BARL returns to Bushy Park

After a four-year hiatus, the Barbados Auto Racing League (BARL) is returning to the island’s top racing circuit.

Having last held a meet at Bushy Park in October 2020, the 28-year-old club will open its season with a circuit racing and time attack event on Sunday, April 21.

League chairman, Stefan Hinds said motorsport lovers were in for a treat this weekend.

“We have four groups in the club – Group 1,2,3,4 and within those groups are specific classes as well, depending on cc sizes etc. So, it would be those four groups in the circuit aspect of it,” Hinds said.

He further explained that the time attack would be in the four classes of Enthusiast Tuner, Tuner Plus and Race Car; while there is also a bike class which was previously unsubscribed.

“Motorsports lovers can expect loads of action from the combined two disciplines along with drifting demonstrations from our Wheels and Heels drivers,” Hinds pointed out.

The chairman also stressed that after a decade of shifts and changes in the club and in motorsport, BARL was in the process of rebuilding.

“We are asking the fans to bear with us. We are working towards getting back to where we were, and we need their support to do so.

“We have a generation of drivers between 2013 and 2023 that we need to reconnect with because it is about the continuity of the sport. We need to develop new drivers, so we have to connect with that lost generation in effect as well,” Hinds said.

Last year the club recorded success with two quarter mile acceleration tests, and two Test and Tune events. Hinds pointed to the acceleration test held in July which he described as ‘outstanding’ and noted that it was held in collaboration with the Barbados Association of Dragsters and Drifters (BADD), which he referred to as BARL’s sister club.

“We intend to develop this relation further in 2024 through supporting their club events and eventually touring regional islands,” he revealed.

Hinds said part of his three-year plan for BARL included finalising plans for the USA/Caribbean series and driving school in association with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).

The club will also be hosting a recruitment drive in the last quarter of this year.

Registration for the upcoming racing season which runs from April to November is expected to start in the coming weeks. Interested drivers can sign up via barlinfo246@gmail.com or at Motor Sport Services in Haggatt Hall, St. Michael.

(PR/RB)