3rd Colombo Supercross next Sunday at Welisara

The third edition of the popular Colombo Supercross motorsport event, will be held next Sunday, December 1, at the Navy Motorcross Gravel Track in Welisara. The Colombo Supercross 2019 will be the final gravel motorsport event to be held for the year, and will be part of Hutch-SLARDAR Championship Series.

Over 200 drivers and riders are expected to compete at this year's Colombo Supercross, which was initially scheduled to be held during the mid of 2019. The event would go hand- in- hand with Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders ( SLARDAR) and the Nuwara Eliya Motor Racing Club and has been identified as an ideal platform for the champion racing drivers and riders to unleash their skills and energy in pursuit of coveted honour.

Some of the salient objectives in organising the event are to provide stateof- the- art track, of international standard for the local motorsport competitors, in a bid to sharpen their skills to compete at regional and international events. The organisers, Sri Lanka Navy and SLARDAR also focus on making the venue appealing for international event organisers and other interested parties, by facilitating a fulltime functional race track for testing and practice purposes.

The racing track designed by the legendary Hans Ralph and the veteran rider Gayan Sandaruwan, has been built in accordance to international standards with related infrastructure facilities, with the intention of making Welisara the core venue for gravel racing, with its proximity to the country's capital Colombo.

The car track spreads over 1.2 kilometres with more uphills and downhills compared to other race tracks in the country, also includes more drafting corners allowing competitors to gain an unprecedented experience. The motorcycle track has a length of 1.8 kilometres and includes the longest jump a track could offer in Sri Lanka, apart from its challenging bends.

The official launch of the event was held last Thursday at the Navy Headquarters Auditorium in Colombo, with the presence of Director General Service of SL Navy - Rear Admiral N. Heenatigala, Director Sports of SL Navy - Commodore J. P. Pemaratne, Chairman Motorsports of SL Navy - Commodore S. B. Kaluarachchi, Colombo Supercross Race Director - Kiyaz Deen, Event Race Co- ordinator Gayan Sandaruwan, President of SLARDAR - Kamil Hussain and CEO of Hutchison Telecommunication - Thirukumar Nadarasa.

The competitors will be given the opportunity to practice prior to the event at the venue and the qualifying rounds are scheduled to be held on November 30, a day before the raceday.