A wet GT Motorsports track proved challenging for some but Justin Ten Pow and Shan Seejattan were not among those affected.
Truth be told, they flourished under the damp conditions when the second round of the Georgetown Grand Prix took place on Saturday evening at the organizer’s Georgetown-based track.
With the qualifying rounds rushed to avoid the impending downpour, there was no shortage of spills, thrills and skills.
Paige breaks the stereotype
The juniors were the first up and with Zachary Persaud qualifying on pole, there was a hint
of intensity in the air; especially since everyone had to go to wet tyres for the first time.
Though cautiously as they might, they got underway with Zach leading them out. When the flag dropped, the drivers seemed to forget it was wet and went racing.
Zach took advantage of some midfield battles to pull out a lead which the pack never recovered, with Paige Mendonca finishing second and Nathan Rahaman finishing third.
In race two with the 50% inverted grid, Paige was on pole and picked up her maiden X30 win; her drive featuring another fantastic display of Karting.
After a disastrous round one earlier this year, this was just what the doctor ordered for the 11-year-old Mendonca who was ecstatic when she crossed the line, leading Nathan Rahaman and Jeremy Ten Pow, in that order.
Race three brought out the fireworks and while Zachary Persaud was leading, a race incident between himself and Jeremy on the last lap dropped him all the way to fourth, allowing Paige second and Nathan third.
Paige got the loudest applause when she created history by becoming the first female to win the X30 junior class Champion Driver of the day.
The battle for Phang supremacy
The X30 senior battle came down to who was the superior Phang on the night; the younger, smoother John or the older, more aggressive Matthew?
Race one went to Matthew with John second and Elan Rahaman third; with race two ending with John leading Matthew home ahead of Elan.
For race three, the juniors opted to join the senior battle and they did not disappoint. As per the races before, John got away, leading Matthew and pulling out a gap.
However, on the entry to the bowl, a gentle nudge from the older Phang spun the younger one around allowing the juniors to get by.
The senior Phang also picked up the Champion Driver award.
Seejattan’s world
Shan Seejattan had no competition in the X30 master’s category. He snapped up three wins and the overall Champion Driver category with ease leaving Mahendra Boodhoo (two seconds and one third) and Vishal Sawh (one second and two thirds) in the spray of his tires.
Riley Ramroop upstages the competition
At the beginning of the day, the name Riley Ramroop would not have been known to many but with two wins and the Champion Driver award by the end of the day, he was well known around the circuit
A hectic first race which saw the lead changing a lap on average, resulted in Ackeem ‘flat top’ Thomas winning ahead of Jorge Luid Ramiez (Safino). Interestingly enough, four competitors did not finish that race which took place in pouring conditions.
The remaining races belonged to Ramroop, who lives in Trinidad, with Naresh Alves and Jorge finishing second and third in race two.
Ten Pow continues 60CC stranglehold
There were battles within the war but when the rain settled, there was no unseating Justin TenPow from his throne atop the 60CC Kids cup class.
He was in frequent battles with Benjamin Phang but three wins on the night meant that Justin, who will now be sponsored by Massy Industries, would be champion driver.
In race one, he finished ahead of Nicholas Sawh and Mattew Daby with Race two ending with Sawh in second and Phang in third.