ERROL Tenpow, the backbone of the legendary Tenpow racing family, passed away late last week in Canada.
On Friday evening, the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) held a
memorial to honour the local motorsport hero, one of the only Guyanese to have
picked up a win at Daytona
Several of the sports stalwarts, along with club executives and race officials, as
well as family paid tribute to him at the club’s Thomas Lands and Albert Street Office.
Entering the 1981 Daytona 200 series aboard his Yamaha, Errol was one of the
pioneers who opened the doors for Guyanese to race abroad.

To date, he is the only man in club history to have won at the historic Daytona
motorcycle circuit, according to his brother Brian, who was among those offering
tributes.
Remembering his brother, Brian gave insight to the kind of person Errol was.
“Whenever I did something wrong and Dad came after me with his belt, Errol
would scoop me up and run around the yard with Dad chasing us.
Sometimes,instead of me getting the beating, Errol would end up taking it for me! Looking
back now, those memories make me smile. That was Errol. He would protect his
little brother, even when it meant getting himself into trouble.
“Everything I do today in motorsport carries a piece of what Errol and Elson taught
me. When I work on a car, tune an engine, develop a suspension setup, or help a
driver improve, I carry forward lessons that began in that little yard on Bonasika
Street,” He continued, urging the club to honour the great motorsport legend

Former president Stanley Ming remembered Errol as a gentleman of the sport even
before his time.
“I was a fan of the Tenpow brothers at the time when I first found out about them;
Errol and Elton [sic] Tenpow. They had a shop in Waterloo Street, on the eastern side of
the road. And at that time I was attending Queen’s College. I used to go there in the
afternoon after school, just to stand up outside and look at them working on their
motorbikes. Those were the first two people that I discovered in motor racing.”
He added, “It was my ambition to race against the Tenpow brothers when I started
to race in the early 70s. I remember that very vividly. Elton [sic] was not a very
talkative guy, but he passed a few years ago, but Errol was always a very friendly
and approachable individual. I’ve known him in total for about 60 something years.
And I had only pleasant memories about him.
He was always a gentleman. He was a superb representative of motorcycle and
motorsport in the end.”
Another former GMR&SC President, Vishok Persaud, remembered Erol as a giant
of the sport, saying, “During my tenure as President of the GMR&SC, Errol was a
steadfast supporter—a steady, dependable and consistent presence whose
commitment to the sport never wavered. Among my last interactions with him was
watching him bring my 1989 Lotus Esprit, with its carburetted, turbocharged 2.2-
litre four-cylinder engine, back to life—a lasting, personal reminder of his
remarkable skill and dedication.
“His legacy lives on in the drivers he mentored, the machines he prepared and the
victories he helped achieve. He will be remembered with respect and affection as a
motorsport legend, not only in Guyana, but [also] across the Region.”
Current GMR&SC President Mohamed Shairaz Roshandin also remembered
Tenpow, saying, “When I started racing, Errol helped me tremendously. He was
there for me; he helped me with my engine; he taught me a lot about cars; he
taught me how to drive the car. He actually used to go up to the racetrack with me
and show me the corners and how to drive. He was very instrumental in making
me the driver I am today. After the races, every event, he would wait
patiently and his wife used to tell me, Errol would wait patiently for me to call him
and tell him what my results were and give him a rundown of the race day and
what happened with me.”