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Maloney and Mallalieu early leaders of CJKAT
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Reigning Barbados Karting Association (BKA) Junior and Senior Champions Calem Maloney and Adam Mallalieu have emerged as the early front-runners in the inaugural Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) after the first two rounds at Bushy Park on January 12/13. They won seven of the eight races between them, finishing lower than third only once, in an action-packed curtain-raiser to the region’s first-ever structured search for future a motor sport star.
Jamaica’s Tommi Gore was the other race-winner, while his compatriots Ryan Chisholm, fastest in Qualifying on Sunday, and Zander Williams, were also podium finishers. Maloney leads the standings with 158 points, just 14 ahead of Mallalieu, with Chisholm (103), Gore (92) and Williams (80) completing the top five positions. While Rayden Persaud is highest in the standings, eighth on 55 points, the best individual performance among Guyana’s six karters came from Elan Rahaman, who finished third in Sunday’s second race.
The first round followed two days of intensive training with a team of FIA-accredited Regional Training Providers, comprising Dubai GP Clerk of the Course Ronan Morgan, his Deputy Clerk and kart racing expert Gordon Mellis, and former F1 driver Tommy Byrne, who had conducted classroom and on-track driving sessions. Each round on the 1.2-kilometre CIK Circuit included Free Practice, Qualifying, three eight-lap Races and a 12-lap Final, the direction switched from clockwise to counter-clockwise between rounds one and two. Two double-header race weekends remain, on February 2/3 and March 2/3, the first to be run on a different configuration, before a return to the CIK layout in March.
Sponsored by BPCI, Chefette, Sol and Terra Caribbean, CJKAT 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; it is supported by the FIA’s Sport Grant Programme. The Grand Prize for the Champion is a fully-paid entry and X30 Junior kart for one Sunshine State Karting Challenge (SSKC weekend) in Florida, valued at more than US$3,000.
https://cjkat.com/
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Barbados Karting Association honours its Champions
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The Barbados Karting Association (BKA) family gathered in the Open-Air Suites at Bushy Park Barbados on the Friday evening of the opening CJKAT weekend to honour their 2018 Champions and special award winners. For the second straight year, Colin Bradshaw was crowned Champion Driver, having again dominated the Easykart 60cc Cadet class, beating Easykart 125cc Senior Champion Adam Mallalieu to the Overall title by just one point, while the season’s Fastest Lap award this year passed from Bradshaw to Mallalieu, who topped the time sheets seven times, compared with Bradshaw’s five; each won his class in both the First and Second Seasons to end the year with totals of 517 and 516 points, Mallalieu also claiming back-to-back titles, having won the Junior class in 2017.
Second in the Cadets, Logan Stollmeyer finished third overall, narrowly beating 100cc Junior Champion Calem Maloney, who had fought a season-long class battle with Kayleigh Catwell, which placed her second in Juniors and fifth overall. Bradshaw, Catwell, Mallalieu and Maloney were soon back in action, along with third-placed Junior Adam Marshall, in the CJKAT, in which Maloney and Mallalieu emerged as early front-runners.
Benjamin Moore, who finished second to Mallalieu in the Seniors, received the coveted Most Improved Driver trophy, while Aeden Bruce was named Rookie of the Year after finishing fifth in the Cadet class. Graeme Finlayson collected a trophy for third in Seniors behind Mallalieu and Moore, while Daniel Ullyett was rewarded for his third place in Cadets. Ullyett’s father went home with a trophy, too, having beaten Maurice Fortier and Kurt Thompson to the 125cc Masters title.
Motor sport would be nothing without its volunteers, around 20 of whom were presented with tokens of appreciation by the BKA for their tireless assistance on race days, both on the track and in backroom roles such as scrutineering and time-keeping.
www.facebook.com/barbadoskartingassociation/
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Walcott collects BADD Champion Driver trophy
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Just two weeks after the BKA celebrations, the 2018 Prizegiving season at Bushy Park continued with the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) function in the Cafeteria. Andre Walcott was crowned Champion Driver, adding the BADD title to that he won with Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) in the same Suzuki Swift in 2017; he amassed a total of 466 points, beating Derek Pinto (Honda Civic Type-R) and his own team-mate Shawn Eversley in a second Swift to the title, Pinto’s total 420, while Eversley scored 342. Rookie of the Year was Tyrone Simpson (Toyota Corolla).
Club Chairman Jason Downey reported on a season in which BADD continued to develop, with smoother running of its events (when the weather Gods were smiling), an encouraging influx of newcomers and sustained support from the fans on The Hill. He also thanked sponsors Goodyear Tyres, Courtesy Garage and Tropical Batteries for their support in 2018, along with the Club’s volunteer marshals and officials.
Outgoing Champion Driver Dan Johnson claimed the best rear-wheel-drive (RWD) time of 6.825 seconds, recorded at Launch Control 1 in March, before his Westfield Megawatt was damaged beyond immediate repair in a fire; the year’s best front-wheel-drive (FWD) time of 8.192s was set on the same day by Kevin Griffith (Suzuki Swift), as was the best time for normally-aspirated engines by Sammy Cumberbatch (BMW M3), at 7.951s. The best four-wheel-drive (4WD) time of 6.133s was recorded at Launch Control 3 in July by Jimmy Small (Nissan Skyline), who also claimed the trophy for the year’s top speed of 122.26mph set on the same day. Don Haynes (Nissan Sentra) was rewarded for a perfect Reaction Time of 0.00s, achieved at Launch Control 1, while Ahmed Esuf (Radical SR1) clocked the fastest 60ft time of 1.495s at Launch Control 4 in September.
With the 2019 season starting at Launch Control 1 on March 3, it is worth noting the other class winners in 2018: Chad Bishop (Nissan Sunny); Robert Bishop (Nissan Skyline); Shane Bryan (Subaru Impreza); Charane Catwell (Daihatsu Charmant); BADD Vice-Chairman Colin Goodman (Opel Tigra); Justin Haynes (Nissan Pulsar); Daryl Inniss (Mitsubishi Colt); Jerome Lynch (Nissan Sunny); David Nelson (Subaru Impreza); Fabian Reeves (Kawasaki); Brian Rollock (BMW M3).
https://baddmotorsports.com/
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FIA Trainers impressed with regional talent
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The 14 young regional drivers competing in the inaugural Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) made a very favourable impression on the team of FIA-accredited Regional Training Providers, who conducted two days of classroom and on-track training, organised by the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF), ahead of the opening rounds at Bushy Park earlier his month. The team comprised Dubai GP Clerk of the Course Ronan Morgan, his Deputy Clerk and kart racing expert Gordon Mellis, and former F1 driver Tommy Byrne.
Team leader Morgan said: “As an FIA RTP trainer, I've completed training in 26 different counties around the world. This was the most fulfilling event I've been involved with. We had an incredible audience of 14 really talented young karters from 10 to 15 years old, who were way beyond our expectations in their level of experience for such young people. What made it for us was that, after two days of intensive training over many modules followed by two days of great wheel-to-wheel racing, we witnessed first-hand an incredible improvement as drivers and general all round learning. The lasting image I have was most of the young stars coming to us individually with no prompting, thanking us for what we taught them during our visit - great people, who promise a great future for Caribbean motor sport.”
Sessions were also held with around 40 local volunteer marshals and officials, about which Morgan added: “Normally when one trains officials in a well-established environment you often get 'push back' when you’re told 'that’s not the way we do things here'. There was no such attitude from the great bunch of officials we met. All were focused on trying to improve and to follow any advice we could give.
“Finally, of course, I must mention the huge welcome, hospitality, warmth and friendliness extended to the three of us from everyone involved in Barbados. A big thanks to Andrew Mallalieu and BMF for grasping the initiative and driving this along.”
https://cjkat.com/
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Our monthly update on other goings-on behind the scenes at Bushy Park Barbados:
• the Barbados Karting Association (BKA) season has been restructured, to ensure fairness in the Champion Driver title chase for those competing in the CJKAT. To give the 60cc Cadets additional exposure and provide for the 125cc Masters to participate in the two remaining weekends, the BMF has added races within the Academy programme. These dates will now become the BMF Winter Cup, with three races per category each weekend. The 2019 BKA Championship will now start on April 14, featuring four races for all the usual classes on each of the six dates, meaning that the total number of races will be same as last year . . .
• fresh from being awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours’ List for services to music, rock drummer Nick Mason enjoyed a lap or two of Bushy Park in a Radical SR3 with BPCI Chief Instructor Orry Hunte in early January. The only constant member of Pink Floyd since the band was formed in 1965, Mason is no stranger to motor sport, his father Bill a documentary film-maker and amateur racing driver when Nick was a boy. His huge collection of cars includes the 4.5-litre Bentley formerly raced by his father, along with one of only 36 Ferrari 250 GTOs built by the Italian manufacturer in the 1960s. He has raced with considerable success for many years, including finishing 18th and second in class in the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Dorset Racing Lola T297, and is still a regular at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival. More than that, he is touring again with his new band Saucerful of Secrets . . .
• with the next BPCI Track Day just a few weeks away on February 24, don’t forget that you can rent a Suzuki Swift Sport, once you have participated in 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!” . . .
• everyone at Bushy Park Barbados and in the island’s motoring community were saddened by the passing of Rawle Mahabir, President of the Trinidad & Tobago Automobile Sports Association (TTASA), the FIA ASN for Mobility, on January 2 following a heart attack; he was 70. Referred to as ‘Uncle Rawle’ by countless young competitors and volunteers, whose enthusiasm he channelled for the better of T&T motor sport, his lifelong contribution will be remembered not just in the sport, but for his work in road safety through TTASA’s FIA remit and also by the Red Cross, in which he was a very active proponent of the Blood Bank. Our condolences to his family, friends and T&T’s wider motor sport family. May he Rest In Peace . . .
• with the Bushy Park Karting Experience Leader Board reset at the start of 2019, there are some new names in the top 10, with some quick times for regulars to target. Top of the list now is Justin Maloney, with a time of 25.681s, followed by his brother Joshua (26.176s), with the evenly-matched Keon Grazette (26.716s) and Shaquile Walcott (26.747s) leading the challengers. If you haven’t been to Bushy Park since our karts were refreshed, with new engines, it is time to head over . . . bring your A Game, hit the track and do the best you can!
• Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) has confirmed that the Prizegiving for the 2018 season will coincide with BPCI’s next Open Track Day on Sunday, February 24. Club Chairman Sean Maloney hopes that members will target that date to kick off their preparations for the new BPMSI season, which will open on Monday, April 29 . . .
• as we look forward to a busy year at the facility, just a reminder that 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 . . .
• and finally: if you’ve been at Bushy Park recently and spotted some on-going work on the southern boundary of the Pits, we’re creating a new workshop and some additional storage space, plus a couple of wash-bays. Full details will be revealed in due course . . .
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February 2/3 – Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy, rounds 3 & 4
February 2/3 – BMF Winter Cup, round 1
February 10 – BARL Track Attack
February 24 – BPCI Open Track Day
February 24 – BPMSI 2018 Prizegiving
February 24 – BRC Autocross Championship, round 1
March 2/3 – Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy, rounds 5 & 6
March 2/3 – BMF Winter Cup, round 2
March 3 – BADD Launch Control 1
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