LUCIANRIDERS

We’ve probably all heard of “IT”, seen them on TV or even might have been lucky enough to see them when traveling abroad; but now the wait is over! The Segway has reached our shores and are set to make a splash in the Tourism tour market segment.

Brain child of Eliot Bailey, the founder of Lucianstyle (www.lucianstyle.com) which is a tour operation that is located next to Rehab bar on the strip in Rodney Bay. Twelve top of the line Segway X2 models were imported and are in use for both training and guided tours within the Rodney Bay area. The Segway X2 is the off-road version of the original PT (Personal Transporter) version that was invented by Dean Kamen and introduced to the world in 2001 amidst much hoopla.

Kamen was way ahead of his time and pronounced that the Segway “will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy” and announced that they expected to sell up to 40,000 units per year. Unfortunately for Kamen his company found it difficult to sell the units due to most countries banning the vehicle from both the roads and sidewalks. As a result they only managed to sell approximately 30,000 units from 2001 to 2007. However things are improving for the company as many countries including the US are relaxing the restrictions on where the vehicle can be legally operated.
(more…)

I  heard Charles Pinnock of Pinnock Brothers Inc. on Russell Lakes “Drive By” show on Tuesday and was very impressed to hear him promote his new line of vehicles. What a breath of fresh air to hear a Car Salesman promote his product truthfully and intelligently!

Charles has recently returned from living and working in the US for some twenty years and now back home in St. Lucia, and plans to be the first automotive importer of Chinese pickups to actively promote the rugged and affordable aspects of these sometimes maligned and misunderstood vehicles.

Charles started his endeavor by traveling to China to see for himself a number of the Chinese manufacturers in order to choose what he thinks to be the perfect “do it all” pickup for the West Indies Market. Yes, the big picture is to market these vehicles all over the Caribbean including Guyana and the bigger islands like Jamaica.

Charles has a back ground in Aeronautical engineering having worked for American Airlines as a manager in the maintenance department. His approach to setting up a new vehicle dealership has been one based on his excellent engineering background and he has used his skills to pick apart the vehicles that were available to him.

After visiting a number of different manufactures, he was impressed with the Pickups being produced by the Anhui Changfeng Yangzi Motor Manufacturing Co. located in Anhui China. They have proven willing to work with Mr. Pinnock to customize the range of vehicles that will be exported to St. Lucia and so far this is already bearing fruit.

CMC manufacture pickups that are based on a Mitsubishi chassis and use diesel engines that are licensed from Isuzu but manufactured by themselves. The major difference between these Chinese made vehicles and their Japanese counter parts are the philosophy behind the design and build quality. (more…)

Drag Wars Invasion has been declared the biggest gathering of foreign drag cars ever for a Caribbean event!!!

A large foreign contingent representing three countries made their presence felt at the second Drag Wars invitational drag racing event held on February 21^st and 22^nd to celebrate St. Lucia’s 31^st independence anniversary.

Building on what was a very successful inaugural first Drag Wars event that was held last year on December 5^th and 6^th at the abandoned Beanfield airstrip in Vieux Fort but better known as The Base; Absolute Promotions outdid themselves and have been at the receiving end of numerous accolades from both competitors and government officials who attended the event.

Neil Beepat along with Autosport Promotional Ltd. of Trinidad went to great lengths to ensure that this was an event to top any that had been held in this part of the Caribbean to date and was probably one of the largest events of its kind that could come close to matching the annual Barbados rally which is the premier motor sporting event in the Caribbean.  (more…)

Friday all of the foreign cars arrived at the track after being offloaded form the two ferries. Here are some shots of the cars at the track.

(more…)

Classic Car Show at Beausejour!

The gentleman’s game was replaced with classic cars along with an eclectic collection of show vehicles at the Beasejour Cricket Stadium on National day, the 13th of December.

Russell Lake, of “Drive By” fame, the popular car oriented show that airs on Helen FM, finally put his money where his mouth is by promoting this unique event which promised some of the oldest cars still existent in St. Lucia today.

For those of us older than 40, it seemed like just yesterday when many of these older cars traveled the roads of St. Lucia; but now they are mainly an extinct breed. Either being consumed by rust in some forgotten field or having gone to the various land fills around the island. Fortunately a few have survived the ravages of time and proud owners are now into restoring these old classics and were anxious to showcase them for all to see.

The rules were simple, the car must be 20 years or older or in the case of kit cars of which there were three fine examples, must be representative of a vehicle over 20 years old. That was about it! No rules for working engines or period parts were being enforced; a number of cars were brought in on trailers but as this was a stationary show, it did not matter.

The oldest car was a Morris Minor 1000 circa 1965, this car was resplendent in dark blue and has been very nicely restored. (more…)

“DRAG WARS” WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!

Vieux Fort, December 7, 2009

Well the curtain has gone down on the inaugural “Drag Wars” racing event held here in St. Lucia, the first time that this prestigious event has made an appearance in the Helen of the West.

St. Lucian’s are not total neophytes when it comes to drag racing but this is the first time that a promoter has taken over the organization of such an event; previously local clubs have banded together and raised funds and accepted donations of time and money to stage small racing events. These have been under funded and decidedly lacking in safety and creature comforts for the participants and the attendees.

So enter Absolute Promotions Inc., headed by Neil Beepat, an avid amateur racer and fast car enthusiasts. Having been introduced to the sport of Drag Racing soon after purchasing a BMW M5 three years ago, Neil started to dominate local races with consistent low 12 second passes that few local cars could match. Admittedly the fully computerized BMW makes such a feat ridiculously easy so Neil started looking at having a car built specifically for Drag Racing. A MKIV Supra was soon purchased and immediate plans were put into place to upgrade the standard non boosted engine to a fire breathing single turbo 2JZ, Toyota’s premier straight six monster.

However a decisive meeting between Mervin Bonnet a Trinidadian master car builder from Trinidad and Neil created a working relationship that would eventually lead to the hosting of “Drag Wars” in St. Lucia. Mervin was asked to take over the build of the Supra and with him came 25 years of race car building experience, his familiarization with small and big block American V8 engines lead him to convince Neil to rip out the Japanese in-line six and replace it with a naturally aspirated small block V8 that would be fully built to handle as much as an extra 300 HP of Nitrous Oxide whilst still putting out over 600 HP in naturally aspirated form!

The car finally came together the week before the event and made its maiden sprint down the track on the Sunday morning of the event. Mervin, in addition to bringing his expertise in hosting and organizing events of this magnitude, also happened to bring along his 8 second Drag Rail car that was totally built by him! This amazing vehicle thrilled the crowd with noisy burn outs and thrilling blasts down the track, the likes of which has never been seen in St. Lucia before!!

So with Mervin on board, Neil got busy with putting together the first of hopefully many Drag racing events to be held in St. Lucia. The deserted drag strip/ex airstrip, known locally as “The Base” had to be prepared so that both local and foreign cars could do battle on a track surface worthy of the “Drag Wars” name. In addition the fringes and shoulders had to be trimmed back along with the erection of fencing to keep the crowd back at a safe distance. Timing equipment and officials had to be brought up from Trinidad and security had to be arranged to keep the crowd under control. And let’s not forget the thousands of other details that must be attended to, to put on an event of this magnitude.

Finally on Saturday the 5th of December it pretty much all fell together and the event got underway with cars registering, getting scrutinized by the safety officials and then testing got underway to determine in what bracket the cars would run. “Drag Wars” is mainly a “Bracket” event where cars are sorted by how many seconds it takes for the car to run down the ¼ mile track. The fastest run would determine the bracket which started at 16 seconds and ended at 10. Anything faster than this would be in the open class like Mervin’s Rail car.

It was also possible for a car that qualified for a faster bracket could drop back into a slower bracket but if the car ran faster than the allotted bracket during the race would “Breakout” and so loose the race. All in all this allows cars of all types and sizes to compete against cars of similar performance.

Most cars were registered on the Saturday and the track was coming into its own due to rubber being laid down on the launch pad as a result of tire warming “Burn Outs” that in combination with a sticky adhesive called “Trackbite” that is sprayed onto the starting or launch pad for the first 75 feet. The accumulation of rubber and “Trackbite” is what allows the more powerful cars get the grip they need to launch off the start, the first 60′ being the most important. Low 60′ times are key to low quarter mile times.

The crowd that showed up on the Saturday was entertained with a number of fast runs from the visiting Grenada and Trinidad teams and particularly impressive was a rider from Trinidad with the nickname of “Horsie” that was riding a 2009 Suzuki Hyabusa that was modified with an extended swing arm and was breathing Nitrous Oxide or Nos for an extra boost of power. “Horsies” best time for the day was an 8.9 second pass that smashed his previous record which was in the low 9’s. With the track proving to be both safe and fast, things were looking good for the real racing to take place the following afternoon.

Sunday dawned bright with a few rain clouds that kept the sun in check and but also drenched the track just before the event got underway which delayed the start until the track could dry out again. Fortunately the rain stayed away for the rest of the afternoon and once a few stragglers had registered and been “Bracketed”, the racing got underway.

When I say racing, being the maiden event, meant that things did not quite go to plan. The racing started a bit late and without lights to illuminate the track the racing would have to stop by 5:30 pm regardless of how things were going and this is exactly what happened. Several of the “Brackets” did not get a chance to finish all of the races necessary to declare a winner and there was some confusion caused when the wrong cars came to the line to race and had to be sent back. However considering the steep learning curve for both the promoter and most of the participants, everything went quite well and was taken in stride. No-one really cared who was declared the winner of the various brackets as most were out to either test their cars against the lights or the car that was in the opposite lane. Plus the crowd that had arrived in their thousands only cared about the display before them as car after car zoomed down the track, some more impressive than the last! The timing system was working well and this was connected to a pair of large red LED display boards about half way down the track that allowed the crowd to see the times and trap speeds for both cars. There was also a large TV monitor that allowed everyone to see the action and to see instant replay’s, of the better runs.

Although not specifically invited, a large Antiguan contingent showed up to work on and tune a couple of local cars. Two of them were also professional drivers that expertly handled several of the cars and a number of the motorcycles present. The sister islands of Antigua, Grenada and Trinidad have certainly produced a fine and dedicated number of professional racers that hopefully St. Lucia will be able to emulate as racing becomes more popular here. The camaraderie between racers is something that has to be seen to be appreciated! Cars were being worked on by all and sundry and if someone was short tools, the right tool would be immediately offered for use by competing drivers and crew.

The racing produced some very impressive times but none as incredible as “Horsies” last run of the day that netted an amazing 8.89 second quarter!!! The crowd went wild and “Horsie” rode up and down the fence high fiving the crowd!

All in all the racing was top notch and the promotion of the event was very good considering the short time available to put it on and the lack of hands on experience. Absolute Promotions should be very happy with their performance and are to be congratulated by everyone to have put St. Lucia on the map when it comes to hosting this type of event.

Apparently Neil Beepat is committed to hosting another event for St. Lucia’s independence which will be around the 22nd of February 2010. Several government ministers were on hand to witness the event as specially invited guests and they have given their assurance that their government was very impressed with the turnout and the implications racing could have for “Sports Tourism” and that they will be putting their ministries behind future events. Hopefully this is not just political pandering but the real deal as the benefits of these types of events towards the economy of the island is real and not imagined.

As a vote of confidence, the Grenada and Trinidad teams are committed to keeping their vehicles here in St. Lucia until February as they can’t wait to take part in another race hosted here. Already the accolades have been pouring in and promises to compete are coming from competitors from the other islands. The Independence day Drags promises to be everything this event was, just “Bigger”, “Better” and certainly “Faster”!

I can hardly wait!!!

Well today is a sad day for me as Jon Watson’s Subaru WRX STI 555 project has come to an end as the car has been sent to the shippers and will be leaving the island tomorrow for good! To get an idea as to the scope of this project, check out the following forum link where the car has been featured: The story of the 555

Jon has decided that the car would be better off in the US where it can be properly tuned on a four wheel dyno and race on tracks suited to the performance that this car has always promised. It will also be able to compete against cars of similar performance, particularly against other WRX cars which is what is most relevant about a project like this.

As John F Kennedy stated about going to the Moon, “We do this not because it is easy, but because it is hard!” This has been the maxim behind building the 555 to the present state of tune. There are much easier cars to get a similar type of performance out of and that is what most people attempt to do. Jon on the other hand wanted to build something out of the ordinary, a car so incredible that people not only here in St. Lucia but also around the world would follow, hanging onto every post that I or Jon have made both here and on many other forums.

In this Jon has succeeded beyond what we had ever thought possible. Building this car even in the US or England would have been both extremely difficult and expensive but doing it here in St. Lucia was beyond difficult! And as for the price, well I believe Jon must have nightmares about the money that has been spent! As anyone that has seen this car up close and hopefully can see from the pictures that I have posted, this car is a work of art! There is virtually nothing that has been left untouched and Jon has not only crafted a working and moving piece of art, but a car that is now so singular of purpose that to think of it anywhere but on a drag strip is almost blasphemous.

Unfortunately St. Lucia will almost certainly not see the likes of a car like this again, as it is hard to believe that there is anyone here that is as this committed to spending as much personal time, money and effort as Jon has to build his car. One also has to remember that Jon lives in Soufriere and the car has been at my home at Cap Estate for at least 90% of the three years that the car has been building. Just having the energy to drive up just about every weekend to work on the car must have required a herculean effort.

The car is now safely ensconced within a shipping container and will be put aboard a Tropical Ship to be offloaded in Miami. The car will then be trucked to P&L where they will put the car on their Dyno for final tuning. There is nothing else that is left to be done, the car is complete! The car was driven out of my driveway and up and onto Connies trailer. I have video and I will post it as soon as I have done the editing.

I had really hoped that the car would have made some last passes at the base just to prove what this car is really capable of, but without final tuning; this would have been either fool hardy or a very limited display of what would have been expected. But the cost of having to bring the tuners back just to basically scratch an itch was financially not feasible. The plan for a while was to compete with the car in the US so the risk of breaking it just to prove a point here in St. Lucia was not worth it. I whole heartedly stand by Jon’s decision on this, too much has been invested to date!

Here are but a few pictures to remind us of what a great car the 555 is.

Still wet from the shower and ready for the trip!

There is no bad angle to this car!

Now that is a beautiful engine bay!