BPMSI Champions start title defence at Bushy Park

Five of Bushy Park Motor Sport Inc’s (BPMSI) Reigning Champions will start the defence of their 2016 titles at Bushy Park Barbados on Sunday (March 26), as BPMSI joins forces with the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) and the Barbados Cycling Union (BCU) to stage the island’s first-ever combined event for horsepower and pedal-power. BADD officials are looking forward to a day of potentially record-breaking competition, while the BCU is hoping to use Sunday as a stepping-stone for the future.

  Confirmed entries for BPMSI’s season-opener include Group 1/Class 2 Champion Adrian Bailey, who attended both the February and March Open Track Days in his Peugeot 205 to prepare for the new season; his opposition will include Devan McCartney (Honda CRC), who finished second in Gp1/C2 last year, along with other class podium finishers Robert Gill (Toyota Starlet), Jermin Pope (Honda Civic) and Ryan Wood, back in his BMW 318ti Compact, having recently been crowned the second Suzuki Challenge Series Swift Cup Champion.

  While Champion Driver Geoffrey Ullyett, who also won Gp1/C1 in his Nissan last year, is not entered, the front-runners who finished second, third and fourth in the class respectively are all on the list, Darren Lashley (Peugeot 205XS), Andre Walcott (Suzuki Swift) and William Jones (Datsun B310), with Lashley and Walcott among those who will possibly double up with entries on the drag strip, too.

  Other Group Champions looking to start their season on the front foot are Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Gp2/C1 Daihatsu Charmant) – he also has an alternative entry for the now-turbocharged Group 3 Nissan, formerly campaigned by his father ‘Cheese’ - Andre Forde (Gp2/C2 Toyota Starlet), Kenrick ‘Snappa’ Husbands (Gp3/C2 Toyota Starlet) and Mark Maloney (Gp4/2wd Mazda RX-3).

  On the BADD front, Chairman Jason Downey reports: “We have two individuals who are out to break the Overall 1/8-mile Record of 6.598 seconds, which was set by Roger Mayers in his Ford Focus back in March 2012, five years to the weekend. Dan Johnson, in his first outing in the Westfield Megawatt in October last year, set a blistering 6.626s, only 28 thousandths of a second adrift, which is the new 2wd record. Another one out for the title is Robert Bishop, who stopped the clocks at 6.675s in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V, also in October. He will be driving a fully race-prepared Evo VII this time out.”

  Returning to BADD action for the first time since last April is Sol Esuf, who won the Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Cup in his first full season of circuit racing. He remains BADD’s 1/4-mile 4wd record holder in a time of 9.788s from the Thicketts ‘Rematch’ in April 2014, so will also perhaps be looking at the 1/8-mile record, too.

  The sharp end of the times at BADD Launch Control, round 1, will also include Reigning Champion Jeremy ‘Silent’ Greenidge in his Evo-powered Mitsubishi Mirage, the Evo IIIs of Matthew ‘DMZ’ Forde and Barry Gilkes, along with Corey Stanford (Toyota Corolla) and Graeme Finlayson in his motor-cycle-engined Westfield Megabusa. Competition in the front-wheel-drive category is also expected to be keen, with Suzuki Swifts driven by Shawn ‘Short Man’ Eversley and Kevin Griffith trying to hold off the Honda Civic of Anthony Mayers.

  As the BCU’s decision to run at Bushy Park on Sunday was made only very recently, entries are still flowing in. The most prominent among them so far is the noted Russell Elcock, who has several National and Caribbean Championship titles to his name, earned between 2008 and 2016.

Provisional timetable (abbreviated)

These scheduled starting times may be changed by the Organisers BPMSI Championship, round 1: 8.30am – Practice starts; 9.10am – Qualifying starts; 9.45am - Drivers Briefing; 10.00am – Racing starts; 3.40pm - Hilti Handicap for Cars BADD Launch Control, round 1: 11.05am – Practice; 2.10pm – Qualifying; 4.10pm – Eliminations; 5.10pm – Grudge Matches

BCU: 12.10pm - Circuit Acclimatisation; 1.10pm – race 1; 3.20pm – race 2

Sunday, March 26 (gates open 8.00am): Gate 1 (Grounds & Open Air Suites) - $20; Gate 2 (Race Control Premium) - $30; Cyclone Zone - $25 per vehicle & $20 per person. Tickets available on the gate of on-line at www.bushyparkbarbados.com