Stiff competition the order of the day at Bushy Park last weekend

Jan 26, 2016 Sports

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Bushy Park Circuit Inc. Barbados – Radical International descended upon the

2.01 km race track at Bushy Park Circuit in Barbados.  On the opening weekend, there was stiff competition with all cars being relatively equal.  A grid of Suzuki-powered Radical SR3 RS sports racers contesting the Suzuki Challenge Series which offers the fastest racing in the region.  Radical SR3 sports cars are lightweight, 2-seater, 1.5 Litres, 11,000 RPM, Suzuki-powered racing cars from 220 horsepower.  They can scoot from standing still to 100 kph (62 Mph) in about 3 seconds and can reach 2.5G through corners and under braking.
The top qualifier on day one was # 14, Suleman Esuf of Barbados with a blistering 58.965 lap time.  This is Esuf’s first season of circuit racing and he is radically improving each time out especially only having his first test in a Radical back in December.  He comes from a drag racing background with the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters, with achieving the fastest ¼ mile times in his EVO IX back in 2013 & ’14 before moving onto a 3rd place finish in the Karting Association BKA 125 Shifter Class in Barbados in ’15.
He must’ve been blessed because in his debut race, he claimed top spot with # 86, Mark

Maloney and # 22, Sean Maloney of Barbados rounding out the podium with # 10, Calvin Ming of Guyana debuting in 4th place.
The reigning Radical champion, # 22, Sean Maloney, hand a ding dong battle with the rest of the competitors before he narrowly polished them off and was victorious in Race 2. Sean Maloney is the lesser known of the Maloney’s, even though, he is not seen in action as much as brothers Mark & Stuart, mostly in cars.  Sean Maloney is just as competitive. He used to drive a Hyundai Scoupe (also rallied by Stuart) in the first couple of Rally Sprint seasons at Vaucluse Raceway in the early 2000’s then he won at Old Bushy Park in a Toyota Starlet.  In Karting, he was the BKA’s 125 Shifter Kart Champion for his first season in 2004, finishing year-end runner-up in the class in ’05 & ’09. He also competes in a Z-Cars Mini, powered by a rear-mounted Suzuki Hyabusa engine.
Race 2 finishers were #10 Calvin Ming followed by 3rd place, # 7 David Simpson of Barbados with # 86 Mark Maloney rounding out the top 4.
The final race for Day One, saw # 22 Sean Maloney continuing his dominance on home asphalt by winning again followed by # 10 Calvin Ming and # 86 Mark Maloney improving from his earlier 4th place finish whilst # 7 David Simpson

dropped a spot this time around.  Quite possibly the tallest racer in motorsports at 6’7, # 17 Jack Manchester of England bowed out with damage to his Radical in race 1.
Then, there was Day Two for another 3 races on hand.  In qualifying, # 10 Calvin Ming scorched out an impressive lap time of 58.869 (possibly a track record) to start on the pole.  However, he was pressured by the Maloney family and ultimately was pitch forked into a 4th place finish.  The win was claimed by # 22 Sean Maloney, 2nd was # 16 Stuart Maloney and rounding out the podium was # 86 Mark Maloney.
Race 2, # 10, Calvin Ming re-grouped and claimed the coveted prize by winning in style in his 5th race in his white and green Radical.  Calvin Ming of Guyana is no stranger to racing.  In fact, he is following in the footsteps of his successful father, Stanly who is a multiple race winner in motorsports (4 and 2 wheels).  Calvin started racing Karts at the age of 6 at the Cosmos track in Georgetown before tackling the ‘Circuit’ at South Dakota, Guyana where he won the Shifter Kart title in ’2012.  In ‘2015, he claimed his 1st State-side race win in Karts.  In a different race series, he finished on the podium in his debut weekend racing in the US FF1600 finals.  But, Sunday, in race # 2, He was closely followed by 2nd place finisher, # 22, Sean Maloney then, 3rd was # 16 Stuart Maloney, whilst Saturday’s winner # 14 Suleman Esuf rebounded for a 4th place finish.
Final race of the day and the 6th this opening weekend of the Radical Series, # 10 Calvin Ming continued his winning streak by winning consecutive races.  This time, he was able to finish ahead of the Maloney’s.  Second was claimed by # 86 Mark Maloney followed by # 22 Sean Maloney and just missing the podium was # 16 Stuart Maloney.   This was an extremely exciting race weekend because it seems there is no space for errors because these machines are so closely matched that on any given race, anyone can come out a winner.  The field is loaded with talent and the rest of the races can only get better if this weekend was any indication.
See complete results below:
Race 1:
1st: # 14 Suleman Esuf, Barbados
2nd: # 86 Mark Maloney, Barbados
3rd: # 22 Sean Maloney, Barbados
Race 2:
1st: # 22 Sean Maloney, Barbados
2nd: # 10 Calvin Ming, Guyana
3rd: # 7 David Simpson, Barbados
Race 3:
1st: # 22 Sean Maloney, Barbados
2nd: # 10 Calvin Ming, Guyana
3rd: # 86 Mark Maloney, Barbados
Race 4:
1st: # 22 Sean Maloney, Barbados
2nd: # 16 Stuart Maloney, Barbados
3rd: # 86 Mark Maloney, Barbados
Race 5:
1st: # 10 Calvin Ming, Guyana
2nd: # 22 Sean Maloney, Barbados
3rd: # 16 Stuart Maloney, Barbados
Race 6:
1st: # 10 Calvin Ming, Guyana
2nd: # 86 Mark Maloney, Barbados
3rd: # 22 Sean Maloney, Barbados

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