbados.

Nextstop...anice-coldbeer!”

RogerMayers

(SolRallywinner,

fromBarbados)

BRC; GERRARD WILSON; CARLIN GERBICH;