SVG racers performing well regionally, despite having no race track

“For a country that has no track, we are doing exceptionally well.”

This was the assertion of Adrian Harry, one of the race car drivers who represented St Vincent and the Grenadines at a race meet in St Lucia over the Easter holiday weekend.

Harry and Obed Williams spoke to SEARCHLIGHT{{more}} on Tuesday, pointing out that Vincentian racers are clocking some of the fastest times in the region, despite having no proper track to practise on.

The duo said that not only would local racers benefit from having a track in SVG, but that it would also introduce an additional element to our tourism product.

“We’d really love some assistance from the Government,” appealed Richmond Hill resident Harry. “Motorsport tourism is big.”

Williams, from Gibson Corner, added: “They [the Government] need to experience it and see how much money it generates.”

According to Harry and Williams, racing events in neighbouring Barbados bring in hundreds of participants and spectators from around the region and the international community, and this is something that SVG can benefit from.

Both Harry and Williams are long-time racing enthusiasts, and have managed to incorporate their hobby into their careers. Harry is the co-founder of A3 Automotive (a vehicle diagnostics service); and along with being involved in his family’s business, Williams offers automotive tuning services.

On what inspired them to get involved in racing, 31-year-old Williams said: “I got into racing because speed is addictive… I started with just a stock engine at first, 10 years ago. But you progressively keep adding parts and going faster.”

Twenty-six-year-old Harry said that his older brother was his inspiration.

“I wasn’t very interested in the whole car scene from the get-go, but… looking up to my older brother… I kind of took it from there to another notch.”

The Vincentian contingent took part in ‘Drag Stars 2015’, an annual event, which was this year held at an airstrip in Vieux Fort, St Lucia, April 5 – 6.

A total of 10 vehicles were entered – driven by Adrian Harry (Nissan Skyline), Obed Williams (Honda Civic), Nigel St Hillaire (Honda CRX and custom built Honda 4-wheel drive), Sim Knights (Mitsubishi Evolution 2), Franklyn King (Mitsubishi Evolution 3), Lennox ‘Sox’ Jack (Nissan 240 SX), Gregory Boyea (Mitsubishi Evolution 3), Sherman Joseph (Nissan Pulsar), and Titus ‘Omri’ Myers (Mitsubishi Evolution 4).

Although many of the drivers did not better their times from last year — which was mainly due to technical difficulties experienced by the event organizers — Adrian Harry won the 13-second bracket, with a best time of 12.9 seconds, and Sherman Joseph won the Best Time for the event with 10.3 seconds in the 10-second bracket.

Harry described the event as an “excellent experience,” despite some of the event’s hiccups.

“The event, on a whole, was a success,” said Williams. “We could have done a little better with certain stuff, but I guess it’s a learning process.”(JSV)