Five Teams from Trinidad and Tobago did their best to hold on to stiff competition at the recently completed SOL Rally Barbados 2010.

The 'Trini' warriors included Rally Trinidad 2010 winner John Powell in his Shell Helix Ultra Intercontinental WRC Subaru S12B, who had the best showing with a very respectable 4th place overall among some of the best regional and international competition that Caribbean Rallying has ever seen. The other members of Team Red White and Black were David Coelho and James Harris in their Subway / Total Lubricants Mitsubishi Evo IX (Group N), 2WD local top gun Rezan Mohammed and Arshad Mondro (Shell Helix Ultra / Vigourade Mitsubishi Colt), Vishal Dhanraj / Richard Ramsingh (The Dispensary / Lucozade Toyota Starlet), and TnT veteran Franklyn Seegobin / Graveney Dindial (Daiman Publishers Toyota Corolla FX).

John Powell had his foot on the gas all weekend but with overall winner Roger Skeete and Bajan top dog Paul Bourne very much at home on the tricky Bajan tarmac, Powell's best efforts would see him finish within a minute of the lead but only good enough for 4th place overall and 4th in WRC Class. Powell said he drove well and his car did the job but the Bajan teams were on their game, and very tough to beat on their home ground. John takes his WRC Subaru S12B to Guadeloupe next to do battle with an ex-works Peugeot 306 and a Citroen Xsara as he aims to be the region's best. But first John will be competing in an all too familiar Group N Mitsubishi Evo IX at the THA Tobago Rally Festival on July 3, 2010.

For the rest of the TnT camp it was tough going. For Rezan and David, it was their first time testing their skills on tarmac (or ice rather by the time a few raindrops hit the surface on Sunday). Rezan managed 9th overall in the S11 Super Modified group, which comprises many of the very powerful BMW's and Ford Mark II Escort's. Despite Rezan's lack of tarmac experience and local knowledge he finished the Rally in one piece and will surely be back in the hope of bettering his performance. David on the other hand had his hands full after not receiving his tires in time and having to used some used wets and intermediates. David and James battled through and although they had a few close calls with the Bajan utility infrastructure they did manage a 5th overall in a very competitive Group N class. David and James are both rookies and the Rally Barbados experience will surely bode them well for the rest of the local Championship season.

Veteran competitor Franklyn Seegobin and co-driver Graveney Dindial suffered a bad crash which saw them roll and then park ever so neatly on an embankment during the Saturday stages. Both men walked away relatively unscathed but it was to be the definite end to their Rally Barbados campaign. When asked about it Franklyn said he simply attempted to take the corner too hard and suffered the consequences of upping the pace too early. They were feeling really comfortable up to that point. Dhanraj and Ramsingh who have competed in Barbados a number of times once again drove their Toyota Starlet which is a resident Bajan ride. Although they drove a clean Rally and made it to the SImpson Motors super special, they could only muster 6th overall in Group S9 which was dominated by the newly built Pitbull Starlet driven by Neil Armstrong.

On the heals of a large Bajan contingent represented at Rally Trinidad 2010, it was great to see TnT with a compliment of 5 teams. With Caribbean Rallying at an all-time high in popularity it is evident that the relationship between Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Jamaica continues to strengthen.

For more information on Rally Barbados please go to www.rallybarbados.bb. (photos courtesy Gerrard Wilson)