Host nation Barbados shared the honours with Guyana and Jamaica at the opening round of the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) 2014/15 at the weekend (July 5/6). Guyana's Kristian Jeffrey claimed a clean sweep in the three CMRC Group 4 races and Jamaica's Kyle Gregg won two Group 2 encounters, but it was Barbados leading the Country Championship standings at close of play.
 A record 27 regional competitors participated in the Digicel Williams International Race Meet, the first staged at the redeveloped Bushy Park Circuit. The largest contingent came from Guyana, the only country to field riders in the CMRC Superbike Championship, with Nikhil Seereeram and Stephen Vieira claiming a win apiece.
 After testing on Thursday and Friday, teams got down to serious business on Saturday with qualifying for all classes on the 24-race programme. Roger Mayers, CMRC Champion in 2011, claimed pole position for the home team in his Ford Focus, nine-tenths quicker than reigning champion Doug Gore of Jamaica (Audi TT-RS DTM); Guyana's Mark Vieira (Mazda RX-8) and Kevin Jeffrey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII) lined up on row two, with locals Barry Mayers (Suzuki SX4) and Stuart Williams (Lotus Elise) on row three.
 Saturday's race programme was cut short after a number of incidents caused delays, the scheduled CMRC races moved to Sunday morning. As the 14 Group 4 cars set off on their first formation lap, however, the engine of Jeffrey's Evo blew, causing a small under-bonnet fire and a further delay; he played no further part in proceedings.
 An incident at the Ws Hairpin at the start of the lap two resulted in early retirement for pole-man Mayers, with a broken wheel on the Focus, then Gore took time to re-start after a spin on the following tour; Vieira seized the initiative, leading until lap five, when he coasted to a halt on the exit of The Bullet, handing the lead to Kristian Jeffrey (Evo IX), who had started on the last row of the grid after issues in qualifying.
 Jeffrey claimed a memorable victory in his first serious outing in the car, consolation for father Kevin, by now watching from the Automotive Art Pits Complex. Mark Maloney (RX-3), who also started at the back of the grid, was second, with Williams and Barry Mayers third and fourth. Jamaica's Peter Rae (RX-7) finished fifth, with Guyana's Vishok Persaud (Subaru Impreza STi) sixth and Gore seventh and last. Trinidad's only CMRC Group 4 runner was Kristian Boodoosingh (Evo 6.5), who had qualified seventh, but retired mid-way through the first race, not to be seen again.
 In race two, with the grid based on race one results, Jeffrey made the best getaway, to lead throughout, with Vieira second and Gore third. Having started at the back after his race one retirement, Mayers was working through the field when contact approaching the Ws Hairpin sent him off across the gravel trap and into the tyre wall. The Focus was damaged beyond immediate repair, but Mayers said later: "The gravel trap certainly did its job. It slowed me down a lot, otherwise the accident could have been much worse."
 Jeffrey made it a hat-trick in the final race - either he or his father have won five of the last six CMRC races, Kevin with two wins last November on their home track South Dakota. Williams finished second, to end the day second in the Driver's Championship points table, ahead of Rae - the only driver other than Jeffrey to score in all three races, maintaining his 100 per cent finishing record at Bushy Park - and Barry Mayers.
 The CMRC Group 2 races were just as lively: on Saturday, having set no qualifying time, Gregg was near the back of the record 16-car race one grid but had charged up to fourth when the race was red-flagged, then the restart postponed overnight. He had to do it all again Sunday morning, finishing second to Mark Thompson (Honda Civic), whose determined performances made him the weekend's Overall Champion Driver.
 Edward Corbin (Starlet) was third and reigning champion Kurt Thompson (Honda CRX) fourth of the eight finishers - the Civics of Guyana's Shairaz Roshandin and Chet Singh and Trinidad's Haresh Nanan (Nissan Sentra) and Yazid Ali (Civic) completed the field.
 In race two, Gregg followed Kurt Thompson for one lap until the local driver retired, then was never headed; Roshandin picked up more points for Guyana in second, ahead of Jamaica's Vivian Mitchell (Civic), then Corbin and Singh. Gregg led from lights to flag in race three, with Mark Thompson second, from Corbin, Mitchell and Singh.
 The schedule also included events for Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc's (BPMSI) new classes, in which some regional drivers participated, including Jamaica's Natasha Chang (Civic) and Guyana's Rupie Shewjattan (Evo V), who shared the victories in Sol SuperModified 1, and Guyana's Danny Persaud (Mazda Miata), who won Sol SM2 once.
 Round 2 of the Barbados Karting Association's 2014 Championship provided close and entertaining racing - a highlight was nine-year-old Tommy Gore's victory in Saturday's wet race, the reigning CRMC champion's son awarded a special trophy at Sunday's Prize-giving - while the Cockspur Barbados Rally Club Track Challenge made for three hard-fought races, two won by Dane Skeete (Peugeot 306 Maxi).
 An eight-lap Hilti Handicap ended the day in the traditional way. Early leader Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Daihatsu Charmant) - the kart and bicycle racer's car-racing debut - led for four laps, hunted down by the faster cars. Winner was Stuart Maloney (Peugeot 306 Maxi), from brother Mark, with father Doug fourth. Third was Chris Hall in one of the Suzuki-powered Radical sports cars which had been demonstrated over the weekend.
The Digicel Williams International Race Meet (July 5/6) is organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) and promoted by Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI); title sponsors are Digicel Barbados Ltd, Williams Industries Inc and Seaboard Marine
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e-mail: media@bushyparkmotorsportsinc.com
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BPMSI-14-07a: July 7, 2014
Digicel Williams International Race Meet
Results
Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship - race 1: 1st Kristian Jeffrey (GUY), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX; 2nd Mark Maloney (BAR), Mazda RX-3; 3rd Stuart Williams (BAR), Lotus Elise; 4th Barry Mayers (BAR), Suzuki SX4; 5th Peter Rae (JAM), Mazda RX-7; 6th Vishok Persaud (GUY), Subaru Impreza STi; 7th Doug Gore (JAM), Audi TT-RS DTM; no other finishers Race 2: 1st Jeffrey; 2nd Mark Vieira (GUY), Mazda RX-8; 3rd Gore; 4th Mayers; 5th Rae; 6th Doug Maloney (BAR), Audi A4 quattro; 7th Danny Persaud (GUY), Mazda Miata; no other finishers Race 3: 1st Jeffrey; 2nd Williams; 3rd D Maloney; 4th Rae; 5th D Persaud; no other finishers
Championship - Driver: 1st Jeffrey 75 points; 2nd Williams 33pts; 3rd Rae 32pts; 4th Mayers 24pts; 5th D Maloney 23pts; 6th Gore 21pts; etc
Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 2 - race 1: 1st Mark Thompson (BAR), Honda Civic; 2nd Kyle Gregg (JAM), Honda Civic; 3rd Edward Corbin (BAR), Toyota Starlet; 4th Kurt Thompson (BAR), Honda CRX; 5th Shairaz Roshandin (GUY), Honda Civic; 6th Chet Singh (GUY), Honda Civic; 7th Haresh Nanan (TRI), Nissan Sentra B13; 8th Yazid Ali (TRI), Honda Civic; no other finishers Race 2: 1st Gregg; 2nd Roshandin; 3rd Vivian Mitchell (JAM), Honda Civic; 4th Corbin; 5th Singh; 6th Nanan; 7th Ali; no other finishers Race 3: 1st Gregg; 2nd M Thompson; 3rd Corbin; 4th Mitchell; 5th Singh; 6th Daryl Clarke (BAR), Honda Civic; 7th Nanan; 8th Ali; no other finishers
Championship - Driver: 1st Gregg 68 points; 2nd M Thompson 43pts; 3rd Corbin 42pts; 4th equal Roshandin & Singh 28pts; 6th Mitchell 27pts; etc
Championship - Country: 1st Barbados 203 points; 2nd Guyana 173pts; 3rd Jamaica 148pts; 4th Trinidad & Tobago 34pts
Seaboard Marine CMRC Superbikes - race 1: not run. Race 2: 1st Nikhil Seereeram (GUY), Yamaha Y2F R6; 2nd Stephen Vieira (GUY), Yamaha Y2F R6; 3rd Carlos Mendonca (GUY), Yamaha Y2F R6; etc Race 3: 1st Vieira; 2nd Seereeram; 3rd Mendonca; etc
BPMSI Bikes - race 1: not run Race 2: 1st Kris Brathwaite, Suzuki GSX-R 600; 2nd Devan McCartney, GSX-R 600; 3rd Shirley Scantlebury, Suzuki GSX-R 600; etc Race 3: 1st Terrance Ollivierre, Suzuki GSX-R 600; 2nd Brook Miller, Suzuki GSX-R 600; 3rd Brathwaite; etc
Chefette SuperSport 1 & 2, Newtech Sign Makers SS3, Sol SuperModified 1 & 2 - race 1: SS1 - 1st Edward Corbin, Toyota Starlet; 2nd Kenrick Husbands, Toyota Starlet SS2 - 1st Kurt Thompson, Honda CRX SM1 - 1st Rupie Shewjattan (GUY), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V; 2nd Sean Maloney (Z-Cars Mini); 3rd Natasha Chang (JAM), Honda Civic SM2 - 1st Danny Persaud (GUY) Race 2: SS1 - 1st Corbin SS2 - 1st Thompson SM1 - 1st Chang SM2 - 1st Steve King, Nissan Skyline Race 3: SS1 - 1st Corbin; 2nd Haresh Nanan (TRI), Nissan Sentra B13 SS2 - 1st Thompson SM2 - 1st Persaud; 2nd King
Williams Equipment Clubman 1 & 2, Crane & Equipment Modified Production 1 & 2 - race 1: C1 - 1st Geoffrey Ullyett, Datsun 120Y; 2nd Andre Walcott, Suzuki Swift; 3rd Adrian Bailey, Peugeot 205 C2 - 1st David Brewster, Peugeot 205 MP1 - 1st Carlos Edwards, Toyota Starlet; 2nd Eric Ward, Datsun Coupe; 3rd Peter Small, Honda CRX MP2 - 1st Mark Thompson, Honda Civic; 2nd Simon Gilmore, Peugeot 205 Race 2: C1 - 1st Ullyett; 2nd Bailey; 3rd Walcott MP1 - 1st Edwards; 2nd Small; 3rd Robert Gill, Toyota Starlet MP2 - 1st Thompson; 2nd Gilmore Race 3: C1 - 1st Ullyett; 2nd Bailey; 3rd Walcott MP1 - 1st Edwards; 2nd Small; 3rd Ward MP2 - 1st Thompson; 2nd Gilmore
Cockspur Barbados Rally Club Track Challenge - race 1: 1st Dane Skeete, Peugeot 306 Maxi; 2nd Josh Read, Toyota Starlet; 3rd Andrew Jones, Ford Escort MkII; 4th Martin Atwell, BMW M3; 5th Brian Gill, BMW M3; 6th Neil Corbin, Toyota Starlet; etc. Race 2: 1st Skeete; 2nd Jones; 3rd Gill; 4th Corbin; 5th Atwell; 6th Jeremy Gonsalves, Opel Corsa; etc. Race 3 (Handicap): 1st Rommell Martin, Toyota Starlet; 2nd Trevor Mapp, Mitsubishi Mirage RS; 3rd Stuart Maloney, Peugeot 306 Maxi; 4th Gill; 5th Sammy Cumberbatch, BMW M3; 6th Skeete; etc
Hilti Handicap: 1st Stuart Maloney, Peugeot 306 Maxi; 2nd Mark Maloney, Mazda RX-3; 3rd Chris Hall (ENG), Radical SR3 RS; 4th Doug Maloney, Audi A4 quattro; 5th Sammy Cumberbatch, BMW M3; 6th Edward Corbin, Toyota Starlet; etc
Barbados Karting Association, round 2 - 270 Yamaha Sportsman Class: 1st Saviola Thomas, 67 points; 2nd Joshua Maloney, 64pts; 3rd Zane Maloney, 61pts; etc 310 Yamaha Class: 1st Kyle Proverbs, 82pts; 2nd Nicholas Gill, 81pts; 3rd Krystal Kirton, 70pts; etc X30 125 Class: 1st Javani Smith, 88pts; 2nd Orry Hunte, 75pts; 3rd Aiden Fortier, 57pts 125 Shifter Class: 1st Kevon Griffith, 50pts
The Digicel Williams International Race Meet (July 5/6) is organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) and promoted by Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI); title sponsors are Digicel Barbados Ltd, Williams Industries Inc and Seaboard Marine
For media information only. No regulatory value
For further media information:
e-mail: media@bushyparkmotorsportsinc.com
Facebook - BPMSInc