Williams Digicel International to host CMRC at Bushy Park

 All roads lead to Bushy Park Barbados next month, when the cream of the region's motor sport stars will face off in the Williams Digicel International Race Meet (September 3/4). Round three of the 2016 Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) is the headline event of an action-packed schedule, with approaching 10 hours of track activity on Sunday alone.

 Organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), the 23-race programme will also include rounds of the Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Cup and Swift Cup and the BPMSI's own 2016 Club Championship, offering fans a total of more than 170 racing laps. Three races each are scheduled for the SR3 Cup and Swift Cup, BPMSI Groups 1 to 4, plus the increasingly-popular Bike classes, along with Hilti Handicap races on two and four wheels to round off the weekend's programme.

 Encouraged by 'Early Bird' prices, a steady flow of entries is already being received at Motorsport Services, where registration opened last Wednesday (August 3); the first closing date for entries is this Friday (August 12), after which entry fees will rise by Bds $50 to $190 until the final closing date a week later, on Friday, August 19.

 BPMSI chairman Sean Maloney said: "I am delighted to confirm Williams Industries and Digicel Barbados as our two title sponsors once again. This marks the sixth year of joint support for Bushy Park's annual International Race Meet, since Digicel partnered in 2010 with Williams Industries, which had been the event's title sponsor since 2004. I must also acknowledge the significant support of Seaboard Marine, title sponsor of the CMRC, whose commitment to shipping racing machinery around the region is vital to the sustainability of the championship."

 Details of race entries will be released over the coming weeks, as BPMSI works with the regional clubs to confirm availability of men and machines. Maloney added: "The final entry lists are still a work in progress, but we expect the pieces of the puzzle to drop into place over the next couple of weeks. Jamaica had their Emancipation of Speed meet last weekend, while the team from Guyana went home from Wallerfield with work to do on a number of their leading cars, so we await final confirmation of the team line-ups, once everyone knows who has cars and bikes that are ready. Even though we don't yet know what Team Barbados will be facing, you can guarantee that we'll be ready for them!"

 After the two rounds, at the Jamwest Raceway in Jamaica in March and the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in Trinidad & Tobago last month, the early host nations are ahead: T&T's Team Tigers lead the CMRC Country Championship with 799 points, with Jamaica second on 465. Guyana (276pts) is third, 74 points ahead of Barbados, with the Cayman Islands (60pts) and CAMS/USA (4pts) completing the table.

 The individual leaders in the five CMRC Groups are: Group 4 (4wd) - Doug Gore (JAM); Gp4 (2wd) - Mark Maloney (BAR); Gp3 - Paul Vieira (T&T); Gp2 - Luke Bhola (T&T); Superstock - Stephen Vieira (GUY). As last year, competitors will count their best nine scores from 12 races, which gives those who cannot contest every round because of tight budgets or clashing dates a chance to achieve a worthwhile result.

Williams Digicel International Race Meet details:

Admission to Testing on Friday, September 2 (gates open 11.00am), and Practice and Qualifying on Saturday, September 3 (gates open 9.00am), is free

Race Day on Sunday, September 4 (gates and ticket booths open 7.30am): General Admission Bds $25; Clubhouse (food and drink on sale) Bds $50; VIP (food on sale, drinks free) Bds $125; children 12 and under are free. 4 x 4 Hammer Zone vehicle pass Bds $25, Cyclone 4 x 4 Zone vehicle pass Bds $40, plus Spectator Admission pass Bds $25 for each occupant

Tickets are now available on-line at www.bushyparkbarbados.com/cmrc-tickets and at the Bushy Park Circuit Office, also at Automotive Art Wildey, CS Pharmacy (Broad Street, Bridgetown), NKM (Hastings Main Road) and Sol Speightstown, Warrens and Wildey. Patrons can buy their advanced tickets using the Massy Card at the Bushy Park Circuit Office and Automotive Art Wildey

Image courtesy: Ozzman Photography