Radical International marks 20th Anniversary for UK firm
The first overseas entries for the second edition of Radical International (January 28/29) have completed their 10-day trans-Atlantic voyage from the UK to the Caribbean, which started at Radical Sportscars headquarters in the East Midlands city of Peterborough. Organised by Bushy Park Motor Sport Inc (BPMSI), Radical International this year coincides with the British race and road car manufacturer’s 20th Anniversary and will launch the 2017 season at Bushy Park Barbados.
Radical has built more than 2,000 cars, progressing from the iconic Clubsport model revealed in early 1996 and which established the company’s reputation, through the SR3, launched in 2002 – this is the model raced in the Suzuki Challenge Series at Bushy Park Barbados – to the awesome 380bhp SR8, which brought Le Mans Prototype pace to the national racing scene and holds the production car lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Entering 2017, a core range of five models means that Radical caters for a wider audience than ever before, with a ladder spanning from track rookie in the newly-revised SR1 introductory model to the RXC GT3, suitable for international endurance racing. The company’s stand at last weekend’s Autosport International (January 12-15) at the UK’s National Exhibition Centre revealed the revamped face of Radical, with a new corporate logo and two new cars, while four cars will be in use at Race Of Champions Miami this coming weekend (January 21/22).
While the early cars competed within existing sports car championships, Radical had built sufficient by 1999 to launch their own one-make series; over time, the success of the UK model spawned similar competitions world-wide and Radical now has a distributor network that stretches from Europe to Australia, the Far East and North America. But the one-make series are only part of the story – many of Radical’s models can be (and are) made road-legal, while the SR9 has been used in international competition, right up to the Le Mans 24 Hours.
During the build-up to the race weekend, the visitors will have access to open pit-lane testing at Bushy Park alongside the chance to enjoy the social side of Barbados, with a welcome BBQ and catamaran cruise. There will be three races each day on Saturday and Sunday, as the visitors take part in the second Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Winter Cup. The event will also play host to the Swift Winter Cup, with a Sunday afternoon Prizegiving planned for the Bushy Park Cafeteria to round off the weekend, an occasion greatly enjoyed by the visiting teams last year.
The inaugural Radical International attracted visitors from Britain and the United States to race against drivers from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago.
