Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup steps up to regional status

 The Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup is to become a regional championship, Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI) confirmed today (Tuesday). In its first year, a four-round series will be contested at head-lining race meetings in Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, with plans for further expansion in future seasons.

  BPCI was appointed sole distributor for Radical Sportscars in the Caribbean last year; based in the East Midlands city of Peterborough, the British manufacturer has built more than 2,000 cars, progressing from the iconic Clubsport model revealed in early 1996 and which established the company's reputation, to the SR8, which brought Le Mans Prototype pace to the UK national racing scene.

  The new regional series will kick off at next month's second round of the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) at the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), run by the T&T Automobile Sports Association (TTASA); rounds two and three will be hosted by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) in Barbados, with night-racing added to the challenge in July, before the CMRC round in September; the final round will be at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club's (GMR&SC) traditional CMRC finale at South Dakota in November.

  Running to the same rules that have applied to the SR3 Cup in Barbados since 2015, this is again a one-make series for the Suzuki-powered Radical SR3, so will not cater for the Radicals of different specifications that are now racing in the region in the hands of drivers such as Kyle Gregg and David Summerbell Jnr; all cars will be scrutineered before each qualifying round to ensure compliance.

  An agreement has been reached with the three organising clubs to offer the same package to competitors at each round: on the Thursday or Friday, four hours of track time will be available for testing, an important consideration as many competitors will not have previously driven a Radical at one or more of the venues; on Qualifying Day, there will be 10 minutes of Practice, prior to Qualifying, with grid positions decided on the fastest of five laps. On Race Day, there will be three races, running for a minimum of 15 minutes, with the specific number of laps at each venue yet to be decided, based on potential lap times and circuit length, but likely to be around 15 to 18 laps.

  BPCI Facility & Workshop Manager Kurt Seabra, who is the Series Co-ordinator, said: "Drivers from all three countries have already competed in the Radical series during the previous three seasons and have cars available to race, so a regional series is a logical move. The drivers in Guyana and Trinidad are on the same page as us with this idea, as are the organisers, and I believe we can expect between 8 and 10 cars competing in the first round in Trinidad."

  In the 55 SR3 Cup races run since the series was launched in 2015, there have been 10 race-winners, eight from the region. Barbados, where the series was created, has a strong record, with the Maloney brothers, Mark, Sean and Stuart having amassed a total of 33 race wins between them, with Sol Esuf (nine) and David Simpson (one) adding to the total. Guyana's Kristian Jeffrey has won six times, with fellow-countrymen Calvin Ming and Mark Vieira reaching the chequered flag first twice each. Moving the series to new venues is expected to change the dynamic in the future.

Radical Caribbean SR3 Cup

Round 1 - June 23/24, Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway, Trinidad & Tobago (TTASA) - CMRC, round 2 Round 2 - July 7, Bushy Park Barbados (BPMSI) - Night Races Round 3 - September 1/2, Bushy Park Barbados (BPMSI) - CMRC, round 3 Round 4 - November 10/11, South Dakota, Guyana (GMR&SC) - CMRC, round 4