Sol Rally Barbados, (Barbados) — Tuesday 6 June 2017: Dumfries and Galloway based Albatec Racing Team Principal Andy Scott has vowed to return to Sol Rally Barbados (Sol RB17) next year after a successful debut appearance saw him run as high as third in class on the final day.
The rallycross racer swapped his 600bhp Peugeot 208 RX Supercar for a Paul Horton owned MkI Ford Escort for both the Flow King of the Hill last weekend, and Sol RB17, which finished on Sunday. With experienced local co-driver Rashid Philipps alongside him, Andy steadily improved stage times over the course of the three days, and was running third in class until a technical issue saw him crash out on the penultimate stage.
Despite the threat of rain on the opening day, the event was held in dry conditions over a mixture of day and night stages, which proved the biggest challenge for the double British rallycross vice-champion. Among a 44-strong overseas entry, the Dumfries racer also had to adapt to the challenging road conditions.
Leaving Barbados and heading straight to Norway for round two of the FIA European Rallycross Championship, Andy confirmed his intention to tackle the event again next year, but has yet to decide on which car he’ll drive.
Andy Scott, Team Principal Albatec Racing:
“What an event. I don’t have much rally experience, but it’s an event I’d say everyone should do – a bit like the rallycross at Höljes – one event you really shouldn’t miss. The enthusiasm and support from everyone, for all the drivers was incredible. We even had a spectator offer his battery from his road car to help us get to the end of a stage. After a steady start we started to set some good stage times and I’m pretty sure third in class was on the cards – there’s no doubt Rashid’s local knowledge was a great help to us.
“I’d say the biggest challenge was the heat, and the hard roads. Some of them are really rough, under trees, with adverse camber and very bumpy. We were lucky and managed to dodge the showers that were forecast, but the threat was always in the back of your mind. The stages in the dark too were tricky, it’s one thing driving through them in daylight in a road car, and another matter in pitch black at speed. Even then, it was incredible to see so many spectators lining the stage, literally thousands of them, cheering us all on. It was a great experience, I’ll definitely do it again.”
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