SOL Barbados Rally - 2014

Update - The OUMF Rally team has once again successfully completed the SOL Rally Barbados!! The Inca Alfa proved its reliability to become one of less than half those starting to finish the event. Preliminary results were looking good with us placed 38th, so we were incredibly happy to find that the Alfa finished an outstanding 34th overall and 2nd in class, in a rally where 19 of the entrants were driving ex-WRC and Group B cars! We would once again like to thank all our great sponsors and supporters, without whom we certainly wouldn't have the opportunity to learn and compete at such a fantastic event! Particular thanks go to Ezra Prescod at SOL Petroleum and Barry Gale at Redline Fuels for coming to the rescue at the eleventh hour and supplying the team with vital race fuel for the event...

The OUMF Rally team in Barbados!
The OUMF Team has once again ventured to Barbados, continuing the trend of aiming high and achieving the seemingly impossible…though not without the assistance of our many generous and extremely supportive sponsors. Our particular thanks for long running support go to Phillips Tyres, Toyo Tyres, Zircotec, NGK Spark Plugs, T&T Motor Services, Helix Clutches and Virgin Atlantic without whom, we would not have been able to even think about returning to the rally mad isle with the Inca Alfa.

Mike Atwell of Atwell Exports and Atwell Holiday Villas deserves special mention for the loan of his stunning villa. Meanwhile the regular stalwarts Just Grillin' have been keeping the team fed after long days and nights at the Ullyetts Machine shop with their delicious food. Our great guide for the trip, the one and only RC Daniels, has been instrumental in aiding our arrival and helping us in any way he can to make us feel at home on the island. John Sealy's Land Rover has been a valuable and venerable steed, the only way to transport the team and their kit far and wide in the course of the event.

After arriving safely on Tuesday the team has been working non-stop to prepare the 'Inca' Alfa for the Sol Rally Barbados! The Ullyetts Machine Shop has once again welcomed the Alfa to its Caribbean home, along with the sea of  expert knowledge that is Geoffrey, George, the rest of the Ullyett family and last but no means least Chan. Their combined knowledge has taught the students a great deal about practical engineering, island rallying and the preparation standards required to survive this gruelling challenge. 
                                                              
Everything was going splendidly with the car being modified to cope with the heat and final checks producing positive results however it wasn't long until a problem reared its ugly head. Just after the first practice run for King of the Hill the diff disintegrated and with classic Alfa Romeo parts impossible to find on the island, the team was left in a difficult situation. 

Thankfully after pleas for help were sent out offers of assistance came thick and fast, with Mark Catterall at Quaife offering a custom built LSD, with Richard Norris providing the necessary bearing and seals from Classic Alfa to make the build complete. The task of collecting the parts and transporting them to Barbados fell to Jonathon and Michael Zerihan, who have risen to the challenge and sacrificed considerable luggage space to deliver.  Additional thanks goes to the AlfaBB Community, 3J Driveline, Cloverleaf Transmissions, Gran Turismo, and Highwood Alfa for leaping to our aid with help and advice. 

During the search for replacement parts work hasn't stopped. Stuart Knaggs at the Barbados Muffler Centre kindly donated his time and expertise into making the Alfa exhaust rally appropriate in look and sound and Autolink’s Shaun Lashley tracked and set up the car ready for the viciously tight and bumpy roads of Barbados.

With the SOL Rally Barbados just days away, and the car nearly ready, the OUMF team would like to thank all our fantastic supporters who have helped us achieve so much, and look forward to another successful result.