Barbados welcomes regional racers for Seaboard Marine CMRC

Forty regional race-car drivers and bikers are making final preparations for next weekend’s (September 12/13) third round of the 2015 Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC). Competitors will travel from the Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, St Vincent & The Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago to take part in the Williams Industries Digicel International Race Meet at Bushy Park Barbados.

Organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), the 23-race programme features three races each for the CMRC classes on two and four wheels, alongside the Suzuki Challenge Series and the BPMSI’s Championship. Once the circuit sessions have come to an end each day, the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) will take to the 1/8th-mile drag strip and run into darkness to stage round three of Drag Warz 2015.

Reigning Champion and current points-leader Kristian Jeffrey of Guyana (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) heads the regional entry, facing a potent home team, led by 2011 CMRC Champion Roger Mayers, in his first circuit race outing in ‘De’ Focus since last July. In a hyper-competitive Group 4 field, eight drivers on the grid have stood on the top step of the podium, winning more than half the races since Barbados joined the series in 2008.

Mayers will compete alongside brother Barry (Suzuki SX4) and Stuart Williams (Lotus Elise), plus three members of Team Maloney Racing: father Doug (Audi A4 quattro), who has finished third in the CMRC three times, and sons Mark (Mazda RX-3) and Sean, who will make his CMRC debut in his Suzuki Hayabusa-powered Z-Cars Mini.

Joining Jeffrey from Guyana are father Kevin (Evo IX) – twice runner-up since 2010 – Danny Persaud (Mazda Miata), who finished second last year, and Mark Vieira (Mazda RX-8), who has Bushy Park seat time from racing in the SR3 Cup. Kristian Boodoosingh represents Trinidad & Tobago alone in the Evo 6.5 in which he won at home in June, while Jamaica has no entries in any CMRC class for the first time in its history.

Points towards the CMRC Country Championship are now also scored in Groups 2 & 3, so the ‘Junior’ classes can play a big part in the team effort. Points-leader Gary Barrett (Honda Civic) will represent the Cayman Islands in CMRC Group 3, with Guyana’s Persaud doing double duty in his Miata – he is currently third in the standings, ahead of fellow-countryman Paul Vieira, although Vieira is representing T&T in his former Mazda RX-7, along with Saleem Deen (Civic). Group 2 Championship leader Marc Gill (Civic) is travelling from T&T, with Damien Nesbit (Nissan Sentra), who is fifth in the standings, while Guyana’s Nazim Gafoor (Mazda Miata) makes his CMRC Gp2 debut.

Team Barbados has traditionally been strong in Group 2 – no other country has won the title since 2010 – so the visitors can expect a strong defence, led by former title-holders Edward Corbin and Kenrick ‘Snappa’ Husbands, plus Quincy Jones (Toyota Starlets), plus double - and reigning - Champion Mark Thompson (Civic). The 2013 Gp2 Champion Kurt Thompson (Honda CRX) will be chasing points, too, but in Group 3.

On two wheels, CMRC Superstock points-leader Stephen Vieira (Kawasaki) leads a strong line-up from Guyana, with cousins Elliot (Kawasaki) and Matthew (Triumph), plus Joel Neblette (Suzuki) and Kevin Persaud (Kawasaki), while Luke De Nobriga (Yamaha) and Nicolas Gonzales (Kawasaki) will represent T&T. Twice the CMRC Superbike Champion in the two years the competition has run its course, Stephen V has a strong record at Bushy Park, which local riders, led by Kris Brathwaite, Terrance Ollivierre and Devan McCartney, all aboard Suzuki GSX-R600s, are determined to stem.

Seaboard Marine CMRC (positions after two rounds):

Group 4 - 1st Kristian Jeffrey (GUY) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, 133 points; 2nd Kristian Boodoosingh (T&T) Evo 6.5 & Gerard Carrington (T&T) Evo VI, 58pts; 4th George Bayley (JAM) Evo VIII, 51pts; 5th Franklyn Boodram (T&T) Renault Megane Trophy, 45pts; 6th Peter Rae (JAM) Mazda RX-7, 44pts; etc Group 3 - 1st Gary Barrett (CAY) Honda Civic, 105pts; 2nd Natasha Chang (JAM) Honda S2000, 62pts; 3rd Danny Persaud (GUY) Mazda Miata, 58pts; 4th Paul Vieira (T&T) RX-7, 50pts; 5th Afraz Allie (GUY) Toyota Starlet, 48pts; 6th Rameez Mohammed (GUY) Starlet, 46pts; etc Group 2 - 1st Marc Gill (T&T) Civic, 96pts; 2nd Jordan Powell (JAM) Civic, 75pts; 3rd Shairaz Roshandin (GUY) Civic, 61pts; 4th Mark Williams (T&T) Civic, 55pts; 5th Damien Nesbit (T&T) Nissan Sentra, 45pts; 6th Mark Thompson (BAR) Civic, 40pts; etc Country Championship – 1st Trinidad & Tobago 493pts; 2nd Guyana 414pts; 3rd Jamaica 369pts; 4th Cayman Islands 105pts; 5th Barbados 92pts Superstock (positions after one round) - 1st Stephen Vieira (GUY) Suzuki, 68pts; 2nd Elliot Vieira (GUY) Kawasaki, 61pts; 3rd Robert McDonald (JAM) Yamaha, 45pts; 4th David Bell (JAM) Honda, 36pts; 5th Kyle Reynolds (JAM) Kawasaki, 28pts; 6th Nicholas Kennedy (T&T) Suzuki, 18pts; etc

Provisional entry lists at September 7, 2015:

Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 4

17 Kristian Boodoosingh (T&T), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6.5

22 Sean Maloney (BAR), Z-Cars Mini

28 Roger Mayers (BAR), ‘De’ Focus

29 Barry Mayers (BAR), Suzuki SX4

30 Stuart Williams (BAR), Lotus Elise

33 Doug Maloney (BAR), Audi A4 quattro

58 Mark Vieira (GUY), Mazda RX-8

86 Mark Maloney (BAR), Mazda RX-3

129 Danny Persaud (GUY), Mazda Miata

161 Kevin Jeffrey (GUY), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

261 Kristian Jeffrey (GUY) Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 3

79 Gary Barrett (CAY), Honda Civic

90 Kurt Thompson (BAR), Honda CRX

104 Paul Vieira (T&T), Mazda RX-7

129 Danny Persaud (GUY), Mazda Miata

170 Shawn Eversley (BAR), Suzuki Swift

181 Saleem Deen (T&T), Honda Civic

Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 2

7 Kenrick Husbands (BAR), Toyota Starlet

8 Marc Gill (T&T), Honda Civic

58 Simon Gillmore (BAR), Peugeot 205

67 Adrian Bailey (BAR), Peugeot 205

68 Nazim Gafoor (GUY), Mazda Miata

81 Mark Thompson (BAR), Honda Civic

83 Damien Nesbit (T&T), Nissan Sentra B13

110 Edward Corbin (BAR), Toyota Starlet

117 Neil Thompson (BAR), Honda Civic

122 Quincy Jones (BAR), Toyota Starlet

140 Tremaine Forde-Catwell (BAR), Daihatsu Charmant

Seaboard Marine CMRC Superstock

3 Nicolas Gonzales (T&T), Kawasaki ZX6-R

9 Kevin Persaud (GUY), Kawasaki ZX6-R

11 Shirley Scantlebury (BAR), Suzuki GSX-R600

12 Luke De Nobriga (T&T), Yamaha R6

27 Stephen Vieira (GUY), Kawasaki ZX6-R

32 Terrance Ollivierre (BAR), Suzuki GSX-R600

33 Elliot Vieira (GUY), Kawasaki ZX6-R

35 Kris Brathwaite (BAR), Suzuki GSX-R600

48 Matthew Vieira (GUY), Triumph Daytona

73 Ryan Beckles (BAR), Suzuki GSX-R600

93 Devan McCartney (BAR), Suzuki GSX-R600

100 Joel Neblette (GUY), Suzuki GSX-R600