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Three regional championships on 2019 calendar

Bushy Park Barbados will host qualifying rounds of three regional championships for the first time next year. The Event Calendar for 2019 includes dates for the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) and Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup to join those of the inaugural Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) announced earlier this month (see below).

As has become standard practice in recent years, Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) will organise the third of four rounds of the CMRC, to be run on the International Circuit over the weekend of August 31/September 1; round three of the Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup, which was re-launched as a regional series this year, will be staged during BPMSI’s second Race Meet of the year on June 10, with round four during the CMRC weekend.

On the domestic front, the first two of the Barbados Karting Association (BKA) Championship’s eight rounds will run alongside the February and March CJKAT dates, while the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) will again run its five-round Launch Control series between March and December. BPCI will host eight Track Days during the year, with a further date organised by the Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL) yet to be confirmed; the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Autocross Championship will be staged at Bushy Park for the first time, with five rounds slated between February and November.

BPCI Operations Manager Amy Willis said: “We are very pleased with how our event calendar for 2019 has fallen into place. As the Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup has grown steadily during this year, we have seen many more visits by regional competitors, not just for race weekends, but also for test and development sessions in between. All of this helps to spread the word about what the facility has to offer.”

www.bushyparkbarbados.com/news/three-regional-championships-for-bushy-park-barbados-in-2019
 

Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy launched

Bushy Park Barbados will play host to the inaugural Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) in 2019, with three double-header rounds during the first quarter of the year. Open to racers aged from 11 to 15 selected by their home country’s motor sport governing bodies, the new series will be administered by the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) and sponsored by Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI), Chefette, Sol and Terra Caribbean.

The format is modelled on the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy, which has been the first rung on the ladder of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) single-seater path to F1 since 2010. The rules place the emphasis on driver talent, creating a level playing field for young hopefuls from across the region, who will race identical Vortex-engined Exprit OK-Junior karts, as used in the CIK-FIA events in Europe this year, but now running on control Sol fuel and mandated allocations of MG tyres.

BMF President Andrew Mallalieu, who has been the driving force behind this new regional initiative, said: “When FIA President Todt visited Barbados last year, we included our ideas for a Caribbean Junior Karting series in the presentation to update him on the progress of motor sport in the region. He urged us to prepare a formal cluster application for FIA Grant funding to support the launch of the series. We are truly grateful for the support we have received to finally make this a reality.”

Six rounds will be run at Bushy Park, using four different circuit configurations, with the future plan bring for the Host Country to change each year. Before the opening rounds, on January 12/13, all registered competitors will benefit from a two-day Driver Education Programme, which is being led by FIA-accredited Regional Training Providers from the United Arab Emirates. A parallel course of training is planned for the island’s volunteer officials and marshals. The other race weekends are February 2/3 and March 2/3, when the Barbados Karting Association (BKA) will run the first two rounds of its 2019 series.

Walcott wins title as BADD honours ‘Bugs’ Shepherd

Andre Walcott is the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) Champion Driver, following Launch Control 5 on December 9, when the Club celebrated the memory of Founding Member Cedric ‘Bugs’ Shepherd, who died suddenly in November. With victory in the 9.5-12.0secs bracket, Walcott brought the total of points scored in his Suzuki Swift to 466 to add the BADD crown to his cv, after winning the Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) Champion Driver crown last year.

Lying third going in to the final round, Derek Pinto topped the times in the 9.0-9.5secs class in his Honda Civic Type-R to climb to second, on 420 points, in the absence of Walcott’s team-mate Shawn Eversley, who slipped to third on 342. Colin Goodman (Opel Tigra) finished the season fourth on 338 points, with Chad Bishop fifth on 281 in his Nissan Sunny. While no records were broken during the evening and rain interrupted proceedings for a short time, there was a great result for newcomer Brian Rollock, who won the 8.0-9.0secs bracket in his BMW M3, while the other winner were Justin Haynes (7.0-8.0secs, Nissan Pulsar) and Fabian Reeves (6.0-7.0secs, Kawasaki).

Former Acceleration Test Champion in the 1980s and early ‘90s ‘Bugs’, who was one of BADD’s five Founder Members, is best-remembered driving the Checkered Flag Car Shop/Autocolour Ford Capri, which enjoyed many a close fight with the Ford Mustang of Euclid Brancker, who was on hand to honour his former rival. BADD Chairman Jason Downey said: “It was a great way to end our season, with quite the turn out of spectators on the hill. In honouring ‘Bugs’, we were pleased to have some family members as special guests, along with Euclid, St Elmo Cumberbatch, Ben Graham and Michael Merritt, who regaled us with stories of old.”

BADD’s Annual Prizegiving will be held early in the New Year at the Bushy Park Cafeteria.

www.baddmotorsports.com/

Bradshaw the BKA Champion Driver, by one point

For the second year in a row, Colin Bradshaw is the Champion Driver of the Barbados Karting Association (BKA). In a repeat of the 2017 year-end result, he again beat Adam Mallalieu to the title, but this year by the smallest possible margin, of just one point. Respectively the 60cc Cadet and 125cc Lights Champions, each won their class in both the First and Second Seasons to end the year with totals of 517 and 516 points, while Mallalieu also claimed the season’s Fastest Lap award. Bradshaw won 21 of the year’s 24 Cadet races – the BKA cut its season from 10 to eight race meets this year – losing twice to Logan Stollmeyer and once to Oscar Gertner.

Second in the Cadets, Stollmeyer finished third overall with 444 points, narrowly beating 100cc Junior Champion Calem Maloney, who scored 439 points after a season-long class battle with Kayleigh Catwell, whose total of 405 placed her second in Juniors and fifth overall - the race wins score line at year-end was Maloney 18-Catwell 6; Adam Marshall was third Junior. Benjamin Moore won the coveted Most Improved Driver trophy on his way to finishing second in 125cc Lights – he won all three races in round six, when Mallalieu was racing abroad - and sixth overall, with Graeme Finlayson, who won the final race of the season, third in the class and eighth overall.

Aeden Bruce is the Rookie of the Year after finishing fifth in the Cadet class, while there was success for two members of the legendary island motor sport Ullyett clan, Daniel finishing third in Cadets and seventh overall, while father Geoff beat Maurice Fortier and Kurt Thompson to the 125cc Masters title.

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Our monthly update on other goings-on behind the scenes at Bushy Park Barbados:
 
• with a time of 26.222s set back in October, Damian Sobers remained at the top of the Bushy Park Karting Experience Leader Board at the end of November, although his advantage has been cut to just 11/100ths of a second by Jamal Gittens (26.331s). And the times are closing up, as more and more folk come to try our recently-refreshed karts, complete with their new engines. Kevin Watson (27.449s), who was sixth at the end of October has slipped to 20th, as the 2.5secs spread across the top 20 has been more than halved to 1.2secs, with new names added to the Leader Board, including 2017 finalist Chris McFarlane, who is currently 10th, six-tenths off Damian’s time. So, roll up, roll up . . . bring your skills, hit the track and do the best you can!

• as you may have seen on social media, we have joined the EasySave loyalty programme, which means you can earn rewards when you come and enjoy Driving Experiences at Bushy Park. There will be lots more to tell in the next few weeks, including how we can also become a useful hub for paying your bills without standing in line, so keep an eye on our Facebook page . . .

• multiple British circuit racing Champion Peter Baldwin visited Bushy Park in late November, during a 25th Wedding Anniversary trip to the island with wife June. Baldwin’s record includes more than 20 titles and well over 300 class or outright wins, many of them racing Minis. As June reports, he was very impressed with the facility: “After racing at Dover Raceway in Jamaica more than 20 years ago, he said Bushy Park was almost up to Formula 1 spec!” Having first raced a special saloon Mini in 1967, Baldwin continues to compete, these days in historics . . . but still in a Mini!

• even though the Festive Season is now upon us, it isn’t too late to treat someone near and dear to one of our Gift Vouchers; they’re available for Driving Experiences, Track Rental and Massy United Insurance Driving Skills Academy Courses; just call us on 537-1360 or e-mail info@bushyparkbarbados.com . . . 

• talking of the holiday season, we’ll be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, so our own staff can spend time with their families. Beyond that, though, Bushy Park will be open for business, including the Karting, Kidz Karting, Suzuki Swift and Radical SR3 Driving Experiences . . .

Upcoming events

December 22 – Christmas Night Karting Experience

December 25/26 – Closure for Holidays

January 1, 2019 – Closure for Holidays

January 12/13 – Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy, rounds 1 & 2

January 20 – BPCI Open Track Day

February 2/3 – Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy, rounds 3 & 4

February 2/3 – BKA Championship, round 1

February 24 – BPCI Open Track Day

February 24 – BRC Autocross Championship, round 1

March 2/3 – Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy, rounds 5 & 6

March 2/3 – BKA Championship, round 2

March 3 – BADD Launch Control 1
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