Ryan Rahaman etches name on Barbadian racing circuit
Guyana Chronicle
August 24, 2003
FAST-RISING star of the fast track, Ryan Rahaman, etched his name on the Barbadian circuit, emerging champion of the Group 2B and even moved up to the higher Group 3A to also carry the chequered flag, while Mark Vieira was the fastest driver.
A three-man contingent carried the Golden Arrowhead at the Barbados Auto Racing League International meet at the Bushy Park track, last Sunday, with Mark Vieira registering the Fastest Lap of the meet.
Driving a Mark 1 Ford Escort, Rahaman made a clean sweep of the Group 2B event, winning all three events.
The Barbados Advocate newspaper gushed: “Though competing for the first time on the Bushy Park track, the young driver exhibited great skill as he left the others in his dust.”
Rahaman was quoted thus: “The track is a lot more technical than the one we have back home at South Dakota.
The young racer pointed out that the South Dakota Circuit was for more high-speed racing.
Rahaman also ventured in the higher Group 3A events, finishing second in the first two then improved his performance to capture the chequered flag in the third.
South Dakota Group 3 champion finished with one second in the Group 3B events, held back by a starting disadvantage.
Driving the rotary Mazda RX7 machine, Vieira had to face the start line without the normal rolling start for such machines. Thus piston-driven cars were able to race ahead before the Guyanese could get into proper racing momentum.
Once Vieira got going, he went on to register the fastest lap time for the meet, zooming around in 44.996 seconds. Still he could not catch the leader Stuart Williams who had gotten the better of the start and Vieira had to settle for a second.
In the second race, Vieira was working his way to the front but an accident occurred and he could not place in the top four.