Shell F1 Ferrari in Barbados - 26th November 2006
Photography by Zhaust.com, Narend Sooknarine of Zorce Magazine and Barry McKenzie
Article by Barry McKenzie

In what has be been dubbed the hat trick of all marketing blitz,  Simpson Oils Ltd  (SOL) Caribbean agents for Shell Lubricants flew into Barbados  a Full  Ferrari Formula 1 Team  along with Two Formula 1 Cars for the launch of their New V Power Fuels which is now available at all shell pumps throughout Barbados.

It was an amazing sight to see the  highway fenced off for about a mile from Shell Station to Shell Station with Control Marshalls visible at every point of the along the route.

The Road was closed to Vehicular Traffic promptly at 9.30 am on Sunday 26th and the last few entry points were sealed and inspected by the marshals and the Ferrari Teams along with the owners of Simpsons Oil Mr & Mrs. Simpson who were seen assisting the marshals in cleaning some questionable areas after the Vac/ Sweeper was finished with its many passes on the new F1 Mini Circuit.

Barbados has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the pass few weeks and this had threatened to put a damper on the morning proceeding , luckily it held long enough for us to hear the sweet sound of the V10 Ferrari engine come to light just about 10.30 am, you could feel the anticipation in the air, it was truly a beautiful sight as the 2004  Ferrari was push out of its temporary paddock erected in the parking lot of the Shell Warrens Gas Station and amazingly up to the pump to be filling with the New V power fuel , the same fuel used by your regular run of the mill cars, some in the crowd shouted  SET-UP Gimmick, False Tank, you name it, they said it , in the end they believed it , we were told by a Ferrari guy that a simple retune of the electronic is all it took for the Ferrari to run on regular pump Fuel,  My Trini Posse had taken up  an advantageous point on the Lawn of the Warrens Chefettes which is next to the Gas Station and with a clear view  up the Hill.

Marc Gene the Ferrari Test Driver  climbed into the F1 machine and to the roar of the thousands that were close to the Shell Station he was off  around the  well maintained Round- about and up to the start point opposite the Simpsons VIP stands where the Start Flag was waved and the sound of  the Ferrari  fighting for traction then the wail of the V10 reaching up in the higher RPM range  which was threatened to be  droned out by the yells of the Ferrari Fanatics at our vantage point as it disappeared around the bend on its first run in Barbados, The Trini Posse toasted this historic moment that we were proud to be part off with  some  slightly warm Banks Beers, one swig and the Ferrari was coming back down the hill heading straight for us, we thought that we had seen it all , how wrong we were as the guy was just getting started , on his next run the wail was amplified as he had now felt the surface and knew  his traction level and corner  speed,  he was up the hill like a bullet , someone sent me an email  and it had recorded the Speed up the hill at 157MPH  using a RADAR GUN !!!!!

After a few runs up and down the hill the crowd was in frenzy, the Trinis “eh moving for nuting”. Our one square foot of space each was a precious commodity as we were nudged at every opportunity by folks looking for better view.

The Ferrari again went to the Shell station for some more V Power and the Prancing Horse charged up the hill with some more breathtaking runs and capped it off with a Tire smoking round of Donuts, Kudos to Marc Gene for his skills in such a tight location.

It was over in less than three quarts of an hour, but that time is now sealed as a  SHELL MOMENT in Barbados Motorsport History Books.

Well done SOL!

The Trini Posse that made the quick trip to Barbados went looking for a double header and arrived on Saturday for the Rallycross  action in Vaucluse Raceway , however this was rained out  and rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, a disappointed for us Diehard Rallyboys  who made the Trip as we had to be back to work on Monday and no flights were available for us to change our schedule to take in the action at the Raceway, we settled for a look at practice runs on our way to the airport that afternoon.

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