Record-breaking 2015 motor sport season for Barbados

The opening round of the Barbados Karting Association’s (BKA) Frutee Championship at Bushy Park last Sunday (February 8) launched what promises to be a bumper season of island motor sport, with a record-breaking programme of events scheduled to be run under the umbrella of the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF).

The BMF’s 2015 Calendar, published today (February 11), lists more than 60 events to be organised by the Federation’s seven sporting Member Clubs, surpassing the previous record of 49 in 2012 & ’13. A broad cross-section of motor sport disciplines is covered, from grass-roots autocross and dexterity tests through circuit race meetings for cars and karts, drag racing and off-road 4x4 navigational events, rallycross, rallysprints, special stage rallies and speed events.

The dates for key international events have already been confirmed: Sol Rally Barbados will run from May 29 to 31, with the King of the Hill ‘shakedown event’ the previous Sunday (May 24), the Barbados Historic Rally Carnival from August 20 to September 1, while the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship returns to Bushy Park Barbados for its penultimate round over the weekend of October 3/4.

Launching the new season, BMF President Andrew Mallalieu said: “Last year’s calendar was somewhat constricted by the redevelopment of Bushy Park, as the circuit and drag racing clubs lost a number of fixtures in the early part of the season, and karting was also affected as there was no alternative venue for the BKA.

“With the circuit now fully operational, however, the racing programme has been greatly expanded . . . and now that the Vaucluse Raceway is also back on the calendar, island fans can look forward to the most extensive and varied programme of motor sport on offer since the BMF was founded in 2000.

“The return of the Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship to Bushy Park is excellent news for Bushy Park, and for motor sport’s contribution to the island’s important sports-tourism product, along with the 25th Anniversary running of Sol Rally Barbados and the return of the Barbados Historic Rally Carnival. The headline events are only part of the story, though . . . all our Member Clubs have worked hard to keep pace with the fast-developing world of motor sport, particularly on the safety front, and we all look forward to a successful season.”

The BMF’s seven sporting Member Clubs are the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD), Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL), Barbados Karting Association (BKA), Barbados Rally Club (BRC), Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), the Motoring Club of Barbados Inc (MCBI) and the Vaucluse Raceway Motorsports Club (VRMSC).

Editor’s note: affiliated to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which rules the sport worldwide, the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) is the island’s governing body for motor sport; it also represents the interests of its member Clubs in discussions with Government departments which facilitate the sport in the island, in particular the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which permits road closures for an agreed number of events each year. Away from motor sport, the BMF affiliate which answers the FIA Mobility remit is the Barbados Automobile Association (BAA), which is an executive committee member of the Government’s Barbados Road Safety Council.BMF

2015 Calendar