Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 10, 2011 Sports
– Mark Maloney confident ahead of Sunday’s rivalry
By Rawle Welch
Acknowledging the hospitality in Guyana is always good, Barbadian racer Mark Maloney, who is currently second in the individual points standing in the Caribbean Series, told members of the media yesterday that he is looking forward to the challenge of racing on Sunday.
Maloney, who along with a large contingent of competitors and fans was speaking to the Press in the VIP Lounge at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport shortly after their arrival yesterday morning to compete in the final leg of the GT&T / Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Series which is set to conclude on Sunday, at the South Dakota Circuit.
The Bajan speedster was the most recognized member of the team that arrived yesterday with Roger Mayers, his father Doug and a host of other supporters and team members scheduled to make their entrance last evening.
Speaking with the media, Maloney, who drives a Mazda RX 3, told reporters that he has come to Guyana with some pretty good results from the Jamaica and Barbados legs and expects to be very competitive here.
“We did some changes to the suspension and engine and we are now looking forward to getting the machines from the Port, set them up and be able to get in some valuable track time,” Maloney informed.
Apart from Maloney, some of the other drivers to arrive on the flight included the Thompson brothers Mark and Kurt and Trinidad and Tobago’s Ravi Singh.
Questioned on whether the recently resurfaced track could pose some problems for him, Maloney retorted by stating that all the tracks in the Caribbean have differences and similarities and it is just a matter of getting in the practices to get adjusted which he feels should not be a problem since he has been coming here for quite a while now.
He added that even though they are excited about coming to Guyana to race, he spoke of the unpredictable nature of the sport, especially on race day.
Touching on how receptive the track will be for the cars to produce some blistering times, Maloney said he felt drivers such as Roger Mayers, himself, Mark Vieira, Kevin Jeffrey , Andrew King and of course the reigning Caribbean champion David Summerbell Jnr, all have machines that could erase the current lap record.
He said for sure Roger (Mayers) will shatter it.
Touching on other issues, Maloney said he is looking forward to the anticipated new rule changes slated to be in effect next year.
According to him, right now the four-wheel drive cars have the advantage over the two-wheel drive cars, while the tube chassis also provides significant advantage against the standard built ones.
On the subject of the championship, Maloney felt that Barbados are in a good position to maintain their lead, but cautioned about how the Series have gone so far with all the evidence pointing to the home team proving very difficult to beat.
He said they knew even before coming here that it will be difficult, but they are all looking forward to the challenge.
“Team spirit is high, all the guys are confident and we are just looking now to put on a good show for the Guyanese fans.”
Both Thompson brothers said the mood in the team is pretty hyped and everyone is keen and ready to meet the challenge of the other competitors.
Mark drives in the Group 2A, while Kurt informed he is hoping to compete in the Group 2B and 3 categories.
They too stated that even though Barbados is in a very good position to win the championship, it must not be forgotten that Guyana is on home turf and the trend throughout the Series is that the home team always does well. Trinidadian Ravi Singh, who drives in the Group 3 division, is also exuding confidence declaring that all he has to do is get to the garage and dust the car off since it has been ready for some months now.
“Since the last race Meet, the car has been performing well and right now it is just a question of getting the dust off and heading to the track for some quality practice,” Singh told the media.
He confidently disclosed that the car is ready and he is ready as well.
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