Walcott wins 2017 BPMSI Champion Driver title

Andre Walcott (Courts iFinance/M-Grafix/Courts Optical Suzuki Swift)is Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc’s (BPMSI) new Champion Driver. At the fourth and final round of the Club’s 2017 Championship season during the Williams Industries International Race Meet at the St Philip facility on September 2/3, he added three further Group 1/Class 1 wins to his earlier nine to maintain a 100 per cent hit rate and amass a total of 214 points.

Having finished third in class last year and second in 2015, Walcott – a Bushy Park regular since his Rookie debut in 2012 - has outpaced his regular opposition since the start of the season in March; Darren Lashley (SRG Engineering/Full Line Racing Parts/C & A Autobody Repairs/RJ’s Recovery Services Peugeot 205XS) claimed back-to-back second places, with William Jones (H & B Hardware & Lumber Inc Datsun B310) third.

In hisfirst full season of circuit racing, Derek Edwards (D & A Air Conditioning & Refrigeration/Arrow Woodworking BMW 318ti Compact) finished runner-up to Walcott in the chase for the prestigious Champion Driver title with 192 points, but won Gp1/C2, which was the best-subscribed class – 20 drivers raced during the season - and the most competitive. After a hat-trick of class wins, Devan McCartney (Zephirins Bakery/C & A Autobody Repair Honda CRX) had been the early leader, but was a non-scorer in round two, then missed round three.

  A maximum score in round two moved double champion Adrian Bailey (SRG/M Y Bhana Everything Store/Bliss Water Sports/Tropicana Jewellers/Pro Sales/Lucid Consulting/Tints‘R’Us/Dove’s Exhaust Repairs Peugeot 205) ahead, but Edwards moved within four points of Bailey’s total ahead of the final round.

Nothing went right for Bailey at the September International, however, and he slipped behind not only Edwards, but also Robert Gill (Percy King Auto Parts/Rezults/Hilti Tools/Maxxis Tyres Toyota Starlet), who had come in to the reckoning with a hat-trick of wins in round three. Edwards and Gill (157pts)finished second and third in the Champion Driver standings, whileBailey was third in Gp1/C1, ahead of Ross Callender (Crane & Equipment/C & A Autobody Repair/Cheese Auto Glass Finishes/Safe Security/Full Throttle Garage/Brito’s/Percy King Auto Parts/Ullyetts Machine Shop Service Daihatsu Charmant), who was BPMSI’s top points-scorer and Champion Driver of the day at the International weekend.

Gp2/C1 winner Ripley Greene (Huntes Auto Spares/Hilti/Full Line Racing Toyota Corolla) finished fourthin the overall standings, sandwiched between Gill and Bailey, with an overall tie for sixth, all on 129 points, between Lashley and class-winners Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Gp2/C2 Hilti/Rezults Auto/Marks Auto Spares/CCT Paints/Cheese Autoglass Finish/Castrol Charmant) and Kyle King (Gp3/C2 Percy King Auto Parts/Automotive Art/Valvoline Starlet).

Forde-Catwell and King are also two of four drivers in with a chance of clinching the Hilti Handicap Championship for cars, which will be decided at the Barbados Festival of Speed on October 14; with a spread of just three points across the quartet, the other two are Andre Corbin (Line Racing Parts/Twenty2 Bar/Ice Line Design/Tredia Rentals/CA Autobody Repairs Corolla SR) and Kevin Wiggins (Johnson’s Auto Repairs/Therapy Charters/KK Auto Repairs Starlet).

  With a hat-trick of victories, Terrance Ollivierre (Xhosa/Kermitt’s Bar/Demario’s Cycle Centre/Sam’s Cycle Repair/Percy King Auto Parts Suzuki GSX-R600) was the dominant force as BPMSI’s Superstock Bikes raced for the first time in 2017. Shirley Scantlebury (Ride Tech/Mikes Towing & Recovery/CA Autobody/Imperial Car Rentals GSX-R600), Marc-Lee Bascombe (Hot Legendary Fishcakes Yamaha R6) and Jason Maloney (RE Welding/SpeedShop/A-Class Bakery Services R6) scrapped over the places, just three points covering their totals at the end of the day.

BPMSI Championship, final points

Percy King Auto Parts Group 1/Class 1: 1st Andre Walcott(Courts iFinance/M-Grafix/SE Perfomance Suzuki Swift), 214 points; 2nd Darren Lashley (SRG Engineering/Full Line Racing Parts/C & A Autobody Repairs/RJ’s Recovery Services Peugeot 205XS), 129pts; 3rd William Jones (H & B Hardware & Lumber Inc Datsun B310), 117pts; etcGp1/C2:1st Derek Edwards (D & A Air Conditioning & Refrigeration/Arrow Woodworking BMW 318ti Compact), 192pts; 2nd Robert Gill (Percy King Auto Parts/Rezults/Hilti Tools/Maxxis Tyres Toyota Starlet), 157pts; 3rdAdrian Bailey (SRG/M Y Bhana Everything Store/Bliss Water Sports/Tropicana Jewellers/Pro Sales/Lucid Consulting/Tints‘R’Us/Dove’s Exhaust Repairs Peugeot 205), 146pts; etc

Digicel Group 2/Class 1: 1st Ripley Greene (Huntes Auto Spares/Hilti/Full Line Racing Toyota Corolla), 147pts; 2nd Mark Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Slam 101.1FM/Bio Beauty Toyota Starlet), 60pts; 3rd Carlos Edwards (Toyota Starlet); etcGp2/C2: 1st Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Hilti/Rezults Auto/Marks Auto Spares/CCT Paints/Cheese Autoglass Finish/Castrol Daihatsu Charmant), 129pts; 2nd Mark Thompson (Automotive Art/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Glassesco/Slam 101.1FM Honda Civic), 58pts; 3rd Andre Forde (Percy King Auto Parts/Forde’s Vending Machines Toyota Starlet), 27pts; etc

Crane & Equipment Group 3/Class 2:1st Kyle King (Percy King Auto Parts/Automotive Art/Valvoline Toyota Starlet), 129pts;2nd Jason Harewood (Mark Auto Spares/Gaskins Garage/Castrol/Image Vault Toyota Starlet), 87pts; 3rd Kurt Thompson (Beacon Insurance/Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty Day Spa/Slam 101.1FM/RA Mapp/SDRR Honda Civic), 81pts; etc

Rock Hard Cement Group4/2wd: 1st Mark Maloney (Rock Hard Cement/Sign Station Mazda RX-3), 111pts; 2nd Barry Mayers (Chefette/Digicel/Rubis/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics Suzuki SX4), 45pts; 3rd Gregory Catwell (Cheese Auto Glass Finish Datsun 1600), 15ptsGp4/4wd: 1st Roger Mayers (Chefette/Digicel/Rubis/DHL/Hankook/Illusion Graphics ‘De Focus’), 15pts; 2nd Doug Maloney (Maloney Racing Team Audi A4 quattro), 12pts

Ionics Superstock Bikes: 1st Terrance Ollivierre (Xhosa/Kermitt’s Bar/Demario’s Cycle Centre/Sam’s Cycle Repair/Percy King Auto Parts Suzuki GSX-R600), 75pts; 2nd Shirley Scantlebury (Ride Tech/Mikes Towing & Recovery/CA Autobody/Imperial Car Rentals Suzuki GSX-R600), 46pts; 3rd Marc-Lee Bascombe (Hot Legendary Fishcakes Yamaha R6), 45pts; 4th Jason Maloney (RE Welding/SpeedShop/A-Class Bakery Services Yamaha R6), 42pts; 5th Ronnie Cooke (More 4 Less Tyres Yamaha R6), 28pts; 6th Stephon Holder (Suzuki GSX-R600), 26pts; etc

Hilti Handicap for Cars (after round 4):1st Forde-Catwell, 38pts; 2nd King, 37pts; 3rd Andre Corbin (Line Racing Parts/Twenty2 Bar/Ice Line Design/Tredia Rentals/CA Autobody Repairs Toyota Corolla SR), 36pts; 4th Kevin Wiggins (Johnson’s Auto/Therapy Fishing Charters/KK Auto Repairs Toyota Starlet), 35pts;5th D Edwards, 27pts; 6th Bailey, 26pts; etc

Hilti Handicap for Bikes (after round 1): 1st Cooke, 25pts; 2nd Kevin Bynoe (Suzuki GSX-R600), 18pts; 3rd Ollivierre, 15pts; 4th Bascombe, 12pts; 5th J Maloney, 10pts