Latest update May 13th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 06, 2012 Sports
By Rawle Welch
He is the Caribbean best, having won the regional title last year in
convincing fashion with dominant performances in all three territories that the Series was held and in reviewing his results so far this year, Guyana’s Superbike champion Stephen ‘Valentino Rossi’ Vieira seems to be getting better and better.
Vieira, who has dominated the local scene for the past three years in an interview with Kaieteur Sport following another captivating display last Sunday at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club ‘Race of Champions’ Meet, at the South Dakota Circuit was unusually upbeat about his performance after racing to two wins and a similar amount of second places.
A normally reserved competitor, the Guyanese speedster seemed elated about his victories over Canadian Kevin Graham, who had subjugated him in the past, but is now playing second fiddle to Vieira for the last two seasons.
Asked about the state of the sport at present, Vieira, who has been instrumental in honing the skills of many young and upcoming riders expressed optimism about the segment of the sport that went into decline in the late 90’s and early 2000.
“I am seeing vast improvement in the Superbike category from two years ago, we now have at least 12 to15 riders at most Meets and this is an encouraging development so strides are being made at every level in the sport right now,” Vieira said.
He spoke highly of many of the young riders who’ve been putting in the hard work to improve their individual skills and have also worked just as hard to garner sponsorship which is critical for the survival of the competitors and the sport as well.
“Motor racing is a very expensive sport to participate in and without the support of the corporate community it would be difficult for many of us to develop the bikes to the level where we could be competitive with the foreigners or even good enough to encourage fans to come and see us compete,” he stated.
Still not back to full fitness following a motor accident recently, Vieira disclosed to this newspaper how seriously he is taking the accolade of being the best in the Caribbean.
“Shortly after the accident I realized I needed the assistance of a personal fitness trainer to take me through the recovery phase so I approached Kezqweyah Yisrael, a respected fitness guru and he has done a wonderful job in whipping me back to a level of fitness I’m satisfied with at this point. My knees and hip were seriously hurt following the accident and he (Yisrael) was able to implement a programme that really enhanced my speedy recovery and for this I’m extremely grateful,” Vieira told this newspaper.
He revealed the programme consist of swimming, weight training and a lot of strengthening exercises including a Beep Test.
Yisrael, I can say without fear of contradiction really fast track my recovery and I would like to extend thanks to him for a job well done, while my team that includes Maurice Menezes and Marcel Profitt, who ensures that my Yamaha GSX R600cc motor cycle is always in perfect working condition, have also been extremely valuable to me.
Vieira was also high in praise of his major sponsor Continental Agencies that offers him its generosity under the Sunburst Orange Juice brand, adding that Mr. Puri has stood with him over the past three years and he is delightfully grateful for his support and the entire staff of the Company.
Vieira promised to make Guyana proud throughout the year in local and overseas competitions.
Listen how to run an oil country
May 13, 2024
GCB T10 Blast Semi-finals… Kaieteur Sports – The semi-finals of the GCB T10 Blast will get underway today, barring inclement weather as the final four teams look to book spots in the...Kaieteur News – The PPP is engaging in myth-making in seeking to perpetuate the narrative that it is now an ideologically... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Is it ever justifiable for journalism to fan the flames of geopolitical tension? This question arises... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]