Nuwara Eliya Road Race - the most cherished of them all

Reggie FERNANDO

MOTOR RACING: April and Nuwara Eliya - these two words conjure images of a different kind of outing - with Nuwara Eliya wearing its crown annually during the April season studded with many a jewel that brings joy to thousands both poor and rich.

The jewels are of course those rolling landscapes filled with green bushes of the world's best tea, beautiful parks, crystal waterways, busy streets, friendly bars and cafes and of course that jewel in Nuwara Eliya's crown - the Nuwara Eliya Road Race organised by the 'Ceylon' Motor Cycle Club (CMCC) where the cream of our riders and drivers battle it out every year for honours.

This grand event which started during my days, January 1950 to be exact, under the direction of that almighty man behind 'Ceylon's' motor racing scene of those great old times - the late Andrew Mirando - has always been my favourite road race beating the Kandy Road Race and the Kurunegalla Road Race into second and third slots respectively.

Not only was the atmosphere at Nuwara Eliya enchanting, those vying for the trophies in their racing leathers sporting the CMCC crest also brought glamour to the grid.

Who wouldn't agree that motor racing is a more perilous pursuit than bullfighting and as I have said before in many of my articles - 'to those who engage themselves in this sport which requires precise judgments when going round those hairpins and corners with thrilling swiftness, especially at road races' - it's a game that enables them to thrill the throng and in the process generate a huge amount of joy themselves.

This was the era of the founder of the country's freedom and first Prime Minister the late D.S. Senanayake and it was this great thomian sportsman who initiated the very first Nuwara Eliya Road Race.

Mr. Senanayake wanted this classic event to coincide with an international conference that was to be held in the hill capital, obviously to impress the visiting British delegation and also to satisfy the white community who had been prompting Andrew Mirando to stage a road race under the auspices of the Ceylon Motor Racing Club sooner or later.

The shrewd politician Mr. Senanayake was, knew he could kill two birds with one stone and gave the greenlight to go ahead with the event.

It was a victory not only for the then Prime Minister but also for the white population and the Ceylon Motor Cycle Club One of the spectacular features of the circuit was the smooth and sweeping corners capable of being negotiated at top speed.

The fastest part of the circuit was and still is the start/finish straight and both corners and straights provide ample overtaking opportunities.

The Nuwara Eliya Road Races of the 1950s was the best training ground for future road racers and with its 1.8 mile lap, went on to produce some of the country's finest exponents of this dangerous game, such as the Dean brothers - Rally and Zacky, Chandra de Costa, Gene Ingleton, W.D. Ignatius, Rajah Sinnathuray, Pat Comaravel, Kingsley Smith, U.D. Jinadasa, Allan Clarke, Sam Jobling and many more. Among the drivers was that unbeatable Cedric Seneviratne, Norman Suby, G.C. Johnston and M.I. Rauf to name a few. Rally was my classmate at St. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and Zacky a few years junior to both of us.

They jointly provided some of the most fascinating exhibitions of dare devil riding when in 1957 they shattered the lap record many times while riding in the Junior (350cc) and Senior (500cc) events.

However Zacky ended the anxiety with some thunderous bursts in the 9th, 18th and 19th laps of the senior race when he returned a time of 1 min 45 sec. bettering the course record of 1 min. 58 secs. held till then by Pat Helsham which he returned at the inaugural Nuwara Eliya Road Race in 1950. Helsham rode with some of the all-time greats - Wally de Zylva and that ever-green Collin Silva.

Record breaker W.D.Ignatius who broke my own record at Nuwara Eliya commenting on this circuit told me that it is totally different to Kandy and Kurunegalla or for that matter to any other motor racing circuit or track in this country.

He said; "The difference lays in that the undulating contours of the terrain of the Nuwara Eliya track is something that has to be sampled to be enjoyed. If skillfully negotiated the track lends itself to let the mount (rider) to be airborne momentarily at some points.

Getting more technical Ignatius emphasised that the weight of the rider and the speed plays a major role in this happening. Over the past years speeds have obviously become faster with modern machines but certain practices pertaining to maintaining racing standards have sadly and immensely deteriorated.

During my days the Ceylon Motor Cycle Club attached great importance to accurate time-keeping of each and every lap for which they used the world's best stop-watches available at the time. As Ignatius pointed out practically all competitions be they hill climbs, running and swimming events were timed and timed even now.

Ignatius a former committee member of the Ceylon Motor Cycle Club who served with me further said; "The practice of time keeping must not be allowed to lapse but should be brought back with immediate effect. I have always strived to uphold the CMCC tradition of good time keeping for this will undoubtedly show the way to better racing, higher performances and also provide those who don their leathers the opportunity of comparing their performances with their fellow competitors and also get an insight to vary their tactics and line at some of those treacherous corners in order to obtain a faster lap."

A former racer who was in our company was quick to point out that for proper time keeping the CMCC would need the latest automatic equipment without which, unlike in the past, there may be lots of fiddling. "Today men of honour are hard to come by, so it's best to have no time keeping at all," he concluded.

One does not need to talk much about this beautiful town Nuwara Eliya which has retained much that is old and partnered it harmoniously with much that is new and of course it's most cherished sporting event - the Nuwara Eliya Road race.

There is never a better time to enjoy Nuwara Eliya and if you live outside this beautiful place come and join the hundreds or if you live in Nuwara Eliya itself, then wake up to this enchanting event on your very own doorstep tomorrow.