Bushy Park Circuit is a
motorsport
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...
race track
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...
in the parish of
St. Philip,
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
. The circuit features a
FIA Grade 4 course and a CIK Grade 1 course.
History
The original race track was built in 1971 by sugar cane plantation workers as a circuit. The circuit became a hub for racing in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
over the next three decades, however had fallen into disrepair by the mid-2000s. Local rally driver Ralph Williams coerced the
FIA and Apex Circuit Design into supporting the circuit's redevelopment, a cause that was boosted by the large crowds witnessed at the local touring car event which delegates chose to attend. Reconstruction began in 2013 on what was grandly proposed as the central hub for racing in the Caribbean.
The track was refurbished and reopened in 2014 with the inaugural event being the
Top Gear Festival featuring the
Global RallyCross Championship. Later in the same year it hosted the
2014 Race of Champions. The
Global RallyCross Championship returned in 2015 for a double-header event. Bushy Park has also since been used as a stage for Rally Barbados. Initially awarded a Grade Three license, a 2016 legal dispute that rendered the track unusable for 18 months would see the FIA downgrade the circuit to a Grade Four licence.
The circuit is owned by property developer Mark Maloney, uncle of
2019 British F4 champion
Zane Maloney.
References
External links
Motorsport in BarbadosCircuit website
Motorsport venues in Barbados
Populated places in Barbados
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