sident of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) Aaron Bethune has announced that the 2010 racing season will rev off on March 28.
Initially, the season was set to commence on February 21 with the first leg of the GT&T National Race of Champions but according to Bethune, some of the core participants, particularly in the Group 4 category, were not ready and it would not have been wise to go ahead and start the season.
“The thing is after the Christmas holidays, some of our top competitors not only in the Group 4 category, but some newcomers, most of them were not ready and wanted more time to make sure that their cars were really ready, so we had a meeting and the decision was taken to make the adjustment to the dates which I know will work in favour of the fans, the drivers and the GMR&SC,” said Bethune.
The GMR&SC boss predicts a bigger and better season this year given the fact that some of the competitors like Mark Vieira, whose Mazda RX8 vehicle was plagued with some mechanical problems and missed last season’s events will be competing this time.
“I think also that people want to see competition. Now if we had started the season in February and we didn’t have as much participation, it wouldn’t have been good. Secondly, too, I think that most people over the years always want to see the likes of Andrew King, Vieira, Kevin Jeffery and so on and if those guys are not up to scratch it would be boring and not good for the other meetings,” the GMR&SC president said.
He added: “So now I think that these guys will be ready to deliver a good showing and I must say that Mark (Vieira) was ready to go since the original date. I mean his car might not be where he wants it to be but it is very fast. I don’t know if you have heard that he is not too far from the lap record…. so yea, I’m sure that this meet is not going to be anything ordinary.”
The lap record at the South Dakota Circuit is 34.585 seconds and was set by Barbados’ Roger Mayers and his modified Ford Focus during the time trials for the final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) last November.
Meanwhile, asked if the late start to Guyana’s racing season could bring some concerns for the drivers taking part in the Caribbean Championships, Bethune said not for the first round which will take place in Jamaica at the Dover Raceway.
“I think that those going for the first leg, I don’t see a problem with that because it will be held on May 23 and 24 in Jamaica.
So I think then the guys would have enough time to prepare after this first meet.
But the only time I think which would be cutting close would be after our second round of the local meet because that would be held in July at the end and then they would have to go to Barbados for the second CMRC race and then return here in November for the finish,” said Bethune.
Bethune also hinted that several drivers from the USA and Canada are expected to compete in the local meets this year which he hopes will live up to the competitive racing at the South Dakota Circuit.
“See the thing is this, we don’t want this to be nothing of the ordinary and we want people to come out in the thousands for what we know will be a day of competitive racing. I know some of the guys have modified their cars and so on, especially the rookies, even in the lower groups, 2A and B, the group 3s and so on, those groups will be providing lots of excitement so I think we will start with a bang this year,” said the GMR&SC president.
