Jeffrey debuts in Suzuki Challenge Series at Barbados Festival of Speed

May 10, 2016 Sports

Bushy Park Circuit Inc., Barbados – This past weekend, at the best motorsports facility in the Caribbean, The Barbados Festival of Speed hosted a family event headlined by Multiple Formula 1 Champion, Lewis Hamilton of

Kristian Jeffrey races during the Barbados Festival of Speed last weekend.

the Petronas Mercedes Benz Team. There were numerous activities for the entire family featuring stuntmen, monster trucks, micro bangers, stilt walkers, a tuk band and the Kadooment girls, racers and vehicles from all over the world. The Suzuki Swift Cup and of course the Radicals! During a break from racing, there was a concert featuring local Soca favourite, Rupee, as well as various musical artistes including the Barbados Defence Force Band.
The Suzuki Radical Challenge Series (SR3 Cup) are purposed built race cars powered by Suzuki. These cars are about 570 kg, with a 1500 cc engine size, cranking out about 252 horsepower, with a governed maximum speed limited up to 252 km/h, with a 6 speed sequential gearbox, with a maximum RPM of 11,000, with acceleration times from standing still to 96 km/h of about 3 seconds, with outrageous cornering ability capable of about 2.5 G. This is the Caribbean’s best ‘one-make’ racing series that sees all competitors race in identical vehicles from the same manufacturer, utilizing the same model, chassis, tires and engine.
Success is solely based on driver skill, input and car setup instead of engineering skill

Calvin Ming in action during last weekend’s Festival of Speed in Barbados.

and budget. Thus, the cars are relatively exact but, the drivers’ aren’t! Which makes this series ultra competitive.
Race 1 saw Two Time and current defending Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) Champion, Kristian Jeffrey make his debut driving # 261. He qualified 9th out of the field of 10 entries but, made quick work by working his way up the standings before having to run wide after an on track contact by another competitor which caused him to lose numerous positions as he ended up at the back of the field to end the race which is unfamiliar territory for reigning CMRC Champion. # 10, Calvin Ming who qualified 7th had issues in his new Radical and lost a position during the race and finished in 8th. The podium was dominated by the Barbadians as the top 3 finishers were: # 14, Suleman Esuf (unchallenged from flag to flag), # 16, Stuart Maloney, # 22 Sean Maloney.
Race 2 began with a reversed grid. However, # 10, Calvin Ming had to start down the order because he switched cars and drove his ‘old’ SR3 because the new car was still experiencing some issues. Ming got off to a slow start as he was left at the starting line

Drivers battle during the Suzuki race series in Barbados last weekend.

due to a clutch issue as the competitors raced away. By the end of the race, Ming had passed the most competitors and made his way up the standings to a podium finish but, the unofficial race results indicates that he was disqualified. Whereas, the # 261, of Kristian Jeffrey had a ding dong battle with numerous veterans of this 6 round series and had to settle for 2nd place about 13 seconds behind race winner, # 50, James Abbott and the final spot on the podium was by # 86, Mark Maloney.
The Swift Cup are Based on standard production Suzuki Swift Sport cars. These race cars are powered by a 1600 cc engine size, cranking out about 150 Horsepower, 6 speed manual gearboxes, race suspension, with a limited slip differential.
Again, the cars are relatively ‘equal’ as the driving will come down to the skills and experience of the drivers’ for the most part.
Kristian Jeffrey has just joined Team Suzuki for the remainder of the series. He qualified 8th out of the 12 entrants and finished down the order in 11th place in his race debut. The first race was won by # 6, Kendrick ‘Snappa’ Husbands by a mere 1.2 second margin over # 12, David Summerbell followed by # 3 Ryan Wood.
Race 2 results didn’t get any better for the # 1, Kristian Jeffrey as he finished at the back of the pack. The race was won by # 10, Kyle Catwell just under an 8 second margin over # 2, Daryl Clarke followed by # 3 Ryan Wood for his 2nd podium of the day.