Jamaican teenager Tommi Gore, son of double Caribbean Motor Racing Champion (CMRC) Doug, will join the grid for the fourth season of the Radical Caribbean Cup (RCC) which gets under way at Bushy Park Barbados on Sunday, May 14. A third-generation racing driver – grandfather Neil was also a successful competitor – 18-year-old Tommi is proud to be carrying on the family tradition at the highest level of regional racing.
Confirming his participation, he said: “I have been around racing for as long as I can remember, one could say it was almost inevitable for me to get behind the wheel. I am proud to be the third generation of ‘Gore’ in racing and I look forward to conquering the Caribbean and becoming a known challenger in the Caribbean Radical Cup.”
He will contest the five-round championship in a Suzuki-powered Radical SR3 sports-racer with sponsorship from Emperor Beer, Amsoil, Sandals Barbados and Mobay Freight Services. After next week’s opening round organised by Bushy Park Motorsports Inc (BPMSI), there will be two rounds hosted by the Trinidad & Tobago Automobile Sports Association (TTASA) at the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in Trinidad & Tobago (June 25 and July 23) before the cars are shipped back to Barbados for BPMSI’s final two race meets of the year on September 3 and November 23/24, where the RCC will share the bill with the Caterham Caribbean Cup, which is supported by Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
Following in the wheeltracks of father Doug and grandfather Neil, who had raced at the former Vernamfield circuit in Jamaica, Gore started racing at the age of five in a Birel Mini Max kart. Titles won include the 80cc Jamaica Karting Championship, while he is a three-time Jamaican Rotax Junior Champion and has twice been recognised with FIA Americas Junior Awards. He has also raced elsewhere in the region, winning the International Race meet in Guyana in December 2017, and later in Barbados.
In 2019, aged 13, he finished fourth in the Caribbean Junior Karting Academy Trophy (CJKAT) contested over three double-header weekends at Bushy Park. He was one of only four winners in the 24-race series, with two of his four victories coming on the final Sunday, when he was also the day’s top points-scorer.
Later that year, he became the youngest driver ever to race at his home country’s Dover Raceway, when he debuted his Honda Civic, before the coronavirus pandemic halted motor sport in the region. Last year, he became the Jamaica Race Drivers Club (JRDC) Modified Production 2 Champion – father Doug won MP4 in his Kia Rio 2 – and was also the highest-placed 2wd in Rally Jamaica, another nod to his father’s successes in winning championship on both race circuit and rally stage.
Championship co-ordinator Kurt Seabra said: “It’s great to welcome young and emerging talent to the RCC. Tommi did a test session earlier this year and was easily recording some of the fastest laps in a Radical SR3 at Bushy Park. I’m looking forward to seeing him mixing it up with the seasoned front-runners this year.”
Entries for the BPMSI’s May 14 Race Meet, which will also feature the opening round of the Club’s 2023 Group Championships, are open at Motorsport Services, Haggatt Hall and will close next Thursday, May 11. Gates will open at 11.00am and qualifying is scheduled to start at 11.40am; tickets will be available at the gate and admission is Bds$10, with children aged 11 and under free.
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