Bajan contingent arrives for South Dakota showdown

- Lap record under threat – Mayers

A strong Barbados contingent including Group 4 racer Barry Mayers and Group 3 competitor Steve King, who will both be participating in the final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Series at the South Dakota Circuit on Sunday, arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport yesterday morning.
Mayers, who drives a Ford Focus, touted to be one of the fastest cars in the Caribbean, met with the media and expressed confidence ahead of the much anticipated showdown against fellow Barbadian Mark Maloney, Jamaican David Summerbell and the hometown challengers that comprise Andrew King, Kevin Jeffrey, Shawn King, Mark Vieira and Gavin Gayadin.
Mayers speaking with the media said that his preparations have gone well since the last Meeting held at Bushy Park in Barbados and all the problems that plagued them have been rectified.
“We experienced an alternator problem and we’ve recently installed a new one so that problem is solved,” Mayers disclosed.
He said that this is his first visit to Guyana to race and he is looking forward to the experience, pointing out that they’ve spent a long time preparing for this occasion and he is hoping to do well.
“I’m hoping to do well at this Meeting and I think that I’ll be the one to set the pace, especially with the reputation that the car has, being reckoned among the fastest in the Caribbean.”
According to Mayers, the track should favour the four-wheel driven cars such as his and with the superior horsepower; he feels his chance of dominating Sunday’s Meeting is highly probable. He added that the one fear the team has is the dust and the sand on the track which is not a very good combination for his air filters which ultimately affects the turbo-charged cars.
He, however, informed that they’ve brought four extra filters and hope to make a change after every race.
Quizzed on why his other brother Roger is not here, Barry revealed that his absence is purely due to business commitments back home.
“We have a lot going on back home at our family business and everyone could not leave and come at this time,” Barry indicated.
He expressed confidence of doing well and felt that they could erase the current track record which belongs to Summerbell and stands at 34.98 seconds.