HIGHWORTH’S former British Ladies Rally Champion Shelly Taunt has unfinished business in the Caribbean after she and co-driver Julie Murphy retired on day one of the Sol Rally Barbados last year.

The team’s determination to repeat what Taunt describes as 'an amazing experience' looked set to be thwarted by a clash of dates, however, they have now acquired a second car - a Subaru Impreza N10 - specifically to ship to Sol RB16.

Taunt was on the horns of a dilemma, torn between her new-found interest in Sol RB and a long-term commitment to the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

She said: “Our first visit to Sol Rally Barbados was such an amazing experience, right from the start of planning at the beginning of the year to coming home in June.

“Before we left last year, we had already decided we were going back. The rally, the people and the place are amazing.”

The Barbados Rally Club’s premier event, Sol RB16 will run from June 3-5, with Scrutineering and the King of the Hill ‘shakedown’ event the previous weekend, May 28 and 29.

Last year’s four-week gap between Barbados and Goodwood has been cut to three, creating a timing headache for the Highworth driver Taunt added: “We collected the car at 11.30am on the Wednesday of Goodwood week. Thanks to arrangements made by Jeanne Crawford and the Rally Club team, our car was released first by Geest, along with Roger Duckworth’s WRC.

“We drove 20 minutes up the road to Goodwood and straight to our service bay. The car was still full of spares inside, with the roof rack bursting on top.

“My fabulous mechanics - Gordon Guest, Luke Perry and Matt McCabe - got straight to work and transformed it from a slightly bruised tarmac car into a shiny clean gravel car.”

Each driver at Goodwood, on the Hill or Forest Rally Stage, is individually invited to participate.

“It is one of the biggest motor sport garden parties in the world,” Taunt said. “Last year was our fourth consecutive appearance - to be invited is a honour and one of the highlights of my career.

“Giving passenger rides to the public is fantastic, just to see their faces, and I also help raise funds for the Richard Burns Foundation by giving rides to their guests.”

Taunt has won more than 20 titles since she started rallying in 1995.