Austrian Josef Pointinger had little idea what an adventure he was in for when he loaded his historic Mk1 Escort RS2000 onto a ship destined for Barbados back in 2003. He came away from the experience with class runner-up spot on the rally, a class win on the RallySprint, total domination of the RallySprint handicap races and narrowly missed winning the King of the Carnival prize on his first attempt.
Josef returned in 2004 as co-driver in Ernst Harrach's Porsche 911, to better his results from the previous year. The Austrian team dominated the Historic class on the rally, scoring maximum points on all routes, dominated the RallySprint, again scoring maximum points and had their names engraved on that year's King of the Carnival trophy.
Josef's participation in the 2011 Historic Rally Carnival - in the same Escort - will jog some fond memories among local spectators, who enjoyed watching him, as well as local drivers who competed against him.
Inaugurated in 2003, the King of the Carnival prize was won by a hair's breadth in its first year by local driver Barry Gale. The prize was conceived by Rally Carnival founder Greg Cozier and UK motor sport journalist and commentator Robin Bradford. They felt that competitors in all classes - and at all budget levels - should be rewarded for giving 110 percent. Points are scored for class position only, with a few bonus points available if a tie-break is necessary. If a foreign competitor wins the prize, he or she is provided with a free entry to the Rally Carnival the following year; if a local wins, he or she gets an entry to a foreign event, which varies from year to year - this year, it is the Manx Historic Rally on the Isle of Man in October.
Greg Cozier had this to say: "Everyone loves a trier, and the prize was created to reward those drivers who give their all and come out on top of their class, regardless of how expensive their car is. No-one who was there in June 2003 will ever forget Josef's drive at Vaucluse Raceway; not only did he win the Historic class, but he defeated car after car from all classes in the handicap races to come up against the fastest RallySprint man ever to drive at Vaucluse Raceway: Trevor Manning in his Lancer Evo VI. After the handicapped start (based on best race times), Josef's Mk1 Escort beat Trevor's Mitsubishi by half a bonnet in the three-kilometre RallySprint, as both cars were pushed well past their limits - an incredible spectacle".
"The King of the Carnival prize is the richest in Caribbean motorsport; we felt trophy keepsakes had their place, but we wanted to do something special that made a difference not only to the competitors' driving enjoyment and life-experience, but also to the promotion of the Carnival as a social affair.
"The prize is a memorial to Andrew Philips, a long-time motorsport competitor and enthusiast, who not only helped to shape the landscape of the sport in Barbados through his social chairmanship of the Barbados Rally Club, but also took many young drivers under his wing and offered encouragement, advice or outright assistance. Andrew is no longer with us, but his Halda SpeedPilot challenge trophy passes from one set of eager hands to another each year and helps to spread the spirit of what we do."
No pressure then, Mr. Pointinger!
For overseas competitors and spectators, the 2011 Barbados Historic Rally Carnival runs from 14 to 26 July - more details at barbadosrallycarnival.com
