FIA training for region’s young karters ahead of CJKAT

More than 100 laps of wheel-to-wheel racing at Bushy Park Barbados this weekend (November 4-6) will settle the outcome of the second Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT), with free access to the usual spectator areas. Sixteen karters aged between 11 and 17 selected by the Karting Associations of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, including a number of past and present Champions, will assemble at the St Philip facility tomorrow (Thursday).

Funded by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) Sport Grant Programme, the weekend also includes an important training programme, led by Dubai Grand Prix Clerk of the Course Ronan Morgan, reprising his role from CJKAT 2019. After a motor sport career spanning more than 40 years as competitor and organiser, he is now general manager of the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), where he oversees and licenses more than 140 motor sport events annually, including the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, of which he has been Clerk of the Course since its inception in 2009.

Dublin-born Morgan is Training Director of the Motorsport Knowledge Institute (MKI), the training and research division of the ATCUAE and FIA-appointed Regional Training Provider, and was recognised with a Masters Degree from Ulster University for a research project in which he devised the first-ever competency framework for motor sport volunteers.

The training programme, which starts tomorrow (Thursday), will include sessions for the teenage competitors from around the region, also volunteer officials and Stewards. From the driver standpoint, the sessions will emphasise key points from the regulations, also deal with gridding and race procedures, flag signals and safety once track action is under way. For the officials, there will a refresher course in the protocols to be observed over the weekend by those in positions including marshal, scrutineer and timekeeper and a look through the back-up available from fire, medical and safety crews. At the close of racing on Friday and Saturday, there will be training reviews with the drivers and Race Director.

The original 17 competitors have become 16 after T&T’s Adam Mustapha had to withdraw with an injured wrist, so there are seven from Barbados, five from Jamaica and six from T&T, who will race identical Vortex-engined Exprit OK-Junior karts, creating a level playing field so results are based on driver talent. This is an individual driver competition, not a contest between the nations, but there are certainly inter-territory rivalries. Calem Maloney, who was Vice Champion in the inaugural CJKAT in 2019 and is fresh from representing Barbados at the FIA Motorsport Games in France last weekend, is one of three drivers returning to the competition, along with Jamaica’s Zander Williams, who finished fifth in 2019, and Colin Bradshaw of Barbados.

Each day of racing will be run on a different circuit configuration, but the format will be the same, with a Drivers’ Briefing followed by two 20-minute Free Practice sessions, then 15 minutes of Qualifying before the lunch break. The grid for the first of three eight-lap Qualifying Heats will be based on Qualifying, the second will be a reversed grid, with race three based on each driver's best lap time from the first two events, with the fastest on pole position. The grid for the 12-lap Final will be based on points scored in Qualifying and the Qualifying Heats, with the top scorer on pole.

CJKAT is modelled on the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy, which has been the first rung on the ladder of the FIA’s single-seater path to F1 since 2010, previous winners including current Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who won in 2011 at age 12. To allow more opportunities for Caribbean hopefuls to race, the regional series caters for a wider age range than in Europe, where the limits are 12 to 14 years old.

Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy 2022

Bushy Park Barbados, November 4-6

Entry list by nation & race number

Barbados Karting Association (BKA)

B2 - Aaron Blackett - 15 (DoB 02/03/07)

B8 - Blake Thompson – 12 (DoB 06/09/10)

B10 - Daniel Ullyett – 12 (DoB 26/11/09)

B22 - Calem Maloney - 16 (DoB 13/04/06)

B64 - Colin Bradshaw - 14 (DoB 16/07/08)

B71 - Donche Blackman - 14 (DoB 01/02/08)

B111 - Raizer Stoute – 14 (DoB 16/10/08)

Jamaica Karting Association (JKA)