The Trinidad & Tobago Rally Club’s calendar for 2003 started off with a bang, just where it left off in 2002 with “Rally In The West Indeed Two” in Chaguaramas. The popularity of this type of motorsport has grown considerably with hundreds of spectators lining the course to witness their favorite drivers in action.

This year’s competition for the driver’s championship looks stiff, with both Peter Morris and John Powell registering for the year (neither driver was registered for the championship before). Last year’s champion driver, Fawaz Mohammed has his work cut out for him if he wants to retain his title as the No. 1 rally driver in the country.

There was much anticipation of this event, with rumors of not one, but two Group N Lancer Evolution VII’s competing. The rumors were true! John Powell debuted his new Fujitsu sponsored Group N car to the crowd, and Englishman Harold Morley (who is no stranger to the TTRC’s events having competed in the 2002 All Stages Event) brought his car across from Barbados to show off his stuff. Rounding off Mitsubishi’s lineup was Peter Morris’s Group A Lancer Evolution 6 and Roger Williams’s Lancer Evolution 1 (or 2 or 3??). Barry McKenzie lead the assault from the Subaru corner with his RallyMac Motors WRX STi, backed up by Keverne McShine and Richard Ramsingh, both in WRX’s. Competition in the two wheel drive class was also fierce, with Vishal Dhanraj, Franklin Seegobin, Shelford Robinson, Micheal Dinoo and 2002 champion Fawaz Mohammed vying for top honors.

The photos and results only tell half of the story of the day’s events. While the detailed results of the individual stages have not yet been made available by the officials of the event, the overall results are given below.

The overall winner on the day, Peter Morris again showed his dominance on this stage, having won the last event at this location. John and Barry’s fight for early points in the championship were halted by run offs during the afternoon session, that caused the retirement of both competitors. Gearbox problems faced the Esso sponsored Nissan of club president Vishal Dhanraj and he was forced to back off as his predecessor Shelford Robinson claimed top two wheel drive honors in the Greased Lightening Nissan. A disappointing day for the Castrol team also, as Fawaz Mohammed suffered from a lack of braking in his turbocharged Sunny early in the day and had to cut his speed tremendously. Roger Williams driving in a loose rally for the first time with his Lancer (Peter Morris’s ex car) proved that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in 2003.

Look out for more action from the rally club as they return to Chaguaramas on March 23rd. Rumors have it that at least one more Impreza and a Lancer GSR are being prepared and will be debuted at this event. Also look out for the return of Marcus and Scott in the Accent as action heats up in the two wheel drive category.

Sideways is the way to go!