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Something for all the family at Williams International
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This weekend’s Williams Industries International Race Meet promises patrons a weekend to remember, with something for all the family. In addition to an action-packed 17-race programme organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), the grounds of the St Philip facility will be alive with other attractions including a Kidz Zone with jumping tents, Bumper Balls and more, the Cultural Village serving food from around the region and a lunchtime drifting demonstration.
During the Q & A session at the Media Briefing in the venue’s Open-Air Suites last Wednesday (August 21), former racer and Bushy Park lap record holder ‘Bizzy’ Williams said: “Williams Industries and Digicel are both keen to bring back the fans. This event has been designed for family entertainment, so everyone can eat their food and drink some beverages up on The Hill, while the ‘petrolheads’ argue and scream at one another. That is what used to prevail and that is what we are looking forward to again now.”
With Friday Testing followed by Practice & Qualifying on Saturday, ahead of the Sunday race programme, there will be around 15 hours of action on the 2.01-kilometre International Circuit; the schedule includes three races each for BPMSI’s Groups 1 to 4, the Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup, the BimmaCup Challenge, Rally Cars and Bangers, with the traditional Hilti Handicap rounding off the Sunday programme.
The highlight of the venue’s 2019 circuit racing season, the meet has been staged with additional backing from Digicel Barbados and the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), along with Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI), Ace H&B Hardware, BRC, Burger King, Crane and Equipment, Rock Hard Cement, SBRC, Structural Systems and Williams Solar.
http://www.bushyparkbarbados.com/news/gregg-and-radical-rxc-confirmed-for-williams-international-
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Jeffrey returns to the Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup
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The established front-runners in the Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup will face a familiar challenge this weekend, when former Winter Cup Champion, Guyana’s Kristian Jeffrey, returns to Bushy Park Barbados for the first time in two years. Round three of the 2019 series, on track during the Williams Industries International Race Meet, will also see the SR3 Cup debut of double Trinidad & Tobago Rally Champion Stuart Johnson, returning to circuit racing after a long absence.
Jeffrey lies fifth in the SR3 Cup roll of honour behind Suleman Esuf and the Maloney brothers, with seven wins in his 17 appearances in the Suzuki-powered sports racers; with a further seven podium finishes, two pole positions and two fastest laps to his credit, his ‘hit rate’ is among the best. His most recent victory came at his home circuit of South Dakota last November in his Torginol Paints-backed SR3 and he was also a winner on his most recent visit to Bushy Park, at the 2017 Williams International.
Johnson returns to circuit racing for the first time since 2004, when he raced a Group 2 Honda Civic. Following a successful few years in rallying – T&T Rally Club Champion Driver in 2016 and 2017, with victory in 2017 the best of four consecutive top three finishes in Rally Trinidad – Johnson is also contesting the BimmaCup Caribbean Championship.
The return of Jeffrey and Johnson’s debut will add further spice to a series which has already produced some close and hard-fought racing this year, with just 13 points covering the top four. With 100 points, former Champion Sean Maloney leads his brother Mark by seven, with Jamaica’s William Myers third on 89, two ahead of Reigning Champion Stuart Maloney. Along with T&T’s Kristian Boodoosingh, all but Myers have been race-winners, although the young Jamaican has five podium finishes to his credit.
http://www.bushyparkbarbados.com/wiirm_tickets
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Walcott homes in on second BPMSI title
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Andre Walcott leads the 2019 Bushy Park Motorsports Inc (BPMSI) title chase, with just this weekend’s final round at the Williams Industries International Race Meet to run. Driving the Group 1/Class 1 Suzuki Swift in which he was Champion Driver of BPMSI in 2017, then BADD last year, he has a nine-point advantage over Gp2/C2 leader Darren Lashley (Honda Integra), with William Jones (Datsun 120Y) a further nine points back, third overall and second to Walcott in Gp1/C1. The top six is completed by Tyrone Martindale (Honda CRX), who is second to Lashley in Gp2/C2, and the top two drivers in Gp2/C1, ‘Cheese’ Catwell (Datsun 140Y) and Verdon Inniss (Toyota Starlet).
Groups 1 & 2, which will be sponsored by Crane & Equipment this weekend, are particularly well-subscribed, so the front-runners will certainly be put to the test. Among the notable entries in a grid in excess of 20 are a number of drivers not seen in action for a while, including former Champion Karl Waterman (Toyota Starlet) and Stephen Elliott (Suzuki Forsa), while Guyana’s Rameez Mohammed will campaign his Starlet in Gp2/C2. In the Williams Solar-sponsored Groups 3 & 4 races, his fellow-countrymen Andrew King (Mazda RX-7), Danny Persaud (Mazda Miata) and Mohan Rangasammy (RX-7) will add further spice to the action as they battle with Jamaica’s Kyle Gregg (Radical RXC) and locals Mark Maloney (RX-3), Steve King (Nissan Skyline GTR) and Kenrick Husbands (Starlet).
https://www.facebook.com/BPMSInc/
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Three to go for British F4 leader Zane Maloney
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Not only does Bushy Park-sponsored Zane Maloney head in to the final three race weekends of the 2019 F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost as the overall championship leader, but there’s a chance he could clinch the Rookie title as early as mid-September at Scotland’s tight and twisting Knockhill Circuit. With 16 Rookie wins so far and an advantage of 163.5 points over Arden’s Alex Connor, another three victories would make Carlin driver Maloney the Rookie champ.
But the overall title is Maloney’s real target. Before the five-week summer break, he had built up a 54-point lead, with seven wins and three more podium finishes in 15 races, netting £15,000 in prize money as the first Rookie to win a race overall, then the first driver to win all three races at a single round. While Zane has not returned to the top step of the podium in the first two race weekends of the second half of the season, at Snetterton and then back at Thruxton, where he had claimed his first win, his outstanding results earlier in the year still stand him in good stead. At Thruxton, he won the second race on the road from pole position, but an unfortunate penalty for a false start dropped him back to sixth in the corrected result.
Over those two weekends, Sebastian Alvarez of Double R Racing has narrowed Zane’s lead in the standings to 37, having added two more wins to his third-round victory in the curtain-raiser at Brands Hatch in April; the Mexican has switched places in the standings with team-mate Louis Foster, who picked up only one points-scoring finish on his home track of Thruxton, to slip to third, another 36 points behind Alvarez. The three remaining rounds are at Knockhill (September 14/15), then Silverstone two weeks later, before returning to Brands Hatch (October 12/13) for the final weekend on the world-famous Grand Prix layout. If you want to keep track of Zane’s progress, check out the official results at https://www.tsl-timing.com/
https://www.facebook.com/zanemaloneyracing/
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McFarlane leads BRC Autocross Championship
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With one round to go – the final is slated for November 3 – there is all to play for in the Barbados Rally Club’s Autocross Championship. Multiple Champion Chris McFarlane leads the standings, with Geoff Ullyett, former Champion Omar Boodhoo, Jody Forte, Cheryl-Ann Hurley and Kofe Jean-Baptiste completing the top six among 43 drivers who have scored points in the championship’s most successful season to date.
Round four on August 10 resulted in what long-standing organiser Geoffrey Goddard described as “possibly the closest finish we have had for the fastest time overall in an Autocross.” With McFarlane (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X FQ300) and Ullyett (BMW M3) driving each other’s cars, the margin was 0.10 seconds in favour of Ullyett in the Evo. The course set up was more open than usual, which offered quite a challenge to competitors as they had to come up with a balance between how quick to go in the fast sections before getting caught with too fast an entry into the tight areas. Not everyone managed: 12 competitors recorded DNFs as a result of the first cone at the start of the slalom on the main straight in the first run, and five in the second.
The competition was very close across the classes: Boodhoo (Subaru Impreza WRX) finished 0.95 behind McFarlane, fourth overall and third in the 4wd class, while Forte (Subaru BRZ) was only another 0.41s behind and fifth overall. He also battled all day in the over 1600 rwd class with Ullyett, finishing second by a margin of 0.98s. Rookie Corey Jackman in the Bushy Park Suzuki Swift Sport 1600 won the 1600 fwd class and was a credible seventh overall. First-timer to Autocross, Stuart Knaggs enjoyed his return to competition after almost six years in his immaculate Toyota Corolla 1300, while the other newcomer Denis Hinds (Nissan Skyline GTR) was there learn the ropes.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/6970347850/
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Our monthly update on other goings-on behind the scenes at Bushy Park Barbados:
• you can advertise your brand or company at Bushy Park Barbados. We have available high-quality 2.5ft x 13ft heavy vinyl banners, designed to withstand the elements. Enjoy fantastic exposure and advertising value for just Bs$1,000.00 & VAT for a whole year. Simply provide your artwork and BPCI will create and install your banners on selected trackside safety barriers. Contact us on 537 1360 to learn how you can benefit from maximum exposure at Bushy Park Barbados . . .
• if you are planning a party, for someone special, or for a special occasion, why not consider hosting it at Bushy Park Barbados? We can accommodate parties for up to 1,500 people, with ample parking, and all in a secure facility. Whether you include our Driving Experiences or not, partying at such a unique location as an international racetrack will surely be the icing on the cake. Contact us on 537-1360 to learn more!
• the next BPCI Track Day is on September 22, so why not arrange to rent a Suzuki Swift Sport? Once you have enjoyed a Swift Driving Experience so we can assess your competence, the fee of $750 & VAT includes the Track Day entry fee, fuel and technical support and you’ll get eight laps in each of five timed sessions. One thing not covered by that standard fee is any damage to the Swift – to use an old motor sport adage, “If you bend it, you mend it!” . . .
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August 31/September 1 – Williams Industries International Race Meet
incorporating Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup, round 3
September 8 - BKA Sectus Technologies International Championship, round 4
September 15 - BADD Full Throttle, round 4
September 22 – BPCI Open Track Day
September 29 – BARL Track Attack
October 6 - BKA Sectus Technologies International Championship, round 5
October 20 – BPCI Open Track Day
November 3 – BRC Autocross Championship, round 5 (Final)
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