Every year, for the last three years running there has been a Solodex score to settle between the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinis, being naturally cocky, usually think that they have the competition in the bag– after all, there is a full season of Solodex each year plus, practice events at ARC so they have more seat time. It is a fairly established fact that drivers who are regulars of winding roads like those in Princes Town or Maracas Valley, for example, seem to have an easier time on the course, once they manage to grasp it. This quiet phenomenon has allowed Tobagonian competitors to refine their natural ability thanks to the roads they drive on every day. They are in a sense like the Bajans, except that the roads in Barbados are far more slippery.
The day was bright at the Dwight Yorke Stadium and some competitors had already visited one of the best service stations on the island– Federal Auto in Carnbee for an oil change and last-minute alignment check. Federal themselves were fielding two of their own cars– an RX-8 and an Evo III, among a number of sponsored vehicles. By the time the course was laid out and diagrams distributed, it was time to shake off the night of partying and get down to the business of dexterity, which would start with the very sensible and sobering walking of the course. This year the classes being run would include: Open, EP-R, EP, SS, ES-P, ES and HS, quite a widespread field that would range from economy cars like Tiidas all the way up to prepared Evolutions and Imprezas. In the meantime, Sham was warming up the pot to start the curry duck, the smell of which would soon fill the air, along with dhal and rice and fried chicken and chips for sale.
Soon the formalities of the driver’s registration, briefing and vehicle inspection were over and it was time to rock and roll. As usual the first timers generally struggled with the course but some of the seasoned competitors also got confused. This made things take a little longer for the first run group, which was a concern as the clouds began to darken. The crew from KVTV even made their way over from Trinidad to compete with a bone stock, automatic Lancer to try their luck for the first time. As the second run group emerged, the crowd seemed to favour Skene Howie, last year’s champion with his Impreza STi, sponsored by Federal Auto Care and the rivalry was on between Skene and Ryan Ramsaran in his yellow Evo VII. Interestingly enough, the fastest time of the day also alternated between them and the turbocharged new model Suzuki Swift of Devi and Genevieve Nath. By now the rains had come and there was little hope for record times as photographers scampered for cover and marshals opened their umbrellas. Luckily conditions were not bad enough to stop competition but rather made it very interesting for the slower cars and powersliding 4WDs for the second half of the day.
