CURRENT Group 4 points-leader Kristian Jeffrey believes that his machine can break the lap record on the Wallerfield raceway when the second leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship heads there later this month.Speaking exclusively to Chronicle Sport from his home in Canada, Jeffrey indicated that the thought has been on his mind frequently. “I’ve been going through laps in my head and with the track being repaved it definitely can happen.
“The track was in very bad condition the last time we drove. A lot of times I had to find the smoothest surface to drive on. A lot of times that meant driving off the racing line. The track will have a smooth surface, hopefully if cured and has enough grip, I believe a lap record can be obtained.”
The current record is held by Frans Verschuur and stands at forty-one point six nine three (41.693) seconds.
Jeffrey is one driver that pundits are keeping an eye on after a blistering pace at the Jamwest Raceway with a one minute eight point six nine three (01:01.693) seconds time. He also holds the lap record at the Bushy Park Raceway, Barbados, a time of one minute one point six two zero (01:01.620) seconds.
Jeffrey attributed his lap record and clean sweep of the first round in Jamaica to confidence. “I believe the confidence in general is because I have a great team behind me. The guys work really hard and exactly how I feel when I’m driving, they relate to my data well.
“(In) Jamaica we had no clue about the track, but we were able to make the necessary changes to the car and as a driver I’m lucky to adapt to tracks quickly.
“We knew from practice that we were showing decent pace to match the front-runners. Trinidad we know the layout, now it’s about seeing how much we can push and hopefully we have a great weekend.”
When quizzed about the competition he faces on the tour of Trinidad, the reigning champion admitted that there is only one thing on his mind so far.
“I never try to think of anything other than going out there and racing my heart out. I’ve been training for it. Last weekend I jumped back in a shifter race just to keep fit. In racing, you have to expect completion.
Everyone is upgrading his cars. It will be an interesting race meet, even though some of the big guns aren’t competing. We have a lot of cars in the field capable of winning. I definitely will have to be on my A game if I want to win another CMRC championship.”
In the off-season, the young champion races in North America and is hoping to continue to do so. However, he says sponsorship has been a major bugbear in that regard. “I’ve gotten offers to race in North America, but due to the high cost I had to be more realistic and stick to regional racing.
“It’s sad because these opportunities don’t come too often, just hoping to seek some sponsorship before it’s too late. The level of racing is much higher, equal cars and horsepower. It then comes down to your ability to drive.”
Jeffrey leads the team to the Trinidad leg along with Danny Persaud who will be competing in both Groups 3 and 4. Afraz Allie, Rameez Mohammed and Kevin Deodass are also in Group 3. Group 2 has the likes of Shyraz Roshandin, Kemal Rahaman and Ryan Rahaman.
The Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club said that it will not field a motorbike team on the advice that the surface may not be suitable enough at this point. The second leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC 2015) will be held at the Wallerfield raceway from June 19-21.

By Stephan Sookram