Group 4 ace drivers, Andrew King, Paul Vieira and Kevin Jeffrey will spearhead a nine-man team of local speedsters to compete in the first leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) next month in Jamaica.
According to president of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC), Johnny Carpenter, the trio will lead Guyana’s charge in trying to accumulate the most points in the three-leg championships beginning on May 26 in order to drive off with the CMRC overall title which has eluded the local daredevils since 2010. “This year we are making a determined effort to give the support to our team to ensure we win the 2013 version of the Caribbean Championships,” said Carpenter yesterday during an interview with Stabroek Sport. “We are looking to accumulate points in all three legs so we can win this championships overall. It is time that Guyana say that we have beaten them all again, we have always been competitive but for various reasons over the previous years we have not competed in all three of the events and over the years we have not supported our team well enough so we have lost points on the accumulative basis.”
The other drivers shortlisted are Group 2 A’s, Chet Singh, Harold Hopkinson, Rameez Mohamed, John Joseph and Group 2 B’s, Afraz Alli and Syed Hassan.
Super Bikers, Steven ‘Valentino Rossi’ Vieira and Maurice Menez’s participation is tentative pending the availability of funds and accommodation.
Carpenter revealed that SeaBoard Marines will subsidize the freight of the vehicles but the cost of the air fare and accommodation of the drivers and their mechanics will be very substantial. Jamaica’s leg will be followed by the second leg in Barbados in September while the local leg will be staged at the South Dakota Circuit in November. The CMRC was first staged in 2007 with Jamaica winning its inaugural leg. Barbados sped off with the country title in 2011. Of the six annual events, four overall titles were won by Jamaica; Guyana has some catching up to do. Last year the CMRC introduced two new territories, Trinidad and Tobago and the Cayman Islands, both of whom have committed to further support this year. Notably absent will be champion race car driver, Mark Vieira who stated that his Mazda RX8 will not be operable in time for the Jamaica meet. Vieira however noted that his machine will be up and revving in time for the second leg.
