The Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMRSC) counted four local and international meetings at the South Dakota Circuit among its successes in 2008 despite dashed hopes of capturing the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship.
Under the leadership of Vishook Persaud the GMRSC’s successes started with the first meet of the year; the Mashramani Race of Champions on February 17 which saw Mark Vieira, Ryan Rahaman and Romeo Singh dominating their groups. In the Group Four event Vieira forced Andrew King and Andrew Morgan to smell his tires during the three races in the GT&T Blue Power, Carib Beer, Sunburst Orange Juice and Auto Fashion Mash meet. Morgan earned two second places and a third while King settled for a second and two thirds.
In the Group Three events, Rahaman, driving his Ford Escort, dominated with three wins out of three starts with Keith Evelyn managing two second place finishes. Earlier, Rahaman whipped all his competitors in the Group 2B category. Vishaul Sawh collected two second place finishes and Ryan Gayadin picked up the other second place finish. Fazal Habibibula collected his only victory of the meeting while Jad Rahaman rolled back the years to take victory in the final race of the group to go along with his third place finish in the second race.
Romeo Singh then collected three wins from three starts in the Rookie Category forcing Shawn Hassan to stare down his exhaust pipes in all three races. He ended with three second place finishes. Ryan Ally, Joseph Chin and Motilall Deodass took one third place each in the three races.
Shiraz Roshandin picked up two victories and a second place finish in the Group 2A Category. This was followed by Raymond Alli’s victory and second place finish and a second place finish for John Joseph. Joseph, Jad Rahaman and Chet Singh then picked up the three third places on offer.
In the motorcycle events, Ravi Singh took the first 125cc race leaving Stephen Vieira in the dirt. Vieira soon repaid the debt in the second race when he outgunned Charlie Henry and Chris Sawh who settled for second and third places respectively. Singh was nowhere in sight.
In the Super Bike Category Canadian Kevin Graham who has over the years made the circuit his own proved that he was still the force to beat. He forced Stephen Vieira to settle for second place while Mendez and Vickram Lall recorded third place finishes in both races respectively.
May Race Meet
Ryan Rahaman continued his dominance over Group 2B and 3. He was unbeaten in the Group 3 events and pulled off two victories and a third place finish in the Group 2B events. In the first Group 2B race, Rupie Shewjattan drove brilliantly to record a win. He was closely trailed by veteran Errol Ten-Pow who held off Rahaman to take the second place. There were no more upsets for Rahaman as he upped the tempo in the other two group races. First, he exacted revenge on Shewjattan and Habibulla came third. In the final group race he challenged Group 2A winner Syed Hassan; forcing him to settle for second. Afraz Alli finished third place.
In the Group 2A events Hassan rebounded from a third place finish in the opening race to register victories in the other two races. In the first group race of the day Ernesto Choo registered a close victory over Raymond Alli with Hassan settling for third. In the second race Alli was again “best man” in the race which Hassan won with Richard Singh third. In the final race Hassan completed a domineering meet taking the race with Choo, second and Joseph, third.
In the Rookie category, Syed Fawaz made his mark in the first race bullying Shawn Hassan into second place but that was it for him. In races two and three Singh forced Fawaz to accept the runner-up spot as Ravi Deodass and Anand Ramchand picked up the third place trophies for the two races.
In the Group Three races Ryan Rahaman proved his mettle once again as he left the field behind with three wins out of three starts. In the first two races Rahaman was chased down by circuit veteran Kamal Seebarran who managed to cop two second place trophies in the first two races. Trinidadian Tanko Baboolall was forced to settle for third in the first race with Evelyn and Gavin Gayadin taking the third place trophies in the second and third races. In the final Group 3 race Evelyn managed to hold to second position behind Rahaman.
Meanwhile, in the hotly contested Group Four races King held off the challenge of Kevin Jeffrey and Mark Vieira. Jeffrey drew first blood holding off King and Morgan’s challenge forcing them into second and third place finishes. In the second race King turned back Vieira and Jeffrey’s challenge forcing them to settle for second and third places respectively. In the final King got the better of Jeffrey as he drove away with the race meet trophy for the group. Vieira could not repeat the success he had in the Mash race earlier in the year.
In the motorcycle events Christopher McLean and Charley Henry had a tussle for the meet championship but in the end McLean prevailed. In the first two races he piped Henry for the win only for Henry to turn the tables in the second race. Ravi Singh had to settle for the third place. In the final race McLean and Henry battled for the crown from go. In the end McLean got the better of Henry and Singh again finished third.
In the Super Bikes Category Gregory Lopes racked up three wins from three starts after Kevin Graham was a no show. Andy Rajkaran was judged “Best-Man” for his three seconds with Vickram Robin Lall gaining two seconds with the results of the third race remaining in limbo following a photo finish that was too close. Robin Lall and Mark Meneze settled for third place.
Ultimate Race
of Champions
Co-sponsored by Skyline Mortgage, GT&T Cellink Plus, Carib Beer and Sunburst Orange Juice this meet saw King extending his 2008 championship lead with three solid Group Four victories. Kem Lall took over as the new Group Three champion winning all three of his races. Newcomer Shan Seejattan is the new Rookie Champion; Mark Meneze the new 600cc motorcycle champion and McLean returns as the lightweight champ.
In the Rookie Category Sewjattan won the three races from Ramchand and Fawaz who were forced into the second and third places respectively. In the Group 2A races Hassan took the first jump leaving Aaron Bethune to out-pace Richard Singh to take the first win. Bethune must have had a run of luck after pulling off three second place finishes to Singh’s three third place finishes. In the second and third races Chet Singh drove remarkably to register two wins to be crowned group champion.
In Group 2B, Gavin Gouveia proved he was the driver to beat. In the first race he destroyed the field to leave Surinamese Oliver Tjin Lip Shie in second. In the second race Afraz Alli settled for second while Lip Shie drove home third. In the final group race Lip Shie made sure he got some points by placing second in front of Chet Singh as Gouveia clearly outpaced his rivals to take the group.
The Group Three proved to be Kem Lall’s. Ryan Rahaman with his new Ford Sierra which had not been “christened” on the South Dakota Circuit, was beaten into third place in the first two races. He ended second in the final race. In the first two races, with Rahaman’s car not up to scratch Seebarran looked set to take the lead but he could not out-manoeuvre Lall and had to settle for second on both occasions.
In Group Four it was all left to the local King. Andrew King did not allow any of his opponents to get the better of him; registering three wins from three starts followed by Mohan “Suzuki” Rangasammy in the first race. In the second race Seebarran who moved up from Group Three; registered a second place finish in the second race with Kevin Jeffrey coming in third. In the third race Rangasammy recorded his second second place finish of the group with Seebarran in third as King was crowned group champion.
In the 125cc to 250 cc motorcycle race Vassy Barry stole the first race from Stephen Vieira as the third place king Ravi Singh again placed third. In the second and third races though McLean made light work of his opponents as Henry settled for second and Vieira third in the second race whilst in the third race Singh placed second with Barry third. McLean was declared meet champion.
In the 600cc events it was all Mark Meneze’s who was declared champion due to his two first place finishes and single second place finish. In the first race Meneze outpaced the lively Vieira and never looked back. Vieira placed second with Carlos Rodrigues bringing up the rear. In the second race Rodrigues who was starting to get a feel of the track just missed out as he had to settle for second behind Meneze with McLean placing third. In the final race Rodrigues registered a hard- fought win to leave Meneze in second and Vieira in third.
International/
Caribbean Race
of Champions
This event was co-sponsored by GT&T Cellink Plus, Sunburst Orange Juice & Carib Beer and will long be remembered for the new lap record Jamaican David Summerbell set with a time of 34.99 seconds. The final race meeting of the year saw the crowning of a new Caribbean Champion with Barbados Stuart Maloney earning five victories and joining an elite group of champions with the likes of Jamaica’s Summerbell and Doug Gore.
Meanwhile, the Guyanese racers failed to impress with engine, fuel injection and other problems effectively killing any chance at taking the Championship. First King suffered fuel injection problems then Vieira was unable to fully prepare his car for the meet. They were soundly beaten as Maloney recorded two wins and Summerbell one, carting off the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship with Jamaica being declared Champion Country for 2008.
Meanwhile, Ryan Rahaman was back to his best form, dominating the Group 2B and 3 after having ‘broken in’ his car. Chet Singh out drove his competitors in Group 2A but he was severely tested by Barbados’s Kenrick Husbands who claimed a first place and two second places though Singh prevailed over him in one of the most competitive races of the meet.
In the big bike showdown, Canadian Kevin Graham proved once more that his superb riding style was too much for the local speedsters to handle. He won the first race and placed third in the other 600cc to be declared the champion of the day over rival Stephen Vieira.
In the Rookie category Romeo Singh took two of the races and Shan Sewjattan one. Singh outpaced his opponents from go taking pole position ahead of Dawolu Harper and Vinu Sawh who finished second and third respectively. However, in the second race he was forced to fight for his life coming in third as Sewjattan won by a convincing lead ahead of Anand Ramchand. In the final race he outfoxed Sewjattan who finished second ahead of Ramchand.
In Group 2A Chet Singh fought off a strong challenge from Kenrick Husbands. Husbands surprised Singh who had to settle for second place with Keron Rodrigues coming third. In the second race Singh pulled ahead of Husbands with Rodrigues again ending third. In the final Husbands was left ruing his luck after being outpaced by Singh who held on for the victory and the Group 2A crown for 2008. John Joseph came in third.
In Group 2B Ryan Rahaman with a well-oiled machine put a lengthy pace between himself and his opponents in all three races. In the first race he opened a considerable gap ahead of Group 2B champ Gavin Gouveia who could only manage three second place finishes in the races. In the first and third race Kurt Thompson came in third place and in the second race Oliver Tjin Lip Shie third.
In the Group Three races Rahaman again proved his skill on the circuit. In the first race he faced his sternest test from Tanko Baboolall though he prevailed. Baboolall finished second, ahead of Ravi Singh who had moved up a notch to place ahead of Kem Lall.
In the local Group Four races Canada-based Paul Vieira, brother of Mark clocked three wins from three starts. In the first race he pulled off a convincing win over his rivals while in the second he tussled with Andrew Morgan whom he then beat. Morgan placed second in both the second and third races and Vieira was crowned Group Four Champion Driver.
In the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships Stuart Maloney continued where he left off in Bushy Park Barbados to register another convincing win in the first race though not before he was pursued by drivers including Doug Gore who placed second and David Summerbell who placed third. In the second race Maloney maintained his wining form; pulling ahead of Summerbell and Guy Fraser who had to settle for second and third respectively. In the final race Summerbell fought back to walk away with one win ahead of Kevin Jeffrey who placed second and Fraser who placed third.
In the 125cc motorcycle events Charlie Henry took the first place trophy ahead of Vassy Barry and Ravi Singh. Singh then picked up a memorable win ahead of Henry and Barry. Meanwhile, Kevin Graham with two wins from two starts ensured continued his dominance on the track in the big-bike category. In the first race he outpaced Gregory Lopes to take the lead. Lopes finished second and Stephen Vieira third. In the second race Vieira put up a valiant effort to place second ahead of Mark Meneze. Graham was declared the big-bike champion for 2008.
