By Stephan Sookram

• ‘J-stang’ under new ownership
PROBABLY the hottest news surrounding the race weekend of Drag Wars 1.0 is the recent acquisition of the Toyota J-Z powered Ford Mustang nick named ‘J-stang.’Previously owned by Rondell Daby and acquired late last week by Rameez Mohamed and the B.M. Soat team, the ‘stang’ is no slouch. When the car debuted last year, fans were left awestruck at its ability to stand erectly on its rear wheels for the full length of the launch pad. Even more endearing is the fact that it is a two-decade old Japanese motor producing the torque to keep not only the rev-limiter lively, but the entire front end of the car defying gravity quite effortlessly. Even early last week, team principal Rameez Mohamed showed no inclination that talks were even in place for the acquisition of the crowd-pleasing beast and even downplayed his personal chances. Could his silence ring true to the old Guyanese saying ‘quiet snakes biting hard?” Today will tell.

• Ladies, yes please!
For the first time as far as memory permits, the club will be running an all-female class of drag racing. Yup! Only females. And while it’s a step in the right direction for encouraging female participation in the sport, the administration of the class will be closely watched. Still, I’m sure the encouragement of female participants in any form of motorsport is a welcome addition to an event often times classed as a ‘man’s sport.’ With the final registration number close to 10 according to organisers, it is sure to encourage a larger turnout of females for the next event and only add to the spice on track. Added to that is the fact that organizers will allow these females to enter the ‘timed-bracket’ section of the event if they so desire to test their skills against the males, all in the interest of learning. Could you ask for better fun?

• The return of the Typhoon
Ask any new comer what the most memorable rivalry of drag racing was and you’d get the run-of-the-mill answer: either Team Mohameds GTR vs The Suriname Chevy Nova or the Team Mohameds GTR vs the Trinidad Rail Car. But any die-hard drag racing fan know the real war happened over a decade ago when an SUV hunted the quickest thing out of GT and almost beat it.

The year was 2009. The then ‘drag strip’ was a quarter mile shootout between the exit of the ‘goose neck’ down to the club house. Back then, there wasn’t the glossy black finished rubber-laid track with a fully prepped launch pad that people have come to know, no intricate timing system with sensors and mile-per-hour readings nor anyone opting to choose which lane they wanted because it offered an advantage. There were no fancy light countdowns to anticipate or time brackets to abide by. Just the drop of a hand and the man with the most testicular fortitude to keep it on the black stuff. Back then, the strip ruling GTRs of Team Mohameds probably hadn’t rolled off the production line yet and the ‘big-bore’ 2JZ motors that dominate now were just things that came in cars only the affluent could have afforded. Ahh yes, the age of four-bangers; back then, the quarter mile belonged to the Mitsubishi Evolution. There was one in particular that ruled the roost – the HKS monster Evo VII of Rondel Daby. So naturally, it was the fan favorite. And everyone was on its side come drag day. So normally, the finale race would be that Evo against something quick, Raymond ‘Strech’ Ali’s Mitsubishi Evo was the main contender at the time. There was also Sanjay Persaud’s Turbo Charged RX7, or Peter Daby’s RX7. But No. Up rolls this grocery getting, out-of-place looking, aerodynamic nightmare SUV. Now at first, we thought this was a joke; a novelty run. I mean, no way in hell would this mom van SUV run against the fully built, all-wheel drive, 2.0L turbo-charged track monster EVO, right! Oh, but it did. And it gave that EVO the run of its life. Of course the EVO’s all-wheel drive system had it out of the box faster but the GMC Typhoon started eating the tarmac in chase; defying physics laws left and right. Jaws dropped with the agility of which this grocery getting sleeper hunted the fully built, top of the line EVO, and by the end of the strip, fans had learnt never to judge a GMC by its boxy shape. Fitting that the event it made its name at, Drag wars, is the same event it returns to Guyana to participate in, over a decade later.

• A Prancing Horse vs a Raging bull?
Off topic in the world of purpose built drag cars is something a lot of fans will definitely be looking forward to: the exotic battle of Businessman Azrudin Mohamed. His first ‘head-turning’ purchase was that of the Lamborghini SVJ just over two years ago and fans were enthralled to watch it run down the strip, albeit against cars out of its class. This time around, he has a new horse in the stable. That’s right, the Ferrari 448 Pista Spyder is no slouch. With a 2.8 second 0-60mph time and a top speed of 211 miles per hour from its Twin-Turbo 3.9L V8; its sure to be competition for its super-car brother. And whatever the outcome, fans are sure to be grateful to watch these two super-car royalty brands go down the strip.

• Error free day
The Achilles heel of drag racing locally has been the organizers ability or rather inability to pull off an error-free day. Factors like weather and light are obviously beyond the control of those ‘running the day’ but at the same time, organization and having a structured ‘game-plan’ for how events are run off is important. Keeping fans entertained is of paramount importance because for the paying audience, even if it means watching two coins roll down the strip, once its close, its entertainment.

Another buck-bearer has been the timing system which sits at the core of the event, more often than not failing at times one could only akin to ‘murphy’s law.’ Though to be fair, no matter how good a system is, maintenance and often upgrade of equipment is a must. Word is that the club has begun the upgrading of its equipment and must be commended if this is so. Spectator control is also something that leaves a lot to be desired, especially as the sun begins to fall over the strip. How organisers deal with this will be the real litmus test come today and their ability to keep fans entertained and racers happy will determine if the pass grade is A+ or and D-.