Radical Caribbean Cup headlines revised Bushy Park calendar

The remaining rounds of the 2020 Radical Caribbean Cup (RCC) are almost certain to be staged at Bushy Park Barbados, as the uncertainties created by the coronavirus pandemic have rendered travel to other host countries in the region unworkable. News of this comes with the publication of a provisional calendar for the rest of 2020 at the St Philip facility.

The opening round of the RCC on Sunday, March 15, was the last motor sport event to run before the island’s Government imposed Lockdown. Those restrictions also halted plans for the Radical SR3 race cars to be shipped to Trinidad & Tobago for rounds two and three of the regional championship’s third season, which were due to run on June 28 and last Sunday. A tentative replacement round scheduled for next Sunday (July 26) also fell victim to the pandemic.

Championship co-ordinator Kurt Seabra explained: “We had hoped to make up for at least one of the rounds we lost at the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield Raceway, but some of the competitors would not have been able to get back into their home countries without quarantine, so it was not feasible. Currently, we plan to run races here in August and November, as the logistics of shipping the cars to Guyana for the traditional final round also present too many challenges.” The July 26 round would have been hosted by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), which has race meets scheduled for August 30 and November 15, featuring RCC races and other content.

The pandemic arrived at a particularly unfortunate time for the Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL), which had planned a return to race meet organisation at Bushy Park as part of an ambitious programme of events for 2020. BARL staged a successful Track Day at the venue yesterday (Sunday July 19) which attracted more than two dozen participants and will combine with BPMSI as joint organisers on those two dates.

Following the success of its mixed-discipline Track Day earlier this month, Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI) will continue to organise days for karts, race cars and rally cars, also for drag racers. Three dates are currently listed on the revised calendar, all on Sundays - August 9, October 11, December 13 – but at least one more may be added.

Like the RCC, the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Autocross Championship was also under away before Lockdown, the first of five rounds run off on February 22. The grassroots discipline was the first to return to competition last Saturday (July 18) with approaching 30 entries, while the remaining dates are listed as Sunday, August 16 - the first-ever double-header for Autocross - and Sunday, December 6.

The Barbados Karting Association (BKA), which kicked off its 2020 Championship in March, has three further dates listed, on September 6, October 4 and November 8. The Barbados Association for Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) has yet to run a points-scoring round this year, although it staged a closed-road event as part of St Lucy’s We Gatherin’ celebrations in January; two dates are listed on the revised Bushy Park calendar, BADD sharing with the BKA on September 6, then running exclusively on November 29.

BPCI Operations Manager Amy Willis said: “After consultation with all the Clubs that use our facility, we are pleased to be able to publish a provisional calendar for the rest of the year. As everyone remains in the shadow of the pandemic, however, we must continue to follow Government guidelines, so we are aware that there may be further changes in the coming weeks.

“We have strict protocols in place to ensure the safest environment for our staff and visitors – just click on the link at the top of the home page on our web site for more information. We would advise people to read these before they visit but, from our experience so far, everyone is taking our hygiene and social distancing measures in their stride. Details will also be included in each Club’s regulations issued to competitors.”

Forthcoming Events 2020 (Provisional)

Aug 9 - BPCI Kart & Car Track Day
Aug 16 – BRC Autocross Championship, rounds 3 & 4
Aug 30 - Race Meeting (BARL & BPMSI)
Sep 6 - Drag Racing (BADD)
Sep 6 - Karting Race Meet (BKA)
Oct 4 - Karting Race Meet (BKA)
Oct 11 - BPCI Kart & Car Track Day
Nov 8 - Karting Race Meet (BKA)
Nov 15 – Race Meeting (BARL & BPMSI)
Nov 29 - Drag Racing (BADD)
Dec 6 – BRC Autocross Championship, round 5
Dec 13 - BPCI Kart & Car Track Day

Key: BPCI – Bushy Park Circuit Inc. Organising Clubs: BADD – Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters; BARL – Barbados Auto Racing League; BKA – Barbados Karting Association; BPMSI – Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc; BRC – Barbados Rally Club

For media information only. No regulatory value

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