Sol Rally Barbados 2010 marked the 20th Anniversary of the inaugural running of the Club’s International 

All-Stage Rally; no fewer than 18 first-timers brought to 235 the number of overseas competitors hosted by the 

event in the past decade, a total organisers anticipate will pass the 250 mark next year.

Drivers and co-drivers from the wider Caribbean now number 57 – and that would have been 61, 

but for two first-time crews withdrawing after damaging their cars elsewhere in the region - 

while the International list stands at 178, from 15 countries; that total would also have been larger, 

but for late withdrawals from competitors affected by the continuing financial crisis. Over the four-month period 

that on-line entries were open, Sol Rally Barbados 2010 was oversubscribed by almost 20 per cent.

Rally Chairman Barry Gale is upbeat about the prospects for 2011: “Our first enquiry about the date came within 

days of this year’s Prizegiving, and questions are being asked on a few rally forums, particularly in Europe. 

We have enjoyed a steady growth in interest from Ireland, where there has been a valuable increase in media 

coverage in recent years . . . and I’m optimistic about welcoming more first-timers next year.

“To be honest, the level of support for our event surprised us this year, given the difficult times in which we 

have all been living; clearly, we must be getting something right! One thing I’ll admit we did fall down on was 

the date – by sticking with the last weekend in May, we lost one or two regular supporters, for whom UK school 

holidays play an important part in the decision to compete. We have consulted all the right people this time, 

and have been assured that the dates we’re announcing today fit perfectly.”

Beyond announcing the dates, the Club will not confirm any further details until later in the year, 

as Gale confirms: “We have already started kicking around some new ideas for the format, carefully studying all 

the locations to see what works, and what could perhaps be improved; decisions will not be made in a rush - 

rest assured, though, we are continuing in our never-ending search for the ‘best Rally Barbados yet’!”

From small beginnings in 1990 as a one-day rally for around 30 local competitors, Rally Barbados – 

it was renamed in 2003 - has grown into the Caribbean’s biggest annual international motor sport event, 

attracting as many as 90 crews, one-third of them from overseas. It is one of the strongest sporting brand names 

in the region, particularly for visitors from Europe, and a major contributor to the island’s tourism product and 

foreign exchange earnings.