GMR&SC Skyline Mortgage Caribbean Race of Champions
South Dakota Raceway – Guyana - 29th October 2006
Photography by Narend Sooknarine, Duane Boodasingh and Devendra Nath
Article by Duane Boodasingh with contributions from Nizam Mohammed and Narend Sooknarine
Trini Underdogs prove to be a champion breed.
 Trinidad & Tobago proved they had the mettle to compete against the Caribbean’s big guns. In Guyana's Group 2 Fast and the mighty Group 3, four out of our six cars copped no less than 1st, 2nd and 3rd places as well as the most improved driver award.
The words “shock and awe” come to mind when hearing the remarks of spectators as they tried to figure out exactly how Christian Bourne’s 1600 Turbo Civic Type R could be so quick against Guyana's Ryan Rahaman's Escort and how Gerrard Carrington’s 2000 Turbo Mivec Hatch could be drifting while still accelerating away from Guyanese champion Mark Viera and Jamaican hotshot David Summerbell. Both Gerrard's and Cristian's cars were tuned by Peak Performance Ltd. and collected the checkered flag in one race each. The other Trini drivers Ravi Singh and Tanko Baboolal took 3rd place finishes. Mootie Maharaj and Link Sampath of Trinidad had mechanical problems all day, but still managed to hold off some of the competition in their races.
TTASA President Jameer Ali along with Team Manager and Competition Chairman Nizam Mohammed accompanied these six cars and drivers from Trinidad & Tobago to compete in the Caribbean Race of Champions at the South Dakota Circuit track in Guyana. A contingent of over eighty Trinis flew over to the South American Republic to support the team. Participating countries included Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, Surinam, USA, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago.
The delays started early at Piarco on Friday 27th around 7am as two flights to Cheddi Jagan International were grounded for 12 hours due to mechanical problems with the aircraft. Fourty seven Trinis including drivers, mechanics, media and supporters stayed at the airport hoping to get a flight out. But, true to form, give a Trini some friends and some time to waste and you have a big lime! BWIA arranged another flight out and we landed in Guyana at around 10pm. The six Trini cars arrived on the Guyana race track the day before the event at 2pm after several customs and shipping delays in Trinidad resulting in very little practice and preparation time in Guyana. A few of our drivers even had to qualify and practice on the same laps!
On race day though everything went like clockwork. The Guyanese race director was remarkably stern and efficient and even spectators got to the track at around 7am. After a visit from the President of the Republic of Guyana the races were off and there was no more than 10 minutes between events. During this time spectators were allowed to enter the fenced infield vantage points, effectively doubling the spectator capacity at the South Dakota Raceway.
The number of competitors at this event was astounding. Just imagine 22 cars racing in Group 2 Fast alone! One Trini supporter wondered if Wallerfield would ever see such a packed starting lineup! The run groups included Rookie class, Group 2A (Slow), Group 2B (Fast), Group 3, Motorcross Bikes, 600cc Super Bikes (yes super bikes!) & Shifter Karts. All of this non-stop action was cheered on by a sea of over 12,000 spectators.
Our Trini car and driver combinations performed exceptionally well. In fact, we were dubbed one of the best foreign teams ever to compete in Guyana. After a 16-year Trini group 3 drought at this event, Gerrard Carrington (2000 AWD Turbo Mivec Hatch) broke the domination of the Caribbean's best, namely Mark Viera (2nd Gen RX7), Andrew King (Mazda RX3) of Guyana, David Summerbell (Mitsu Evo6) and Peter Rae (tube frame RX7) of Jamaica. Carrington took the checkered flag on the second Group 3 race from a field of 11 top competitors. The Trini supporters went wild! Carrington had to retire into the pits on the third race due to rear axle damage which occurred on the race he won but this kind of force has not been seen from Trinidad since the reign of Frankie Boodram.
 Christian Bourne, champion T&T dexterity driver led the field of 22 cars in Group 2 Fast. This was Christian’s 3rd circuit racing event ever and 3rd time racing this car. In his Civic 1600 Turbo he amazed supporters and detractors alike as he stormed past Guyanese favourite Ryan Rahaman’s 2500cc featherweight Cosworth Escort to take the checkered flag in race two. Christian took second place in his other two races. He was disqualified after race three for supposedly not completing the first turn after getting the checkered flag but this was rightly revoked and he collected the 2nd place trophy for that race at the prize giving presentation. With one 1st place and 2 second places against a field of 22 on foreign soil with no practice and after only racing at 3 circuit events in his life, including this one, we can be sure that Christian Bourne is a name we better get very accustomed to saying in the future!
Ravi Singh also performed admirably with two 3rd places in three races despite having technical difficulties. It was apparent how much the late arrival of the cars to Guyana had affected the Trini team’s performance. Ravi later confirming that he didn’t realize he had done a qualifying lap during practice late Saturday evening. The resulting bad grid position really affected his performance. On the second race, a collision on turn 1, which seems to be normal proceedure at South Dakota Raceway, caused Ravi to spin out into the sand trap. With a broken oil cooler he couldn't restart the rotary and had to settle for a frustrating DNF.
 Kelvin Tanko Baboolal pushed through the field of 22 racers in Group 2 fast in hopes of maintaining his championship which he attained at this same event in 2005. But Christian Bourne and Ryan Rahaman ran away as Tanko got caught up in traffic, the battle scars showing the intensity of the fight. He even lost a rear tyre in a the second race. Tanko collected 3rd place in race 3 and still persistent, went on to compete in the handicap race which continued into the fading sunset. Tanko, Mark Viera, Andrew King, Peter Rae, the one-handed wonder Kemal Rahaman and Kamal Seebarran all in their fire breathing rotaries lit up the track. It was a real sight. Peter Rae later admitted that every time his exhaust lit up the side of his car he thought it was another racer’s headlights coming up on him!
Our other two competitors, Mootie Maharaj in his Group 2A 1600 Honda Civic Vtec and Link Sampath in his Group 2 Fast Datsun 120Y SR20DET would have performed better but suffered from a slew of mechanical and technical problems. Link bore much frustration as he was the only competitor without a paddock shelter for his car and had to use a plastic bag to cover his air filter in the pits during heavy Guyanese rain showers. Nonetheless, they both drove well when their cars allowed it.
The Trinis followed through on Monday night to make sure the Prize Giving ceremony was lively as the large T&T contingent cheered on our boys when they collected their trophies. During their very brief speeches, they invited the Vincentians, Jamaicans, Bajans and especially the Guyanese Mark Viera and Ryan Rahaman to Trinidad for the International at Wallerfield Raceway on December 3rd 2006.
Trinidad & Tobago Drivers who placed:
Gerrard Carrington - Group 3 - Mitsubishi AWD Turbo Mirage sponsored by Innovative Security Technology Ltd, Peak Performance, Castrol, Fast Parts, DreamCars.com, Shape Shop, , Mileage Mack, SAS Racing & Sunoco, Constant Velocity, Wrist, Imraj Bros Muffler, Victory Signs.
(Race 1 - 2nd place) (Race 2 - 1st place) (Race 3 - DNF)
Cristian Bourne - Group 2 Fast - Honda Civic 1600 Turbo sponsored by Crism.com, Castrol, Mileage Mack, Peak Performance, Car United Export Intl, MAS Tuning Dyno Shop.
(Race 1 - 2nd place) (Race 2 - 1st place) (Race 3 - 2nd place)
Ravi Singh - Group 3 - 3rd Gen RX7 Turbo sponsored by Chevron, Joseph's Sports Bar, Presidential Insurance, Blue Mountain Water, Race Tech Engineering.
(Race 1 - 3rd place) (Race 2 - DNF) (Race 3 - 3rd place)
Tanko Baboolal - Group 2 Fast - 3rd Gen RX7 sponsored by Presidential Insurance, Blue Mountain Water, Mileage Mack, Oracle Signs.
(Race 3 - 3rd place)
Page 1 of 17 |
