Postby sio » July 21st, 2011, 10:07 pm
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL THA RALLY TOBAGO 2011
By Jacqueline Alexis, TTRC Secretary/PRO
Once again, the skilful John Powell / Nicholas Telfer team took the coveted 1st place honours in his 4WD group, 2-N class and was Overall Winner as well of the THA Rally Tobago in a time of 14 minutes and 50.31 seconds, in his Shell Helix sponsored Mitsubishi EVO X.
Cristian Bourne / Rikard Absjornsen in their CRISM/Castrol/Peak Performance/DHL/Mileage Mack/Tint Specialist sponsored Mitsubishi Evo VII also did very well - winner of his 4WD group, 3-A class and 3rd Overall in 15 minutes and 11.12 seconds.
The 2WD group featured Donald Gopaul / Michael Dinnoo in theirCASTROL sponsored Toyota Starlet winning their 2-3 class in 16 mins 22.75 seconds and Shelford Robinson / Rajesh Jairam took the trophy in 2-4 class in 17 minutes 7.75 seconds with his B13.
And once again, Rally Tobago was a resounding success, all made possible through our kind corporate sponsors and committed officials and marshals, supporting media and well-wishers, and supplementary services.
The inclement weather by no means, dampened the event but it did delay the start on Saturday, forcing the Club to begin at 12:00 noon instead of the customary 9:00am start whilst repair works had to be carried out to ensure a passable and safe race course with the full co-operation and quick response of JUSAMCO’s Tobago Division. Spectator turnout and the contingent of competitors were larger than last year’s and booked in excess of 80 rooms at Grafton Beach Resort. who was not able to accommodate this volume and as such, rally fans, drivers and families spilled into Le Grand Courlan (LGC).
On Thursday, Tobago Rally Festival began with a Welcome Party at Tobago’s famous Shakers Sports Bar, which was well attended by a nice mixture of Tobagonians and Trinis, who entertained each other into the wee hours of the morning.
On Friday, due to non-arrival of the police to escort the parade into Scarborough, the Executive had no choice but to cancel the motorcade and the scrutineering took place instead at the LGC parking facility.
Saturday morning, the delayed start offered some challenges to the drivers. However, the muddy conditions provided much entertainment to the spectators - they thoroughly enjoyed the sideways mud antics of the drivers, who had skillfully made their way through the muddy conditions. The peek of sunshine too, assisted in drying out these surfaces and as the day wore on, the rally cars became much faster. The afternoon was capped with an entertaining display by the 4 x 4 Trail Blazers and their Suzuki Jimny off-road vehicles adding another flavour to the Tobago Rally festival.
There are 3 more events to finish the Rally Club’s annual Calendar:
August 7th - Cedar Hill
September 18th - Bronte
October 23rd - Preysal
RESULTS
4WD Group, 2-N Class
1st - John Powell / Nicholas Telfer - 14 mins 50.31 seconds
2nd - Stuart Johnson / Lee Quesnel - 14 mins 54.49 seconds
3rd - David Coelho / James T. Harris - 15 mins 37.95 seconds
4WD Group, 3-A Class
1st - Cristian Bourne / Rikard Absjornsen 15 mins 11.12 seconds
2nd- Ainsley Lochan / Robert Dumas 15 mins 18.13 seconds
3rd - Latiff Khan / Kurt De Freitas 16 mins 17.27 seconds
2WD Group, 2-3 Class
1st - Donald Gopaul / Michael Dinnoo 16 mins 22.75 seconds
2nd - Ryan Peyrau / Simon Rodriguez 16 mins 25.74 seconds
3rd - Bobby Marshall / Anand Awai 16 mins 57.53 seconds
2WD Group, 2-4 Class
1st - Shelford Robinson / Rajesh Jairam 17 mins 7.75 seconds
2nd - Ansel Ali / Ken Mohammed 17 mins 19.66 seconds
3rd - Reyaz Mohammed / Sayyad Siddiq 18 mins 24.03 seconds
Best Team
Shell Helix - John Powell / Nicholas Telfer and Ryan Peyrau / Simon Rodriguez
Overall Winners
1st - John Powell / Nicholas Telfer - 14 mins 50.31 seconds
2nd - Stuart Johnson / Lee Quesnel - 14 mins 54.49 seconds
3rd - Cristian Bourne / Rikard Absjornsen 15 mins 11.12 seconds
