Article by Rawle Mahbir
Photography by Duane Boodasingh
So the long awaited double header in Motor Sport finally came off on Sunday at the Waller Field Racing Complex. This was the Circuit and Drag Racing Event that saw all the top drivers in action, and all on one track.
The day began with the Circuit Racers taking the track and thrilling the spectators to some of the finest racing seen for a long time around the one mile Circuit.
Best of the day was Tanko Baboolal driving his Shell sponsored Mazda Rotary RX7 winning his two races in the GTU class.
And in the Modified Production Class young Daniel Ramoutarsingh driving his Carib sponsored Mitsubishi Mivec ran away from all comers in a fine display of controlled driving.
So with the Circuit Racing completed spectators were then treated to the Drag Racing menu that was unfortunately pushed over to this weekend because of the unseasonal rains last Sunday. With some really clever organization by all the hardworking AutoSport Track Marshalls, the Circuit track was quickly converted into a Drag racing strip complete with timing lights and sensors, and full scale competition saw some 110 runs being completed within the space of three hours.
The really fast cars in the open bracket were on a testing exercise since this track must have some upgrading done before they could truly unleash their full power without the bumps breaking their traction.
Daryan Warner emerged with the fastest six cylinder award clocking an impressive 11.352 seconds over the quarter mile at a speed of 117.80 mph, a slightly slower speed than his previous 120.96 mph. The true potential of his Toyota Supra with some really awesome twin turbos and computer controlled timing system will surely be exhibited in upcoming events.
And relative newcomer James Hadeed is after the fastest 4 cylinder crown with his blue Sylvia registering 116.27 mph in 12.229 seconds. But he will have to fight off the likes of a crazed Mark Bartlett with his Turbo Vauxhall Calibra who set a time of 12.064 seconds at a top speed of 123.97 mph. Mark is intent on improving this time and has his eyes set on challenging the Turbo Supra come March 24th at the AutoDrome.
Gerard Pegus snatched the best reaction time trophy with his .503 seconds.
“Impressive was the #68 Escort in the 12sec’s built by Bills Garage in Princess Town, the ONLY Ford powered Ford in the competition making its’ debut with a custom built turbo setup on a Ford 2.0 Pinto engine with a EFI conversion. The setup consisting of a Air Research T3/04 Turbo, front mount intercooler, six point roll cage and enough custom suspension and body work to make Tanabe and Bomex blush.” (AB)
Hero Boodram again proved his dominance over the best in the 10 seconds Class registering his seventh consecutive victory. Also in winners row were Terrance Gunness driving his Datsun 1200 but fitted with a SR20DET engine, the consistent Paul Chung, Rennie Tokhai and Gerard Pegus in 13,14 and 15 seconds respectively, and Marlon Benjamin finally registering a win in 16 seconds.
