After the drag racing of the previous evening, round five of the BMF R5 Championship presented by First Citizens meant a return to ‘normality’, the R5s competing in the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Shakedown Double Header, but scoring it as a stage rally, on cumulative times. The course was familiar, between Wilson Hill and Malvern in St John, run four times in each direction, first southbound from Malvern, then in the reverse after the lunch break, spectators lining the stage in their hundreds to enjoy the Rally Club’s return to the roads with an entry of 40-plus crews.

Championship leader Stuart Maloney (Fabia Rally2) was fastest on the opening stage, 1.8secs ahead of Rob Swann (Fiesta Rally2), with Jeff Panton another second or so back, thanks to a puncture on his Fiesta Rally2. While Maloney would not be headed in the first direction, Swann and Panton enjoyed equal shares at second and third places over the four stages, to sit in those positions at the lunch break. Mark Maloney (Fabia R5) was fourth, newcomer Brian Gill (Fiesta R5) fifth, Paul Horton sixth with triple British Rally Champion Matt Edwards co-driving in his Fiesta R5, and Roger Hill (Fabia R5) seventh after losing a lot of time on the day’s second stage.

In the reverse direction, Stuart Maloney remained unbeaten, while his brother Mark came into his own, second three times to beat Swann by more than 2secs, but not enough to dislodge the British driver from second at the end of the day, moving him from fifth to third in the standings. Hill was fourth in the afternoon, finishing the day in that position, with Horton fifth, Panton sixth (he lost 30 seconds or so with a big spin on the afternoon’s opening stage) and Gill seventh, another to lose a lot of time on the first stage.

Round 5 – Shakedown Double Header (Barbados Rally Club)

St John – April 24

Results

1st Stuart Maloney/Kristian Yearwood (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), 16m 47.59s

2nd Rob Swann/Sean Gill (Ford Fiesta Rally2), + 17.77s

3rd Mark Maloney/Justin Maloney (Skoda Fabia R5), + 22.62s

4th Roger Hill/Graham Gittens (Skoda Fabia R5), + 34.74s

5th Paul Horton/Matt Edwards (Ford Fiesta R5), + 38.62s

6th Jeff Panton/Jason Cozier (Ford Fiesta Rally2), + 44.91s

7th Brian Gill/Eric Allamby (Ford Fiesta R5), + 1:29.55s

Championship points

After round 5

1st Stuart Maloney 96

2nd Jeff Panton 53

= 3rd Roger Hill 48

= 3rd Rob Swann 48

5th Mark Maloney 47

6th Paul Horton 30

7th Suleman Esuf 26

8th Andrew Mallalieu 22

9th Brian Gill 11

10th Stan Hartling 8