Records tumble at Williams Industries International
Records tumbled at Bushy Park Barbados over the weekend as the island played host to the third round of the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) at the Williams Industries International Race Meet (September 2/3). Team Barbados was the top points-scorer of the weekend, moving from third to second in the Country standings, with reigning champions Mark Maloney and Mark Thompson now the respective leaders of the Group 4 (2wd) and Group 2 standings for 2017.
During the first of three Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Cup races, Maloney established a new Outright Lap Record at 58.113s (77.37mph/124.52kmh), while Guyana’s Kristian Jeffrey reduced the SR3 Cup Qualifying Record to 58.318s on Saturday. In the CMRC, Jamaica’s Kyle Gregg reduced the Qualifying Record to 59.289s, Roger Mayers sliced nearly two seconds off his brother Barry’s previous mark with a new Race Record of 59.530s, while Guyana’s Bryce Prince lowered the Superstock mark to 61.910s.
With a total of 1,275 points, Trinidad & Tobago now looks set to win back-to-back titles, but the battle for the places is still on. Barbados now has 457 points, ahead of Jamaica (330pts) and Guyana (181pts), which can be expected to field a strong home team for the final round at South Dakota on November 11/12.
Organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), the weekend’s 25-race programme also included the Suzuki Challenge Series Swift Cup, the BPMSI’s 2017 Club Championship and two Rally Car Handicap Challenge events; in stark contrast to last year’s frequent rain showers, fans were bathed in glorious sunshine while enjoying a total of 200 racing laps – a new record for one day at the St Philip facility - with Hilti Handicap races for cars and bikes rounding off the programme.
Saturday afternoon qualifying set the tone for the weekend, with the CMRC Gp4 session a real thriller. On the Bushy Park debut of his Texaco/GB Energy/BD Gregg Radical RXC, Gregg was targeting a new lap record and looked set for pole position with a stunning time of 59.437s. Pole-sitter in 2014 & ’15, Roger Mayers (Chefette/Digicel/Rubis/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics ‘De Focus’) answered back, however, clocking 59.354s, then Gregg returned less than two minutes before the chequered flag. He timed his reappearance to perfection, clocking 59.289s on his final lap, leaving Mayers no chance to respond. Brother Barry Mayers was third quickest in the M & M Racing Suzuki SX4, leading the 2wd runners with an impressive 60.303s.
‘De Focus’ got the jump at the start of the first race and was never headed, winning by 2.460s; both were lapping in the 59s by the end of the race, but it was Mayers (59.530s) who claimed the new Lap Record, just six-hundredths quicker than Gregg. Mayers was not seen for the rest of the day, after the team heard an ominous noise from the engine, then Gregg retired on lap three while leading the second race and was also not seen again, failing oil pressure the possible cause. Barry Mayers hustled the SX4 round to claim three largely unchallenged 2wd victories, while two seconds and a fourth were sufficient to propel Mark Maloney (Rock Hard Cement/Sign Station Mazda RX-3) into the lead of the 2wd standings in the absence of early leader, T&T’s Franklyn Boodram (UDU/Speedway Auto Supplies Renault Megane Trophy).
Things did not go to plan for Barbados in CMRC Gp3, in which T&T’s Paul Vieira (D's Car Boutique/Redline Oils Mazda RX-7) won all three races to extend his points lead. After claiming pole on his debut in the ex-Jerry Leach Honda Civic, Suleman Esuf did not start on Sunday after the engine let go, while former Gp2 Champion Kurt Thompson (Beacon Insurance/Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Slam 101.1FM/RA Mapp/SDRR Civic) suffered a range of issues, completing only three racing laps all day.
However, Sammy Cumberbatch (Williams Industries/Castrol/Hilti/SC Auto Mechanics BMW M3), Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Hilti/Rezults Auto/Marks Auto Spares/CCT Paints/Cheese Autoglass Finish/Castrol Nissan 1200), Jason Harewood (Mark Auto Spares/Gaskins Garage/Castrol/Image Vault Toyota Starlet) and Kyle King (Percy King Auto Parts/Automotive Art/Valvoline Starlet) all collected valuable Country points.
Three-time Champion Mark Thompson (Automotive Art/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Glassesco/Slam 101.1FM Honda Civic) added three more wins to his earlier two in Trinidad in July to assume the lead of the Gp2 standings, albeit by just half a point from T&T’s Daryl Ali (AutoNation/Total Lubricants/VP Racing Fuels Honda Civic). While Forde-Catwell finished second three times, he was not eligible for Gp3 points and the strong team of T&T Civics driven by Ali, Luke Bhola, Justin Sanguinette – very impressive on his Bushy Park debut – and Bridget Singh packed the places.
Former champion Kenrick Husbands (Hilti/Williams Equipment/Big Gas Toyota Starlet) retired early in race one, not to be seen again, but Adrian Bailey (SRG/M Y Bhana Everything Store/Bliss Water Sports/Tropicana Jewellers/Pro Sales/Lucid Consulting/Tint ‘R’Us/Dove Exhaust Repairs Peugeot 205) and Jerry Leach (SRG Engineering 205) each collected points.
Reigning MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion Bryce Prince, riding a Yamaha R6 for Team Mohameds Enterprise, signalled his intentions in qualifying, with a pole time almost 3secs better than Guyanese team-mate Kevin Graham (Sunburst Orange Juice R6), with Terrance ‘Repsol’ Ollivierre (Xhosa/Kermitt’s Bar/Demario’s Cycle Centre/Sam’s Cycle Repair/Percy King Auto Parts Suzuki GSX-R600) the best of the local riders in third place, another six-tenths back . . . and that was how they finished in Sunday’s races. Prince has now achieved the remarkable feat of nine back-to-back wins to add to the three he claimed last year in the CMRC finale in Guyana.
After team-mate Rossi Joseph flew home following a serious tumble on Friday, T&T’s Warren Luke De Nobriga (Liqui Moly/Trinituner/SUR/Zorce R6) and Nicholas Gonzales (Bizol/Torco Race Fuel/NGC/Mondo Racing/Marins Engineering Kawasaki ZX-6R) finished fourth and fifth in all three races, while local rider Jason Maloney (RE Welding/SpeedShop/A-Class Bakery Services R6) finished sixth in race one after Shirley Scantlebury (Ride Tech/Mikes Towing & Recovery/CA Autobody/Imperial Car Rentals GSX-R600) tipped off; Scantlebury recovered to claim the other two sixth-place finishes.
Results – Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship
Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 4 (4wd) - Race 1: 1st Roger Mayers – BAR (Chefette/Digicel/Rubis/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics ‘De Focus’); 2nd Kyle Gregg – JAM (Texaco/GB Energy/BD Gregg Radical RXC); 3rd Andrew King - GUY (Infab/GTT Mazda RX-7); no other finishers Race 2: 1st A King; no other finishers Race 3: 1st A King; no other finishers Round 3 Champion Driver King
Driver’s Championship – Group 4 (4wd): 1st A King 72 points; 2nd Gregg 68pts; 3rd Cristian Bourne – T&T (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII), 65pts; equal 4th Doug Gore – JAM (Audi TT RS), David Summerbell Jnr – JAM (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII) & Ross Vieira – T&T (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI), 33pts; etc
Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 4 (2wd) 1st Barry Mayers – BAR (Chefette/Digicel/Rubis/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics Suzuki SX4); 2nd Peter Rae - JAM (Epping Oil/Lifespan Water Mazda RX-7); 3rd Rameez Mohamed – GUY (BM Soat Toyota Starlet); no other finishers Race 2: 1st B Mayers; 2nd Mark Maloney – BAR (Rock Hard Cement/Sign Station Mazda RX-3); 3rd Rae; 4th Mohamed; no other finishers Race 3: 1st B Mayers; 2nd Maloney; no other finishers Round 3 Champion Driver B Mayers
Driver’s Championship – Group 4 (2wd): 1st Maloney 116 points; 2nd Franklyn Boodram - T&T (UDU/Speedway Auto Supplies Renault Megane Trophy) 91pts; 3rd Rae 78pts; 4th Mayers 75pts; 5th Mohamed, 39pts; 6th Randy Mohamed – T&T (Mazda RX-7) 30pts; etc
Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 3 - Race 1: 1st Paul Vieira – T&T (D's Car Boutique/Redline Oils Mazda RX-7); 2nd Ronald Wortman – T&T (Shell Helix Ultra/High Performance Coatings Ltd/Carboline Coatings/Peak Performance/RevTech/Competition Clutch/Mileage Mack/Awon Fiberglass Works/Seaboard Marine/ADD Bhagwansingh's Hardware/Malabar Farms/Peake Yacht Services/Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky Honda Civic); 3rd Gary Barrett - CAY (AutoBody/Motor World/Car City/Ricco Construction/Jump Fence Racing Honda Civic); 4th Tremaine Forde-Catwell – BAR (Hilti/Rezults Auto/Marks Auto Spares/CCT Paints/Cheese Autoglass Finish/Castrol Nissan 1200); 5th Sammy Cumberbatch - BAR (Williams Industries/Castrol/Hilti/SC Auto Mechanics BMW M3); 6th Kyle King – BAR (Percy King Auto Parts/Automotive Art/Valvoline Toyota Starlet); etc Race 2: 1st Vieira; 2nd Wortman; 3rd K King; 4th Jason Harewood – BAR (Mark Auto Spares/Gaskins Garage/Castrol/Image Vault Toyota Starlet); 5th Rameez Mohamed – GUY (BM Soat Toyota Starlet); 6th Barrett etc Race 3: 1st Vieira; 2nd Forde-Catwell; 3rd Wortman; 4th Harewood; 5th Justin Sanguinette – T&T (Auto Center/Emerald ECU Honda Civic); 6th Daryl Ali - T&T (AutoNation/Total Lubricants/VP Racing Fuels Honda Civic); etc Round 3 Champion Driver Vieira
Driver’s Championship – Group 3: 1st Vieira 186 points; 2nd Wortman 160.5pts; 3rd Mohamed 66pts; 4th Barrett 65pts; 5th David Lyons – T&T (Suzuki Swift) 49pts; 6th Forde-Catwell 30pts; etc
Seaboard Marine CMRC Group 2 - Race 1: Mark Thompson - BAR (Automotive Art/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Glassesco/Slam 101.1FM Honda Civic); 2nd Justin Sanguinette – T&T (Auto Center/Emerald ECU Honda Civic); 3rd Luke Bhola - T&T (Torco/Fast Parts/Blue Coral Racing/Bhola's Motor Works/Bhola's Marketing/Rich Tune Honda Civic); 4th Bridget Singh - T&T (Apan Construction/ULTRA Lubricants/Race Tech/Blue Sky Shipping Honda Civic); 5th Daryl Ali - T&T (AutoNation/Total Lubricants/VP Racing Fuels Honda Civic); 6th Adrian Bailey - BAR (SRG/M Y Bhana Everything Store/Bliss Water Sports/Tropicana Jewellers/Pro Sales/Lucid Consulting/Tint ‘R’Us/Dove Exhaust Repairs Peugeot 205) Race 2: 1st Thompson; 2nd Sanguinette; 3rd Bhola; 4th Singh; 5th Ali; 6th Jerry Leach - BAR (SRG Engineering Peugeot 205) Race 3: 1st Thompson; 2nd Sanguinette; 3rd Singh; 4th Ali; 5th Bhola; no other finishers
Driver’s Championship – Group 2: 1st Thompson 112.5 points; 2nd Ali 112pts; 3rd Bhola 109pts; 4th Singh 102pts; 5th Sanguinette 75pts; 6th Marc Gill - T&T (Mobil 1/RoscoPetroavance/Marine Safety Equipment/Peak Performance/Car Macho/Auto Stop Honda Civic 45 pts; etc Round 3 Champion Driver Thompson
Country Championship: 1st Trinidad & Tobago 1,275 points; 2nd Barbados 477pts; 3rd Jamaica 330pts; 5th Guyana 181pts; 5th Cayman Islands 65pts; 6th CAMS 30pts
Seaboard Marine CMRC Superstock - Race 1: 1st Bryce Prince – GUY (Team Mohameds Enterprise Yamaha R6); 2nd Kevin Graham – GUY (Sunburst Orange Juice Yamaha R6); 3rd Terrance Ollivierre – BAR (Xhosa/Kermitt’s Bar/Demario’s Cycle Centre/Sam’s Cycle Repair/Percy King Auto Parts Suzuki GSX-R600); 4th Warren Luke De Nobriga – T&T (Liqui Moly/Trinituner/SUR/Zorce Yamaha R6); 5th Nicholas Gonzales - T&T (Bizol/Torco Race Fuel/NGC/Mondo Racing/Marins Engineering Kawasaki ZX-6R); 6th Jason Maloney – BAR (RE Welding/SpeedShop/A-Class Bakery Services Yamaha R6); etc Race 2: 1st Prince; 2nd Graham; 3rd Ollivierre; 4th De Nobriga; 5th Gonzales; 6th Shirley Scantlebury – BAR (Ride Tech/Mikes Towing & Recovery/CA Autobody/Imperial Car Rentals Suzuki GSX-R600); etc Race 3: 1st Prince; 2nd Graham; 3rd Ollivierre; 4th De Nobriga; 5th Gonzales; 6th Scantlebury; etc Round 3 Champion Rider Prince
Rider’s Championship: 1st Prince 225 points; 2nd De Nobriga 120pts; 3rd Gonzales 84pts; 4th Rossi Joseph - T&T (Bizol/RossAir Kawasaki ZX-6R) 55pts; 5th Graham 54pts; 6th Ollivierre 45pts; etc
