Guyana aiming to maintain order of home advantage

Oct 14, 2012 Sports

With the final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) fast approaching, all the countries vying for the coveted title are pressing ahead with preparations for the anticipated showdown, at the South Dakota Circuit.
According to news emanating from the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC), the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and local competitors are in full preparation mode in anticipation of an increased influx of fans for the event which will be staged on November 11.

Mark Vieira

Last year, Barbados became the first territory to win both the Driver and Country titles in the same year since joining Guyana and Jamaica in the competition in 2008, and also the first to win the Country title twice – after Jamaica’s triumph in 2008, Barbados claimed the title in 2009, then Guyana in 2010.
Currently, Jamaica leads the points standing with 113 points followed by Barbados on 64, Cayman Islands lies third on 26 and Guyana in the cellar on 21.
However, with home court advantage the order of the day in the preceding two legs in Jamaica and Barbados, it is expected that Guyana will pose a formidable challenge to all the visitors, especially with the anticipated partisan support from local Guyanese and those in the Diaspora who usually make the trek to witness the riveting spectacle.
At Dover Speedway in Jamaica in the opening leg, former Caribbean champion Jamaican David Summerbell Jnr. dominated the day winning all three races that enabled him to take a handy lead to the second edition at Bushy Park in Barbados, but it was the homeboy Roger Mayers in his Ford Focus that crushed the opposition when he too captured all three races in the Series.
The predicted sequence now leaves Guyana’s own Mark Vieira, Andrew King, Kevin Jeffrey, Vishok Persaud and Mark Vieira with the responsibility to ensured that that order is maintained.
It will be a hard task, but there is no doubt that providing their machines are properly prepared and remain reliable throughout the day, their superior driving abilities could make the difference.
Summerbell, driving a Mitsubishi Evolution 8, Peter Rae in the Mazda RX7, Andre Anderson in the Mitsubishi Mivic and Sebastian Rae in the Mirage, gave Jamaica a substantial lead after the Barbados leg and they are expected to lead the charge for ‘Reggae Land’.
Barbados will be led by Mayers and his support will come from Doug and Mark Maloney, both of who have already confirmed participation.

David Summerbell

In the battle for individual supremacy, Summerbell, after copping 1 second and two third place finishes in Barbados, maintains his lead in the drivers’ Championship after six races, with 50 points, with only the last leg in Guyana to tackle in November.