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Season’s Greetings from Bushy Park Barbados

As we move into a new decade, 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. Over the holidays, we will be closed on Sunday, December 22, then on Christmas Eve from lunchtime, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, then again on Sunday, December 29 and New Year’s Day 2020. Apart from those days, we will be open, with our full range of Driving Experiences available. Please book well in advance to avoid disappointment . . . and enjoy the Festive Season with your families and friends, ready to step forward into the New Year rested and refreshed.

Zane Maloney joins the world’s best at FIA Awards

December not only brings the annual Christmas holidays, but is also the climax of the motor sport awards season . . . and Barbados has been represented on some of the biggest stages in the world. Zane Maloney was in Paris on December 6 at the FIA Prize-Giving, where he joined six-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton – twice a visitor to Bushy Park Barbados – and first-time World Rally Champion Ott Tanak among the more than 100 Champions from every major branch of international motor sport receiving their official FIA awards.

This is also a busy time of year, as drivers work to confirm their plans for the following season, Zane looking to announce his 2020 programme shortly. While he was in Europe preparing for next year, he missed the BTCC TOCA Night of Champions in late November, where the successes of drivers in the British Touring Car Championship and the support races are celebrated. The F4 British Championship certified by FIA powered by Ford EcoBoost is the first step on the FIA’s Global Pathway and the only single-seater series on the BTCC programme.

With approaching 7,000 followers on Facebook, 16-year-old Zane has certainly made his mark. He says: “My journey is impossible without the support of friends and family. This season was simply amazing. To have 10 wins and many more podiums. I’m not sure I thought it was possible, coming straight out of karting. I began the year not knowing what to expect, and to end it with both the Rookie Cup and the overall British F4 title is more than I could have hoped for. I’d like to thank everyone at Carlin, the guys at Kokoro Performance, all of my sponsors including Sol, Rock Hard Cement and Bushy Park, and everyone in the Caribbean for their incredible support. Seeing so many Barbadian flags at Brands Hatch is something I’ll never forget.”

https://www.facebook.com/zanemaloneyracing/

BADD looks forward to 10th season in 2020

After a challenging year, the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) is looking forward to 2020, when the Club will celebrate its 10th season, a decade on from its inaugural event in December 2010. After its Prizegiving in the Bushy Park Cafeteria on December 14, Chairman Jason Downey said: “We had two events rained out, and one called off due to lack of entries, so this season was much shorter than planned, but Full Throttle 2 and 3 in May and July were very successful. I would like to thank everyone who supported the club – our sponsors Goodyear and Track Batteries, the fans on The Hill, the drivers, marshals and timing crews, along with the team at BPCI. We will back at Bushy Park on February 23, with free admission for anyone who has ticket stubs from the rained-out event in November.”

Having amassed a total of 256 points in his Toyota Corolla, Kevin ‘AC’ Griffith was crowned Champion Driver, beating Robert Bishop (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) and out-going Champion Andre Walcott (Suzuki Swift) to the title, Bishop’s total 253, while Walcott scored 240.

Ahmed Esuf (Radical SR1) claimed the best rear-wheel-drive (RWD) time of 7.529 seconds, recorded at Full Throttle 2 in May, which was also best time for normally-aspirated engines; the year’s best front-wheel-drive (FWD) time of 8.557s was set on the same day by Sean Eversley (Suzuki Swift). The best four-wheel-drive (4WD) time of 6.242s was recorded at Full Throttle 3 in July by Bishop, who also achieved the year’s top speed of 123.13mph on the same day. Andre Bryan (Toyota Altezza) was rewarded for the year’s Best Reaction Time of 0.008s, at Full Throttle 3, while Suleman Esuf (Evo VII) clocked the fastest 60ft time of 1.571s at Full Throttle 2. The season’s best Bike time of 6.178s was set by Kelvin Daniel (Kawasaki ZX-10R) at Full Throttle 2.

https://baddmotorsports.com/

New records in closely-fought BARL Time Attack

As the Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL) plans its return to Bushy Park as a race meet organiser next year, the Club ran its final Time Attack event of 2019 on December 15. In Practice, Racecar class runner Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Daihatsu Charmant) lowered the 1m 08.577s benchmark to an unofficial 1:08.341, but the session saw the end of Stephen Elliot’s day, engine failure for his Suzuki Forsa. Forde-Catwell lowered his time even further in Qualifying to a new event record of 1:07.883, ahead of Tyrone Martindale (Honda CRX - 1:09.404), Sean Eversley (Suzuki Swift - 1:09.445) and Ross Callendar (Charmant - 1:12.531). Tuner class drivers Kyle Hinckson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X - 1:14.053) and Steve King (Mini Cooper S - 1:18.845) were next up, ahead of Jason Downey (BimmaCup - 1:21.705), with Winfield Waithe (Porsche 944) placed last for the Elimination rounds, having arrived late.

In round one, Martindale (best time 1:10.693) twice beat Downey, while Eversley took round two with a bye after King retired. In round three, Tuner class leader Hinckson found more than 2secs to beat Callendar in the first run, 1:11.768 to 1:13.816, then lowered his time again (1:11.494) to win the second, despite Callendar also improving, to 1:12.561. In the final Elimination round, Forde-Catwell bettered Waithe in the first run, 1:18.095 to 1:22.359, but both then retired, Forde-Catwell with a broken axle, Waithe with an oil leak, handing Hinckson a Semi-Final bye to advance straight to the Final. In the other Semi-Final, Martindale and Eversley were closely matched: Martindale won the first run, 1:09.641 to 1:09.894, Eversley the second, 1:08.836 to Martindale’s PB of 1:09.058. Eversley found a few more tenths in run 3 with a PB of 1:08.172 to Martindale’s 1:09.490, to make the Final.

Eversley proved too much for Hinckson in the Final, taking Run 1 (1:09.598), although Hinckson lowered his time to a PB of 1:11.116. Victory in the second run gave Eversley the overall win, 1:11.180 to 1:12.901.

https://www.facebook.com/BarbadosAutoRacingLeague/

Bushy Park the cradle of future Champions

While Zane Maloney’s victory in the British F4 Championship made headlines this year, he is not the only driver who started his career at Bushy Park who has been winning titles overseas. In 2015, two young karters started racing in the Easykart 60cc Cadet class: local driver Kyffin Simpson finished fifth overall in 2015 and was top scorer in the second half of that season, before winning the Cadet title in 2016. Jamaica’s Alex Powell finished fourth in his debut half-season in 2015, then eighth overall in 2016.

Both have since campaigned abroad, Simpson in the United States and Powell in both Europe and the USA. After finishing third in the Mini Max class in the 2017 Florida Winter Tour, Simpson (pictured) missed part of the following season before returning for a successful 2019: he is Junior Champion in both the SSKC KA110 and X30 classes, then finished second in KA110 Juniors at the SKUSA Pro Tour. Racing in the 60 Mini Class, Powell, who was named a Mercedes F1 Junior Team member earlier this year, finished third in the Italian Championship and fifth in the WSK Euro Series this year, before winning the ROK Cup Superfinal at South Garda in Italy, the best of 130 drivers.

The Barbados Karting Association’s (BKA) 2016 Champion Driver Christian Hinds has also raced abroad, in NACAM F4 at the home of the Mexican GP and, more recently, in the USA. In his first year in the World Racing League (WRL) with the NRG Racing Team, he drove a Mazda Miata to debut victory at the Daytona 14hr Enduro, contributing to the team’s first GP4 Championship win. Having switched to debut the team’s Toyota 86 in preparation for 2020, he finished second in class at the WRL24 at High Plains Raceway.

And there’s Britain’s Jack Manchester, whose racing debut came at age 17 in the Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Cup at Bushy Park in 2016; third in the Radical European Masters Series the following year, he won the Silver Cup Drivers and Sprint Cup Championships with Nico Bastian in the 2018 Blancpain GT Series and recently made his debut in the Asian Le Mans Series with a podium finish for Thunderhead Carlin Racing in Shanghai.

http://www.bushyparkbarbados.com/

Our monthly update on other goings-on behind the scenes at Bushy Park Barbados:

 
 
• from week beginning January 6, our Driving Experiences will only operate from Tuesday to Saturday between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm, and no longer on Sundays. Early booking is recommended, so please call to reserve your slot on 537 - 1360 (Mon-Fri, 8.00am - 5.00pm) or 256 - 0114 (Sat, 8.00am - 4.00pm) . . .

• just as this issue of the Newsletter was going to press, we were preparing to welcome a group of youngsters for a very special Christmas treat, organised by the Love Day Project, which was founded by Terry 'Mexican' Arthur to feed, clothe and spread goodwill and cheer to the less fortunate all over Barbados. The first Love Day was held in December, 2010, with support from local icons including Soca Queen Alison Hinds, Andy ‘Blood' Armstrong and Biggie Irie, since when the Project has run a year-round programme of visits to hospitals, seniors and children’s homes to spread more love around the community. We look forward to bringing you a full report of the visit next month . . .

• 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 Bds$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 . . .

Forthcoming Events

Jan 26 – Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI) Open Track Day

Feb 2 – Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL) Time Attack

Feb 9 – Barbados Karting Association (BKA) Championship, round 1

Feb 16 – BPCI Open Track Day

Feb 22 – Barbados Rally Club (BRC) Autocross Championship, round 1

Feb 23 - Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) Full Throttle, round 1
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