Early start for Barbados Motoring Federation 2019 season

The opening round of the inaugural Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) will launch the Barbados Motoring Federation’s 2019 (BMF) motorsport calendar earlier than in recent years, just two weeks into January. Nearly 50 events to be organised by the BMF’s seven sporting Member Clubs are listed on the 2019 Calendar, published today (December 5), and with at least one event in every month of the year.

The calendar is confirmed against a background of sustained numbers participating in the sport: approaching 400 competitors saw action in 2018 in events run under permits issued by the BMF, more than 110 of them overseas visitors. Just over 40 competitors from the wider Caribbean traveled to compete in circuit racing, rallying, rallycross and rallysprints, a growing number leaving their cars in the island to facilitate more regular visits. The addition of more than 70 from as far afield as mainland Europe, New Zealand, and the United States was a further reminder of the valuable role motorsport plays in the island’s important sports-tourism industry.

The new regional series for 11 to 15-year-olds, CJKAT is to be contested over three weekends in the first quarter of the year at Bushy Park Barbados. Other confirmed regional and international events are: Sol Rally Barbados and Flow King of the Hill, organised by the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) in May and June; the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) and Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup, hosted by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) in September; the final round of the Tropical Shipping Caribbean Bimma Cup Championship at Vaucluse Raceway in November.

The domestic calendar lists a broad cross-section of motor sport disciplines, from grass-roots autocross, dexterity and karting events, through circuit racing and drag racing to off-road 4x4 navigational safaris, rallycross, rallysprints, special stage rallies and speed events. They are organised by the BMF’s seven sporting Member Clubs: 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); 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.

For media information only. No regulatory value.

For further information, please contact BMF Vice-President, Mark Hamilton:
e-mail: mhaminc@gmail.com

Barbados Motoring Federation
Motor Sport Calendar 2019

Jan 12/13 - Kart Race Meet (BMF) – Bushy Park Feb 2/3 - Kart Race Meet (BKA/BMF) – Bushy Park Feb 24 - Autocross (BRC) – Bushy Park Mar 2/3 - Kart Race Meet (BKA/BMF) – Bushy Park Mar 3 - Drag Racing (BADD) – Bushy Park Mar 10 - Navigational Rally (BRC MudDogs) – Islandwide Mar 17 - Speed Event (MCBI) – venue to be confirmed Mar 30 - RallySprint (VRMSC) – Vaucluse Raceway Apr 6 - Autocross (BRC) – Bushy Park Apr 7 - Kart Race Meet (BKA) – Bushy Park Apr 13 - Navigational Rally (BRC MudDogs) – Islandwide Apr 14 - Special Stage Rally (BRC) – venue to be confirmed Apr 22 – Dexterity Driving Challenge (BARL) – UWI Apr 28 - Speed Event (MCBI) – venue to be confirmed Apr 29 - Race Meet (BPMSI) – Bushy Park May 1 - MudFest (BRC MudDogs) – venue to be confirmed May 5 - Drag Racing (BADD) – Bushy Park May 5 - Kart Race Meet (BKA) – Bushy Park May 26 - Speed Event (BRC) – Stewarts Hill May 31-Jun 2 - Special Stage Rally (BRC) – Islandwide Jun 10 - Race Meet (BPMSI) – Bushy Park Jun 15 - RallySprint (VRMSC) – Vaucluse Raceway Jun 23 - Drag Racing (BADD) – Bushy Park Jun 23 - Autocross (BRC) – Bushy Park Jun 29/30 - Navigational Rally (BRC MudDogs) – Islandwide Jul 7 - Kart Race Meet (BKA) – Bushy Park Aug 10 - Autocross (BRC) – Bushy Park Aug 17 - Rallycross (VRMSC) – Vaucluse Raceway Aug 25 - Speed Event (MCBI) – venue to be confirmed Aug 31/Sep 1 - Race Meeting (BPMSI) – Bushy Park Sep 8 - Kart Race Meet (BKA) – Bushy Park Sep 14 - Navigational Rally (BRC MudDogs) – Islandwide Sep 15 - Drag Racing (BADD) – Bushy Park Sep 21 - Special Stage Rally (MCBI) – venue to be confirmed Sep 28 - RallySprint (VRMSC) – Vaucluse Raceway Sep 29 - Speed Event (BRC) – venue to be confirmed Oct 6 - Kart Race Meet (BKA) – Bushy Park Oct 13 - Race Meeting (BPMSI) – Bushy Park Oct 20 - Navigational Rally (BRC MudDogs) – Islandwide Oct 27 - Special Stage Rally (BRC) – venue to be confirmed Nov 3 - Kart Race Meet (BKA) – Bushy Park Nov 3 - Autocross (BRC) – Bushy Park Nov 9/10 – Rallycross/RallySprint (VRMSC) – Vaucluse Raceway Nov 16/17 - Rallycross/RallySprint (VRMSC) – Vaucluse Raceway Nov 23/24 – Race Meet (BPMSI) – Bushy Park Nov 30 – Dexterity Driving Challenge (BARL) – UWI Dec 1 - Drag Racing (BADD) – Bushy Park

NB: events are described by the generic names under which they are granted a BMF permit. Organising clubs may apply different titles to their events, for instance, to reflect individual sponsorship commitments

Key to abbreviations:
BADD - Barbados Association of Dragster & Drifters (www.baddmotorsports.com) BARL - Barbados Auto Racing League (Facebook/BarbadosAutoRacingLeague)
BKA - Barbados Karting Association (Facebook/barbadoskartingassociation)
BPMSI – Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (Facebook/BPMSInc) BRC - Barbados Rally Club (www.barbadosrallyclub.com; www.rallybarbados.net; Facebook/BarbadosRallyClub; Facebook/SolRallyBarbados); BRC MudDogs (Facebook/246Muddogs) MCBI - Motoring Club of Barbados Inc (Facebook/Motoring-Club-Barbados-Inc)
VRMSC - Vaucluse Raceway Motor Sport Club (Facebook/Barbados-Historic-Rally-Carnival; Facebook/BimmaCup)

For media information only. No regulatory value.