Williams Industries to sponsor Bushy Park CMRC International

Williams Industries is confirmed as title sponsor of round three of the 2018 Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC), to be staged at Bushy Park Barbados next month (September 1/2). The local conglomerate thereby maintains its unbroken record of title sponsorship for the island’s qualifying round, which dates back to 2008 when Barbados became part of the current CMRC, following annual support for earlier regional race meets at the St Philip facility since 2004.

  Organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), the Williams Industries International Race Meet will run on the 2.01-kilometre International Circuit; entries opened at Motorsport Services, Haggatt Hall, last Thursday (August 2) and will close on Friday, August 25. In addition to the CMRC categories, Groups 1 to 4 for cars, plus Superstock 600 Bikes, the meeting will also feature the third round of the now-regional Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup and separate races for BPMSI’s popular Group 1; Sunday’s track action will climax with the traditional Hilti Handicap for Cars.

  While the detailed schedule for the weekend remains a work in progress, along with some potential extra content, BPMSI has confirmed that there will be racing on both days. The first of the weekend’s three sequences of races is slated to start at around 2.15pm on Saturday, following Practice and Qualifying in the morning; the second and third rounds of racing will run on Sunday, which is provisionally scheduled to start at noon with a Driver Parade and Herringbone, followed by the National Anthem.

  In welcoming the continued commitment from Williams Industries, BPMSI chairman Sean Maloney said: “Motor racing at Bushy Park and the Williams name have been closely associated for the past 40 years and more, so it is a real pleasure to see that carried forward once again. While the facility has evolved in recent years, the original shape that ‘Bizzy’ Williams first carved out of an onion field in the early 1970s remains almost intact in the National Circuit on which we ran our last race meet in July.

  “Those links with the past are so very important to all of us involved in motor sport, and I thank Williams Industries for their continued support. As we look forward to hosting our many overseas friends, I must also acknowledge the significant support of Seaboard Marine, title sponsor of the CMRC, whose commitment to shipping cars and bikes around the region is vital to moving the championship forward.”

  After the first two rounds of the 2018 CMRC, at the Jamwest Raceway in Jamaica in May and the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in Trinidad & Tobago last month, the early host nations are ahead, following the established pattern of recent years: T&T leads the Country Championship standings with 905 points, ahead of Jamaica (526), Antigua (205), Barbados (150), Guyana (108), CAMS (80) and the Cayman Islands (32).

  Mark Maloney is currently the best-placed member of Team Barbados, leading CMRC Group 5 in his Radical SR3 SRX; Justin Campbell (BMW M3) is sixth in Gp3, Mark Thompson (Honda Civic) eighth in Gp2, a title he has won four times. The other Group leaders are: Gp4 – Quinian Lall (Mazda Miata – CAMS); Gp3 – William Myers (Honda Civic – JAM); Gp2 – Luke Bhola (Honda Civic – T&T); Gp1 – Aqeeb Ali (Honda Civic – T&T) & Ronald Spencer (BMW 318ti Compact - ANT). T&T’s Kiel Abrahams (Kawasaki ZX-6R) leads the Superstock 600 Bikes standings.

Williams Industries International Race Meet details:

Friday, August 31 (gates open at 11.00am) – Testing: admission free Saturday, September 1 (Gate 3 and North ticket booth opens at 10.30am) – Practice, Qualifying and Racing: admission free to patrons who purchase tickets for Sunday Sunday, September 2 (gates and ticket booths open at 11.30am) - Race Day: General Admission Bds $25; Clubhouse (food and drink on sale, no coolers allowed) Bds $50; children 12 and under are free. Hammer 4 x 4 Zone vehicle pass Bds $25, Cyclone 4 x 4 Zone vehicle pass Bds $40, plus General Admission pass for each occupant

Tickets are now available on-line at www.bushyparkbarbados.com and at the Bushy Park Circuit Office, also CS Pharmacy (Broad Street, Bridgetown), Fresh Market (Coverley) and Sol Warrens, St Michael