The Honda Prelude VTEC made it's first outing of JPIII RS's limited 1997 schedule a long way from home. Almost as far away from North Carolina as the Olympic Mountains of Washington state where the team saw its most recent competition in November. But instead of west, the direction traveled was southeast. The Texaco All-Stage International Rally held on the fantastic and friendly island of Barbados would prove to be something very different from the rallies in the U.S. This time, there would be no gravel, no sand, and no mud. This rally was 100% asphalt (as long as you stayed on the road). The stages were all much shorter (2 ~ 7 km). The rally fans were everywhere. Full pace-noting was allowed. And even the police helped out!

Riding along calling the pace notes was Charley Bradley. Charley came along with a good bit of tarmac pace-noted rallying experience from his Irish rallying past. The right seat (in the left-hand-drive Prelude) would prove to be just as important as the left seat in this rally. Charley would be barking out instructions 100 meters or so before every corner. One mistake out of a thousand instructions on his part could mean disaster.

Chris Ford also made the journey from North Carolina as Service Crew Chief. The Honda dealer in Barbados, M.G. Tucker, provided a fantastic place to do some final preparations to the car and supplied the best support before, during and after the rally that any competitor could hope for. Victor, Peter, and Adrian from the service department took perfect care of the car (and the crew) throughout the event with the help of Andy Bear from Harbor Lights. The dealership is located in the capital Bridgetown and backs up to the beautiful, clear, blue waters of the eastern Caribbean. That was a first for all of us -- seeing a car dealership on oceanfront property!

This event was the first round of the Tecmarine Caribbean Rally Championship. Teams from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guadaloupe, the U.K., and the JPIII RS Team from the U.S. competed in this event. 30 stages covering over 250 miles with 115 of them being flat-out Special Stages made up the event held all over the 14 mile long by 7 mile wide island over 2 days.

Barbados is a country which was under British rule until the mid-60s, so they drive on the left side of the road and the cars are right-hand drive. This took some getting used to in the US market (read left-hand drive) Prelude. After 2 days of driving all over the island learning the roads and taking pace notes (without A/C), I was getting a bit run down. However, now was the time to get the rally on the road.

The class structure in Barbados is completely different than that of the US. There are 4 Groups (depending on modifications) and up to 5 classes within each group (depending on bhp/ton or engine displacement). We were entered in Group 1 (fewest modifications, street-compound tires) Class 5 (140 bhp/ton ~ 160 bhp/ton). Also running in this class was a Bajan team in a Peugeot 205 GTI. While the class was small, the competition was far from it. Local knowledge definitely proved to be an advantage with our limited chances at reconnaissance. The Barbadians knew every road better than the backs of their hands. It was going to be tough to keep up with them.

49 cars were entered in the event and the start order is the opposite of that in the US and Europe. The lowest seeded cars (the slower ones) start first (The idea being these cars would help clean off the tarmac for the faster cars). The first stage was just a spectator "super special" in the parking lot of the national gymnasium. Over 2000 spectators were there alone! The crew now faced a lot of uncertainty at the start of the rally.

Road conditions seemed to be tricky as many of the local drivers had warned us about a sudden lack of grip. Competing on Michelin's fine street tire, the Pilot MXX3, was quite different from the Auto-X compound tires I was used to on asphalt. The sugar cane crop was in the middle of being harvested, so there would be a good bit of cane debris on the roads. Finally, the use of pace notes was going to take some getting used to.

Caution would be the proper approach during the first few stages and adjustments to driving style and just getting the proper feel of how the car would work on the Bajan roads would be what most of Saturday's 10 stages would be about. Unfortunately, this also meant time lost, and we finished the day 20 seconds behind the quick little French car in 35th position O/A.

Sunday started fairly early (about 9:00am) and Jim and Charley were definitely hoping to make up for some of the earlier time lost. However, Bajan rallying proved that to be VERY difficult. With short stages, narrow roads with tight hairpins meant the cars with lower weights were at a tremendous advantage. After all, horsepower does not get you through the turns, grip and your ability to use it are the key. The weight of the Prelude at ~2950 lbs. put us at a huge disadvantage. Undeterred, Jim pressed on and picked up the pace, turning up the heat on the 205 GTI 16 throughout the day through the next 10 stages trading stage times. But on stage 23, as the sun went down, a drive shaft broke on the Peugeot, and Fields had to limp to the finish. At the time, we had no idea this had happened and continued to attack. The final 7 stages went well for the team, run in the dark. The Hella lights lit up the dark roads beautifully allowing near daylight conditions for the team and they went on to pick up 5 more overall places and finished 29th overall and first in Group 1, Class 5.

As the newspaper headline says, the experience was a learning one. While Jim was far from satisfied with the Overall finish position, the team was very pleased to come away with the class win! The car is returning home undamaged and ready to start preparations for the 1998 season in Group 5. We hope to return to the island in the coming years. Overall, it was a fantastic experience. The Bajan people were great, the competition was great, the press was great and the fans were unbelievable.

Now, it's time to prepare for 1998. One of the first things that will be done will be to put the car on a diet! The other first thing will be to secure a new major sponsor for the 1998 season.

JPIII Rally Sport wishes to thank, once again the following:

M. G. Tucker - Honda dealer of Barbados

For their fine hospitality, first rate service and fantastic support throughout the event.

The Barbados Rally Club

For putting on a fine event and inviting me to come play with them.

Tecmarine Shipping Lines

For shipping the car safely to and from Barbados and helping to sponsor the event. (Martika, you are a lifesaver!)

Texaco

For playing an instrumental role in putting on the event.