A new 2WD and overall lap record and clean sweeps in six groups were the highlight of the Barbados Auto Racing League’ (BARL) Easter Race meet at Bushy Park on Easter Monday. Stuart Williams (30) driving a well-prepared Williams Equipment/WHH Racing/Alpine Bars Lotus Elise set a new overall and 2WD record of 40.866 seconds in the first race for the merged Group 3 Class I to 4B cars. This set the tone for what was to come as he was among an illustrious group of drivers making clean sweeps in their respective Groups during the day’s proceedings. In front of a moderate crowd and after a 10 am start, Willliams held off spirited challenges from Steve King (76) in the King’s Auto Parts/Valvoline/JVM Signage Nissan GTiR and the experience Doug Maloney (33) in the Paints Plus Audi Quattro, especially in the final race of the Group during which Maloney had been able to snatch the lead from Williams at the start. The veteran Maloney appeared to have the race well in control and seeking to settle himself, but as the drivers passed the pit entrance curve heading for the ‘esses’ during the third lap, Maloney miss-changed and Williams who had been in hot pursuit executed ‘clinical pass’ on the inside and never looked back, going on to win and complete a clean sweep of the races allotted to the Group. Maloney, who finished second to Williams in two of the races was still good enough to snatch the honours at stake among Group 4B competitors as he too, made a clean on an exciting day’s racing at the well-known racing facility. King finished second to Williams in the first race and went on to take top honours in Group 3 Class II for the day.
Kurt Thompson (90) performed a similar feat in Group 3 Class I. Driving the well prepared Lucozade/Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Honda Civic CRX. Competitors seemed to have no answer to the might of the Civic, and it was a straight fight for the lesser places between Andre Waithe,  Daryl Clarke and Jerry Leach.

While Williams, Maloney and Thomspon were settling issues in their respective groups, Peter 'blade' Small (123), last year's Group 2A Champion in the M.Grafix Honda Civic CRX stepped up in class and showed that he too, was out to be a top-performer on the League’s opening day. Small picked good lines as he frustrated the efforts of the more experienced Tyrone Martindale, Shawn Boxill and Robert Gill. Three wins from three starts puts gave Small frontrunner status in Group 2B.

Quincy Jones, in the Castrol Toyota Startlet, as if following his more illustrious counterparts in the higher groups, won the first two races in the ICBL Group 2A category. He proved too fast for the Group in the third race by significantly breaking his time bracket and was disqualified. League's Regulations dictate that he be promoted to Group 2B for the second Round of the Championship on July 1.
Former Group Champion Sean Russell driving a Honda Civic won the final Group race. Stuart Knaggs, Ryan Francis as well as newcomer Nicholas St.Hill all put in good performances to stay in the 2012 title hunt.
But it was, perhaps, Anderson Roachford (112) in Group 1 who started the clean sweep runs. In the day’s opener he disposed of the hard-nosed Gregory Farnum, Peter Bryan, Ryan O.Wood, Peter Gibbs and another former Group Champion, Hanief Gooding who was back in action after a layoff.

Another driver catching the eye on Monday was Mark ‘ointment’ Thompson (81) in the Stag/Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio Beauty Toyota Starlet, Thompson upset an impressive field which included defending Overall Champion Driver Edward Corbin in the Valvoline/Automotive Art/Corbin’s Garage Toyota Starlet, tough campaigner, and reigning GP2 Caribbean Champion Kenrick ‘Snappa’ Husbands at the wheel of the Hilti/Johnsen’s/Williams Equipment Toyota Starlet. Thompson who had taken the ‘pole’ for the first race at Saturday Qualifying by returning a record time for cars racing on road tyres of 46.583 seconds, went on to grab two wins in the Monster Energy Group 2C. Jason Harewood in the ‘Do-it-Best/Gaskin’s Garage Toyota Starlet and Husbands had to be content with the lesser places, although Harewood picked up a win before the curtain came down with the Monster Energy Handicap which turned out to be a family affair between the Thompson brothers; Kurt won the race, followed by Mark, while Quincy Jones and Daniel Wiles finished third and fourth respectively.