A?GRAND rehearsal today should set the tone for the opening day of the Top Gear Festival Barbados at Bushy Park tomorrow.
Word of this came from Operations Director of the Bushy Park Circuit Inc. (BPCI) Mark Hamilton as the newly-redeveloped facility was turned into a hive of activity for the two-day event, the first of its kind to be held in the Caribbean.
But today’s activities will not be opened to the public as both competitors and the developers will be also be putting the finishing touches to the circuit and its environs.
“Everything is on stream for the festival, but as you would expect for an event of this magnitude, there would be some adjustments and modifications; some fine-tuning and some tweaking as we approach the opening hour”, Hamilton told WEEKEND SPORT.
Adding that the BPCI had been able to achieve much in the time since the start of the development, Hamilton had high praise for all concerned and to all those who had worked over and above the call of duty to bring the project to where it is.
“The cars are here, the drivers are here and their technical crews are going all out to make sure that all is ready for the best possible presentation ever to be staged in Barbados,” the operations director added.
Apart from the Red Bull RallyCross which will have its qualifying session tomorrow, Barbadians will witness international drifters going head-to-head with the best local exponents of the art.
However, the names of the Barbadian drivers had not been made public at Press time, but it is understood that local sliding master Geoff Ullyett and Andrew Jones could be among the drivers “locking horns” with their international counterparts, most notable among them, Ken Block.
Jamaican and Caribbean drivers’ champion Doug ‘Hollywood’ will also be among the regional drivers coming under starters’ orders.
And as if to further heighten the level of competition, Bushy Park is the next stop on the calendar for Formula I world championship leader Lewis Hamilton as Barbadian drivers prepare to compete for a places in the “Ultimate Showdown” of the inaugural event.
Lewis Hamilton, at the wheel of a Mercedes AMG Petronas FI car and fresh from winning the Spanish Grand Prix, is set for a face-off with Richard Hammond, the Top Gear presenter who will be driving a road-going Mercedes AMG.
A classic FI pursuit with the 1984 Toleman at one time driven driven by the late FI great Ayrton Senna, and 1989 Camel Lotus Judd of the 1980s FI era are also on the cards, as well as face-off of Group B Rally pursuit cars.
Tomorrow’s action will open at 10. a.m. with drifting demonstrations, burnouts and donuts by Team Japspeed, the official drifting partner, featuring drivers such as drifting hero and pop music star Shane Lynch from Boyzone, before power laps by “The Stig” and a Le Mans pursuit, and a showdown of three British super cars in a three-lap race.