Cavalry Supercross at Pangolla (off Kurunegala) June 5

by S. M. Jiffrey ABDEEN - Kandy Sports Corr.

MOTOR RACING: From Fox Hill, the CEAT SLARDAR Motor Racing Championship will move to Cavalry Supercross organised by the top racing club, Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders which will be worked off at Pangolla off Kurunegala on Sunday June 5th, commencing at 8 a.m.

This is the second year in which this supercross is being organised by SLARDAR - a club which is taking motor racing in the country to great heights while the racing drivers and riders an opportunity to display their skills and improve on them and at the same time provides the motor racing spectators the much needed entertainment.

(The President of the SLARDAR Yoga Perera, a racing driver who has been stamped his class at motor racing events for over two decades said that they are making an all out effort to give the motor racing spectators in the Wayamba Province a taste of Supercross which has delighted the spectators in Fox Hill, Gajaba and Minneriya in the past. This will be on the same lines.

Mahes Gammanpila, a senior member of SLARDAR Committee said that the Army Engineers together with the racing track from the SLARDAR are working hard to upgrade it to provide the thrills and should be ready in due course and the competitors will be given a free practice session.

The Secretary of the SLARDAR Palitha Ratnayake who has been one of the livewares of motor racing in Sri Lanka and best known for the exemplary manner in which he handles the start of the races, that this is the third round of the CEAT SLARDAR Championship.

The top event is the SLGT Cars upto 3500 cc which is better known as Super Cars and the present championship table of points leader is Pasindu Peiris who thrilled the crowds at Fox Hill with his dare devil driving and brought honour to the country by getting the better of champion driver from India Narendra Kumar will no doubt consolidate his position in his Exide sponsored Mitsubishi Evolution 9, but he will receive strong challenges from leading drivers like Dinesh Deheragoda (Mitsubishi Evolution 10), Arvinda Premadasa (Mitsubishi Evolution 7) and the up-and-coming Ashan Silva (Mistsubishi Evolution 9). Around 15 super class cars are expected to enter this highly competitive event.

The other championship event for motor cars are SL-H 1600 cc which is also led by Pasindu Peiris in a Honda, and the other front runners in this event are Rizvi Farouk, Dilan Senaviratne, Dinesh Jayawardena, Ashan Silva, Janaka Dias will be all behind Hondas. Graval track 'maestro' Upulwan Serasinghe who had an engine failure at Fox Hill has made sure that this will not happen at Cavalry. Sajjad Zuhair and Nishan Wasalathanthri who met with nasty accidents at Fox Hill have got their machines ready for this important event.

Young Gayan Sandaruwan who won the Senna Vanderboeven Memorial trophy at Cavalry last year will go all out to retain this title for yet another.

Also providing the challenge to the local riders will ride from the Indian TVS tea C.S. Santosh and K.P. Arvind who excelled at Fox Hill are joint favourites along with Yohan Rajith Silva, R. Buultjens and Ananda Wedisinghe from Kurunegala.

This grand motor racing event will be co-sponsored by the energy drink Red Bull. CEAT Radials, Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka Insurance and Singer Sri Lanka (Pvt. Limited).

Entries will close on May 20th at 5.00 p.m. at SLARDAR Office at 2nd floor, 128, High Level Road, Nugegoda. Tel. 01122769734 Fax 0112769734.