Strong performance from Barbados at CMRC Wallerfield

 Team Barbados headed home from last Sunday's (July 24) second round of the 2016 Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship with a 100 per cent finishing record in all classes at the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in Trinidad & Tobago. Mark Maloney, who now leads the Group 4 2wd Championship, was the group's Champion Driver on the day, while Steve King, who claimed his first CMRC victory, shared the Gp3 Champion Driver honours with Paul Vieira.

  Attention now turns to preparations for round three of the CMRC, which will headline Bushy Park Motor Sport Inc's (BPMSI) action-packed International Race Meet at the St Philip facility over the weekend of September 3rd/4th, a little over five weeks away.

  The Digicel / Maloney Racing Team Mazda RX-3 ran faultlessly all weekend. Maloney said: "A lot of time has been spent on making it more reliable and it is now faster than ever before and handling better than ever before", words backed up by his Qualifying performance. He was comfortably the fastest 2wd, by more than 1sec, with a time of 40.125s; more than that, he was right on the heels of the top 4wd cars - lap record holder Guyana's Kristian Jeffrey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) was on pole (39.047s), with Jamaica's Doug Gore (Audi TT-R DTM) clocking 39.830s.

  Although there are now separate points tables - and Champion Driver titles - for 2wd and 4wd Group 4, the two classes ran together at Wallerfield, Maloney just seven-tenths behind Gore at the chequered flag after the first 12-lap race. But it was the 2wd battle on which Maloney needed to focus - with a hat-trick of comfortable victories, finishing more than 30secs ahead of his closest rivals, he is the new Gp4 2wd points leader. 

  T&T's Franklyn Boodram (Renault Megane Trophy) was second in the first two races, then third in the final outing behind Jamaica's Peter Rae (Mazda RX-7), who had led the points before the weekend. Adding victory in the final race at Jamwest in May, Maloney now has four straight wins to his credit, and 118 points; Rae is second (108) and Boodram third (102) promising a close battle 'at home' for Maloney in September.

  In Group 3, Steve King qualified the Automotive Art / Valvoline / Percy King Auto Parts Toyota Starlet fourth, with three T&T drivers ahead - David Lyons (Suzuki Swift) on pole, reigning Champion Paul Vieira (Mazda RX-7) and Ronald Wortman (Honda Civic). King finished fifth in race one, equalling his best overseas CMRC result (Guyana 2014), then claimed his first podium in race two, before crowning a successful day with his first win.

  King's strong performance netted him 50 points, slotting him straight in to fourth place in the Gp3 standings, behind the only three drivers who have scored at both venues - Vieira, who has 125, Guyana's Danny Persaud (Mazda Miata) on 66 and Jamaica's Alan Chen (Starlet), who has scored 63. With dropped scores to be taken into account at year-end, there is still a long way to go.

  Twice a CMRC Champion, Mark Thompson (Stag Beer / Automotive Art / Glassesco / NKM Clothing / Bio-Beauty / Calvin Alkins Customs Services Honda Civic) had three top five finishes in the fiercely-competitive Group 2. T&T's Mark Williams, in the ex-Kyle Gregg Civic, claimed a hat-trick of wins, chased home each time by the Civics of Guyana's Shan Seejattan and T&T's Luke Bhola, who has assumed the Gp2 lead from Jamaica's Sebastian Rae, who did not race. With two fourths and a fifth to his credit, Thompson joins the standings in seventh place.

  On two wheels, Brook Miller piloted the Evolite / Kari Brook Live / Bridgestone / VP Racing / Kore Fitness / Biz Needz Suzuki GSX-R600 to three top seven finishes in the CMRC Superstock races; with 20 riders having scored points so far, Miller's 26 slot him into 10th place, Guyana's Stephen and Matthew Vieira are leading the way aboard Kawasaki and Triumph machines, with 122 and 105 points respectively.

Image courtesy of Nicholas Bhajan Photography/Caribbean Action Images. 

Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship 2016

Round 2, July 23/24 - Wallerfield, Trinidad & Tobago - results 

Group 4 (4wd) - Race 1: 1st Doug Gore (JAM), Audi TT-R DTM; 2nd Christian Bourne (T&T), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII; 3rd Kristian Boodoosingh (T&T), Evo VI; 4th Gregory John (T&T), Mazda RX-7; no other finishers Race 2: 1st Gore; no other finishers Race 3: 1st Gore; 2nd Gerard Carrington (T&T), Evo VIII; 3rd Boodoosingh; 4th John; no other finishers

Driver Championship (Gp4 - 4wd): 1st Gore 136 points; 2nd Kyle Gregg (JAM), Radical RXC 43pts; 3rd Boodoosingh 30pts; 4th John 24pts; equal 5th Bourne, Carrington & Paul Bodden (CAY), Evo VII 18pts; etc

Group 4 (2wd) - Race 1: 1st Mark Maloney (BAR), Mazda RX-3; 2nd Franklyn Boodram (T&T), Renault Megane Trophy; 3rd Richard Mohammed (T&T), RX-7; 4th Jason Chen (T&T), Lotus Elite; 5th Peter Rae (JAM), RX-7; no other finishers Race 2: 1st Maloney; 2nd Boodram; 3rd Rae; 4th Mohammed; no other finishers Race 3: 1st Maloney; 2nd Rae; 3rd Boodram; 4th Mohan Rangasammy (GUY), RX-7; 5th David Lyons (T&T), Suzuki Swift; 6th Danny Persaud (GUY), Mazda Miata; etc

Driver Championship (Gp4 - 2wd): 1st Maloney 118pts; 2nd Rae 108pts; 3rd Boodram 102pts; 4th Rangasammy 51pts; 5th Mohammed 33pts; 6th Persaud 18pts; etc

Group 3 - Race 1: 1st Paul Vieira (T&T), Mazda RX-7; 2nd David Lyons (T&T), Suzuki Swift; 3rd Danny Persaud (GUY), Mazda Miata; 4th Alan Chen (JAM), Toyota Starlet; 5th Steve King (BAR), Starlet; 6th Ishmael Khan (T&T), Starlet Race 2: 1st P Vieira; 2nd A Chen; 3rd King; 4th Persaud; 5th Afraz Allie (GUY), Starlet; 6th Khan; etc Race 3: 1st King; 2nd Ronald Wortman (T&T), Honda Civic; 3rd A Chen; 4th Persaud; 5th Allie; 6th Khan

Driver Championship (Gp3): 1st P Vieira 125pts; 2nd Persaud 66pts; 3rd A Chen 63pts; 4th King 50pts; 5th Gary Barrett (CAY), Civic 42pts; 6th Nazim Gafoor (GUY), Miata 40pts; etc

Group 2 - Race 1: 1st Mark Williams (T&T), Honda Civic; 2nd Shan Seejattan (GUY), Civic; 3rd Luke Bhola (T&T), Civic; 4th Mark Thompson (BAR), Civic; 5th Che Carrington (T&T), Civic; 6th Justin Sanguinette (T&T), Civic; etc Race 2: 1st Williams; 2nd Seejattan; 3rd Bhola; 4th Thompson; 5th Sanguinette; 6th Peter Jaggon (JAM), Honda Civic; etc Race 3: 1st Williams; 2nd Seejattan; 3rd Bhola; 4th Kristian Boodoosingh (T&T), Civic; 5th Thompson; 6th Ross Vieira (T&T), Civic; etc

Driver Championship (Gp2): 1st Bhola 93pts; 2nd Williams 75pts; 3rd Sebastien Rae (JAM), Civic 55pts; 4th Seejattan 54pts; 5th Marc Gill (T&T), Civic 50pts; 6th Daryl Ali (T&T), Civic 45pts; etc

Country Championship (Cars): 1st Trinidad & Tobago 799pts; 2nd Jamaica 465pts; 3rd Guyana 276pts; 4th Barbados 202pts; 5th Cayman Islands 60pts; 6th CAMS 4pts

Superstock - Race 1: 1st Matthew Vieira (GUY), Triumph 675 Daytona; 2nd Stephen Vieira (GUY), Kawasaki ZX6; 3rd Keil Abraham (T&T), Kawasaki ZX6; 4th Warren De Nobrega (T&T), Yamaha R6; 5th Brook Miller (BAR) Suzuki GSX-R600; 6th Kevin Persaud (GUY), Kawasaki ZX6; etc Race 2: 1st M Vieira; 2nd S Vieira; 3rd Abraham; 4th Dominic DeLeon (T&T), Kawasaki ZX6; 5th Miller; 6th Heeranand Boodram (GUY), Yamaha R6; etc Race 3: 1st M Vieira; 2nd S Vieira; 3rd DeLeon; 4th H Boodram; 5th De Nobriega; 6th Abraham; etc

Rider Championship: 1st S Vieira 122pts; 2nd M Vieira 105pts; 3rd Robert McDonald (JAM), Yamaha R6 45pts; 4th Elliott Vieira (GUY), Kawasaki ZX6 43pts; 5th Abraham 38pts; equal 6th De Nobrega & Linton Martin (JAM), Kawasaki ZX6 28pts; etc

Country Championship (Bikes): 1st Guyana 326pts; 2nd Jamaica 157pts; 3rd Trinidad & Tobago 97pts; 4th Barbados 26pts