SECRETARY of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC), Gavin Gayadin, believes there is a slim chance host country Guyana can come out on top at the end of the final race at the South Dakota Circuit on November 8.

“Each country is allowed six cars per race and once we have our full complement of cars ready to go, as well as all the drivers getting amongst the points, then Team Guyana can pull off a come-from-behind victory on November 8,” says Guyadin.

Guyana are out of the equation of the country championships with 31 points, lurking distantly behind Jamaica who have  62 points and Barbados on 82 points, even though they did not attend the first championship in Jamaica, which was dominated by current points leader David Summerbell of Jamaica and defending champion Stuart Maloney of Barbados.

“Everybody has been preparing for this meet since our return from Barbados and I can safely say that preparations have been ongoing and sound so far. Mark Vieira has applied a triple rotor which would provide him with an extra 150hp for his vehicle.

“This means he would be a threat to anyone on the straights in his tube frame Mazda RX8 whilst he holds an added advantage over his opponents on the turns, while I have added a new gear box, computer system and suspension to my car and once everything purrs on the November 8, we can record the team victory which would be an incentive, as our drivers are out of contention for the driver’s title,” says Gayadin.

Team Guyana comprises veteran race aces Vieira and Andrew King, along with Gayadin, Kevin Jeffrey and Shawn King and they will have their work cut out for them while competing on home turf against the heavyweights from Jamaica and Barbados, including Summerbell and Maloney.

He further told Chronicle Sport that Guyana’s non-participation in the Jamaica race meet was totally out of their hands, as the global financial crisis as well as the just concluded GMR&SC meet prevented same from occurring.

“We held our meet in November while the first meet in the Caribbean championships was held in February. As you are aware, one would have to go through Miami to get to Jamaica and with the financial crisis hitting the world, there was not even a remote possibility of us getting there and having said that, it would be nice if corporate Guyana can come on board with this sport which happens to be one of the most expensive sports in the world.”

PIT REDESIGN
According to Gayadin, the pits at the South Dakota Circuit is not enough for the local drivers and with the influx of foreign drivers for this meet, which would be the largest ever to grace these shores, a redesign of the pits was done by himself and John Chin.

“Make no bones about it. We are looking to make this meet one of the best among the three being hosted. When we checked the pits and realised it was not adequate enough for our drivers at home, the only thing left to do was redesign it so that everybody would be accommodated, even if it is in a small way.”

Sponsorship for the meet has been forthcoming from corporate Guyana, even though the event is sponsored in full by Seaboard Marine, with Sunburst Orange Juice, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and Ansa McAl Limited sponsoring the venue meeting.

“Apart from the abovementioned, Princess Buddy’s Hotel will be providing free accommodation for a limited number of guests and with 18 competitors coming from Barbados and Jamaica, with 11 of those coming from the former, such a gesture is greatly appreciated,” said Gayadin.

No doubt, it will be a ‘November to Remember’ in the annals of the GMR&SC after this meet.