Parkinson and Parris join Suzuki Challenge Series winner's row as Wood takes early lead

Jason Parkinson and newcomer Arron Parris joined the Suzuki Challenge Series Swift Cup roll of honour at Bushy Park Barbados over the Easter weekend, but Ryan Wood was the star of the show, with two pole positions, three race wins and three fastest laps. Stuart Maloney dominated the SR3 Cup, with a hat-trick of victories.

The second Swift Cup season opened with a double-header, three races each on Saturday and Monday (March 26 & 28), while the SR3 Cup contenders raced only during Monday's Glassesco Valvoline John ‘Tiny'; Harrison Memorial Race Meet, organised by Bushy Park Motor Sport Inc.

With a host of new names joining the Swift Cup grid, a change in the established order was expected . . . and it started in Qualifying on Saturday. Wood (Team Digicel) claimed his first pole position and Josh Read (Team Massy United Insurance) equalled his best of second, with Reigning Champion, Trinidad & Tobago's Ryan Peyrau (Team Suzuki), and Carlos Edwards (Team Rock Hard Cement) the best of the newcomers, on row two. With Parkinson (Team Infra Rentals/Sol), Kenrick Husbands (Team Williams Industries) and Dane Skeete (Team Simpson Finance) all within half-a-second of Wood's pole time, it was going to be tight.

Wood made an excellent getaway from the southern grid in Race 1 for a lights-to-flag victory, chased home by Peyrau, who had squeezed past Read on the opening lap. Parkinson fought through to claim the third podium place, with Edwards again top Rookie, finishing fourth with fastest lap. In a change of format for the new season, the reversed grid for Race 2 is now based on Qualifying times, rather than the results of Race 1, with Team Digicel again on pole, this time courtesy of Derek Edwards, standing in for regular driver Daryl Clarke, who was unavailable.

Edwards led for the first two laps as the closely-knit field resembled a 48-wheeled train snaking around the 2.01-kilometre track, until Parkinson made a lunge as they bunched up at the Sesash Hairpin, passing four cars before the next turn. He took a lead he was not to relinquish on lap three, crossing the line 1.5secs ahead of Skeete, the second newcomer to claim fastest lap, with Read an impressive third from 10th on the grid.

With the grid for Race 3 based on points scored in the first two, Parkinson and Wood lined up on row one, ahead of Peyrau and Skeete, with Martinique's Pascal Calvel (Team Suzuki) and Read on row three, the latter having received a two-grid penalty for an incident in Race 2. In a thrill-packed eight laps, two battles held the crowd's attention, as Parkinson and Wood battled for the lead and Peyrau and Skeete fought for the final podium place. Parkinson and Wood, who claimed the fastest lap, crossed the line nose-to-tail, while Skeete was promoted to third and his second podium of the day when Peyrau was disqualified for not taking the Joker Lap.

Parkinson had a 12-point advantage over Wood, with Read and Skeete equal third heading in to round two on Monday, with the grid for Race 1 based on the second-fastest time set by each driver in Saturday Qualifying. The grid was very similar, with Wood logging a second pole position and Read, Carlos Edwards, Peyrau, Parkinson and Skeete completing the top six.

Wood repeated his Saturday Race 1 performance, leading throughout for his sixth Swift Cup win, also adding a sixth fastest lap to his tally. He was chased home this time by Read, with Peyrau third and Carlos Edwards claiming his best result so far in fourth, ahead of Parkinson and Skeete.

Derek Edwards was again on the reversed-grid pole, ahead of Parris, driving for new sponsor Team RBC, Kyle Catwell (Team ICBL), Calvel, Husbands and Skeete. This time, Edwards was to lead for only one lap, before Parris made his move, even retaining the lead when he took the Joker Lap next time round. In second place, Skeete collected his third podium of the weekend, while Parkinson was third; when he rejoined from his Joker Lap on the final tour, however, there was contact in the midst of a close battle between Read and Wood, for which Parkinson was given a five-grid penalty for Race 3.

From the start, it was tight at the top, Wood leading Read, Skeete, Husbands, Peyrau and, from half-distance, Parkinson in a six-car train that tantalisingly drove past the Joker Lap entrance again and again; the first to blink were Skeete and Peyrau on lap six, then Read and Parkinson a lap later. When Wood and Husbands peeled off over the Rallycross Bridge on the last lap, it looked as though third-placed Read was finally going to lose his Swift Cup ‘bridesmaid'; status, but a determined Wood was alongside him as he rejoined and they fought tooth and nail to the flag, crossing the line just 0.263secs apart, the closest finish yet in the Swift Cup. Husbands finished third, another half-second behind, claiming the fastest lap.

Reigning SR3 Cup Champion Sean Maloney reclaimed the Qualifying Lap Record with a time of 58.416s on Monday, to start ahead of brothers Stuart and Mark, Suleman Esuf and David Simpson. The pole-sitter got the best of the start in Race 1, leading until half-distance, when Stuart assumed a lead he held to the flag, followed by Sean and Mark.

With Simpson and Esuf ahead of the Maloneys for the reversed-grid Race 2, a different outcome seemed likely, but they tangled at the Banks Esses on lap one. Simpson rejoined first, but was passed by Esuf, who was a joy to watch as he pushed his car to the limits, missing out on a new lap record by just two-hundredths of a second. The top three finished in the same order as in Race 1, as Mark Maloney was handed a 10-second jump start penalty, although he crossed the line first.

Stuart Maloney made it a hat-trick of victories in race three, leading from lights to flag, chased initially by Sean, then Mark, who finished second, with Esuf third and Simpson fourth, after the Reigning Champion spun on the penultimate lap.

Suzuki Challenge Series, Swift Cup round 1 (March 26)

Race 1: 1st Ryan Wood (Team Digicel); 2nd Ryan Peyrau – T&T (Team Suzuki); 3rd Jason Parkinson (Team Infra Rentals/Sol); 4th Josh Read (Team Massy United Insurance); 5th Carlos Edwards (Team Rock Hard Cement); 6th Kenrick Husbands (Team Williams Industries); 7th Dane Skeete (Team Simpson Finance); 8th Pascal Calvel – MTQ (Team Suzuki); 9th Arron Parris (Team RBC); 10th Kyle Catwell (Team ICBL); 11th Derek Edwards (Team Digicel) Race 2: 1st Parkinson; 2nd Skeete; 3rd Read; 4th Peyrau; 5th Wood; 6th Calvel; 7th D Edwards; 8th Catwell; 9th Parris; 10th Husbands; 11th C Edwards Race 3: 1st Parkinson; 2nd Wood; 3rd Skeete; 4th Read; 5th Husbands; 6th Catwell; 7th D Edwards; 8th C Edwards; 9th Parris; dnf Calvel; dq Peyrau

Points after round 1: 1st Parkinson 65 points; 2nd Wood 53pts; equal 3rd Read & Skeete 39pts; 5th Peyrau 30pts; 6th Husbands 19pts; 7th C Edwards 14pts; 8th Catwell 13pts; equal 9th Calvel & D Edwards 12pts; 11th Parris 6pts

Suzuki Challenge Series, Swift Cup round 2 (March 28)

Race 1: 1st Wood; 2nd Read; 3rd Peyrau; 4th C Edwards; 5th Parkinson; 6th Skeete; 7th Catwell; 8th Parris; 9th Freddie Gale (Team Gale's Agro Products); 10th Calvel; 11th D Edwards; 12th Husbands Race 2: 1st Parris; 2nd Skeete; 3rd Parkinson; 4th Read; 5th Wood; 6th Peyrau; 7th Husbands; 8th Catwell; 9th D Edwards; 10th Calvel; 11th C Edwards; 12th F Gale Race 3: 1st Wood; 2nd Read; 3rd Husbands; 4th Skeete; 5th Peyrau; 6th Parkinson; 7th Catwell; 8th Parris; 9th F Gale; 10th D Edwards; 11th Calvel; 12th C Edwards

Points after round 2: 1st Wood 113 points; 2nd Parkinson 98pts; 3rd Read 87pts; 4th Skeete 77pts; 5th Peyrau 63pts; 6th Parris 44pts; 7th Husbands 40pts; 8th Catwell 29pts; 9th C Edwards 26pts; 10th D Edwards 15pts; 11th Calvel 14pts; 12th F Gale 4pts

Suzuki Challenge Series, SR3 Cup round 1 (March 28)

Race 1: 1st Stuart Maloney; 2nd Sean Maloney; 3rd Mark Maloney; 4th Suleman Esuf; 5th David Simpson Race 2: 1st Stuart Maloney; 2nd Sean Maloney; 3rd M Maloney; 4th Esuf; 5th Simpson Race 3: 1st Stuart Maloney; 2nd M Maloney; 3rd Esuf; 4th Simpson; 5th Sean Maloney

Points after round 1: 1st Stuart Maloney 75 points; 2nd M Maloney 48pts; 3rd Sean Maloney 46pts; 4th Esuf 39pts; 5th Simpson 32pts

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