分类： sports

One of open-wheel racing’s rising stars from the Caribbean, Barbadian driver Zane Maloney, has finalized a high-profile switch to Nissan for the upcoming 2026/27 FIA Formula E World Championship, marking a pivotal career step that puts him in position to compete for top grid positions after two challenging seasons with the rookie Lola Yamaha ABT squad. The Nissan Formula E program officially confirmed the deal Tuesday, revealing that Maloney will pair with 34-year-old veteran Oliver Rowland, who is returning for his seventh consecutive season with the Japanese manufacturer, as the series enters its transformative fourth-generation (GEN4) car era.

For Maloney, the 24-year-old who earned the nickname “The Boy from Barbados” in global racing circles, the move represents the breakthrough opportunity he has worked toward since entering Formula E in 2024 alongside the newly established Lola Yamaha ABT entry. In an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, he opened up about the decision, framing it as a natural next step in his pursuit of competitive success.

“It’s a huge chance for me at this point in my career, and I couldn’t be more excited to get started,” Maloney explained. “When I joined Formula E, I signed on with an all-new manufacturer in Lola. We knew going in that results would take time, that building a new program from scratch over an existing car generation would be a steep challenge. After two seasons, I’ve grown a lot there, but as a driver, my goal is always to fight for positions at the front of the grid. When the opportunity to join Nissan opened up, I grabbed it with both hands, and I’m ready to put in the work to get to the front.”

Nissan brings a proven winning pedigree to the partnership, a stark contrast to the developing program Maloney leaves behind. The Japanese outfit claimed the Formula E drivers’ championship just two seasons ago and finished fourth in the team standings last year, a track record that Maloney says made the move irresistible. “This is a team that is accustomed to winning races and fighting for titles, that’s what drew me here,” he said.

Maloney waste no time jumping into preparations: he will travel to Nissan’s Paris-based factory early next week to meet his new engineering team and support staff, before official pre-season testing for the 2026/27 season gets underway. The new campaign kicks off in December 2025 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia, and the young driver says he plans to spend as much time as possible at the factory ahead of testing to get up to speed with the team’s processes and the all-new GEN4 car.

The GEN4 regulations represent one of the biggest shake-ups in Formula E history, bringing massive performance gains that fundamentally change the car’s handling. The new cars will jump from 350 kilowatts of power in attack mode to 600 kilowatts, adding more downforce, an active differential, and far faster acceleration – with 0 to 100 km/h acceleration that makes it the fastest accelerating race car in the world. Maloney says the new characteristics of the GEN4 car actually play to his experience, drawing a parallel to the open-wheel machinery he drove during his FIA Formula 2 career.

“It’s a whole new beast compared to the current generation car,” Maloney noted. “More power, more complexity, a completely different driving dynamic. It’s much closer to what I was used to in F2, and with the faster cornering and higher top speed, I think I’m going to feel right at home in this new package. It’s a big challenge, but I’m not daunted by it – I’m eager to get behind the wheel.”

Despite the move, Maloney made a point of expressing deep gratitude for his two seasons with Lola Yamaha ABT, the new manufacturer that gave him his first shot at Formula E. Though he only notched three top-ten finishes across two seasons with the team, he says the experience was invaluable to his development as a driver and a person.

“Lola and everyone at ABT gave me my first opportunity in this championship, and they’ve helped me grow so much over the last two years,” he said. “Starting as a new manufacturer halfway through a car generation is an incredibly tough task, but we took on the challenge together, we got some solid results along the way, and I made a lot of great memories. I have nothing but appreciation for everyone there, they’re incredible people.”

Maloney’s new teammate, veteran Oliver Rowland, has welcomed the Barbadian driver to the squad, saying he is confident Maloney’s junior career success and two years of Formula E experience will put the team in strong position for the GEN4 era. “I’m delighted to continue with Nissan for our seventh season together,” Rowland said. “With the GEN4 car coming in, we’re going to see a big step in performance and it’s something we’re really excited for. I’m looking forward to Zane joining the team, he’s had a great junior career and two years of experience in Formula E, which puts him in a good position to start Season 13 strongly.”

On August 23, the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) hosted its highly anticipated Double-Header Summer Sprint, a event that doubled as the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2026 BRC Driver’s & Class Championship, delivering edge-of-your-seat competition that ended with Mark Maloney and Dane Skeete sharing top honours after an exceptionally close battle across the event’s two directional runs.

A field of 46 competitive entries gathered at the St John and St George stages for the weekend’s racing, with pre-event proceedings opening with a respectful minute of silence held at the Colleton Plantation Yard service area. The moment of remembrance honored three beloved figures of the Barbadian motoring community—Dave Crawford, former Motoring Club Barbados Inc chairman Glyne Greaves, and Harold ‘Doc’ Morley—all of whom passed away in the weeks leading up to the event.

The first leg of the sprint sent competitors racing from Kendal in St John to Ellesmere in St George, where Maloney delivered a blistering run that saw him cross the line eight-tenths of a second ahead of Skeete to claim the round 7 win. When the route reversed for round 8, however, Skeete bounced back in dramatic fashion, edging out Maloney by a razor-thin margin of just eight hundredths of a second to take the second leg victory.

The event saw no shortage of standout performances beyond the top two overall contenders. Jamaican driver Kyle Gregg secured a third-place finish in round 7, while Stuart Maloney, Mark Maloney’s compatriot, worked through early technical challenges to climb to third place in round 8. Mark-Anthony Hinkson, the highest-placed two-wheel-drive competitor across both legs, turned in an impressive consistent performance that saw him crack the overall top 10 in both the first and second runs, a feat that earned him widespread praise from spectators and fellow competitors alike.

Speaking to reporters after the final results were posted, Mark Maloney reflected on his successful day, crediting focused preparation rather than luck for his strong results. ‘I know I have the ability and I just have to make sure my head is clear. I know it’s not luck,’ he said, noting that Stuart Maloney’s morning power steering issues kept him from mounting a tighter challenge at the top of the leaderboard. ‘Unfortunately Stuart had power steering issues in the morning, as I’m sure he would have been much closer but the day was impeccable for me.’

Full official results for round 7 of the 2026 BRC Driver’s & Class Championship are as follows: 1. Mark Maloney (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) – 2 minutes 26.63 seconds; 2. Dane Skeete (Subaru Impreza WRC S12) – +0.82 seconds; 3. Kyle Gregg (JAM, Ford Fiesta Rally2) – +1.13 seconds; 4. Josh Read (Ford Fiesta Rally2) – +1.34 seconds; 5. Mark Thompson (Citroen C3 Rally2) – +1.82 seconds; 6. Stuart Maloney (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) – +2.50 seconds; 7. David Husbands (Ford Fiesta R5) – +8.26 seconds; 8. Brian Gill (Skoda Fabia Rally2 evo) – +8.89 seconds; 9. Kurt Thompson (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) – +9.19 seconds; 10. Mark-Anthony Hinkson (BMW M3) – +10.43 seconds.

For round 8, the official finishing order was: 1. Dane Skeete – 2 minutes 24.34 seconds; 2. Mark Maloney – +0.08 seconds; 3. Stuart Maloney – +0.70 seconds; 4. Josh Read – +2.07 seconds; 5. Kyle Gregg (JAM) – +2.59 seconds; 6. Mark Thompson – +4.55 seconds; 7. Brian Gill – +6.01 seconds; 8. Kurt Thompson – +6.23 seconds; 9. Mark-Anthony Hinkson – +6.24 seconds; 10. David Husbands – +8.26 seconds.

The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) community-focused Adopt-A-School Futsal Tournament is hitting new strides in its sophomore year, with organizers reporting significant growth in participation and a marked rise in on-court competitive quality. This year’s iteration has drawn 24 total teams, an addition of 8 squads compared to the tournament’s inaugural 2023 staging, marking a 33 percent expansion in just one year.

Hosted at the dedicated futsal facility at The Oasis in Kendall Hill, Christ Church, the tournament entered its second weekend of round-robin play this week, with organizers highlighting that the event has retained the electric energy and good sportsmanship that defined its debut, while stepping up the intensity of matchplay.

Tessalee Moore, BHTA’s Special Projects Manager, shared that the second round of group fixtures delivered the kind of tightly contested, high-stakes matches that have turned the community tournament into a anticipated annual fixture for Barbados’ tourism and hospitality sector. “From last year’s opening edition to this year’s competition, we’ve kept the same high level of energy, competitiveness and camaraderie across all matches,” Moore explained. “The level of buy-in and support from every participating team has been incredibly encouraging, and the BHTA couldn’t be happier with how the tournament has progressed in just two years.”

Moore emphasized that the standard of play has improved dramatically compared to the inaugural event, a shift she attributes to both the larger pool of participating teams and the higher level of preparation squads have brought to this year’s competition. “Last year set a strong foundational benchmark for what this tournament could be, and this year teams showed up far better prepared to compete,” she said. “We’ve already seen a string of extremely close matches and a handful of unexpected upsets that have made every game feel exciting and unpredictable.”

Beyond the on-court action, Moore noted that feedback from participating players and team staff has been overwhelmingly positive. The tournament brings together workers from across Barbados’ critical tourism and hospitality sector, giving employees a rare chance to connect with peers from other organizations outside of the pressure of their daily work roles. “Teams really value the opportunity to get together, step away from the workplace, and decompress through a shared love of futsal,” Moore said.

Most importantly, the event ties recreational competition to a meaningful public good: all participation supports student and educational development initiatives across Barbados, a purpose that resonates deeply with every competing squad. “Players love that just by showing up and playing, they’re contributing to a greater cause that lifts up education across the country,” Moore added.

The latest round of matchplay over the weekend delivered a wide range of results across the group stage. On Saturday, St James Travel & Tours Sunlinc Five Star Fast Track secured a clean 3-0 win over Apes Hill United, while Hilton Barbados Resort claimed a narrow 2-1 victory against Barbados Yacht Club. Hotel Indigo shut out Montrose Holdings Limited 3-0, Wyndham Grand Barbados and The Mango Bay Group played to a scoreless draw, and Barbados Conference Services Limited defeated The Crane 5-2. The fixture between Oasis All Stars and Grantley Adams International Airport also ended in a 0-0 draw.

Sunday’s matches brought more competitive action, with Coral Reef Club cruising to a 3-0 win over Barbados Port Inc. Aventa Ltd edged out Harbour Lights CK UVA 3-2, and Caribbean Aircraft Handling picked up a 4-2 win over a combined BHTA NSC squad. Accra Beach Hotel & Spa & The Abidah by Accra played to a goalless draw against The Club Barbados Resort, while Ocean Hotels claimed a 2-1 win over The Sandpiper. Barbados Marriott Collection secured the same 2-1 margin of victory against Foster & Ince Tiami Catamaran Cruises.

A groundbreaking new collaboration between one of Europe’s most iconic football clubs and The University of the West Indies (UWI) is set to transform youth football development across the Caribbean, starting with a successful inaugural training camp in Barbados. The six-day residential camp, hosted at the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Technical Centre in Wildey, marked the first major initiative launched after UWI’s Faculty of Sport formalized a strategic partnership with Portugal’s SL Benfica earlier this year.

Randy Harris, president of the BFA, celebrated the joint initiative as a critical step forward for nurturing young homegrown talent in Barbados. “Our organization is thrilled to facilitate a program aligned so closely with our long-term vision for growing young footballers across the country,” Harris shared during the camp. “It’s incredible to see dozens of boys and girls alike enjoying their time on the pitch while mastering the core fundamentals of the sport. Right now in Barbados, too much focus goes to winning matches at youth levels, when the priority should always be building a strong foundation and understanding of the game first.”

The project received key public sector backing from the Government of Barbados, which covered full registration fees for 50 talented young players between the ages of 7 and 17. The government support was coordinated across multiple agencies: the Division of Youth and Culture in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Sport and Community Empowerment, and Future Sport, a specialized division of national development group Future Barbados. All government-sponsored participants were selected through two existing national frameworks: the BFA’s FIFA Talent Development Scheme and the Barbados Secondary Schools Football League, ensuring the opportunity reached the most promising emerging talent across the island.

Under the terms of the broader strategic agreement between UWI and SL Benfica, the partnership aims to expand access to high-quality football development, formal coaching education, and international career pathways for young athletes and coaches across the entire Caribbean region. The program will roll out first across UWI’s three main campuses – Cave Hill in Barbados, Mona in Jamaica, and St Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago – with plans for broader regional expansion as the initiative matures.

Amanda Reifer, Deputy Dean for International Partnerships and Business Development at UWI’s Faculty of Sport, framed the collaboration as a transformative investment in Caribbean youth. “This partnership is about building real, sustainable pathways for our young people and coaching staff, not just talking about development,” Reifer explained. “By combining UWI’s extensive regional reach and deep local connections with SL Benfica’s globally respected expertise in elite football development, we can open doors to world-class training, academic education, and international opportunities that most Caribbean talent would never otherwise access.”

Reifer also emphasized the importance of public sector collaboration to the initiative’s early success, thanking both the government of Barbados and the BFA for their on-the-ground support. “We are incredibly grateful for the commitment from both the Barbados government and the BFA. Sponsoring 50 young players to attend is a tangible, meaningful investment in the future of Barbadian football, and the BFA’s provision of facilities, equipment and logistical coordination has been absolutely invaluable. This project stands as a clear example of what is possible when government, domestic sport governing bodies, academic institutions and international partners align to create opportunities for the next generation.”