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Season’s Greetings from Bushy Park Barbados
As we approach the end of our second full year of operations, the management and staff of Bushy Park Barbados wish all our friends and patrons a very Happy Christmas and all good wishes for the New Year. May you enjoy the Festive Season with your families and step forward into 2017 rested and refreshed.
We will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, then on January 1, 2017. Apart from those special days, we will be open, with our full range of Driving Experiences available. Please book well in advance to avoid disappointment.
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Radical Carnival marks 20th Anniversary for UK firm
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The first major event on Bushy Park’s 2017 calendar - Radical Carnival on January 28/29 – coincides with the British race and road car manufacturer’s 20th Anniversary. Radical Sportscars personnel packed the first overseas entries at the firm’s Peterborough headquarters last week in readiness for the 10-day trans-Atlantic voyage.
Radical has built more than 2,000 cars, progressing from the iconic Clubsport model revealed in early and which established the company’s reputation, through the SR3, launched in 2002 – this is the model raced in our Suzuki Challenge Series – to the awesome 380bhp SR8, which brought Le Mans Prototype pace to the national racing scene and holds the production car lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Entering 2017 a core range of five models means that Radical caters for a wider audience than ever, with a ladder spanning from track rookie in the newly-revised SR1 introductory model to the RXC GT3, suitable for international endurance racing.
While the early cars competed within existing sports car championships, Radical had built sufficient by 1999 to launch their own one-make series; over time, the success of the UK model spawned similar competitions world-wide and Radical now has a distributor network that stretches from Europe to Australia, the Far East and North America. But the one-make series are only part of the story – many of Radical’s models can be (and are) made road-legal, while the SR9 has been used in international competition, right up to the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The January event will feature a welcome BBQ on the Monday, catamaran cruise on Wednesday, with Tuesday and Thursday allocated for testing. A much-needed ‘rest day’ on Friday will precede the race weekend, with three races each day, as the visitors take part in the second Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Winter Cup. The event will also play host to the Swift Winter Cup, with a Prize-giving planned for the Bushy Park Cafeteria to round off the weekend, an occasion greatly enjoyed by the visitors this year.
https://www.facebook.com/BushyParkBarbados/
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As this Newsletter was approaching press time, we were hoping to confirm a revised date for the 2017 Barbados Festival of Speed, after it had become clear that the original February date would place too much pressure on all concerned to deliver an enhanced product for the event’s second edition. Changes to the Formula 1 calendar, however, which have affected events across the world, mean that we cannot yet announce the new date. Keep in touch with us on Facebook to be among the first to know.
https://www.facebook.com/BushyParkBarbados/
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‘Schools Out’ at Bushy Park Barbados
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As schoolchildren across the island prepare for the Christmas Holidays, Bushy Park has been forging ever-closer links with the community in recent weeks. After exhibiting at the Providence Christmas Gift Show on the last Sunday in November, we sponsored last week’s Wednesday evening performance of Shrek, this year’s pantomime from St Winifred’s School . . . and what an amazing evening it was!
Everyone involved in the production deserves huge congratulations on a quite incredible show . . . the performers (of course), but also everyone working backstage, those who built the sets, designed and made the costumes, it was a consummate team effort, with which Bushy Park was proud to be associated. Well done! Our team had a brilliant time with our Bushy Park karts and snowmen and enjoyed interacting with everyone there, of all ages. If you didn't get your Driving Experience vouchers at St Winifred’s, they are also available at www.bushyparkbarbados.com.
Our very popular School Tours are under way once again, and we welcomed The Lodge School last Tuesday. Around 90 pupils, escorted by seven members of staff, enjoyed a tour of the facility, the chance to learn something about the history of Bushy Park, and what we are doing today. There’s no better way to get a feel for what we do than our Karting Experience, so there was a chance to do that, too.
If you are a parent or teacher wanting to arrange a visit by your school – we welcome School Tours on weekdays – then please call 537-1360 . . .
https://www.facebook.com/BushyParkBarbados/
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Christian Hinds is 2016 BKA Champion Driver
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Christian Hinds was crowned 2016 SDRR Motorsports/Chefette Restaurants Champion Driver at the annual Barbados Karting Association (BKA) Gala at Bushy Park 10 days ago. Hinds, who had previously won the title in 2011, took time to thank his team and pit crew, who cheered loudly as he received the Champions Trophy.
Hinds scored 569 points on his way to a second consecutive X30 125 class crown, beating the Easykart 60cc and 100cc Champions, Kyffin Simpson (532pts) and Sebastian Thompson (517pts) respectively, in a close battle for the overall title. Easykart 125cc Lights Champion Joshua Maloney won the award for the Fastest Lap of the Year, while Easykart 60cc drivers Colin Bradshaw (Most Improved Driver) and Arman Suleman (Rookie of the Year) were also honoured. Dana Bradshaw (Easykart 60cc) received the Motoring News Challenge Trophy as highest-placed female from Shannon Kirton, the island’s FIA Women in Motorsport delegate.
Reporting on a successful 2016 season, BKA Chairperson, Norman Catwell said: “The participation this year was excellent; the grid was full of karters in different classes. We had tight racing, close racing every event.” Noting the part played in the recent growth of karting by the introduction of the Easykart series, Catwell added: “It really is arrive and drive, that is why karting is growing in Barbados.”
Catwell also paid tribute to the contribution made to the BKA in recent years by his predecessor Stephen Mayers, along with senior race official David Reece, while a number of Appreciation Awards were presented to volunteers.
Champion Driver & X30 125 Champion – Christian Hinds (569pts)
Overall Champions: Easykart 125cc Lights - Joshua Maloney (395pts); Easykart 125cc Masters – Stuart Garcia (460pts); Easykart 100cc – Sebastian Thompson (517pts); Easykart 60cc - Kyffin Simpson (532pts); 125 Shifter – Dominic Straker (60pts); Yamaha 310 Champion – Andrew Croney (268pts)
Appreciation Awards: Michael Carter, Richard Daniel, Derek Edwards, Colin Goodman, Natalie Maloney, Owen Proverbs, Kurt Seabra and Winston Thompson
https://www.facebook.com/barbadoskartingassociation/
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Our monthly update on other goings-on behind the scenes at Bushy Park Barbados:
• Bushy Park Barbados CEO Mark Maloney was one of the featured speakers during a formal session of the Spirit of Barbados Mega-FAM earlier this month. Organised by Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc’s New York office, which is these days home to Petra Roach (who had been a key player in setting up Top Gear Festival Barbados, when she was in the London office), the familiarisation visit hosted more than 140 travel agents and industry partners from the US market, who arrived on a dedicated JetBlue flight. The aim was to help them discover and embrace the ‘Spirit of Barbados’ and, judging by comments on social media, it was a huge success . . .
• if your Christmas present list is still incomplete, then Bushy Park Barbados has lots to offer - Karting, Kidz Karting, Off-road Karting, Suzuki Swift and Radical SR3 Driving Experiences, or you can buy Christmas Vouchers, too . . .
• are you still looking for a venue for that Festive Function? If so, call us urgently to discuss it on 537-1360, and we will do our best to accommodate you in our Clubhouse and VIP facility . . .
• Bushy Park is joining major sporting venues across the world by installing full-arena lighting, which will greatly increase the potential of the facility. The contractor is the American firm Musco Lighting, a world leader in customised lighting solutions for a wide variety of venues, from national monuments such as the Statue of Liberty, through container terminals and parking lots to Formula 1 Grand Prix venues in Bahrain and at Yas Marina in Dubai. BPCI’s Operations Manager Amy Willis says: “We know that evening race meets are popular, with drivers and fans, as the cooler night air is good for engines and also more comfortable for the patrons sitting on The Hill. So we have been researching a permanent way of facilitating that . . . and will also be able to offer our popular Driving Experiences after the sun has gone down!”
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January 28/29 – Radical Carnival
Suzuki Challenge Series Winter Cup, rounds 1 & 2
February 12 – BKA SDRR Motorsports/Chefette Championship, round 1
February 19 – Open Track Day
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A huge thank-you to our Partners & Sponsors for contributing to our success in 2016
Automotive Art
Banks Holdings
Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc
Bjerkhamn Associates
Calvin Alkins Customs Brokers/Se-Sash
Cemtile
Chickmont
The Crane Resort
Digicel
Duratile
Esso
GEL Group
Glacial Pure
Glassesco
Lewis Hamilton
ICBL
Infra Rentals
Ionics
Massy United Insurance
MQI
Nassco
Preconco
Radical Sportscars
RBC (Barbados) Trading Bank Corporation
Ready Block
Rock Hard Cement
Seaboard Marine
Simpson Motors
Sol
Terra Caribbean
Unna Living
Virgin Airways
C O Williams Construction
Williams Equipment
Williams Industries
. . . and also to all our friends in the local, regional and international media who have devoted valuable air time and column inches to events at Bushy Park Barbados.
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