Copa Kit Regional Circuit Championship - 19th November 2006
Photos courtesy laguacima.com
Article supplied by Trinrico Racing

Daniel Ramoutarsingh and the Trinrico Racing team have completed competing in the Copa Kit Central American Circuit Racing Championship, held at the La Guacima Circuit in Costa Rica. The event held on November 18th and 19th, with KIT as the title sponsor, the event promoted by Promotor Sport S.A.

The Trinrico Racing Team attended the official practice and press launch last month where the new 2200cc Peter Moodie Autosport engine was unveiled. The engine lived up to all expectations and exceeded some by proving power is heat, and the heat generated needed to be controlled like the awesome performance. The necessary parts, spares and tyres were immediately ordered and sent the promoter on Trinrico Racing’s behalf.

The team arrived on Sunday 12th in order to effect the necessary configuration to facilitate the new power plant and suspension set up. The event was harsh in the sense that it was a qualifying session and one 30-minute heat event on Saturday and one more on Sunday making it a double event weekend. To everyone’s dismay the Costa Rica customs department had revamped all import procedures, and the temporary import license enjoyed by ProMotor Sport became invalid. Taxes were requested on racecars and parts arriving from other competing countries. The duties proved to be unrealistic to ask any promotional entity trying to promote the sport in the region.

Trinrico Racing made the best with what they had until they received their tyres, parts and spares on Friday 17th at 4:00 pm. The team were able to qualify on Saturday morning without use of their parts at a time of 1:24.983, the only close rival for the 996 GT3 3600cc Porsche Cup of Mariano Ramirez, the reigning Central American Champion at a time of 1:24.873.

Ramoutarsingh was in close pursuit of the reigning champion, as the two left the other GT2 entries and became engrossed in the GT1 cars. The unavailability of the team’s parts container resulted in their voluntary retirement in an effort to avoid damaging the componentry of the Evolution 6.5 TME and not enter the main event scheduled for Sunday.

Still without use of their Racing gear Box Parts, presently still in Customs department Costa Rica, the team used their spare road going gearbox and remarkably qualified on Pole position on Sunday’s Race, placing the Regional Champion on position 2 for the first time in his career with the Porsche 996 GT3. Ramoutarsingh took the Pole at a qualifying time of 1:24.998, seconded by Ramirez at a time of 1:27.591. Both competitors were several seconds faster than the other GT2 entries.

Ramoutarsingh left the grid on pole and held the position even as he passed several GT1 classification cars as he placed distance and competitors between himself and Ramirez. Ramoutarsingh put down the fastest time of the event in classification GT2 at a remarkable time of 1:24.769 with Ramirez’s fastest time being 1:25.132. Tragedy struck when the power plant of the Trinidad Evolution 6.5 proved too much for a used road going drive train, which suffered a failure, giving Ramoutarsingh seconds to respond and safely leave the field. Ramoutarsingh was given a standing ovation and was deemed a driver of profound driving ability and Trinrico Racing / New Generation Racing one of the best teams in the region. The officials removed their identification tags and presented it to Ramoutarsingh as a sign of respect to his team’s effort against all odds.

Daniel Ramoutarsingh was quoted as saying, “I knew we accomplished something very special, to come from where we do and show the Central American Champion the way around his own track is living a dream for me. Sitting next to my car and hearing the other cars drive by as I looked to the sky, mud and oil covering me, knowing I would be harshly judged for a failure I had no control over, I took solemn pride knowing I had walked the path of my heroes before me. It is the greatest honor to represent my country and excel, to build my dream in a garage at the back of my house and come so far, to drive for the Moodie family and share my life with them; I have left the winner and shall return the champion. I wish my father could have seen the obstacles put in our way and the fight we put up to the very end. I must applaud the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, Trinrico Steel and Wire Products, New Generation Racing Castrol, Mileage Mack Ltd., Bhola’s Motor Works, Mov It the brakes, Pegasus Auto Racing, Gary Greg, Lawrence Henriques and the Moodie Family. To be on pole without our parts, test on old used tyres, and leave your rivals in the dust, rest exclusively on the shoulders of NGRacing.”

Trinrico Racing returns for the signature regional Motor Sport Event in the region, the 3 hours of Costa Rica. The event is scheduled for December 9th and 10th. The team will race two 45 min heats against the best teams in the region as they battle for regional dominance and national prestige. They are expecting competitors from around the NACAM region attended from Puerto Rico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela. The following links cover the event:

http://laguacima.navegalo.com/noticia.php?id=7364

http://www.mundomotorizado.com/foros/viewtopic.php?t=7224

http://www.mundomotorizado.com - 2nd Link

http://www.mundorpm.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10619