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The midnight roar
As most of Colombo sleeps, a group of amateur racing drivers, who feel a need for speed hit the roads to take part in drag races. But is it safe? By a staff writer
Green Path, Colombo. Saturday 12 midnight: Two cars racing down one side of the road, while spectators on the other side, in little groups watch the action. What's going on when most of the city residents are fast asleep and the city streets are deserted? Just head for Green Path (Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha) on a Saturday night and you'll almost certainly see the 'Drag Races' in progress on the stretch of road leading from the Alexandra Place roundabout to the Marcus Fernando Mawatha roundabout.

It really started happening about six months back, when the Saturday night crowd would come there, some to race and some to watch," says a young drag racer. Another explained that the road has now become more of a meeting place. Nearly 100 cars come regularly to watch the action. There's a mixed crowd, including parents, children, professional racers and car fanatics.

"Drag racing" originated from illegal street racing in the United States in the 1940s. Despite its dubious reputation, drag racing is simply two drivers racing each other to the end of a measured distance. The track should be straight and a quarter of a mile in length, with additional distance for racers to slow down after finishing. Currently over 325 drag racing strips are operating worldwide mostly in America, Europe, Australia and Japan.

As popular as it has become in Sri Lanka, drag racing has not yet been given a place in professional motor sportsmeets. In fact in the country's short drag racing history, there have only been two recognized drag races.

Due to this lack of opportunity, some aspiring speedsters have settled for street racing, the chosen street being Green Path. As popular as it is, there are many including some drag racers themselves who feel that the Green Path 'drags' are not safe. " “Half of us are good drivers, the other half are not," says one who feels that racing is not safe on an unblocked road. Though there have been a few minor accidents, nothing major has happened... yet.

Veteran professional driver, Bri Ponnambalam's concern is also the safety aspect. "Normally so many precautions are taken at racing events but here there is nothing," says Mr. Ponnambalam who explained that the governing body of motor racing in the country, the Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS) usually sends racing experts to examine and approve any track. Though the spectators at Green Path are supposedly kept a safe distance from the "racetrack" he feels that since accidents are inevitable, spectator protection is essential. "We all like racing but this is breaking all the rules and is really not safe or fair on any other motorist," says Mr. Ponnambalam. He feels the way ahead is for drag racers to ask recognized motor racing clubs in Sri Lanka to accommodate drag racing events at their meets.

Young drag racers respond that they do not want to spend substantial sums of money entering organized races. "There's no money involved right now and we want to keep it that way," says one drag racer adding that many love to race and can't afford to do it on the real tracks.

"From a professional's point of view it’s not safe but from an average person's it looks like a lot of fun," said a professional racer and regular spectator at the Green Path drags. He too pointed out certain flaws in the road itself as it has a slight curve. The fact that there is no run-off area (space for the car to come to a stop in an emergency) adds to the danger. For a proper drag race, he feels that the Parliament Road would make for a better track, as it is wider and runs straight for 400m.

"The first drag race was organized in 2000, by the Motor Racing Association together with E-FM. It was a huge success and everyone wanted more," said a board member of the Sri Lanka Automobile Sports. The MRA was hoping to have a repeat in 2003 and received permission to have it at Green Path. Then they were requested to move the event to the Parliament Road and finally due to not having obtained a fresh permit for the new location, the police stopped the event from taking place.

The race was ultimately held in Katukurunda this February. The Motor Racing Association is one club that has attempted to organize drag races. Its President, Namaaz Fouzy, believes that Colombo is the place to have such events, for when the Colombo drag races were shifted to Katukurunda, of the 120 people who entered to race in Colombo only 40 turned up. Mr. Fouzy puts it all down to atmosphere. Needless to say the atmosphere in Colombo is truly electric. He also mentioned that most drivers are not willing to travel long distances just to compete in one short race.

" Sri Lanka has no purpose-built drag racing strips, so they use the streets," says Ranjith Jinasena, Secretary of the SLAS. He explained that the main problem in constructing a special strip would be acquiring suitable land in Colombo. "The minute you take it out of Colombo people are not interested," says Mr. Jinasena. Mr. Jinasena's suggestion is that the drag racers themselves form a club and organize the races with approval from the SLAS.

But while the racers enjoy the speed thrills, for unsuspecting motorists and pedestrians, the drag races can pose a major threat. Ravi Jayewardene had his car damaged by two drag racers recently when two cars travelling at very high speeds overtook him and hit the side of his car. Though there was no serious damage, Mr Jayewardene feels that there must be some indication to prevent other motorists from coming to harm. " It should not happen on a road that is not shut off."

"We have taken action against it," says the OIC of the Cinnamon Gardens Police Station, Mr. Illanperuma explaining that drivers have been charged with speeding, reckless driving and noise pollution. The police monitor the area through night mobile patrols, cycle patrols and radio cars. The City Traffic Division says that from 9 p.m. to 12 midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays they work together with the Cinnamon Gardens Police to "track down the offenders".

Both the Cinnamon Gardens Police Station and the City Traffic Division say no accidents have been reported thus far. But while in the past the police closed certain roads to accommodate organized drag races, authorized by the SLAS, Police Headquarters together with the Traffic Committee made a decision two months ago to restrict the closing of main roads even for organized events. For or against drag racing, everybody agrees that the enthusiasm and talent is there. But are Saturday night Green Path speed meets the answer?

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