While the rest of the nation was praying for rain, a not so small band of track day warriors were doing a celebratory sun-dance.  The setting, of course, was the Arima Race Club car park, and the event was Solodex II, 2010.

The course was a devilish mix of fast sections and left-wheel murdering corners.  Everyone had an opinion on this course, and everyone was watching to see who would shine under the 35 degree sun.

Twenty seven competitors came out to put their cars and themselves through the paces.  The Open class saw Ryan Pinheiro returning with a point to prove with his Mitsubishi Evo.  He was hounded all day by Damian Mahabir in his Evo 8, but Ryan managed to stay out front, and posted a winning time of 40.727, which also stood as fastest time of the day.  The EPR class saw another pair of AWD cars, this time with Kevon Ramjohn winning in another Evo 8 over the Subaru STi of Chris Ackee.  

The upset class as always was EP, with Amir Hosein in his Suzuki Ignis Sport battling it out with even more Evos.  Pushing hard to stay out front, Amir even managed to spin his car 180 degrees into the finish box, much to the delight of the crowd!  In the end though, Marc Williams narrowly edged him out for top honours.  Shaun Mohammed rounded off the top three in his Kennicon Engineering Locost 7.

On the other end of the speed scale, Curtis Dindial went up against Kurt Pyke in a battle of front wheel drive Nissan Sunny B11 versus rear wheel drive Vauxhall Viva with a Ford Pinto engine and a callalloo of suspension, Toco mud and red Chinese laquer.  Despite Kurt pushing his car beyond its limits, Curtis put down yet another inspired drive to take the win in 47.536, which once again put him in leage with the faster ESP class.  Somebody get this man an EVO!!!  In the ESP class, Devi Nath had a point to prove to Christopher Ramnath, who won the previous round.  Devi pulled out all the stops, to take first place by nearly a second over Christopher.  This battle is just getting started.  Hot on their heels was longtime competitor, Clayton Jobity, who is quickly returning to form.

In the very fast SS class, there wsa a hard fought battle between Vishnu CHarran in his Mazda MX3 and Reyos Seebaran in his Nissan Sunny B14.  With both drivers trading places, it went down to the final run.  Vishnu pushed hard to take the well deserved win, making for another epic battle to come.  

The final upset of the day was in the ES class, where yet another battle is brewing.  SD1 winner Genevieve Singh had a point to prove over Rudi Pallackdarrysing.  In the end, Rudi’s newfound resolve and determination saw him run away with the win.  Under all the commotion, Peter Arrindell sneaked in to take second place away from Gen, with his Silver Suzuki Swift proving swifter than Gen’s Cornbird liveried Swift.  

With more than the weather heating up, the course was opened up to fun runs.  The CARS Executive worked hard to have the event run smoothly so fun runs could start early.  With the timing system off, many competitors opted to go sideways around the course’s roundabout.  Other drivers fought hard to see where they could find more time, and truly learn their vehicles’ limits.

With the Championship battles under way now, everyone is looking towards SDIII, and the hope of more clear skies.  Eric Mackie is not amused….watch this space!