By Kiev Chesney
Mark ‘Max’ Menezes, Christopher Mc Lean, and Kristian Jeffrey emerged as ultimate champions during the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) `Ultimate Race Champions’ yesterday at the South Dakota Circuit.
The trio each won two of the three races in their respective events yesterday.
In the 600cc superbike category, Menezes shocked the disappointing turnout at the circuit when he launched out like a rocket at the beginning of the race and left the other three riders inhaling his exhaust fumes for the remainder of the race.
“I can launch better than all the guys out here and that helped me to get in control and I just rode a good clean race after that,” Menezes told Stabroek Sport.
Crowd favourite, Steven Vieira, who was touted as the local `Valentino Rossi,’ brandished every trick in his book but none could match the quality riding of Menezes who extended his commanding lead as the race progressed.
After the first four laps, it was evident that Vieira could not catch the leader but had to fight for his life to hold-off Carlos Rodrigues, whose superior cornering skills and risking- taking almost got the better of Vieira on the gooseneck on a few occasions.
Menezes would return to claim the second race in similar fashion while the frustrated Vieira, who adjusted the stiffness of his suspensions between races, saw no result and settled for dead.
Rodrigues, son of deceased racing legend Reagan Rodrigues, continued to push his 2003 Yamaha R6 to the limit and although he seemed to reduce the commanding lead of Menezes he settled for second while, debut superbike rider Mc Lean, who rode in both motorcycle categories, came third.
Rodrigues told Stabroek Sport that he had not ridden since last February and only got in two sessions on the track before the meet as he returned to Guyana last Tuesday.
Hat trick spoiler
In the third superbike race, the Ricks and Sari bike, ridden by Rodrigues left all in its wake after he got off to a blistering start and out to a massive lead that not even Menezes could reduce.
Rodrigues established approximately a 150m lead after the first two laps and it became increasingly evident that Menezes’s hat- trick chances would be flushed away as Rodrigues cornered with a barber’s precision.
Menezes, who later complained of fatigue (since the events were too close together), finished second while Mc Lean finished third and Vieira fourth.
Dust yourself off and try again
The 125cc motorcycle category was dominated by the phenomenal 16-year-old Mc Lean who tasted the asphalt at South Dakota, but rose to win the next two races convincingly.
Mc Lean seemed to be in control of the first race but when he tried to push his bike further than it was willing to go he fell flat on the track while entering the gooseneck right under the nose of eventual race winner Vassie Barry.
“I have been having problems with my bike but I tried to push myself because I was going all out on the throttle and the bike was not responding on the back-straight,” he said.
In next race Mc Lean dominated from the get go, but showed his class in the third and final race when he chased down and caught Ravi Singh who seemed to have jumped the light at the beginning of the race.
Jeffrey won two of the three races in the 125cc shifter go-kart category to end the GMR&SC series at the top of the leader board in the event. In the first race he fought through traffic early and took command while his cousin Stefan Jeffery followed in second ahead of Shane Alli.
In the second race however, one of Jeffrey’s rear sprockets broke off causing him retire early. Alli took advantage of his absence to claim victory.
Jeffrey’s team in the pit rectified the go-kart’s problem and he returned to claim the third race in-front of Stefan and Alli respectively.