In a dramatic season opener for the Barbados Rally Club’s Chefette MudDogs Safari Championship, reigning Class B champion Alexander Gill claimed his first-ever overall victory alongside new navigator Gary Mendes. Piloting his Isuzu DMax through challenging conditions, the duo secured a narrow 16-penalty-point triumph in the Ace H & B Hardware March Safari last weekend.
The experienced team of Ben Norris and Kirk Watkins initially dominated the competition, leading after the morning’s 45-kilometer route that traversed Vaucluse Raceway and Manor Farms. However, their afternoon performance in the Jeep Rubicon saw them slip to second position overall. The father-son pairing of Stephen and Ben Moore completed the podium in third place, despite being hampered by an early 200-penalty setback that cost them potential victory.
Notable performances emerged from young guns Charles Clarke and Austin Barber who mastered the longer 80-kilometer afternoon route in their Mitsubishi Pajero iO, defeating all veteran crews to win the second leg. This impressive drive earned them fifth overall and top honors in Class B, with route-setter Wayne Clarke praising their exceptional navigation skills as ‘quite an achievement.’
The event commenced under rainy conditions at 7:30 a.m. from Ace H & B Hardware in Warrens, testing competitors across varied terrain that extended to the northern parishes of St Joseph, St Peter and St Lucy before concluding in Speightstown.
Gill, who previously won the 2023 Class B title with his wife Chelsea as navigator, expressed enthusiasm about his new partnership: ‘Gary is an excellent navigator; we had a trial rally last September and got along very well. Our communication isn’t quite as tuned as with my wife, so we made some mistakes, but we’ve started strong and look forward to a successful year.’
MudDogs Chairman Ricky Holder reported widespread satisfaction with the season opener, acknowledging contributions from route-setter Clarke and event sponsors Ace H & B Hardware and Manors Farms.