Motorsport 2019: Constant rise of drag racing in Guyana

Jan 04, 2020 Sports

By Calvin Chapman

Barring horseracing that is perennially heavily subscribed and the regional phenomenon that is the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), local motorsport is quickly growing to be one of the biggest household names in Guyana with drag racing, specifically, reaching new heights in 2019 with the steady growth expected to continue in 2020.

Team Mohamed’s Driver Terrence Cox poses with the GT-R Goliath.

The Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club (GMR&SC) under the Rameez Mohamed led executive committee invested millions into the development of drag racing in 2018 and continued in 2019 with most of those funds coming from contributions from the corporate community and the numerous competitors that love the sport.
Those investments include the extension of the drag strip from 1000 feet to a full quarter-mile, the construction of a launch pad, construction of pits and the development of roadways to allow ease of access to the staging area.
And the club is beginning to see some positive returns on investments made. On March 24, last year, round one of the 2019 Drag Championship emerged as arguably the biggest Drag race meet competed in Guyana.

The Rameez Mohamed driven Trans Pacific Alteeza.

Drag C/Ship round one
A couple thousand fans flocked to South Dakota Circuit’s Drag race strip in droves of vehicles to witness the first drag meet that featured a full quarter mile strip and a launch pad at the Timehri venue.
The fans that occupied the stands, barricades and fences were also keen to see Team Mohamed’s new Ekanoo/Magnus GTR (Godzilla) car but some transmission problems didn’t allow the car to compete.
However, at the end of the day, Team Mohamed’s remained the undisputed King of the Strip, after another outstanding performance from the then record holding Nissan GTR ‘Goliath’ (the second of thr

Record numbers of fans are expected again for the anticipated 2020 drag season.

ee GTRs owned by the Mohamed’s) made light work of Peter Daby’s Toyota Supra in the unlimited class. And, the fans were highly satisfied under the cool, overcast conditions.
Daby of S&D Performance had proven formidable in the 10 seconds class, while Damian Persaud out of the same team, picked up a win in the 11 seconds bracket.
The Dutchmen were well represented after Eric Watchman (14 seconds) and Raymond John (13 seconds) notched wins for the Surinamese to fuel the fire of drag racing rivalry between the neighbouring countries.
In his return to the drag strip after missing the entire 2018 drag season, Mark ‘Mad Max’ Menezes notched wins in both the 600cc and 1000cc classes to underline his dominance on the motorbike.
Drag C/Ship round two
Team Mohamed’s remained planted at the top of the drag racing throne in Guyana after winning yet another Drag Race meet; th

Michael Mathurine-Joel Bruce (left) of T&T won the unlimited bikes class at August’s International Drag meet.

is time the second round of the drag championship that sped off June 23 in lush sunshine at the South Dakota Circuit in Timehri before ending in gloom with rainfall.
Piloted by Terrence Cox, Godzilla, the race group’s third GT-R reset the quarter-mile drag strip record to an impressive 8.09 seconds. And, it was noted that that the machine could have gone even faster according to the driver, “It just kept going quicker and quicker. I am so sad that we had this rain, I am positive that the car could’ve gone in the high seven (seconds). We can expect these cars to go quicker (both the black and white GTR) and with two new engines expected we are going to come back with a lot more firepower this August in the International Drag race.”

Nasrudeen Mohamed, Affie Mohamed and Deryck ‘Mad Dog’ Jaisingh pose with the Jumbo Jet Auto Sales Toyota Supra.

Although the rain put a damper on the event, almost all the respective classes saw their winners being named. The unofficial results for the day are as follows:
– 16 second – Marlon Wilson
– 15 second – Ramesh Persaud
– 14 second- Romeo Singh
– 13 second- Shan Seejattan
– 12 second – TBD
– 11 second – Krishna Jettoo
– 10 second – Peter Daby
Unlimited – Team Mohamed’s/Terrence Cox

Team Mohamed’s white GTR (Godzilla).

1320 Heat (International) August 25
Team Guyana carted off the majority of the spoils at the 1320 heat international drag race meet but Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) had two big wins in the unlimited cars and bikes categories to go along with victory in the 11-second class.
The feature showdown between T&T’s Andy Bissessar’s rail car and Team Mohamed’s GTR Godzilla was hurried into an exhibition showcase since the organisers were worried that the imminent threat of rain would have put a damper on the event.
A false start saw Bissessar shot ahead of the Terrence Cox piloted ‘Godzilla’ GTR that was beginning to close the gap before a blowout curtailed the strip record holder’s race.
Bissessar went on to be adjudged winner of the unlimited class due to his win over Deryck Jaisingh’s Toyota Supra and Godzilla’s inability to race. As expected, Rameez Mohamed, who won US$100 for the best burnout sponsored by GT Tuners, made light work of the nine-second class.
O’Neal Higgins in his Toyota Caldina took the 10-second class, while Jagdeo ‘Mad Cow’ Higgins of T&T won the 11-second class which along with the 12-second class that was won by S&D Performance’s Damion Persaud, was sponsored by Del Ice Co with $100,000 each for the winners.
Pierre Singh made good of his word after being gifted victory in the 13-second class after Imran Khan jumped the light in the final.
Rafeeq Khan wooed the spectators after a thrilling run in the 14 second class saw him winning the respective trophy. Ramesh Persaud (15 second), Shivan Ragnath (16-second), Andy Rajkarran (600cc bikes) and Michael Mathurine/Joel Bruce of T&T (unlimited bikes), were the other winners.
A source close to team T&T’s camp revealed that Bissessar and the entire team T&T will be returning this year even stronger with possibly two rail cars instead of one; mouthwatering for fans.
1320 heat rematch (October 20)
Deryck ‘Mad Dog’ Jaisingh sped away with victory for team S&D Performance in his Jumbo Jet sponsored Toyota Supra when the curtains fell on the fourth and final drag last year October at Timehri.
Mad Dog registered 8.7s to emerge as the unlimited champion, while perennial favourites Team Mohamed’s, encountered mechanical issues with their GTRs; Goliath and Godzilla.
Team Suriname walked away with two victories in the 12-second class thanks to Raymond John, while Michael Namchand prevailed in the 10-second class.
Team Trans Pacific successfully defending their nine-second titles with driver Rameez Mohamed behind the wheel, while Shan Seejattan, O’Neal Higgins, Pierre Singh and Mark ‘Mad Max’ Menezes in the bikes continued to be consistent.