Saturday 19, and Sunday 20 March 2016 saw thousands of Grenadians and visitors flock to Pearls Speedway for the first of 2 annual International Drag Racing Competitions held in Grenada.
On Saturday 19, the Grenada Motor Club (GMC) welcomed 33 race teams from Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua, Anguilla, Barbados and Grenada, for the weekend’s 2–day racing events. The racers unanimously expressed their excitement at participating in the races and their desire to test the performance of their custom-built cars on Grenada’s race track, in hopes of setting record times.
Numerous race events were held on the weekend, with final races held on the concluding day, Sunday 20. Racers grew anxious with anticipation as the final races were underway determining the top placing cars in the 7 speed categories.
“Races at the GMC Drags Competitions are open to street cars as well as custom built cars once they meet the stipulated safety requirements. Race categories start at the 17 second bracket decreasing in time to the 7 second bracket. Each car is required to race for a quarter-mile, at their best speeds in hope of capturing top places in their respective race classes. The fastest cars at this event originated from Trinidad and Tobago, however, local racer Champ Maitland was an excellent contender from Grenada for placing in the 9 second category” explained Angus DaBreo, President of the GMC as he described how the races are coordinated.
At the close of the day’s racing, the 25–foot custom-built Lumar Rail Car from Trinidad, driven by Rishi Kanick, had the best overall time of 8.1 seconds in the open class category, followed closely by ‘Royal Purple’, a Nissan Laurel driven by Trinidadian Gordon Rooks, with a time of 8.6 seconds.
Wazeer Khan, of team ‘Boost Factory’, Trinidad placed 1st in the 9 second category and Ajmal Mustapha driver of ‘Green Express’ placed second; Joshua Lewis from Grenada had best time in the 10 second category followed by Christian Tam from Trinidad; In the 11 second bracket, Teerath Deosingh from Trinidad placed 1st followed by Renee “Buttaz” Edwards AKA Lady Horse Power from Antigua; Cedric Johnson from Trinidad and Fabian Charles from Grenada captured 1st and 2nd places respectively in the 12 second category whilst Llewellyn Duncan and Denison Samuel both from Grenada took the top places the 13–17 second class. Kelvin Daniel from Barbados secured 1st place in the motor bike shootout and Kurlan Baptiste from Grenada placed 2nd.
Sunday’s racing event, the larger of the 2-day competition, was well attended, and attracted over four thousand spectators to the venue including Dr the Right Hon. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada; Hon. Alexandra Otway-Noel, Minister for Implementation and Richard Strachan, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Grenada Tourism Authority.
Ian DaBreo, Public Relations Officer commented on the turnout of the event “We were pleased with the participation from both the local and regional racers as well as the support received from the public which contributed to the overall success of the event. GMC will continue to improve on the additions made at this event and are aiming to attract even more racers to Grenada for future events” he said.
Mr DaBreo expressly thanked all sponsors of the event — Title Sponsor Stag; Steele’s Auto Supplies; Monster Energy Drink; Waggy T Rental & Sound Co; MTV, Timbers Restaurant; Prickly Bay Marina; St Augustine’s Medical Services; AllyDay Creative Projects; Grenada Bottling; DutyFree Caribbean; NG Electrical whose contribution was invaluable in successfully hosting the event.
The GMC announced its plans for its second 2016 International Drags event which will be held in October 2016.