THERE is an old adage: ‘To be the best, you have to beat the best’.
Certainly, 33-year-old Shairaz Roshandin, managing director of TOTAL Lubricants Outlet, located at 51 Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara, displayed same, when he stepped out of the Group 2A category to dominate the Group 2B and even Group 3 at the just concluded Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMRSC)-organised ‘Race of Champions’ last Sunday at the South Dakota Circuit. With the weather playing havoc and preventing several of the day’s events from taking place, Roshandin, who along with his older brother Shahab has been dominating the three-hour endurance for the past three years, credits his wins to the use of TOTAL lubricants in the car.
“We have been using a standard 1600cc in a Toyota Levin car that we normally use for the three-hour Endurance event. We decided to take the car to the track on Sunday and try it out with the use of TOTAL lubricants, one of the leading brands in the FI races, with present champion driver Sebastian Vettel using same in his Red Bull-sponsored car,” said Roshandin
He said the car which was outfitted with TOYO tyres, held its own in the wet conditions, which enabled him to chalk up three first-place finishes, one second and one third, as he outlasted his more superior opponents of the calibre of Chet Singh, Aaron Bethune, Sean Sewjattan and John Joseph of the USA.
“After doing well in Group 2, we went up to the higher groups to fully test the workforce of the car and I must say, that it withstood all the pressure and worked perfectly. In fact, when we started the engine after pouring in the TOTAL branded oil, I felt a difference with regard to the r.p.m. as I accelerated down the back stretch.
The handling in the wet weather was excellent and along with the tyres that were outfitted, we got the competitive edge over our more illustrious competitors on the day, which is a plus for me, as I always wondered what it would be like to go up there and compete with the other guys and win,” a smiling Roshandin stated.
Asked what’s next on his calendar, he was quick to state, “Certainly I would have loved to go to Barbados and compete in the Bushy Park meeting, but due to this being the Holy Month of Ramadan, I am unable to do so.
“However, I will be concentrating fully on getting the car ready for the Guyana leg of the Caribbean Champion of Champions meet which is set for November at South Dakota.
“While we are happy with the results we got last Sunday, we know that we are not at the level we where wish to be, to be a continued force in the sport, so with that in mind, some work will be done on the car leading up to the meeting in November as we aim to not only repeat last Sunday’s performance, but better it also.”
Not appearing to be selfish, Roshandin who is the sole distributor of TOTAL lubricants in Guyana, urged his competitors to give it a try, saying, ‘Once you do, you won’t regret doing so, as you would see the results immediately.’