Fox Hill out of SLAS calendar
The main governing body of motor sports of the country, Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS) officially released their annual event calendar for the year 2015, however sans a number of prominent events. According to the new calendar, 10 out of 29 motor sports events conducted by five different clubs affiliated to the SLAS, have been slashed due to various reasons.
The most important event to lose a slot in the annual SLAS calendar is the well renowned Fox Hill Super Cross, a joint event of Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Automobile Drivers’ Association (SLADA). Other races excluded from last year’s calendar are the high-profile Colombo Night 
Race, the controversial Kandy Night Race, Tissa Super Cross and the first phase of Navy Super Cross conducted by the Carlton Motor Sports Club, two rallies of Motor Racing Association, the Vavuniya Zonal Rally conducted by Sri Lanka Motor Cycle Club and the Negombo Super Cross conducted by Negombo Motor Sports Club.
In addition an intended night race at the Sri Lanka Air Force facility in Katukurunda spearheaded by the Carlton Motor Sports Club too had been chopped off without making its debut.
According to Jaliya Jayasekara, the general secretary of SLAS, the Fox Hill would go ahead as it had been taking place annually in mid-April but the dates are yet to be confirmed by its joint organisers. The most celebrated motor sport event held annually in Diyatalawa was forced to be taken off after the event dates clashed with the Nuwara Eliya Road Race conducted by the Sri Lanka Motor Cycle Club (SLMCC).
“There was a definite clash. SLADA and NEMRC both announced that their events would take place on same dates. We had to direct this issue to our committee meeting but the SLADA requested for 10 more days to come back with a new date after consulting with Sri Lanka Army. Eventually they stated that the SL Army finds it difficult to fix it into a new date. So the SLAS had to go for a voting at a general committee meeting where members of all ten affiliated clubs were present. In the end the voting went in favour of the Nuwara Eliya Road Race,” he told the Sunday Times.
The SLADA, according to Jayasekara still has the option to go ahead with the event on new dates, despite the fact that it had been taken off the SLAS calendar. Yoga Perera, the head of SLADA stated that his club is still waiting for an official response from the Sri Lanka Army as well as the SLAS.
“We are waiting for the confirmation from SL Army and new dates from the main body. We are yet to receive anything from either but are closely following up. The new dates of the Fox Hill Super Cross can be revealed very soon,” Perera stressed. However the number of events included in the calendar for 2015, could go up from the existing 19 Jayasekara revealed. “The Fox Hill is a definite inclusion, though nothing has come officially. And the MRA is planning out for a new event or two, in place of the two events that were cancelled. Excluding the Fox Hill, which is a pure case, most other events were called off mainly because organisers could not get proper clearances from higher authorities of the respective locations or regions,” Jayasekara added.
In total three motor rally events, two each of super cross, motor cross and night race events and a hill climb event have been taken off. The remaining 19 events include seven super cross, six motor cross, three motor rallies and three hill climbs. The ten SLAS affiliated members are Sri Lanka Association for Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR), SLADA, MRA, Asian Motor Racing Club, Carlton Motor Sports Club, Negombo Motor Sports Club, Southern Motor Sports Club, Sri Lanka Motor Cycle Club, Ceylon Motor Sports Club and Nuwara Eliya Motor Racing Club. Each club must conduct at least two events annually to earn its voting rights with SLAS.
| The SLAS calendar for 2015 -February 22: Eliyakanda Hill Climb (Southern MSC) -March 21-22: Karandupona Hill Climb (SLARDAR) -April 5: Mahagastota Hill Climb (CMSC) -April 18-19: Nuwara Eliya Road Race (SLMCC) -May 16-17: Sigiriya Rally Cross (SLADA) -May 30-31: Katukurunda Circuit Meet I (SLARDAR) -June 6-7: Walawe Super Cross (SLMCC) -June 13-14: Cavalry Super Cross (SLADA) -June 27-28: Katukurunda Circuit Meet II (AMRC) -July 4-5: Gunners Super Cross (SLADA) -August 29-30: Gajaba Super Cross (SLADA) -September 5-6: Kanway Autodrome Circuit Meet (SLMCC) -September 12-13: Negombo Rally (Negombo MSC) -September 19-20: Rotherham Katukurunda (SLADA) -September 26-27: SMSC Circuit Meet (SMSC) -October 10-11: Pannala Race Meet (AMRC) -October 24-25: SLARDAR 100 Rally (SLARDAR) -November 7-8: Navy Super Cross (Carlton MSC) -November 14-15: Rally Championship Round III (MRA) |