Red Bull Global Rallycross back at Bushy Park Barbados
Following its hugely-successful first visit as part of last May's Top Gear Festival, Red Bull Global Rallycross will return to Bushy Park Barbados on October 3/4, 2015 . . . and island fans will enjoy an even bigger helping of 600 horsepower thrills, hosting one of three double-headers in the 12-race calendar, confirmed today (January 13).
"The 2015 Red Bull Global Rallycross schedule stands to be our best yet," said Colin Dyne, Red Bull GRC CEO. "The combination of one of the strongest calendars in all of motorsports, as well as one of racing's best broadcast packages, thanks to our partnership with NBC Sports Group, is one that will take the racing world by storm this year. With more races and points on the line, we expect to see a thrilling chase for the championship. We are grateful to our many partners for their support throughout the 2014 season, as well as NBC for a fantastic job in their event broadcasts, and we look forward to bringing these relationships into 2015."
In 2014, the practice, qualifying and race action was spread across two days, but this year, each day will represent a full points-scoring round of the Championship, Barbados joining Detroit and Los Angeles as double-headers. Last year's Bushy Park winner Scott Speed (Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross) went on to finish third at year-end, behind the Ford Fiesta STs of Joni Wiman (Oldsberg MSE) and Ken Block (Hoonigan Racing Division), with the title fight decided at the final round in Las Vegas.
Despite finishing his weekend back in May with a dramatic roll while fighting for the lead in the Final, Block was one of many competitors who took to social media to praise the welcome he enjoyed in the island. He told his five million Facebook followers: "My trip to Barbados for the Top Gear Festival was ridiculously fun (well, besides that crash thing). Hung out with some great people, enjoyed the amazing beaches, and spent some quality time doing stuff like backflips off of a pier and free-diving shipwrecks. Hope to go back there sometime in the near future!"
With Block's wish now fulfilled, Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI) Executive Chairman Mark Maloney said: "Ken was only one of many drivers who said how much they enjoyed their visit last year. As a racetrack, Bushy Park presents them with a different environment, and I am really pleased that Global Rallycross sees it as complementary to their city centre events in the United States, so much so that they are expanding on last year's programme with the double-header format."
Top Gear Festival Barbados, during which GRC was hosted in 2014, will not be repeated in 2015. Maloney added: "While our agreement with Top Gear Festival is for three years, the option was there for the event to run non-consecutively, which has worked out well for the plans that were being developed by Global Rallycross for a full-on, action-packed double-header weekend. The next Top Gear Festival is currently scheduled for 2016."
Designed to produce the fastest and most exciting racing in motor sport, Red Bull Global Rallycross pits small production-based cars against each other in door-to-door racing featuring dirt, asphalt, and table-top jumps. With enhanced engineering and safety features, the cars produce 600 horsepower and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under two seconds, and can also withstand 70-foot jumps and other vehicle contact.
Red Bull Global Rallycross 2015 - calendar
May 31 - Tampa/St Petersburg, Florida
June 21 - Daytona, Florida
July 5 - United States Military Base
July 25/26 - Detroit, Michigan (double-header)
August 15 - Washington, DC
August 30 - Seattle, Washington
September 12/13 - Los Angeles, California (double-header)
October 3/4 - Bushy Park Barbados (double-header)
November 5 - Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcast dates and times will be released at a later date - Red Bull Global Rallycross will also return to the NBC family of networks for the 2015 season, with 14.5 hours of original content, an increase of 4.5 hours from 2014. For the first time, GRC Lites will have its own broadcast schedule, with 30-minute broadcasts of all events airing on weekdays on NBCSN.
