Photo Gallery and Event Reports: 2006 Season

But the wee Peugeot's engine cut out after 13 seconds of the very first stage! Not the dream start the team was hoping for.

The cause was an unprecedented failure of the ECU. With a spare ECU sourced and fitted, the team was able to restart after missing 3 stages.

Unfortunately the car overheated badly during the next stage, so retired from the rally again. The service crew stayed up all night to rebuild the engine.

Sunday: day 2 of the rally started brighter. This time the car completed one stage cleanly, before the overheating problems returned on the second stage. A second head gasket failure was diagnosed, and the team retired from the rally for a third and final time.

A new venture for this year was to move the Rally Barbados shakedown from a low-key mid-week evening to the weekend. And to time it. And to use the results as seeding information for the following weekend's Rally! Very popular with competitors and spectators alike.

Simon W shared the Peugeot 205 with its owner, Simon G. Mr W was using the shakedown primarily to familiarise himself with the car - and was one of very few drivers to overtake a car on the 1.2 mile course. Mr G was using a higher rev-limit in order to stress-test the engine ahead of the rally, and finished 3rd in class to Mr W's 5th.

A trouble-free run through the daytime stages of leg 1 with times slightly slower than the same car last year - perhaps the rebuilt engine was somewhat down on power? Then disaster struck 3 corners into the Sailor Gully 2, the first night-time stage: all the lights went out. 600 watts to zero on a fraction of a second, leaving the crew no choice but to drive the stage blind save for the few corners illuminated by the torches of quick-thinking marshals. Hanging onto the coat-tails of overtaking cars provided only a few seconds of respite and over a minute was lost. Fortunately the pacenotes were good enough that the stage passed without incident, and the wee Peugeot even got a little air over one of the large jumps.

A 5am alarm call for day 2 shows that this sport is for the serious. Drama was not long in unfolding. The 205 dumped all of its coolant - whilst in service. A water hose had been melted through by the exhaust. A new hose was quickly fitted, but there was lasting damage - the engine developed a real thirst and required half a gallon of water at the start of each stage and of each road section. Limping through the day trying to save the engine cost a little more time and a couple of class positions, but successfully finished every stage thus qualifying as a finisher - Simon's 4th finish in 5 starts in Barbados.

More at www.rallybarbados.bb ;

de Man - de Car - DE FORTIS

A puncture on the opening stage meant driving 5 miles on the rim. The noise inside the car meant the crew could not hear each other. This left driver Chris Guichot de Fortis and co-driver Simon Wallis plumb last in class, and pretty near the bottom of the overall field too.

But a determined and safe drive, with only one minor indiscretion against a concrete post guarding a cattle grid, eventually led to victory in class A7.

Two days of tarmac rallying. 28 special stages. 33 degree heat, 90% humidity and 100% fun.

Throughout the event, stage by stage, the team will add live news updates, by text message, www.newstxt.co.uk/viewnews.php?team=wallis
RSS feed now available.

Barbados RallySprint, 27-28 May 2006

Held as ever at the popular Vaucluse International Raceway, this year has seen floodlit rallysprints extending into the night, for the first time. The lower evening temperatures have been a welcome relief for some drivers.

Barbados Rally Carnival, May/June 2006

Year four and car four for Simon Wallis

Simon Wallis, the only European driver to finish all of the last three Rally Barbadoses, returns to the island in just over two weeks' time to contest the sixth annual Barbados Rally Carnival . . . and, for his fourth visit to the event, he arrives with a fourth different car. His fourth co-driver will be local veteran competitor Lindsay Farmer, who has been rallying on the island for ten years.

For this year's VRW International RallySprint (May 27) and Rally Barbados (June 3/4) Wallis is driving a Group A Peugeot 205 GTI. On his previous visits to Barbados, Wallis has always campaigned front-wheel-drive Vauxhall Astras, in the Production car class. But he is not fazed by the move up to Modified class. “Compared to the Astras, the Peugeot has more power, less weight, better brakes - a bit better in every area. But it is still a front wheel drive car so demands the same driving style – only with quicker reactions! ”

Key dates for Barbados Rally Carnival 2006

Saturday, May 20 - scrutineering for local entries, McEnearney Quality, Wildey

Friday, May 26 - scrutineering for overseas entries, McEnearney Quality

Saturday, May 27 - Vaucluse Raceway International RallySprint, Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas

Thursday, June 1 - Rally Barbados 2006 shakedown

Saturday, June 3 - Rally Barbados 2006, day 1

Sunday, June 4 - Rally Barbados 2006, day 2

Monday, June 5 - Rally Barbados 2006 prize-giving, The Boatyard

www.rallybarbados.bb ;

Photos and event reports from 2005 season