The Cayman Islands lost some of its footing in a regional circuit race.
Team CaySpeed, representing Cayman, slipped from second to third overall in the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship. Racers Junior Hydes and Andy Bodden managed few points at Bushy Park race track in St. Phillip, Barbados.
Nevertheless, Hydes states the focus is on remaining in the top three.
“This was our first time racing in Barbados,” Hydes said. “A Ford Focus, an ex-Sports Car Club of America car, dominated the races. We did our qualifying in the rain, we only had two warm-up laps, in the wet, for our first session on the track.
“Andy and I are like two goldfish that went from a fish bowl to an aquarium with great whites. We’re trying to slap them up to survive. In spite of the handicaps, we’re still third in the Caribbean Championships. For a two-man team, that’s good. That’s a major achievement.”
Hydes and Bodden, who had Cayman in second place after the first leg in Jamaica, competed in Mitsubishi Evolutions with Hydes running a yellow Evo III and Bodden racing a white Evo VIII. Their stiffest competition has come from individual points leader David Summerbell Jr in his Evo VIII.
Bodden states handling was a major problem.
“Overall, I really enjoyed the trip,” Bodden said. “As far as the driving experience goes, it was frustrating. We couldn’t get the cars right and we couldn’t keep up. If we had time to adjust the suspension, we could have kept up with the pack.
“Then again, to put things in perspective, Summerbell Jr’s best podium finish there was third. His car has an AMS-prepared suspension and he was frustrated by the conditions and how the car handled as well.”
Bushy Park, a 0.8 mile track, was the second of three stops for the Caribbean Championship, with the finale taking place on the South Dakota Circuit in Timheri, Guyana on 11 November.
Hydes and Bodden are part of a race team coordinated by Hydes and Sons, Tony’s Toys and Paul Bodden Heavy Equipment. Ray Hydes is the team manager and states the drivers did well.
“We got like two points from Barbados with seventh and eighth place finishes,” Ray said. “We were at the back of the pack, at the end of the day, in our races. Some of the Bajans got zero points. Outside of all the adversities, it was an enjoyable trip.”
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