Radella Speed Hill Climb a doubtful starter on bad roads
by S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen -Kandy Sports Corr
RADELLA HILL CLIMB: The annual Radella Speed Hill Climb organised by
the Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR) has
been scheduled to be worked off at the Radella Short Cut in Carlabeck
Estate in Nanu Oya on Saturday April 7 but the organisers are still
undecided in holding this event due to the condition of this road which
needs repairs.
The President of the SLARDAR Mahesh Gammanpila said that this road
which belongs to the Rad Development Authority needs repairs to make it
safe for the competitors who will be combining power with speed and
their safety is foremost in their minds.
He said last week some of the officials visited this venue and were
not satisfied with the conditions for motor racing. On Friday Palitha
Ratnayake a senior member of the SLARDAR and one time secretary of the
controlling body Sri Lanka Association for Motor Sports (SLAS) visited
Nanu Oya to check on the conditions of the track whether it is in a fit
condition and they are awaiting a report from him before a final
decision is taken.
Last year too the SLARDAR faced a similar situation but the roads
were repaired by the authorities concerned and the speed Hill Climb
worked off as scheduled without any problems. They are hopeful that the
track conditions improved on time so that they could go ahead with this
annual hill climb.
The SLARDAR was formed in the mid eighties by leading racing drivers
and riders and their first event was the Radella Hill Climb and the
identification of the venue was a major achievement by SLARDAR as it is
one of the best speed hill climb tracks in the country. A competitor to
come to terms with it has to combine speed , power and skills with which
he has no chance and it is a connoisseurs delight.
Another aspect of this track is that it is unique as a spectator
could view ninety percent of the race from any point and could do so
with maximum safety from the tea fields.
Therefore this track is unique by itself and would have been still
hidden if not for the efforts of the founders of the SLARDAR whose
vision in promoting motor sports has yielded excellent results. As they
are now foremost in motor racing having conducted motor racing events at
fore Hill, Gajaba, Sigiriya, Minneriya, Katukurunda just to name a few
but they had their start at the Radella Speed Hill Climb which has been
now included in the program for the Nuwara Eliya festive season.
It is not only the SLARDAR but also racing drivers and riders and the
spectators are hopeful that the repairs to the track will be carried out
in time, so that the races could be held on time.
Last year's races saw some glittering performances by Ashan de Silva
who clocked the fastest timing of the day driving a Mitsubishi Evolution
and timing 33.19 seconds in the Super Cars event SLGT upto 3500 cc. Not
far behind was Romani de Silva in a Subaru Impressa timing 33.95
seconds. And in third place was Arvinda Premadasa in a Mitsubishi
Evolution VII timing 34.13 seconds. Hold your breach it was just a
second which separated the first three.
The others to excel were Shashika Lakmal Wijeratne, Leelananda
Krishnaratne, Dilan Senaviratne, Dinesh Senanayake, Pasindu Peiris and
many others, in the events for motor cars.
The course record is held by maestro Rohan de Silva who timed under
33 seconds in his Mobil modified formula 3600 cc many years ago and
since then this event has been scrapped and in fact this class of
vehicles no longer compete in races anywhere in Sri Lanka on a decision
made by the controlling body. Motor racing spectators will have to keep
their fingers crossed about the Radella Speed Hill - the organisers are
keen but the track conditions will have to be improved by the
authorities concerned.
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