The full low-down analysis on the Top Gear Barbados Festival

Wednesday, 5th of February 2014

So what is happening?

The Top Gear team are going to be holding a festival of motorsport in the Caribbean island of Barbados. With the presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond hosting proceedings, it's going to be a motorsports and car extravaganza, the likes of which has not been seen in this hemisphere.

So when is it happening?

The event will take place on 17^th and 18^th of May in Barbados, in the West Indies. Typically a warmer time of year on the island and yet quieter for tourism, it will however, be a huge month of motorsport. That month alone sees a Mud Dogs off-road mud-fest on May 1^st, a kart race meet on the 3^rd and 4^th of May, then the Top Gear Festival, Barbados on the 17^th and 18^th of May, followed by the ‘King of the Hill’ hillclimb on the 25^th of May and finishing with Rally Barbados on the 31^st of May and 1^st of June – so much motorsport!

So where is it happening?

It is taking place at the ‘new’ Bushy Park race circuit in the parish of St Philip in Barbados. Recently redesigned and rebuilt, this event will be launching the new circuit, but more about that later...

So who can we expect?

Carlos Sainz

Ken Block in action

Only a few names have been confirmed and we can expect them to be released in the build up to the event. The presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond of course will run proceedings. The site also confirms gymkhana legend and tyre-wall-magnet Ken Block, ex-skater Bucky Lasek, former F1 driver Scott Speed and USA Top Gear host and driver Tanner Foust.

The official website has confirmed that the event will host the first round of the Red Bull Global Rallycross series. The official Global Rallycross website's driver listing makes for some interesting reading - featuring drivers such as Ken Block, Scott Speed, Tanner Foust, perhaps more interestingly from a rally perspective legend Carlos Sainz, Henning Solberg and Travis Pastrana. The series also boasts rallycross expert Liam Doran and names such as ex-F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr and drifter Rhys Millen. Which of those will come? Well we can see Ken Block already being touted on the site along with Scott Speed, fingers crossed for Sainz, Doran and Pastrana! As ever, reading between the lines we wonder if the Lancia in the title graphic is hinting at an old rally star?

Top Gear Festivals also import further stars and drivers, sometimes regional, sometimes far-flung so we will need to wait and see who else comes in. They are yet to have an event without a Formula 1 star or two though...

You would also expect the local stars to be featured heavily – with Barbados boasting such a pool of motorsport talent we should expect to see the rally stars such as Roger Skeete, Neil Armstrong and Paul Bourne involved, especially given the likely high involvement of sponsors such as Sol, Simpsons Motors, Banks and Chefette in the event. Bajan drift kings Geoffrey Ullyett and Andrew Jones, circuit stars Roger Mayers, Barry Mayers, the Maloneys and Stuart Williams will likely be in there too.

Will an F1 car put the lap record so far out of reach we will cry everytime we look at it?

Will Ken Block be the first person to crash on the new circuit and christen the tyre barriers?

Will we see the legendary El Matador Carlos Sainz on these shores?

As ever, everything is pure speculation until they're confirmed landed at Grantley Adams...

***UPDATE***

As expected, the F1 stars are starting to be confirmed, first up is none other than former World Champion and current Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton!

So what cars can we expect?

Sydney festival in 2013

Rallycross at the X-Games

Well, we’re at least guaranteed the top rallycross cars in the world! 600bhp+, effectively unlimited WRC cars – simply spectacular. Those of us who were priveledged to see the British rallycross run at Vaucluse Raceway in Barbados in 2006 were not disappointed – these are amongst the fastest accelerating motorsport cars in the world and provide fantastic fire-breathing, side-by-side racing.

Every past festival has included a Formula 1 car or two, so will Barbados be seeing it’s first Formula 1 car since the Ferrari F1 car ran up through Warrens in 2006? I would certainly hope so, and the unofficial Bushy Park lap record will be set in stone for some time... the promo image also includes a current spec F1 car so it would seem likely. To take that further, which team could we expect? Well, Red Bull seem to have their PR in overdrive and have already brought one of their F1 cars to the Caribbean, they could be a possibilty, or maybe Ferrari could repeat their 2006 visit if Sol/Shell get involved. With Top Gear though, who knows?

Again, past Top Gear events have featured heavily with local cars so expect to see race, rally and drag cars from Barbados and the region featuring throughout the weekend. The local BADD drag cars should get the chance to christen their new 1000ft strip - this will see the big Evo's going head to head - who is going to come out on top between Sol, Bruce and Most Wanted in front of the fans? All have been putting in major work in the off season and we're seeing 'chutes, turbos and sequentials being put in...

Two-wheeled projectiles are not normally forgotten, so we might expect some motorcycle stuntery and other chain-driven entertainment.

Will they be importing some supercars for us? We can see some on the site in the promo images but does that mean they are coming?

On top of this, judging from previous events, we would expect the usual Top Gear antics - be it car football, surprisingly silly races of man vs machine, machine vs machine and who knows what else? Our personal suggestion would be a single marque ZR (the small vans that make up the majority of the public transportation network) destruction derby, or maybe giant road tennis with mini Mokes... can't wait to see what they come up with!

As ever, everything is pure speculation until confirmed by what lands in the Bridgetown port...

***UPDATE***

Released by Jalopnik, this is Tanner Faust's ride - a 600bhp rallycross Beetle! Will it be coming (photo to the left)?

So what is the new Bushy Park like?

Well, we’re all wondering aren’t we? They published a nice virtual reality lap of the new Bushy Park circuit that looks good and building has been progressing at a manic rate. With an event as large as this, the circuit must be ready, no matter what, so rest assured, we don’t have to worry about that one. Also, as it is effectively being privately run, with little government intervention, we can hope that there will be no last minute hurdles - with the direct input of Preconco/the Maloneys, the likes of Mark Hamilton and various Barbados Rally Club interests, it should run to time.

However, it is only 14 weeks away... so will the whole enterprise, stands and all be finished? Let’s hope so, because VIP is not cheap!

The new Bushy Park circuit follows the layout of the original but with some major changes. There is a whole new section to track, extending it to 1.2miles. The track will be completely re-tarmac’d, with a different, FIA approved grade, tarmac helping to increase the rating of the track to FIA Grade 3, the width will be consistent as well. This from a driver’s point of view is the main change – being able to run much stiffer, lower suspension and giving the circuit the ability to run single seaters once again. We can’t wait. Let's just hope future repairs to the surface are done in sections, not patches!

So will Top Gear be doing features in Barbados and what will they be like?

Top Gear Festivals are separate from the Top Gear show – just because there is a festival on the island does not necessarily mean that Barbados will feature as a segment on the show. Or does it?..

Will the guys take advantage of the uniqueness of Barbados, the huge car and motorsport scene here and the visiting drivers to make something for the show? And how would they portray the island?

Typically, Top Gear like to go for the stereo-typical, easiest route in their foreign segments, ie. in Mexico? Everyone is lazy. In America? Everyone is overweight. In Germany? Everything is super efficient and talk about the war. etc. While not strictly correct, the segments always provide entertainment. So how will they show Barbados? Hopefully, as Jeremy Clarkson and his family are regular visitors to Barbados, they will show the island in the light it deserves!

So which day(s) should I go?

Tricky one this, the word is that the schedule for both days is near identical so you would likely be seeing the same thing on Saturday and Sunday, however, the rallycross is scheduled to have the qualifying on the Saturday and the finals on the Sunday. Also, we would expect some sort of finale on the Sunday, however again, you have to balance this against the liklihood of some machinery working on the Saturday and not on the Sunday. Or, will Ken Block crash out the entire field in qualifying on the Saturday? A tricky decision to make if you're only going to choose one day!

And as before, at the moment, until officially released, everything is pure speculation...

So what will it do for me and for Barbados?

Be under no illusions, this is a HUGE event for Barbados. It will result in a lot of tourism during a typically quiet period and help to bring in more money to the country during this leaner part of the year. However, the bigger picture is perhaps the platform that it will be launching Bushy Park, and motorsport in Barbados in general, onto. The world will see Barbados for the motorsport gem it is - millions of people viewing the videos of the event on YouTube, reading the magazine features in Top Gear, Autosport and beyond. Will it be televised? and if so to where?

Rally Barbados (taking place during the fortnight after the Top Gear Festival) has seen a meteoric rise in prestige throughout the the rallying world - becoming one of the most sought after events to compete in on the globe. Curcuit racing in Barbados however, has not followed suit due in part to the facilities available. This event, run by the most popular 'factual' television show in the world, will have immense, far-reaching, positive consequences for motorsport in Barbados and the island itself.

So what do you think?

Comment below, who would you like to see come? Which cars are you wanting see? What entertainment are you hoping the crazy Top Gear crew are going to provide?

So where can I stay in Barbados during the Top Gear Festival?

There are vacation rentals in Barbados to suit any budget. The circuit itself is in the parish of St. Philip, to the south east of the island, however, Barbados being 23km across, it’s is only a short journey from anywhere on the island meaning you can stay on any coast and not be far from the circuit.