Two-time Rally Barbados winner Paul Nagle, is returning to this year’s BCIC Rally Barbados, albeit in a different capacity.
Nagle, who won the prestigious rally event in 2008 and 2009 as co-driver with Kris Meeke, will feature this time around as the International Safety Delegate.
Since retiring in 2022, Nagle, Ireland’s most successful co-driver, has taken a keen interest in the organisational aspects of the sport, He was recently appointed as the FIA Sporting Delegate and Observer for 10 of the 14 rounds of this year’s European Rally Trophy.
This year’s Rally Barbados is the 34th edition of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event and will run from May 31 to June 2.
Nagle won the 2008 edition with Meeke in a Toyota Corolla WRC, despite the car running with only two-wheel-drive for the final day. They then repeated as champions the following year in a Subaru Impreza WRC S9.
Nagle and Meeke also went on to win the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for Peugeot in 2009 before progressing to the World Rally Championship, winning five WRC rounds for Citroen between 2013 and 2018.
With the late Craig Breen, Nagle also won the Irish Tarmac Championship in 2019 and claimed a string of WRC podiums and top 10 finishes for Hyundai before retiring.
He attended last year’s Rally Barbados as deputy safety officer, working with event director Neil Barnard and clerk of the course, Barry Gale.
Since then, he has attended a number of courses to qualify as an FIA Steward.
“When the opportunity came up, I was excited to have the chance to give something back to the sport and to move on a little bit for myself,” Nagle said.
“I was delighted to be part of the team in 2023 and I felt it was an excellent event and I really enjoyed working alongside Neil, Barry and all the officials. They all have great passion for the sport and they put in huge amount of work. It’s a pleasure to be involved with all of them.”
Barnard is delighted to welcome Nagle back to the island.
“Paul’s experience and knowledge is extensive and his input and assistance on last year’s event was fantastic. He worked very closely with our teams and provided us with enhanced oversight in the areas of safety, on-time performance and overall event execution. We learnt a lot and I am thrilled to have him back this year,” Barnard said.
(PR/RB)
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