What gets you passionate?
I remember my first ever heartbreak! For many it is their first relationship, but for me it was when he sold that car. Thankfully, shortly after, I got to fall in love with a new toy- the AE111 BZR. My favourite thing about this car was the way it sounded and the way it threw me back in my seat
What are you passionate about?
If you’re anything like me, the answer has always (and I mean ALWAYS) been cars. From as young as I can remember, I have been surrounded by petrol sipping chunks of metal on wheels, including the persons who celebrate them and come together collectively to share whatever they have to offer in the ecosystem we know as automotive culture.
The immersion that I have experienced since I was an infant is documented. Growing up in the late ’90s and early 2000’s surrounded by a wine-red Toyota GT turbo Starlet and later, a Toyota AE111 Levin BZ-R while going to shows and Motorsport events sparked my love for the whole automotive culture.
PS - if anyone from Barbados Rally Club or any other organisers are reading this, we need that Lower Brighton to Greens St. George stage again please and thank you.
Me at 3 years old
In fact, I grew up in Brighton St. George where the rally stage was just a stones throw away. I remember Paul Bourne’s Subaru Impreza WRC with the iconic Plus and Banks beer liveries, his rival Roger Skeete in his blue and yellow Havoline Peugeot and Ford Escort, “Electric Micey” Trevor Manning and my favourite of all, Josh Read in his then Automotive Art livery Toyota KPseries Starlet. There was just something about the way he drove so perfectly in control while on the limit that made him an absolute hero in my eyes and one day I would love to be able to have a conversation with him.
I have a deep love for rallying and many visceral experiences in my life step from these events. I can think about Kris Meeke’s first rally in Barbados with the WRC Corolla where he made a handbrake turn look extremely easy! This same turn gave everyone else, including Paul Bourne, a challenge to get through.
(Todds-Woodland) to the track and Mark Maloney’s fire breathing Mazda RX3 with the Guinness livery (still the best sounding car I’ve ever heard), Bizzy with the Silver Bullet and Roger Mayers with his ex rally Ford Focus that seemed invincibly and unfairly fast.
When I wasn’t at events, I was riding around with my old man in his GT Starlet. I would always grin uncontrollably whenever he did pulls. For a good part of my childhood, I loved the attention that a red 2 door hatchback would draw every morning when I was dropped off at school, always drawing a crowd of gleeful admirers.
me at 4,5 maybe?
I remember my first ever heartbreak! For many it is their first relationship, but for me it was when he sold that car. Thankfully, shortly after, I got to fall in love with a new toy- the AE111 BZR. My favourite thing about this car was the way it sounded and the way it threw me back in my seat. Absolute machine. When I wasn’t riding around or at the track or in the elements at rally, I was daydreaming about or drawing cars ( my mother still jokes about it to this day).
the Sheriff and I in 2013/2014 maybe?
Another thing I got into was capturing memories when I was much younger. Looking back, what was then just a casual young enthusiast getting a few quick photos with cars was really just a precursor to what would later become something I would take much further in content creation. Along the way, I got to meet a few of my heroes including “The Sheriff” Roger Skeete, as well as former Suzuki SX4 WRC driver Toni Gardemeister and GT3 driver Niki Lanik. In the meanwhile, I would be filling the storage on my BlackBerry phones and later iPhones with many car photos and videos. I would even take photos whenever I travel, especially on long road trips.
Race Of Champions or Top Gear. I can’t remember which but the MP4-12C and the very beautiful Ferrari Enzo
Audi Sport Quattro S1 replica at rally a few years back
photo of Mark Maloney’s Mazda RX3 in the Rockstar Energy livery taken on a BlackBerry 8320
my first attempt at photo editing
Everything came full circle! I grew up drawing cars but besides art, I always had an interest in mechanical engineering. I studied auto mechanics at the SJPP and recently I found a new way to express myself through my art and to combine the three things I love; photography, cars and engineering. After school I had a few jobs including ‘Island Safari’ and ‘Sun Tours’. I worked at the airport from December 2016 and during that time, I took advantage of the opportunities that were open to me. Some of those opportunities include learning and working on aircraft ground support equipment and when no one was looking, getting a few shots with the planes. I always had an interest in fighter jets but during that time I really grew to appreciate commercial flights as well.
me in one of the four turbines in an Airbus A340
Airbus A321 tail of a jet Blue flight
I worked at the airport until 2020 when the pandemic forced me out of work. During the time home, I began to take content creation more seriously and increased the quantity and more importantly for me, the quality of my art. I used this extra free time to let my creativity reign by learning how to use photoshop, taking inspiration from my favorite creators and most importantly- spending hours doing exactly what I want to do to share with the world and whether that means I have a style or I totally missed, I’m okay with the outcome because I know that I got to contribute my art to the community.
So, I told you what I get passionate about. Now I think it’s time that I tell you who I am. Some of you may know my Instagram handle, ‘@Holli.Art’. For those of you who don’t, I go by Shad Holli and I’m here to say that I’m now part of the Sleeper Forest family. I’m a content creator who puts an artistic twist on photos, videos and renders and very soon 3D modelling. Everything seems to be coming full circle, one day hopefully I’ll be designing parts for you all to enjoy but until then, I hope you enjoy the written content. Ciao!
Jaguar F-Pace S rendered as a rally car
I don't even have a competitive bone in my body
We caught up with Jason Downey and Kristina Pinto after Sol Rally Barbados, for a chat. We learned more about them, what inspires them, and drove them to take part in the 2020 rally. Find out about the spills and thrills and the unique opportunities had when persons pursue their passions with the spirit of persistence.
We caught up with Jason Downey and Kristina Pinto after Sol Rally Barbados, for a chat. We learned more about them, what inspires them, and drove them to take part in the 2020 rally. Find out about the spills and thrills and the unique opportunities had when persons pursue their passions with the spirit of persistence.
Enjoy the Image Gallery Below!
Photos By: Alexandre Haynes & Jody Forte
So until next time! Happy Motoring!
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This Canary's magic may surprise you.
To build a car correctly having a workspace to do so is important. What I really love about SDRR is the way they have taken a passion for working with the passions of their staff. The passion of Motorsport. They have allowed this car to be built on-site, and they have offered some assistance as well, for major hydraulic oriented parts and spares needed to make the build happen.
I think Rally has a lot of expectations behind it. There’s so much footage of purpose-built cars tearing up gravel, tarmac, and even ice stages around the world. Ridiculous anti-lag systems and fire all over their business end. Needless to say, this is why so many of us really love Rally as a discipline. Lets be honest, even if it was just a fad, we have all wanted to be a rally driver, in the hot seat of a car doing 160 kmph with only a twitch of the steering wheel separating you from a tree or post and shaving 0.223 seconds in a stage. What though, does it take to be a Rally driver? To have a car that’s competitive? To have that crucial ability to change adverse circumstances into learning experiences and character-building opportunities?
Meet Pierre Clarke. During the day he’s an employee of S.D.R.R Hydraulic & Industrial Spares Inc. (SDRR) here in Barbados, but on his off-time, he moonlights as a Rally Driver. He’s been doing pretty well too. We have covered one of SDRR’s cars already, a K-swapped Honda Fit. In their garage though, there was another project coming together, Pierre’s EK 4 Honda Civic. Despite the annual Rally Barbados season not coming off as planned because of the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020, I am pretty glad I was still able to have a first-hand experience with the car being prepped and put together along with SDRR.
Pierre started rallying back in 2013, so he’s about 7 years into his rally career at this time of writing, and he really has had his share of trials. He’s experienced crashes, rollovers, and had to deal with the injuries that come with these. None of these have deterred him from pressing on. A serious crash can really damage your confidence as a driver, I’m sure many persons who would’ve spent some time putting together a rally car out of pocket, only to ram it into a telephone pole, trying to shave off half a second would rather just give up. Not Pierre, he pressed on, showing admirable tenacity about his craft.
There’s no magic behind a competitive car
Time for some hard truths! Magic doesn’t make your car fast, but when you build it correctly putting time and effort into it, there’s definitely a magic that results from the car. An important factor in building a car correctly is having a proper workspace. What I really love about SDRR is the way they have taken a passion for working with the passions of their staff. The passion of Motorsport. They have allowed this car to be built on-site, and they have offered assistance for major hydraulic oriented parts and spares needed to make the build happen.
Pierre has experienced the bittersweet challenge of building a second a rally car. He decided to start with a good base. He acquired his EK 4 out of the UK, where the team at Racinglines oversaw the preparation of the car, so it would meet the safety requirements for a rally. Class requirements limit the number of engine options available for the car. Pierre competed in a class that’s similar internationally as Clubman last year, but now the car is in Modified 1 (M1) class. This means he has to keep the car, drive-train wise, pretty close to what it would’ve been built with from the factory but he’s allowed some slight modifications. The Honda EK series, saw it’s halo engine with the EK 9’s Type R variant, which used the B16 motor.
This B16 despite being a halo engine doesn’t mean it can do without modification. In fact, this is really Pierre’s first time using an engine that has been modified, it’s only smaller mods that help with the flow of the head. He’s replaced the factory throttle body with a Skunk 2 throttle body, and he port matched the manifold so it opened up to the head more. He also dropped in some larger cams in the head as well, this pushed the power band of the engine more to the top end where it would usually sit during a stage.
On the Exhaust side, the same treatment of port matching was used; this helped the exhaust gasses escape at a higher rate. What this means is that the engine will breathe better and be far more responsive to throttle positions. Besides this, the engine is still pretty much a standard Type R B16 motor.
The oil pan was baffled, to prevent oil starvation during cornering. This by far is one of the most important modifications you can do to a race-oriented engine. Especially a front-wheel-drive car. Oil starvation is probably at the top of the list of things that kill an engine in a build. Keeping engine temperatures down is also important as well because the engine is mildly tuned, a standard double cored half size radiator and an oil cooler will do the trick for the coolant, and this Setrab oil cooler works for keeping the oil temperatures down in the car.
Showing an image of his modified oil pan
Sure, this is a standard B16 with a few mods for flow, it’s nothing over the top, but it’s reliable, it has never stopped running and it’s putting its power down to the road. In a rally, this is by far more important than an engine at its limit thats unreliable and finicky. The engine of a car doesn’t make the car entirely, it’s what the engine is teamed up with that’s important. The chassis, and the suspension.
AN old block
A drivers’ Car
I’ve mentioned building a second rally car as a bittersweet experience. This refers to the gains and losses incurred when it comes to what a team would’ve spent on development for the previous car and what goes into the new car. Pierre would’ve spent a few years developing the car as a package which made it competitive for him at that point in time. The team would lose that research when going into a new chassis. On the other hand, a new platform brings with it, new possibilities. This can change for the better what you may be able to accomplish in a season, and so far, despite some hardships last season they are confident the car’s weak points are now covered.
It’s a spartan interior. Just the essentials are displayed on the dash, it’s funny, but he doesn’t use a speedometer, no time to check how fast you’re going when you’re going fast, it’s ironic. The tachometer and the shift light is very prominent, as well as water temp, and oil pressure. The car still uses the standard gearshift, it feels “notchy” enough and it communicates well with the driver.
Ah yes, the pedal box was completely changed to this Tilton kit, which gives great feedback when it comes to braking, the brakes are now fully manual, and it takes some getting used to, really have to press the brakes like a madman. This is a huge modification to the character of the car. We take it for granted how easy our vacuum-assisted brakes are, but having the tactile feel of your calipers on the rotors can really be intuitive when it comes to gauging needed stopping power for a rally stage. When a driver climbs this learning curve, it’ll be difficult to go back to the more humane way of braking.
The team has invested man-hours making this car a driver’s car. Rally is a sport, where drivers gain one up on their competition through corners, and driver confidence. Class restrictions, call for limitations in power, so gains are made where the car makes contact to the road. This is why trust in your machine is so essential to making a car competitive.
With added suspension modifications a car will corner at higher speed. This in turn changes the fluid dynamics of the car’s factory fuel system. A car starving for fuel, won’t be competitive, this fuel system was built entirely in-house at SDRR, with a surge tank which keeps fuel under pressure, this negates side to side movement, and gives the car a constant fuel supply in any situation.
A rally Car takes more than just a driver
When it comes to Rally legends, we talk about the names of the drivers, sometimes the name of the co-driver is lost in the fanfare so imagine what happens to that engineer who found the issue in a gearbox at the service stop, or the engineer who patched together a fix so the car could go on to win. We forget that it’s not the driver that makes the team great but it’s the results of the chemistry of a group that comes together with a specific goal in mind.
They are some persons on the team though, who weren’t physically there while I was shooting this article, but I could see the results of the work they put into the car. The core team at SDRR and Pierre’s co-workers really do share that same passion and love for Motorsport. Birds of a feather really do flock together and it’s exciting to see what results with when the opportunity arises.
At the outset, I asked 3 questions. What does it take to be a Rally driver? What does it take to have a car that’s competitive? What does it take to have that crucial ability to change adverse circumstances into learning experiences and character-building opportunities? From what I found it, I think I can answer those 3 questions, firstly it takes tenacity and perseverance. Secondly, there’s no magic behind a competitive car, take your time and do your research, build it to the specifications you need and drive the car so you can make more realistic decisions about what changes need to be made. Lastly, how can you take adverse circumstances and turn them into character building opportunities? Facing your weak points, working on them and having a reliable team, that bolsters confidence when looking into the unknown.
Finishing up the shoot and interview with Pierre and the team, we left off with the car basically reassembled and starting. A video of the car will be posted so you can take a look and hear what it sounds like for yourself. Pierre was waiting for his exhaust manifold to come back from the fabricator. This won’t be the last we will hear from them. Once the car is up and running, look out for another update on this Canary. I was really happy for the chance to work with SDRR to make this content!
So until next time! Happy Motoring!
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Let's never forget the process
Habits which make us successful at what we want to accomplish. So our habits if we keep them in check can bring us success. This requires discipline, attention to detail, mindfulness, and perseverance.
Habits, they make us who we really are. If they are good habits they can help us to be successful if they aren't good habits they may keep in the same place all the time or maybe even bring us down.
Success surely is a learned behavior, when we think of success, people usually associate it with habits. Habits which make us successful at what we want to accomplish. So our habits if we keep them in check can bring us success. This requires discipline, attention to detail, mindfulness, and perseverance.
How can this be related to Motorsport? A well working machine requires these same qualities if it is to work. I was given the opportunity to watch these habits in practice when I went to visit the Neil Corbin Racing Team, working on their rally car, preparing it for some development as the season this year got started.
Neil Corbin, the driver of this Toyota Starlet, has been rallying since 2003, with this same machine I might add. This car has been through a lot in its development. Neil started in the SOL Barbados Rally event. He basically jumped head first into the deep end of the pool. This being his first rally event, he pushed hard through the stages, but after an afternoon shower, he acquired his DNF from a tree spectating the event.
Warming the engine oll, so it flows out the engine when it's drained.
This didn't deter Neil though, and 15 years later, he's still here, his car has been through a ton of changes since then. He's built his reputation as a driver not to be reckoned with.
The idea goes around that if you think you are good at driving you'll do well in Rally, I mean it seems pretty obvious right? But that's not the case. Driving is only really one aspect of Rally, driving may even be the smallest aspect of a Rally. Neil has over the years along with his team developed habits which have made them successful in this grueling Motorsport. I was able to have a look behind the scenes at what some of these habits were. Today they were taking the engine out of the car so it could be worked on, he was going to make some changes, in an effort to get as much power and reliability out of it.
It started with warming the oil up in the car so it would flow freely from the engine. Once that was flowing they set up the drain and let that flow as they did a bolt check on the car. Bolt checks on a rally car are the most important parts of maintenance. As the car vibrates on the stage, it basically shakes itself loose, so constant bolt checks ensure important mechanical parts stay together and the car makes it through.
At the heart of Neil's Starlet, sits a 20 valve 4A-GE engine. The versatility of this engine never ceases to impress me. Those huge ITB's and the straight 3” stainless steel exhaust give a hearty scream as he rises through the rev range.
The motor has been through a ton of work, all the internals are now forged and compression has been raised, the engine has been built by Peter Hinkson, here in Barbados, the yellow color stands as a visual code for the engine size and level of modification it has gone through so Peter can keep track of it. Porting and Polishing the engine has been the job of Kurt Ward, he fine tunes the built engine. Jason King maps the engine using Mega-squirt 3 engine management.
Ceramic Coated Piston
The Pistons are ceramic coated to survive the heat and demands needed from it, as it powers through the rally stages. This engine makes around 195 hp and it a screams, a lot!
Looking under the car, the 6 speed tractive sequential gearbox sits attached to the 4A-GE engine via an adapter plate, this one was fabricated in Ireland for this particular use. Over the years, the modifications to the car adds up. Its wheelbase has been extended to that of the AE86, and its rear axle is now a Winters Performance Spool axle rear axle. This behaves like a a welded differential helping the car with cornering making it more predictable in the corners on uneven surfaces.
Even small things like weight distribution has been given attention, allowing it to be as close to 50/50 distribution as possible. Stopping the car is the job is a set of twin piston 300 mm AP racing discs at the front and pair of single pistons at the rear. Reiger's suspension at the rear of the car, and Bilstein's at the front allow the car to be fine tuned for optimum stability.
Neil and Shaun make quite the team.
The process continued with the removal of the driveshaft so the gearbox could be disconnected from the engine, as well as the exhaust down-pipe. This gives clearance for the engine to be removed from the bay. They were taking things a bit easier as there wasn't a rally event in progress.
“Whats your dream car?”
“This, maybe you know, a Supra with 2 step or something would be nice, but I bought 3 of these so I think it’s a Starlet.”
Being able to watch Neil and Shaun work together on this car, really brought things into perspective for me. Onlookers tend to take the amount of work and development for a rally car for granted. Neil has worked on this car tirelessly over the years of his rally career and he hasn't given up.
It gives testimony that our habits have a direct effect on the outcome of our actions. For Neil, he has been successful in his career due to the good habits he has developed into a process. This process though unseen comes to light for a few split seconds while he's screaming past you at the rally stages. Lets never forget the process, amazing things always take a little time.
“Thanks to long-standing relationships with local businesses, they have helped me achieve my goals and without them, we couldn’t be racing. Companies like Nassco, H Jason Jones, Auto Solutions, Automotive Art, and Emtage Electric have supported me along the way and they deserve special recognition for supporting local motorsport!”
Thanks to the Corbin Racing Team, for this experience with them! Until next time, this is Alex, Happy Motoring!
Cutting Floor
Motorsport on a budget!
The learning curve for Autocross may be a little steep, but once you get the hang of it, it's incredibly rewarding! Pitting drivers against each other in friendly close, tight tracks push drivers to be better, builds sportsmanship and increases experience behind the wheel. the building blocks of starting a driving career. If I wanted to be a better driver, I know where I would be on weekends.
Autocross (Auto X) in case you called it Auto “X” is one of the best ways amateur drivers can learn the limitations of their car, and professional drivers to hone their skills. Globally it's a sport that quickly growing in popularity because of the accessibility of it and here in Barbados, we are happy to have our own community of Autocrossers.
What is AutoX?
Autocross is a motorsport that is conducted in enclosed areas like parking lots or sections of racetracks in this case. Courses are constructed with cones, placed in boxes, if the cones are hit or moved from their boxes then a penalty is added to your course time. It’s pretty straightforward. Cones point for slaloms left or right, and hairpin turns. On the day racing, a course is made and the drivers have a short recce on foot. After which they complete a couple runs of the course to find out their average times then they are placed in brackets.
How to Join?
Autocross events occur at “Vaucluse Raceway” under the supervision of the Barbados Rally Club. Starting Autocross is pretty easy, being part of a racing club is not required. As a beginner, you would pay a small insurance fee. Once you your feet are wet, you can become either a temporary member or an annual member of the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) with a type C license. As a temp, you pay per event. Full members race in the full annual Championship.
This is exactly why it’s growing in popularity, and why if you're an auto enthusiast who wants to experience some fun and a rush of adrenaline you should join! It's cheap and non-committal.
What to drive?
Whether it’s your daily driver or your project, it’s the perfect time to drive and learn. Most drivers usually have a project car they are sinking some time in. As they start to outperform the car, they can gauge what upgrades they would want to go to with. It may be power increases, weight reduction or suspension etc.
After going to a few events over the year, I have seen some vehicles undergo some changes, and it’s refreshing to see. Despite the mechanical issues that come with a project car, gaining experience in repairs and tuning is too good to pass up at Autocross.
Understanding your vehicle at higher speeds is completely different to learning your vehicle at lower speeds. Most things you learnt during the time you worked towards your license should be thrown out the window. Differing hand positions, throtle and gearing habits are all part of the change. Fortunately, for persons starting out, we have some professional drivers who take the time out to teach, Christopher "Teach" McFarlane is one of them.
“I wish I could do this every weekend!”
Rewards
The learning curve for Autocross may be a little steep, but once you get the hang of it, it's incredibly rewarding! Pitting drivers against each other in friendly close, tight tracks push drivers to be better, builds sportsmanship and increases experience behind the wheel. The building blocks of starting a driving career. If I wanted to be a better driver, I know where I would be on weekends.
This is Alex, until next time, Happy Motoring!
Go check out the official results of the Annual Championship HERE, Congratulations to Christopher Mcfarlane as well for his sweeping victory, take a look at some footage below!