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Driving for Team Suzuki 5-Year Warranty, Trinidad & Tobago’s Ryan Peyrau made an instant impression at Bushy Park Barbados on Sunday (March 28) when the Suzuki Challenge Series was launched. The two new ‘one-make’ Championships – the Swift Cup and SR3 Cup – were the feature events at the Valvoline Glassesco John ‘Tiny’ Harrison Memorial Race Meet, organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc.
Peyrau, a 2WD champion in the Trinidad & Tobago Rally Club's events, gave up the club's biggest annual event, Rally Trinidad, this year to fulfill his role at the Swift Cup event this weekend at Bushy Park.
The Swift Cup is for identical production-based Suzuki Swift Sports, race-prepared in Barbados, offering affordable and competitive racing for drivers, with the emphasis on skill not budget, and exciting action for the fans. Double CMRC Group 2 Champion Mark Thompson of Barbados claimed two wins to lead the Swift Cup points standings from Peyrau, who won the day’s second race.
In qualifying, the fastest five cars were covered by less than half-a-second, with Thompson (Team Rock Hard Cement) in pole, but Daryl Clarke (Team Digicel), ‘Snappa’ Husbands (Team Williams Industries), Josh Read (Team Massy United Insurance) and Peyrau all within striking distance.
Peyrau said this was the first time he had driven on the Bushy Park track. He had 15 minutes practice on Saturday (12 laps) and 4 qualifying laps prior to racing on Sunday.
In race one, on a track dampened by early rain, Thompson made the best start to lead all the way, helped in the early laps by the squabbling trio behind him; while Ryan Wood (Team Digicel) tacked on to the back of that group in the closing stages, Clarke broke away at the front and was right on Thompson’s back bumper at the flag: “I was catching Mark coming to the end, but I just ran out of laps."
Race two was started from a reversed grid, with Martinique’s Jean-Philippe Mongaillard (Team Suzuki Genuine Parts) on pole, ahead of Kurt Thompson (Team Glassesco), Barry Gale (Team Gale’s Agro Products) and Peyrau. The fast-starting Gale looked set for victory, but a determined Peyrau hunted him down, helped in part by contact between Clarke and Read at the Digicel Dipper, which delayed Clarke and put Read out of action with a broken engine mount, impressively the only retirement in three races.
Peyrau said: "I'm really happy with the race win. I had a good battle going with Barry and I also benefited from Josh and Daryl's fender-bender. Thankfully I survived that and was able to dig in, concentrate on my lines and push for the lead.” Gale finished second, with Thompson adding third place to his earlier victory. He said it was the "experience of a lifetime" and would not have been possible without the great support from Lifestyle Motors Suzuki in T&T.
With the race three grid based on points scored in the first two races, Thompson sat on pole, ahead of Peyrau, Husbands and Gale . . . and that was the order in which they finished, despite some lively action right through the field. Thompson’s second win gave him a total of 65 points and the early championship lead, ahead of Peyrau (51) and the consistent Husbands, whose two thirds and a fifth gave him a total of 40.
Thompson said: “This is an awesome feeling. Two wins, close racing, I couldn't ask for anything more. The camaraderie between the drivers is great and that's what is going to bring back the spirit of racing." Peyrau added: “This reminds me so much of my karting days. Close racing with competitive yet level-headed drivers. It's not about rushing corners and trying to be the fastest. It's about finding the right lines, spatial awareness and knowing the driver next to you won't do something rash.”
Suzuki Challenge Series, round 1 (March 28/29)
Swift Cup Race 1: 1st Mark Thompson (Team Rock Hard Cement); 2nd Daryl Clarke (Team Digicel); 3rd Kenrick Husbands (Team Williams Industries); 4th Josh Read (Team Massy United Insurance); 5th Ryan Wood (Team Digicel); 6th Ryan Peyrau – T&T (Team Suzuki 5-Year Warranty); 7th Barry Gale (Team Gale’s Agro Products); 8th Kurt Thompson (Team Glassesco); 9th Jean-Philippe Mongaillard – FRA (Team Suzuki Genuine Parts) Race 2: 1st Peyrau; 2nd Gale; 3rd M Thompson; 4th Wood; 5th Husbands; 6th K Thompson; 7th Mongaillard; 8th Clarke; dnf – Read Race 3: 1st M Thompson; 2nd Peyrau; 3rd Husbands; 4th Gale; 5th Clarke; 6th Wood; 7th Read; 8th K Thompson; 9th Mongaillard
Points after round 1: 1st M Thompson 65 points; 2nd Peyrau 51pts; 3rd Husbands 40pts; 4th Gale 36pts; 5th Clarke 32pts; 6th Wood 30pts; 7th Read 18pts; 8th K Thompson 16pts; 9th Mongaillard 10pts
