Funded by the FIA Sport Grant Programme and organised by the Barbados Motoring Federation (BMF) in association with Bushy Park Circuit Inc (BPCI), the Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) was first run in 2019, but subsequent editions were lost to the pandemic. 

Barbadian Calem Maloney is the new Caribbean Junior Karting Champion. After three days and 12 hard-fought races at Bushy Park Barbados on November 4-6, he defeated Trinidad & Tobago’s Rylie Ramroop by a margin of just nine points, with Jamaica’s Zander Williams a further six behind. The lone female in the 16-strong field of regional karters aged from 11 to 17, T&T’s Naomi Jade Garcia was the top scorer aged 14 and under, finishing fifth overall and beating Blake Thompson of Barbados by just one point.

BMF President Senator Andrew Mallalieu was delighted the event has returned: “To have 16 kids from around the region coming together to compete was a win in itself. But the level of karting was absolutely phenomenal, everything went off safely and it was such a fun weekend.”

That sense of fun and togetherness was echoed by the drivers. After winning, Maloney said: “There was a very tight field this year compared to last time, all very good drivers. I won the first race today and Zander didn’t finish, sadly for him, which gave me a cushion in the points. Then I was just hoping to finish all the races, and I did.” 

Before the competition started, Thursday 3 November was dedicated to a training session for drivers and officials conducted by Dubai GP Clerk of the Course Ronan Morgan from the Emirates Motorsports Organization (EMSO), who had also been in the island for the first CJKAT in 2019.