Rupie Shewjattan plans to electrify the South Dakota Circuit on Sunday with his new electronic boost controller that was added to the engine of his 1300cc Toyota Starlet car for the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) national championship series.
Shewjattan, a champion driver in the Group 2 (Fast) category told Stabroek Sport yesterday that he ‘boosted-up’ the engine of his car ahead of Sunday’s meet by changing the old 13lb boost.
“I stepped up the boost from 13lbs by putting in an electronic boost controller. My car has the smallest engine in the category so I depend on the boost,” Shewjattan said, adding that the electronic boost would allow him to change boost easily at anytime in the race.
Shewjattan hopes to get on the grid ahead of the other competitors in the Group 2B category. Once that happens, he said, he was confident that he would avoid any accidents that might put him out of contention in the race.
“I am looking to do a great lap time to get on the grid. Once I get a good grid position, I will be clear of the pack,” he explained. “I am concentrating on staying out of the pack so that I won’t get bumped around in the race.”
The GMR&SC event set for Sunday will feature all of the country’s top race car drivers, including Andrew King. A team from the USA is expected to participate in the event.
Shewjattan said that he has enough experience to ward off any feeling of intimidation that might arise as he prepares for the races.
He said that he had been practising at South Dakota on Sunday and was satisfied with the work he had done so far.
“I want to do it again, I want to keep my title so I have been working at South Dakota with some old tires and I am satisfied; we did a lap time of 40.2 seconds on Sunday,” Shewjattan disclosed.
The Auto Fashion, Castrol and Mountain Dew-sponsored driver said that more work had been done on the car but he could not give everything away. GT&T, Banks DIH Limited and Skyline Mortgage of the USA are sponsoring Sunday’s meet.
According to a GMR&SC release, over 16 events are carded for the day including super bike and 125cc Shifter Go Karts races. The upcoming national series comes on the heels of a successful Drag Race competition organised by the sports club.
