Non-stop RallySprint action at ULTRAFEST Saturday

Drivers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks & Caicos Islands and the UK will join local aces for five hours of non-stop track action at Bushy Park Barbados on Saturday (November 19), where ULTRAFEST will host the final round of the R5 Rally Championship, presented by First Citizens. The RallySprint will feature more than 80 short sharp head-to-head races on the same two-lane three-kilometre layout that was used for the Race Of Champions in 2014.

  ULTRAFEST is an addition to the motoring calendar, which promoters Camber House hope will become an annual event. In its first year, the event is sponsored by Automotive Art, Digicel, First Citizens and Williams Industries; the RallySprint is organised by the Vaucluse Raceway Motorsport Club (VRMSC), with the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) responsible for the evening drag racing.

  The RallySprint entry will be divided into four classes: Modified 4wd, Modified 2wd, Classic and BimmaCup/Miata TT. There will be two Qualifying Heats starting at 1.00pm, followed by a short break while the Knock-Out Schedule and Starters is established, after which the Round of 16, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final for each class will carry the action through to around 6.00pm. A further period has been allowed for ‘Grudge Matches’ on the RallySprint course following the official competition, after which BADD will take to the drag strip.

  While the R5 Championship has already been won by Stuart Maloney (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo), the remaining top five positions are undecided. Roger Hill (Fabia R5) and Josh Read (Ford Fiesta R5) are fighting over second place, Hill ahead by just three points, while it is even closer in the battle for fourth, Mark Maloney (Fabia Rally2 evo) leading Britain’s Rob Swann (Fiesta Rally2) by a single point. The R5 regulars will compete in the Modified 4wd Class, along with double Sol Rally Barbados winner Dane Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12).

  The event will also mark the return of Jeff Panton (Fiesta Rally2), who has been absent from the Championship since retiring from Sol RB22; paired with Doug Gore, he represented Jamaica in ROC Caribbean at the 2014 Race Of Champions, where they were defeated in the final by Team Barbados. The winners, Skeete and Rhett Watson, had reached the Semi-Finals of the ROC Nations Cup earlier on the Saturday, but were defeated by Team Scotland, Susie Wolff and 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, who became the individual Champion of Champions on the Sunday.

  The best-subscribed class this Saturday will feature cars from the BimmaCup, which will go head-to-head for the first time against competitors from the Caribbean Spec Miata Series, which has been growing steadily in Trinidad and Tobago since the pandemic. Three of the Mazda sports cars are competing at ULTRAFEST, with more arriving for VRMSC events the following weekend. The trio are this year’s Champion Justin Wortman, Ryan Peyrau, who won the inaugural Suzuki Challenge Series Swift Cup at Bushy Park in 2016, and Christian Hospedales, who last raced there in 2003, while the BimmaCup field is led by Chris Hoad, Ian Warren and Ryan Wood.

  Early entries for Modified 2wd include the 2022 Barbados Rally Club Champion Edward Corbin (Daihatsu Charmant) and the Toyotas of Andre Corbin (Corolla) and Jason Harewood (Starlet), while the list of nearly 30 entrants assembled by BADD includes former Champion Andre Walcott (Suzuki Swift) plus class winners from events earlier in the year, among them Clement Forde (Honda), Jeremy Greenidge (Evo Colt), Danneal Murray (Turbo Lancer) and Nicolas Pinto (Honda).

  Away from the track activity, the spectator area on The Hill to the north will be abuzz with action and refreshment, with a wide variety of food and drinks available from multiple vendors. The Automotive Culture Alliance has assembled more than 100 cars for the biggest car show since before the pandemic from local groups including the Toyota Limers, Subaru246 and Honda Craze Barbados; there will also be a display of Classic Cars and a Kids Zone, which will be supervised and include a giant Inflatable Tractor and Face Painter.

ULTRAFEST, Saturday, November 19: Gates Open 12.00pm. General Spectator Admission - Gates 1 & 3; 4x4 Entry – Gate 2; VIP & Clubhouse Entry – Gate 4. General Admission - $20, Children 12 and under – Free. VIP & Clubhouse - $180.

For media information only. No regulatory value

For more information on Bushy Park Barbados:

www.bushyparkbarbados.com or Facebook.com/BushyParkBarbados

For further media information, contact:

Bushy Park Barbados Media Team: e-mail: media@bushyparkbarbados.com