Motor racing not an elite sport says GMR&SC President
By Akeem Greene
President of the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC) Raj Boodhoo has dispelled the notion that the one of the country’s popular sport of Motor racing is one only for the elites. Indeed one of the major facets of motor racing is having a strong financial support mechanism in order to build the fastest car or motor bike but the President’s contention is that it is a sport for all and plans are afoot to make it more affordable.
“We are working on various rules to make it cheaper for racing, so the average guy can come into race; the perception of is that it is an elite sport but we are of the opinion, it is not an elite sport since we can get so much people involved in it”, Boodhoo stated.
More so, the club President added, “we are working always to make it friendlier, as a sporting organisation, to bring more people, too have everybody involved”.
Every November race meet, thousands of fans would flock the South Dakota Circuit to get a glimpse of local and regional motor race car drivers and bikers in action
Over the past months, the club which is located on Albert Street and Thomas Lands has undergone some renovations works and Boodhoo expressed that it is a facility for all to come and enjoy.
A long standing member in the motor racing fraternity, the avid drag racing fan believes his tenure in office is a good one thus far and that he is aiming to push the aspect of safety for both participants and fans.
“It has been good, I think the sport is on a rise and we are focusing a lot on the cohesion between the fans and the sport; it’s where we can have the fans more involved and have a great facility and we will be concentrating a lot on safety, the President revealed.
The top events coming on the motor racing calendar is the International Drag Meet which be held on October 2 where cars from Suriname and Trinidad are expected to attend.
The more featured event of the season is the Caribbean Motor Racing Champions (CMRC) which is scheduled for November 13 at the South Dakota Circuit.
Guyana, are the defending champions but have not had the best of season by any stretch, as many of their top drivers have faced horrendous mechanical issues, which sees them being placed in third position on 276 points in the cars championship.
That champion is lead by Trinidad and Tobago who have 799 points while Jamaica have 465 in second place; Barbados (202 points) and Cayman Islands on 60 points, round-off the top five.
In the Biker’s category, they have simply unstoppable led by Mathew and Stephen Vieira, which sees them lead that category on 326 points, way ahead of second place Jamaica (138 points), third placed Trinidad (97 points) and fourth Barbados (26 points).
The next leg of the CMRC will be held at Bushy Park, Barbados on September 4, where the local contingent will be desperate to scrape
Raj Boodhoo
valuable points before returning to these in a bid to defend home territory.
