Cavalry Supercross 2017 to flag off in early July

From left: Best Rider Cavalry Supercross 2016 Ishan Dassanayake, Chairman of the Organising Committee Cavalry Supercross 2017 Brigadier Indunil Ranasinghe, SLARDAR President Nishan Wasalathanthri, Master General Ordnance/Colonel Commandant of Sri Lanka Armoured Corps Major General Sathyapriya Liyanage, CEAT Kelani Holdings Vice President Sales and Marketing Ravi Dadlani, Centre Commandant Sri Lanka Armoured Corps Colonel G.D. Sooriyabandara and Best Driver Cavalry Supercross 2016 Ushan Perera

The 2017 edition of the Cavalry Supercross, one of the premier events on Sri Lanka’s motor racing calendar, is scheduled to be held on 2 July at the Cavalry Supercross racetrack in Pangolla, Kurunegala.

The race is organised by the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps (SLAC) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR). 

The Cavalry Supercross was conceptualised by Brigadier Indunil Ranasinghe, who is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Defence and Administration) of the Kotelawala Defence University. Having been inaugurated in 2010, the event is considered primarily a fundraising project with a focus on providing improvements to welfare facilities that are made available for the immediate families of officers and men killed or maimed in battle. Furthermore, the event is known to assist in developing necessary infrastructure within the camps such as housing for serving officers and men, working environments, recreational facilities, medical, billets and dining facilities. Looking ahead, the Cavalry Supercross is expected to be an event that will be a source of sustainable income to feed such welfare projects within the corps.

Addressing the audience at the media briefing presided over by Major General Sathyapriya Liyanage, Master General Ordnance/Colonel Commandant of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps, Organising Committee Chairman Brigadier Indunil Ranasinghe stated: “It gives me great pleasure to witness the arrival of the Cavalry Supercross for yet another year. As in previous years, thousands of racing fans will have the privilege of watching some of the best drivers and riders in action as they push themselves to the limit to come out victorious. This specially-designed track, which gives consideration to the surrounding environment, is the perfect setting for these individuals to showcase their talents and sharpen their skills in preparation for future local and international racing events.”

Since its inception back in 2010, the Cavalry Supercross has always attracted the cream of Sri Lanka’s drivers and riders as well as several international participants. During last year’s event, Ushan Perera won the ‘Best Driver’ trophy while Ishan Dasanayake was named the ‘Best Rider’ as over 150 local and foreign competitors participated in 12 driving and 12 racing events. As in previous years, the Best Driver and the Best Rider of this year’s event will be awarded the ‘Sri Lanka Armoured Corps Colonel Commandant’s Challenge Trophy’ and ‘Sonna Vander Hoeven Memorial Challenge Trophy’ respectively. 

Looking back at the history of the event, Brigadier Ranasinghe stated: “Back in 2010, we put together a proposal to have the Cavalry Supercross at Pangolla, the Ironside Camp, home to the 5th Reconnaissance Regiment of the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. We felt that this event would provide a challenging racetrack to our local drivers and riders. The track was to be built in Kurunegala with the hill features ‘Ridiyagalla’ and ‘Rambadagalla’ in the backdrop. I am happy to acknowledge that the then Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya, and the then Colonel Commandant Sri Lanka Armoured Corps, Major General Niranjan Ranasinghe, gave us the necessary guidance, encouragement and blessings to make this project a success. 

“Two leading veterans in motorsports - Hans Ralf Karpinsky and Nishan Wasalathanthri - took on the challenge to design, plan and execute the track layout of the Motordrome. Furthermore, the then President of SLARDAR Rodney Mason, Major (Retd.) Dilhan Jayawardene, Pubudu Wickrama, Palitha Ratnayake and champion rider Gayan Sandaruwan also gave their expert technical assistance to the project and thus the Cavalry Motordrome came into being.”

In keeping with the objectives of this unique fundraising project, the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps has so far been able to construct 18 houses for its deceased, disabled and serving members. During the past five years, significant achievements and beneficiaries of the Cavalry Supercross include the construction of three holiday bungalows, the funding of welfare projects of a training centre and all regiments for the benefit of troops, purchasing medical and other essential items for needy members, contributions to the Army’s Brave Heart and Viru Daru projects and infrastructure development within the corps. Several other priority objectives have already been outlined to be undertaken in the future.

At the inaugural Cavalry Supercross held in 2010, Pasindu Peiris and Gayan Sandaruwan became the ‘Best Driver’ and ‘Best Rider’ respectively. Since then, Sandaruwan has twice won the ‘Best Rider’ award (2012 and 2013) while Japanese rider Tomoya Suzuki won the award in 2012. 

In the ‘Best Driver’ category, Ashan Silva has twice won the award (2012 and 2013) with Dinesh Deheragoda bagging the award in 2011. At the 2014 edition, Shehan C. Adikari won ‘Best Rider’ and Ashan Silva was named the ‘Best Driver’.