A walk down memory lane at birthplace of motor sports in Sri Lanka

Friday, 4 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Nuwara Eliya, in the central hills of Sri Lanka, can be considered the cradle of motor sports in Sri Lanka. The then British colonisers chose this scenic part of Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) for their tea plantations which were managed by young Europeans, mainly British. In the 1930s many of these young ‘Planters’ spent a frequent Sunday in friendly competition using the gravel estate roads for the thrill of driving fast.

In order to regulate the wild and unruly sport, the young planters banded together to inaugurate the Ceylon Motor Sports Club (CMSC) on 4 September 1934 at the Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya. D.J. Maitland was elected President and Gordon Graham Secretary and Treasurer. All other clubs inaugurated by the Europeans, especially in Colombo, were exclusively for Europeans. The Ceylon Motor Sports Club was the one exception where from the very inception Ceylonese members were welcome and could participate on equal terms with the Europeans. As befits a young and enthusiastic band, no time was wasted in organising the first meet – a hill climb at Mahagastota Estate, Nuwara Eliya on 28 September 1934. Although there were only 10 cars and two motorcycles taking part, the sheer enthusiasm of those involved ensured a most memorable and successful day’s sport. The fastest time for the day for cars was by Phil Fowke in a Tourist Trophy Austin returning a time of 69.8 secs. T.G. Dickson riding a Scott returned the fastest time of the day for motorcycles at 64.0 secs. No doubt encouraged by the success of this inaugural meet, they organised their second meet on 23 December another hill climb, at Leangawella. It may be noted that the first lady competitor, Mrs. Gordon Graham, took part at the Mahagastota Hill Climb in 1935, beating several male competitors. Mahagastota became a regular feature in the motor racing calendar in Ceylon, being held in either October or December each year until 1938, from which year on it has traditionally been held in April. Apart from Mahagastota and Leangawella, hill climbs have been held within the Bogala Mines complex and at Karandupona in the Kurunegala District. Motor-racing activities in Ceylon came to a halt in 1940 due to the conditions created by World War II. The last Mahagastota Hill Climb was held on 25 March 1940. The Course Records were motor cars T.S. Jinasena 55.79 secs, motorcycles Allan Clarke 55.89 secs. Today as we look back almost 80 years, we find many a rider and driver have braved the sun and the rain and taken time off their schedules to go back to the location where motor racing in an organised manner took place. Today over 100 competitors take part in what is one of the most prestigious events. When the writer looks at motor bikes, the two current contenders who are vying for the fastest time for the day would be undoubtedly Ananda Sampath Weerasinghe (current record holder) and his predecessor, Shafraj Junaid. Ananda Sampath will be riding a Suzuki CRM 255 while Shafraz Junaid will be seen riding his trusted Honda CR500. This battle is a much-awaited one, as Shafraz managed to break his own record at the recently-concluded Eliyakanda Hill Climb in February 2014. The battle for supremacy in a car looks like a three-way battle with the top three competitors being previous joint course record holders Nishan Weerasooriya and Rohan de Silva, while defending course record holder Darin Weerasinghe too will endeavour to ‘sprint up the hill’ as fast as they all could to achieve the glory of being the ‘fastest driver of the day’. The Committee of the Ceylon Motor Sports Club has laid out very elaborate plans to celebrate 80 years of motor sport in Sri Lanka. April will see the commencement of the holiday season in Nuwara Eliya and customarily the CMSC is gearing up to organise the hill climb on 5 and 6 April. 5 April will see the motor enthusiasts assemble and drive down to Black Pool Mahagastota in a parade. The parade will motor its way around the town of Nuwara Eliya, with cars ranging from the 1950s up to 1978. This get together will be purely for cars of this vintage, as the club wishes to take both spectators and participants down memory lane, giving them a thrill of being a part of history as well as giving them a chance to drive up ‘the hill’. 6 April will comprise of the cars of the modern era, where the Sri Lanka Automobile inscribed classes will be conducted. These include the now famous SLGT, SLH 1600, SLS 1500, SLN 1000, Mc Laren Formulas as well as the Modified Formulas. “From an organisational perspective, this event is the landmark event, whereby not only do seasoned campaigners take part, but also novices who share a car and take part for the first time. Over the years we have seen many competitors who began their careers continue to race at other events later on, but always come back in April to the hallowed venue where their first tasted the spirit of motor racing,” said the President of the Ceylon Motor Sports Club. As the CMSC begins its 80 year celebrations, many significant events are on the cards, with the first-ever FIA Regional Forum being hosted by the club in April.