The 2nd edition of Colombo Supercross, held at the Navy Racing Club in Welisara concluded today (24th), with Ashan and Buddika getting the honours.
With 25 events lined up officials were having some trouble getting the track ready as the skies opened early morning making the car track muddy. This forced the organizers to move up all the bike events until the car track dried up.
Buddika crowned as the best rider
Buddika Kasun the resilient rider from the Sri Lanka Army managed to become the Best Rider in the 2nd Colombo Supercross winning both events of MX 250cc. Buddika had to work hard in the first event as Evon Gurusinghe was on his tail despite falling in the first lap of the race. Buddika managed to hang on to the lead until the end of the seventh lap when Evon managed to take on a well-deserved lead after a wonderful chase. Unfortunately, Evon could not keep his lead as he fell for the second time in the race which forced him to pull out from the race, helping Buddika to win the first race with no problem.
The second race was yet another nail-biter as Buddika Kasun went head to head with Sameera Premaratne and Shanaka Sandaruwan. these two riders gave a hard time to Buddika in the first few laps. Despite the pressure he had from his opponents Buddika managed to win the race. He also managed to win the first event of MX 125cc earlier in the day and pulled out of the second event to focus on the MX 250cc second event. For Buddika’s brilliant performance today, he was named as the ‘Best Rider’ of Colombo Supercross 2018.
Imal Manchanayake proves why he is the best
Imal Manchanayaka
The Supermotard event is one of the most exciting bike events in Sri Lankan gravel racing. Current Supermotard champion Imal Manchanayake went on to win both supermotard events with no problem showing class in this event. All the riders were having some trouble in the first event as the track was muddy and soggy which made it hard for them ride. Despite these conditions, Imal managed to keep his form and win the race. In the second race, Deshan Solanki managed to take the lead off the start but Imal did not let him enjoy that lead for that long. Imal went past Solanki in the first corner and went on to extend his lead making it impossible for Solanki to make a comeback and won the second event comfortably.
Upulwan and Shenal gives the crowd a treat
The most exciting race of the day was surprisingly not the SL-GT event but the Ford Laser/Mazda 1300cc event which had a nail-biting finish. With a firing start Veteran, Upulwan Serasinghe managed to take on the lead. On his tail throughout the race was Shenal Gunawardena whose driving was a treat to watch as he kept Upulwan on the edge of his seat, challenging him in every single corner throughout the race. Upulwan did well to hold on to the first position until it all came down to the final lap when Shenal managed to get ahead of Upulwan in the first corner of the track and went on to win the race comfortably. Upuluwan Serasinghe finished off in the 2nd place followed by Tharuka Rathnayake in 3rd place.
Ashan dominates the super car event
Ashan Silva made it look easy on the track when he went on to win the first supercar event with a massive lead. Ushan won the 2nd place in this event who had no chance of getting close to the winner. There was a battle for the third position between Kaushalya Samarasinghe and Kushan Peiris in the first 4 laps of this event but Kaushalya managed to go past Kushan in the 5th lap to win the 3rd place with no problem. There was no difference in the second event as Ashan showed his dominance in this event by finishing it with a massive lead making it look easy throughout the race. Ushan Perera won the 2nd place and Kushan Peiris followed him to win the 3rd place. Ashan Silva was crowned as the ‘Best Driver’ for the 2nd consecutive year, helping him get one step closer to becoming the champion driver in the country for yet another year.