In what has been deemed a solid learning experience, Guyanese karters were this weekend tested at the inaugural Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) at Bushy Park Race Track in Barbados.
Fourteen karters from Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica competed in the two-day event, and the best overall finish by a Guyanese was eighth by Rayden Persaud, who accumulated 55 points.
Jeremy Ten Pow (54.5), Elan Rahaman (53) and Nathan Rahaman (45) occupied positions 9-11, while Paige Mendonca (32) finished 13th and Zack Persaud (25) ended 14th.
Bajan Calem Maloney ended the weekend as the leading competitor with 158 points, followed by fellow countryman Adam Mallalieu on 144.
Ryan Chisolm of Jamaica took third overall with 103 points, followed by his compatriots Zander Williams (90) and Tommy Gore (82), and the Bajan duo Adam Marshal (68) and Kayleigh Catwell (58).
The CJKAT is open to racers aged from 11 to 15 selected by their home country’s motorsport governing bodies. The inaugural series will run at Bushy Park, Barbados, over three weekends, with the other two events to take place by March.
At the end of the three weekends of action, drivers points would be tallied to determine an overall champion.
This new series is being administered by the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) and sponsored by Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI), Chefette, Sol and Terra Caribbean.
The CJKAT rules place the emphasis on driver talent, creating a level playing field for young hopefuls from across the region, who race identical Vortex-engined Exprit OK-Junior karts, as used in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy in Europe in 2018, run on control Sol fuel and mandated allocations of MG tires.
The format is modelled on the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy, which has been the first rung on the ladder of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) single-seater path to F1 since 2010.
(Editor’s note: The points standing is based on provisional results)
