By Avenash Ramzan
It was meant to be a night of daredevilry, and the motor-racing fanatics who thronged the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s headquarters on Wednesday night got that and more when GT Motorsports staged the inaugural Endurance Rental Cup.
Spectators were treated to some top-class go-kart driving, and were also given a glimpse into the future of the sport, as some of the more established drivers failed to finish on the podium in the two categories that were contested.
Each team of three drivers were required to complete one hour of racing (each member driving for 20 minute), at which point the team with the most number of laps would be declared champion. The combined weight of the three drivers had to meet a certain limit.
Team Heineken emerged champions of a closely-fought 600lb Class, while Team Gizmos and Gadgets/Guinness won the 500lb Class to firmly etch their name in the record books as the first-ever winners of the Endurance Rental Cup.
In the 600lb Class, Team Heineken, comprising John Maikoo, Vishal Sawh and Raymond Seebarran, recorded 86 laps at the conclusion of the 60 minutes, but E Racing, boasting the likes of Jason Gonsalves, Marcel Profitt and Denzel Hopkinson, also had 86 laps, but with a +03.214. It was literally a race against the clock during the final five minutes, as the race came down to the wire with the lead being frequently inter-changed.
This scenario certainly captured the imagination of patrons, who were heard cheering their favourite drivers on. The Top Power team of seasoned campaigners Brian Tenpow, Kevin Jeffrey and Shan Seejattan, had to settle for third, after they completed 85 laps. Tenpow had the fastest lap time of 40.186 seconds.
Powered by Gizmos and Gadgets and Guinness, the team of Matthew Phang, John Phang and Steven Nobrega earlier emerged winners of the 500lb Class. The trio had the most laps (87) after they each completed the mandatory 20 minutes of racing to make up the one hour endurance. Matthew Phang had the fastest lap time of 40.142 seconds.
One of the pre-race favourites, Team Nexus, with the likes of Matthew Vieira, Elliott Vieira and Nikhail Seereeram, and the trio of Nyron Maraj, Ken Sue and Shane Seebarran, representing Team Adrenaline Junkies, both completed 86 laps after 60 minutes.
All the members of the top three finishing teams in the two categories received trophies, while Tenpow and Matthew Phang were given trophies and special prizes for clocking the fastest lap times. The activity was coordinated by GT Motorsports, with corporate backing from main sponsor Secure Innovations and Concepts, Auto Fashion (Fastest Lap Time trophies) and Farfan and Mendes and Karcher (Special Prizes).
The presentation ceremony concluded with Managing Director of Secure Innovations and Concepts, Harold Hopkinson, announcing that his company will be sponsoring a monthly Endurance Rental Cup for the remainder of the year.
