Today is the official qualifying day for tomorrow’s highly anticipated Barbados Auto Racing League’s (BARL) Williams Digicel International Race Meet at Bushy Park.
But league officials will be in a race against time due to the late arrival of some of the cars and motorcycles from Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana as a result of a meet in Jamaica last weekend.
The Ford Mondeo of the Republic of Ireland’s Barry Rabbitt arrived by air last Monday.
Racing secretary Kurt Seabra and his team up to late last night were still busy clearing cars and receiving containers carrying the cars of overseas drivers.
“We are extremely busy trying to get all these cars settled in at the track so that mechanics and engineers can start preparing them for Sunday,” Seabra told the SATURDAY SUN.
Qualifying is scheduled to start today at 1 p.m., beginning with the cars entered for the second leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship and scrutineering for what is expected to be a keenly contested affair.
Seaboard Marine, a partner in the weekend exercise, has the responsibility of moving the competition cars around the Caribbean and has already signed on for another season.
However, three drivers originally entered for the event have been forced out due to problems of varying kinds.
Jamaica’s Chris Campbell, who had been entered in a Mitsubishi Evolution-power BMW M3, was ruled out after a wire harness fire after the meet in Jamaica, while Guyana’s Kevin Jeffrey, who was entered in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V, is out as a result of engine problems. So too is Trinidadian Jodi Ali.
In addition, Barbados’ Ron Greaves, who was to contest the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) Two-Wheel Challenge, part of the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary, has also pulled out, but the nature of his problems was unknown at press time.
After today’s qualifying a total of 119 drivers will settle 200 laps of track action divided among 25 races. Nineteen of the competitors are from overseas.
One hundred volunteer marshals and officials will administer the race meet which will start tomorrow at 8 a.m. Officials say the gates will be open two hours earlier.
