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Vaucluse Raceway is the product of a small group of diehard enthusiasts who built and run it, a large group of socially-motivated national and international competitors who love to compete here, and tens of thousands of fans from around the world who have enjoyed its unique atmosphere. To truly understand it, you have to go back further than the first corner of the first lap.

The Roots of Caribbean Motorsport

The story begins in the Second World War. In 1940, with Britain's survival in the balance, the US struck a deal with Churchill — fifty obsolete destroyers in exchange for land leases to build military bases across the Caribbean. The result was a network of new airports and airfields across the region. Just as closed wartime airfields gave British motorsport an enormous boost in the 1950s and 60s, the same happened in the Caribbean: circuit racing flourished in Guyana, Trinidad, and Jamaica, all of which had surplus US military infrastructure to repurpose.
Barbados, however, had no free airfields. So our motorsport developed differently — using what we had: a vast road network made possible by relatively flat topography and a thriving sugar industry. What we lacked in tarmac circuits, we made up for in ingenuity and passion.

The First Rally (1957)

The first organised motor rally in Barbados was held in 1957. It started at Applewaites Sugar Factory and finished at Vaucluse Sugar Factory, both in the central parish of St. Thomas. Hillclimb events followed, then special stages were added to rallies. In 1971, circuit races were held on dirt tracks at Chancery Lane and Bushy Park; Bushy Park was paved the following year before closing in 1975 due to the fuel crisis. Bajan drivers went rallying again — and at heart, the majority never really left.

The Idea That Started It All (1997)

In 1995, the Caribbean Rally Championship was formed by rally clubs in Guadeloupe, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Barbados. Adopting FIA regulations opened the door to proper European rally cars, and the sport boomed. Spectator numbers soared.
Then, in 1997, in a Six-roads rumshop after a Cars and Car Conversions photo shoot at Bushy Park, Rally Reporter Martin Sharp remarked: "The rallying here is OK but this craic is something special. You should turn it into a rally carnival!"
That same year, Greg Cozier and Spencer Hutchinson visited the Roger Clark RallySprint circuit at Silverstone at the invitation of friends from their college days in the UK. A few pints afterward with Tony Pond, Andy Dawson, the Clarks, and Martin Sharp helped define exactly what a Barbados RallySprint circuit should look and feel like. As soon as they returned home, they submitted planning applications and started seeking partners and resources.

Building Vaucluse (2000)

A 70-acre site at Vaucluse Plantation was chosen — along the legendary Hangman Hill to Canefield special stage, and just 50 metres from the finishing point of Barbados' very first rally in 1957. The spiritual home of Bajan rallying.
A course was laid out following the natural topography over newly-ploughed fields, with ground-breaking beginning in July 2000. The first RallySprint event was organised by the Barbados Rally Club on August 13th, 2000, welcoming all classes of rally cars from humble production 1300s to full-spec Group A 4WD machines. Forty-six local competitors entered alongside three from St. Vincent and one from the UK. Spectator turnout exceeded every expectation. The Caribbean's first RallySprint event was an overwhelming success.

The Barbados Rally Carnival (2001)

Early in 2001, the then Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Noel Lynch, was approached with a bold proposal: if it cost no more to travel to Barbados with a rally car than with a set of golf clubs, motorsport could become a self-sustaining tourism product. The Government agreed to subsidise shipping costs for rally cars imported from the UK, on the condition that visiting competitors stayed for at least ten nights during one of three off-peak tourism periods.
Local organisers chose the end of May, and with a RallySprint on the first weekend and a tarmac stage rally on the second, the Barbados Rally Carnival was born. Under Alan Tyndall's RPM Productions direction, by its second year the event was being reported to over nine million people across the UK and Europe.
The Rally Carnival was a turning point in two ways. First, it was the first motorsport tourism venture in Barbados where foreign competitors paid their own way — no longer the burden of local clubs and sponsors. Second, it changed how Government viewed motorsport entirely: from a pastime of the wealthy to a viable tourism income-earner. This national motorsport consciousness led to initiatives like the Government Task Force on Motor Sport and tax-free importation of motorsport cars and equipment.
This event truly changed people's lives. Lifelong friendships were forged, guests married other guests (some twice), locals married guests, and many visitors returned year after year — some even buying property to spend more time on the island.

The Barbados Rally Carnival (2001)

In 2006, the hugely successful Rally Carnival format was replicated during the November off-peak period to create the Barbados RallyCross International, again with the financial backing of the Barbados Tourism Authority. The track itself was also upgraded to a mixed-surface circuit, making RallyCross competition at Vaucluse possible for the first time.
In 2010, the format was replicated once more to create the Barbados Historic Rally Carnival, supported by the Barbados Government. A clubhouse was also added that year for social events and after-racing celebrations.
In 2015, during the height of Barbados' economic crisis, a completely new motorsport formula was introduced at Vaucluse: BimmaCup — affordable racing built around BMW 318Ti Compacts. The championship has since spread throughout the Caribbean and launched in the United Kingdom. At peak years, BimmaCup entries represented as much as 20% of total rally entries, and winners from each territory travel to compete against one another internationally.

Vaucluse Today

Over more than two decades, the Commitee of Vaucluse Raceway have consistently demonstrated that they have their fingers on the pulse of world motorsport. The circuit hosts RallySprint and RallyCross events approximately six times per year, rally stages and super-specials twice yearly, and Cropover and other community events throughout the season.
Motorsport tourists have been welcomed from over twenty countries. The Barbados flag has been flown competitively in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Mallorca, and across the Caribbean.
The circuit continues to be refined — dust mitigation, stone aggregate weatherproofing, improved run-off areas, and better spectator access have all been added over the years.The next chapter is still being written. We hope to see you here for it.

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