Bushy Park ‘Rally Central’ to BCIC Rally Barbados

Bushy Park is playing a key role in the staging of BCIC Rally Barbados 2025, the Caribbean’s biggest motor sport international. Over the next two weeks, more than one-third of the record entry of 126 cars will be based in the pits at the St Philip facility, which is also the administrative hub of the event, while five special stages – two under floodlights on the first night - will provide thrills a-plenty for fans.
  Wrecker drivers organised by the BRC worked for nearly 24 hours to move the record shipment of 35 rally cars which arrived on the Geest Line freighter Lombok Strait at the Bridgetown Port on Tuesday morning. With 14 cars already based in the Maloney Racing and ProAuto Works garages at Bushy Park and two more regional cars yet to arrive, a 50 per cent increase in the total to be housed has required additional tentage in the pit lane to create sufficient covered workspace.
  The last car was delivered to the pits just before six o’clock this morning (Saturday), prompting BCIC RB25 Rally Office Manager Jeanne Crawford to say: “The big increase in overseas numbers creates lots of different logistics issues and Friday traffic did not help the early stages of the operation. Our drivers then went the extra mile, literally, right through the night, so massive thanks to Kirtis, Soldierman and Alvin, also Dylan at Bushy Park for being on hand.”
  BCIC RB25, the 35th edition of the Barbados Rally Club’s (BRC) premier event, will run from Friday, May 30 to Sunday, June 1. The Auto & Rally Show, where every car entered is on display up on The Hill at Bushy Park, and the final shakedown and seeding event, First Citizens King of the Hill, fill the previous weekend (May 24/25).
  The Bushy Park pits have been used since 2017 as ‘Rally Central’, a secure storage and service facility, which accommodates most international and regional competitors. Housed in the Club Members Lounge above the pits is the Rally Office, manned by the Secretary of the Meeting, where competitors, officials and the media sign on and collect their passes and documentation.
  The Media Briefing was held in the Open-Air Suites on Thursday, May 8, followed by passenger rides on a short circuit-based rally stage for sponsors and the media, while the Auto & Rally Show returns to the main spectator area on The Hill overlooking the Clubhouse Straight next Saturday (May 24).
  Following the introduction of two Friday night floodlit special stages for BCIC RB24, the formula is repeated on Friday, May 30. The greatly increased number of starters this year promises even more action, with nearly 250 passes through the two 2.2-kilometre Riddara Bushy Park SuperSpecials, around three hours of almost non-stop action.
  SS1 starts at 7.00pm, SS3 at 8.30pm, with a 6km Malvern stage in St John for crews to tackle in between. With a new layout, the stage starts on the service road between Race Control and the Clubhouse, then passes through the tunnel and turns right below the spectator area. The intricate course uses the Rallycross Bridge and kart links, not always in the conventional race circuit direction, to finish facing east in the pit lane.
  Under its electric vehicle brand Riddara, new event partner Megapower will also sponsor the 7.5km Padmore stage, the event’s second longest, which will pass through Bushy Park on Saturday (May 31) at 9.45am, mid-day and 2.45pm; while this is a first for Rally Barbados, bringing the number of stages using the circuit to a record five, the Motoring Club Barbados Inc used a similar format for its Rally of the Sun & Stars last year. The stage enters the facility through the VVIP gate from Padmore in the west, then follows a different route to Friday evening, but still makes use of the Rallycross Bridge, before exiting through the pit lane and onwards to the stage finish at Golden Grove.
  On Friday night, gates open at 5.00pm - Adults $15, Children 12 and under Free. Pedestrian access will be through Gate 1 in the south with parking opposite, also Gate 3 on Gaskin Road from the usual northern car parks. The Quarry is a Service Area, but there will be a clearly marked roped-off passageway for pedestrian access from Gate 1. Vehicle access will be through Gates 2 and 4 to the spectator areas to the west and east.
  On Saturday, gates open at 9.00am – Adults $5, Children 12 and under Free. Pedestrian access will be through Gate 3 only, Vehicle access through Gate 4. There will be no spectator access from the south once the stage is live.

For media information only. No regulatory value

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