By Avenash Ramzan
The second KFC Mega Grand Prix is on this Sunday (December 16) and Jamaican racing prodigy, Collin Daley Jr., is coming with a clear mind and well-thought out plan.
Daley Jr., widely considered as one of the best go-kart drivers in the region, will be making his second appearance at GT Motorsports, and unlike the first time, he’s now equipped with knowledge of the track and opponents’ driving style.
With this in mind, his aim is to conquer one particular challenge: “My expectation for this race is to lower my Personal Best and that will also help me to put up a good fight to battle for the win,” he told News Room from Jamaica.
Daley Jr. was quite impressive in his first outing, taking into consideration he was racing in Guyana for the very first time.
Competing in the season-ending Georgetown Grand Prix in December 2017, he had qualified on pole for the star-studded Shifter class with a sizzling fast time of 30.916s.
Up against the likes of locals Kristian Jeffrey, Stefan Jeffrey and Elliott Vieira and Darryl Timmers of Canada and Orry Hunte of Barbados, Daley Jr. didn’t finish the first race, but had a best lap time of 31.129s, while he finished fifth in race two (best lap time- 31.168s) and won race three (best lap time- 31.057s).
In the 125cc Seniors, he qualified second on pole behind Mikhail Persaud, before winning race one (best lap time- 32.153s), staving off a spirited challenge from Kristian Jeffrey. He ended fourth in race two (best lap time- 32.151s) and took second in race three (best lap time- 31.745s), behind compatriot Jonathon Law and ahead of Kristian Jeffrey.
No doubt, the speedster from the ‘Land of Wood and Water’ would want to lower those times against a field of top notch drivers, namely Guyana’s world renowned pair Calvin Ming and Kristian Jeffrey, Stefan Jeffrey and Trinidad and Tobago’s Kristian Boodoosingh, who is a regular competitor at GT Motorsports.
“Preparation has been constant; (I’ve been) racing constantly. Also, (I) just returned from the biggest race in the world in Las Vegas,” Daley Jr. said.
“Now that I have been there (at GT Motorsports track) already I know where I need to improve and I won’t be spending anytime to learn the track.”
And how does he plan to tackle that high-powered line-up of drivers in his group?
“Well, those are very good drivers and I would love to reveal my strategy, but that would make me vulnerable,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the junior and upcoming racers are also prepping to take the grid, as they hunt not just glory, but also bragging rights heading into the 2019 season.
The likes of John Phang, Mikhail Persaud and Raymond Baksh would be out to defend their hometown record and step up to the challenge posed by their adversaries.
The event, sponsored exclusively by KFC, and organised by Pure Racing in partnership with GT Motorsports and Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club, will speed off at 15:00h.
Admission to the venue is $1,000.
