GROUP TWO cars and 600 cc motorcycles will now have their own Caribbean motor racing championship (CMRC) in which to compete.Word of this came during a Press conference on Thursday held by the Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL) at Williams Industrial Complex, Cane Garden, St Thomas to introduce telecommunications giant Digicel, and Williams Industries as the title sponsors of the event scheduled for Bushy Park on August 28 and 29.League secretary Kurt Seabra told the media that with the blessing of Seaboard Marine, who are also the transportation sponsors, they had acceded to the demands from the drivers in group 2 which will now have its own CMRC race, as well as the 600 cc motorcycles.“The competition for the Group 2 CMRC will not include Jamaica as that group has turbo charged cars, but would be contested between drivers from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados,” Seabra said. The racing secretary said that for there to be continuity for the top class in the CMRC to survive, it had to be fed from somewhere and that place is group two.Excitement is already at fever pitch as plans take shape for the event.Seabra said too, that the sponsors, in adding space and including the 600 cc motorcycles for a superbike championship, it was a means of stimulating activity in motorcycle sport in the rest of region.“We will be treated to some of the best riders in competition, including the likes of Canadian Superbike champion, Guyana-born Kevin Graham who has dominated the sport for the past 15 years and to have him entered will something both competitors and spectators will not want to miss,” Seabra said.Pointing out, however, that Barbados was trailing leaders Guyana (64 points) and Jamaica (56), Seabra said about 120 drivers from the Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean were expected to contest the 25-race card which will be preceded by the Herringbone Formation at 8:30 a.m, half an hour before racing starts in earnest.He said the league had already confirmed the drivers to represent in the CMRC as four-wheel drive lap-record holder Roger “His Hotness” Mayers, the two-wheel driver counterpart Stuart Williams, Mark Maloney, Doug Maloney and Barry Mayers.During the Press conference Digicel’s general manager Barry O’Brien, before handing over a cheque for $75 000 to BARL chairman Adrian Mayers, said the company was pleased to be associated with BARL and the Williams and pointed out that it was time for Digicel to become involved in motorsport.“We are known for our presence in cricket and soccer and with motorsport growing so quickly and is so big, it’s time for us to get on board. We will also be promoting the race meet across the region and a promotion will be mounted to help raise awareness. We are proud to be involved with this international race meet, which epitomises our tag line as it gets bigger and better each year,” he said.Managing director of Williams Industries, Stuart Williams, himself a competitor, said that as a family, and a business, their love for motor sport and their willingness to assist wherever they can to promote the growth and popularity of motorsport has not wavered for nearly 40 years and none of this would not have been possible without the support of Wendy Williams and her team which maintains the circuit and its surroundings, the BARL committee, the marshals and volunteers.
