Colombo revs up for Night Races

Wednesday, 2 November 2011 02:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Races are scheduled to kick off from 7.00p.m on 17 December

By Kshanika Argent

For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history (with the exception of a brief period in the 60’s) Colombo will witness night races at the inaugural Colombo Night Races which coincides with the second Electric Peacock Festival, scheduled for this December.

From left: President SLAS Rizvi Farouk, Senior Member Carlton Sports Club Richard De Zoysa, Co-Founder Electric Peacock Festival Leah Bazalgette and FMSSL Thirupathy Ragunathan – Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera

The organisers of both events promise the country a novel weekend, packed with fast cars and stellar music acts on 16 and 17 December at the Galle Face Green and Fort areas of Colombo.

Organized by the Grant Group, the Electric Peacock Festival will feature headliner and chart topping British electro act Chicane as well as BBC Radio 1 DJ Nihal with more acts to be announced over the coming weeks. Tickets for the music festival will be priced at Rs. 2,000 for general admission and Rs. 4,000 for VIP.

While the night motor race event in Colombo is being organised by Carlton Sports, Tharunyata Hetak, and two governing bodies: Sri Lanka Automobile Sports Association and the Federation of Motorcycle Sports in Sri Lanka along with all member racing clubs; and Red Cherry Entertainment.

The race will feature Sri Lankan drivers and up to 15 international teams who have accepted the invitation to participate. The races, on newly laid road surfaces, are expected to showcase exotics including the Lamborghini Diablo, Mosler MT900, Aston Martin and Porsche 911 Carreras, including the Subaru Impreza STi, Mitsubishi Evolution, Ford Laser, Nissan March, Honda Civic SiR and the world famous Mini Minor and Formula Ford and many other famous race cars presently run locally.

Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Director of Red Cherry, Rishini Weeraratne, stated: “This event will undoubtedly be the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. With CSN, the country’s premier sports network being the main force behind this event, Colombo is undoubtedly in for a very exciting weekend indeed.”

Whilst the races take place on the main circuit, the side walks, car parks and alleyways will all be converted in to entertainment zones; from street parties featuring performances by renowned international artists - curated by entertainment partner Electric Peacock Festival, gaming zones with mini quad bike tracks, bmx’ing rings, skateboard ramps and specially designed dance floors on Colombo’s high streets.

Senior Member of the racing Organising Committee Richard De Zoysa said: “Our objective is to bring an event to Colombo that will attract local and international attention, highlighting the many great facets of this city, its beautiful surroundings, its great road system and its tourist product potential. Furthermore, the Colombo Night Races are looking to bring to light the active and fanatic Motor racing scene in Sri Lanka, and give these talented competitors their much deserved limelight.”

Ticket prices for the races will range from Rs. 100 to Rs. 5,000 depending on which areas and platforms spectators choose to view the races from, according to the organisers. The event is scheduled to kick off from 7.00p.m on 17 December and end at around midnight.

The route plan of 17 December and regulations governing the races will be available at the SLAS secretariat at 290, W.R. Wijeywardena Mw, Colombo 10 and on the SLAS web site www.slas.lk and www.fmssl.org.