A record went by the board as drivers took their final foray before redevelopment work begins on the 1/8 mile drag strip at Bushy Park.
And the Whit Monday holiday brought out the largest crowd ever seen at a BADD drag-race meet as Matthew “DMZ” Forde at the wheel of a well prepared Stag/Forde’s Auto Services/SLAM 101/Junior Moore’s Trucking Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III posted a new mark of 7.155 seconds in the final run of the day in the 7.0-7.5 second class.
Forde said he was pleased with the way things had gone and was looking forward to meeting all the other speedsters currently in competition.
“Mine is a work in progress, and I am happy with the results and thank my sponsors and technical people. I want to go faster, but we are taking things one step at a time,” he said.
But the class honours were taken by Forde’s arch-rival, Esuf Suleman, driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX. His time of 7.251 seconds was slower than Forde’s but his superior reaction time of 0.092 against Forde’s 0.539 assured him of the class title.
The grudge matches were also faster with unofficial times of 7.138 seconds recorded by Sean Fields in a Toyota Corolla and Forde with a time of 7.042.
Ryan Francis, in a Clyde Best-prepared Ford Escort MkII found winners’ row and drove away with the title in the merged 10.0-10.5 and 11.0-11.5 second classes, with a time of 10.671 seconds, while in the 9.5-10.0 second class, Kevin Wiggins in a Toyota Starlet grabbed top honours with a 9.585 seconds time.
First day winner James Cox, in a Toyota Glanza, was the fastest man in the largest class of the day, the 9.0-9.5 second class, with a 9.440 seconds clocking, reigning Barbados Karting Association champion Tremaine Forde-Catwell humbled his more senior counterparts in the 8.5-9.0 second class with a time of 8.812 seconds.
Rookie Robin Cho, at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. IX, won the 8.0-8.5 second class with a time of 8.117 seconds.
Michael “Chub” Carter, in the 3K engine-powered Honda Civic, had the day’s fastest reaction time with an almost perfect 0.001 seconds, while Sean Fields was the fastest 60-foot dash in a time of 1.609 seconds.
Esuf Suleman returned the fastest trap speed of 105.59 miles per hour.
BADD’s next event is slated for June 23 when they share the day with the Motoring Club Barbados Inc. at Thickets, St Philip.
