Rookie stuns meet with six seconds time
“IT’S WORK in progress in preparation for next season.”
That’s how rookie driver Anthony Stoute and race car owner and engineer Jimmy Small summed up winning the six-seconds category of Drag Warz 3 of the Barbados Association of Dragsters and Drifters (BADD) at Bushy Park last Sunday.
It was a day and night event including the Barbados Karting Association and the Bushy Park Motorsport Inc. (BPMSI), and the large crowd that braved intermittent showers was kept on its toes.
Stoute, in only his second event at the St Philip racing facility turned in an impressive time of 6.986 seconds at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution to win the six-seconds category.
“We nearly withdrew our entry as the car was not working properly, the limiter was causing problems with the clutch and gear selection, but we did a little fine-tuning on the day and we were able to return the times that we did, but there is a bigger plan,” Small told SATURDAY SPORT.
Stoute said he was out to get in as much practice with the new layout, as well as to put in seat-time and to become ‘one’ with the car.
“This car when we get everything dialled in as we want to is going to be an awesome machine.
It has already turned in six seconds category timing, and it can go faster, so I want to be ready with the car as we have also to look at balance as against the speed that it will be producing,” he pointed out.
Chairman of BADD Jason Downey said he was impressed with the large number of spectators and the quality of competition shown by the rookies.
“Records were smashed, ‘newbies’ showed they can handle the regulars, and we had a massive ‘11-car tree’ in the 9.0-9.5 second bracket.” Downey said.
Apart from Stoute, who won the six-seconds category, David ‘Bally’ Balgobin, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, won the seven-seconds category with a time of 7.128 seconds. Kevin Griffith, in a Suzuki Swift won the merged 8.0-8.5 and 8.5-9.0 seconds category with a time of 8.383 seconds.
Jamar Haynes, in a Honda Civic, carried off the 9.0-9.5 seconds category with a time of 9.322 seconds, while Adrian Bailey, in an SRG Engineering Peugeot 205, took home the honours at stake for the 9.5-10 seconds category.
Andre Walcott, in the Courts iFinance Suzuki Swift, drove away with the merged 10.0-10.5 and 10.5-11.0 seconds category with a time of 10.306 seconds. Terrence Ollivierre, riding a Suzuki GSX-R600, grabbed the cycle honours with a time of 7.141 seconds.
Dan Johnson, a first-timer at Bushy Park, posted the event’s fastest time of 6.782 seconds at the wheel of an electric Wesfield, dubbed the "MegaWatt". He then went on to lower time even further to 6.626 seconds in the grudge matches, a mere 0.028 seconds off the track record which was set by Roger Mayers back in 2012.