Breakers Speedway roars back to life at ‘Grudgement Day’

The smell of rubber was ever-present and the sounds of revving engines filled the air on 21 January, as the Breakers Speedway roared back to life for the ‘Grudgement Day’ drag racing event.

It was the culmination of over a month of intensive and concerted effort by the members of the Breakers Drag Racing Association and Breakers Speedway creator, Robert Campbell, to host an event that saw cars, trucks and motorcycles excite spectators as they made their way down the 1/8-mile strip for the first time in more than five years.

“We’re doing something here for the kids to come off the road because of the amount of accidents we see on the roads, we have to provide a safe environment for the kids of the Cayman Islands to race in a controlled environment,” BDRA member Marlon Ford told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

“We went out and took the initiative to get the track back up and running…with all the safety measures in place.” As part of those measures was having the Cayman Islands Fire Service on hand.

Veterans and novices alike were all eager to prove their mettle on the track in a series of grudge-match challenges featuring Hondas, Toyotas, Ford Mustangs and Mitsubishi Evos. Organisers estimate about 1,000 people were on hand to see the 46 drivers battle for bragging rights and prizes.

Lionel ‘The Lion’ Fredericks in his heavily modified Honda Civic EG 2.0 litre turbo won the Crowd Favourite prize of $300, while Alrick ‘Ricky’ Hart was the overall ‘Grudgement Day’ winner with the most wins of the day in his blue Honda Integra 2.4 litre with nitrous.

“Clearly, we are off to great start, and the intention is to build on this momentum, moving forward with as many events as possible on dates to be decided and announced in the very near future,” Samuel Jackson, another BDRA member said.

The BDRA said based on the huge turnout and feedback, they we expect the association’s membership to grow, as they promote drag racing with a primary focus on enhancing safety for all participants.

The BDRA is a not-for- profit association, whose race committee is currently comprised of Marlon Ford, Jody Jervis, Jimel McLean, Donald Francis, Richard Bodden, Samuel Jackson, Dante Hydes, Alexander Conolly and Bernie Bush.

“This is just a start, and we intend to bring into the fold any willing and able participant who can help us to move forward with our initiative,” the association said.

They said they have already been fortunate in bringing on board a number of seasoned veterans of the sport, like Barry Ingrahm, Dave Thompson, Greg Shim and Andrew Smith.

Based on Sunday’s event, drag racing at Breakers appears to be back, giving those with a thirst for speed somewhere to put the pedal to the metal away from the streets.

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