Nations Cup introduced to Radical Caribbean Cup for 2020

Competitors in the 2020 Radical Caribbean Cup (RCC) will have an additional incentive to up their performance this year with the introduction of the Nations Cup, along with an extra point on offer for the fastest lap in each race.

The regional championship’s third season kicks off at Bushy Park Barbados on Sunday, March 15, with all signs pointing towards bigger grids and hard-fought competition.

The new Radical Caribbean Nations Cup will adopt the same Formula 1 World Championship-based points system, with 25 points for first, 18 for second, 15 for third, 12 for fourth and so on, awarded to the highest-placed driver from each country. Also new for 2020 is a bonus point for the driver who sets the fastest lap in each of the 15 races, although these points will not be counted towards the standings in the Nations Cup.

RCC Championship manager Kurt Seabra said: “As we expand the grid, we also want to give further acknowledgement to the countries our drivers come from. Rivalry between the territories has always played a big part in regional motor racing, so we expect that this will add a little extra spice to the competition as well as meaning that the honours are more likely to be shared around.

“We’ve run last year’s results against this new points system: Jamaica’s William Myers won the title, with Stuart Maloney of Barbados second and Trinidad & Tobago’s Kristian Boodoosingh third. Had the Nations Cup been in play last year Barbados would have won, with T&T second and Jamaica third.”

It has also been confirmed that the original plan to expand the series to six rounds has been postponed until 2021, with the proposed Easter date in Jamaica now dropped, as no firm agreement on the date would have been possible until after a new board had been appointed at last Saturday’s Jamaica Race Drivers Club (JRDC) Annual General Meeting.

“We are sorry to lose our first trip to Jamaica this year, but there would be just too much to do logistically and not enough time to get it all completed in a timely fashion. We remain committed to working with the JRDC and taking the Caribbean Cup to Jamaica, however, as we do want include all of the region’s long-standing venues,” Seabra explained.

The rest of the calendar remains the same with rounds two and three being staged by the Trinidad & Tobago Automobile Sports Association (TTASA) at the Frankie Boodram International Raceway on June 28 and July 19 before the cars are shipped back for the annual Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) International Race Meet on August 29/30. The Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) will organise the traditional year-end finale at South Dakota over the weekend of November 7/8.

In the first two seasons, there have been eight different winners in 24 races, with 2018 Champion Stuart Maloney the most successful over the two years, claiming seven victories and a further six podium finishes, one pole position and four fastest laps. Despite failing to win a race in his debut season, Myers beat the reigning champion to the 2019 crown by seven points after an impressively consistent performance netted him nine podium finishes.

Running to the same rules that have applied in Barbados since the launch of the former Suzuki Challenge Series in 2015, the Radical Caribbean Cup is a one-make series for the Suzuki-powered Radical SR3 and does not cater for the Radicals of different specifications that are now racing in the region in the hands of drivers such as Kyle Gregg and David Summerbell Jnr. (PR)

Radical Caribbean Cup 2020

Round 1 – March 15, Bushy Park Barbados (BPMSI)

Round 2 – June 28, Frankie Boodram International Raceway, Wallerfield,
Trinidad (TTASA)

Round 3 – July 19, Frankie Boodram International Raceway, Wallerfield,
Trinidad (TTASA)

Round 4 – August 29/30,
Bushy Park Barbados (BPMSI)

Round 5 – November 7/8, South Dakota, Guyana (GMR&SC)