TENSE battles ensued on Sunday as the first round of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s National Race of Champions got going.

Sunday’s opening round of the championship set the stage for an exciting year of racing.

On the Street tuner end of things, Raymond Seebarran had a constant jostle with Narine Dasrat.

Seebarran picked up one first-place finish with Dasrat picking up the other two wins as the charge to that title resumes.

Azad Hassan was also in the mix, snagging a second and a third.

On the sport tuner end of things, Mohamed Ahmad picked up where he left off last year, dominating that class.

The highly\-anticipated group two fight fizzed out after Chet Singh moped the floor with the competition.

In the first race, Singh and Rameez Mohamed tore up the track in an enterprising battle but race two saw the latter falling out with clutch problems.

The group three belonged to Stefan Jeffrey and his Honda Civic which dominated the class. Jeffrey had an early battle with Danny Persaud who had to fall out after the first race with engine problems.

Still, the two long-time competitors, who shared laughs earlier in the day, lit up the track for half of the first race.

After that, there was little left for Jeffrey to do in the next race.

Group four had two wins from Rameez Mohamed and his Honda Integra after hometown hero, Andrew King, and Kristian Jeffrey both dropped out with problems in the first race.

King returned with a vengeance in the second race to sweep the floor with the competition and then opted out of the last race.

Presentation of prizes took place at the Windjammer Banquet Hall in Kitty last evening.