‘Flying’ Jeffrey sizzles at Georgetown GP

By Avenash Ramzan (Photos: Ackeem Thomas)

–          Bridget Singh wins 125cc Senior Cup

–          Mikhail Persaud impresses in 125cc Junior Cup

–          Jeremy Tenpow outstanding in 60cc Sun Burst Kids Cup

–          Shan Seejattan sweeps 4-stroke Easy Cup (Heavy)

Overnight and mid-morning showers threatened to put a damper on proceedings, but the clouds cleared in the afternoon and the sun came out, paving the way for a remarkable evening of driving at GT Motorsports’ first-ever Georgetown Grand Prix on Friday.

Streamed to thousands on E-Networks’ live production on social media and witnessed by hundreds at the Thomas Lands track, the evening’s showdown was dominated by a man who seemed to be pushing himself to another level every time he puts on his racing apparel.

To say that Kristian Jeffrey was outstanding would be putting it mildly; to say that he obliterated the competition would be statement of fact; to say that he was in a league by himself…well, even his rivals would agree to that.

The two-time Caribbean Group Four champion made a clean sweep of the Shifter Karts Pro Cup, winning all three races with his #261 kart, powered by Stag Beer. After a sizzling drive in qualifying, clocking an astonishingly fast lap time of 29.360s, Jeffrey took the event by storm, tearing up the track and leaving his competitors, who included one of his coaches, Canadian Darryl Timmers, and the spectators, in awe.

What was noticeable about Jeffrey’s performance was his ability to consistently snatch the lead by speeding past his opponents on the inside turn in all three races. His fluidity, power and aggression left the field with little margin for error, as he lowered the qualifying time to 29.261s in the final race of the night.

“It’s just about doing my best every time I go out and compete,” a modest Jeffrey related.

Local competitor Elliott Vieira managed two second place finishes and third, while Barbados’ Orry Hunte, competing in Guyana for the first time, copped a second and a third. Mike Gonsalves took the other third spot.

The 6-10 age group started the evening’s proceedings in the Sun Burst Kids Cup, which provided a glimpse into Guyana’s motor-racing future. Nathan Rahaman won the opening race ahead of Paige Mendonca, the lone female in that category, and Jeremy Tenpow, while Jeremy Tenpow stormed back to win the next two events.

Justin Tenpow and Rahaman took second and third respectively in race two, while Rahaman and Mendonca took the corresponding positions in race three.

John Phang took top honours in the first 125cc Junior event, ahead of Elan Rahaman and Mikhail Persaud, before Persaud won the next two to crown a fine night, after also clocking the fastest time of 30.989s in qualifying.

Rahaman brought second in the other two races, while Phang and Faroud Mohamed had to settle for third in races two and three respectively.

Bridget Singh of Trinidad and Tobago made a clean sweep of the two 125cc Senior races, but she was lucky to win race two after Matthew Phang, who had opened a sizeable lead and was destined to be a sure winner, suffered mechanical problems in the dying stages of the race and had to pull out.

Bridget’s father, Ravi Singh, Guyanese Stephen Vieira and Timmers, had a victory each in the 4-stroke Easy Cup (Light), while Shan Seejattan was unstoppable in the 4-stroke Easy Cup (Heavy), winning both races quite comfortably.

The champion drivers for each category were: 60cc- Jeremy Tenpow (2 wins, 1 third); 125cc Junior- Mikhail Persaud (2 wins, 1 third); 125cc Senior- Bridget Singh (2 wins); 4-stroke Light- Stephen Vieira (1 win, 2 second); 4-stroke Heavy-               Shan Seejattan (2 wins); and Shifter karts- Kristian Jeffrey (3 wins).

The event, which was organised by GT Motorsports, received corporate backing from Monster Energy Drink, Sun Burst Juices, Stag Beer, Ray’s Motor Spares, Secure Innovations and Concepts, E-Networks, Superbet, Ocean Spray Hotel, B.M Soat, Prem’s Electrical Store and Honda Powersports.

Below are the summarised results.

CHAMPION DRIVERS

60cc-                                  Jeremy Tenpow (2 wins, 1 third)

125cc Junior-                   Mikhail Persaud (2 wins, 1 third)

125cc Senior-                   Bridget Singh (2 wins)

4-stroke Light-                 Stephen Vieira (1 win, 2 second)

4-stroke Heavy-               Shan Seejattan (2 wins)

Shifter karts-                    Kristian Jeffrey (3 wins)

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