Shawn Persaud’s Caldina unstoppable at South Dakota

The absence of regional competitors and Mohamed’s Enterprise’s Nissan GTRs put a damper on proceedings, but the fair-sized crowd got value for money at Sunday’s Drag Meet at the South Dakota Circuit.

The event was dubbed ‘Caribbean Invasion’, but it turned out to be an all-local field, highlighted by a sizzling performance by Shawn Persaud in his black Toyota Caldina.

Competing in the Unlimited (Under nine seconds) category, Persaud clocked the fastest time of the day- 8.311 seconds. His machine was simply a cut above the others, completely dominating the field.

“I love what I do, and I’m very happy with the way things went today,” Persaud said.

O’Neil Higgins (Toyota Caldina) won the 10 seconds class; Rajesh Panday (Toyota Mark II) won the 11 seconds class; Aditya Boodram (Toyota Levin) took top honours in the 12 seconds class; Lawrence Bhowadin (Toyota Glanza) topped the 13 seconds class; Shivan Raganath (Toyota Sprinter) finished top of the 14 seconds pile; and Devinda Persaud (Toyota Corolla) was the winner of the 15 seconds division.

Berbician Julius Seunarine, in his first-ever competitive outing, took the top podium spot in the Bikes category with his Suzuki GSX-R 600.

Below are the summarised results. 

15 Seconds – Devindra Persaud – #9 – Toyota Corolla
14 Seconds – Shivan Raganath – #19 – Toyota Sprinter
13 Seconds – Lawrence Bhowadin – #41 – Toyota Glanza
12 Seconds – Aditya Boodram – #67 – Toyota Levin
11 Seconds – Rajesh Panday – #66 – Toyota Mark II
10 Seconds – O’Neal Higgins – #4 – Toyota Caldina

Unlimited (Under 9 Seconds) – Shawn Persaud – #40 – Toyota Caldina

Bikes – Julius Seunarine – #42 – Suzuki GSX-R 600

Fastest time of the day – 8.311 seconds – Shawn Persaud – Toyota Caldina