CMSC celebrates 81 years of Mahagastota
View(s):As the years lap by it is good, once in a while, to glance back across the dust-ridden trails to the glimmering outlines of our beginning. Eighty years have seen an immense advancement in equipment and technique, but nothing can excel the spirit that inspired the pioneering efforts that provided the early blueprint upon which the Ceylon Motor Sports Club (CMSC) has been built. Eighty years is a long time, and many tyres have worn thin since those distant days.
Looking back, one can recall the several stalwarts who established themselves in the art of Motor Sport, namely, Phil Fowke, T.S. Jinasena, Alan Clerk, Rodney Mason, Nihal Jinasena, Bri Ponnambalam, Mike Rauff, Ananda de Alwis, Kingsley Smith, Ajith Chanmugam, Mana Jayawardana, Cassim Wahab, Shanaka Ambrose, Bandula Weerasinghe, Suren Cooke, Suranjith Premadasa, Shafraz Junaid, Nishan Weerasooriya and Rohan de Silva to name just a few.
Current course record holders bikes – Ananda Sampath Weerasignhe riding an RM 250 clocked 36.364 seconds, while the course record holder for cars, Darin Weerasinghe achieved a time of 34.348 seconds driving a Subaru STi X, set very high bench marks to beat in 2014.
The previous course records that existed before 2014 were, in cars joint record holders Nishan Weerasooriya and Rohan de Silva and in bikes Shafraz Junaid. 2015, it would be one of the most interesting years to witness Mahagastota, as the CMSC celebrates 81 years of Mahagastota, which is also 81 years of motor sport in Sri Lanka. The club over a period of time has invested a lot of time and effort into upgrading the track. The 
newly resurfaced Mahagastota will also see trackside curbing, and more safety fences being established to ensure competitors’ safety is enhanced, while the TAG Hauer timing equipment too has been upgraded for greater efficiency. Marshals trained by CAMS of Australia will be at hand to conduct the meet ensuring that the meet would run like to clockwork precision.
This meet will be the season opener and will see an array of classic cars come to Mahagstota and join in the celebrations. The parade of classic cars will commence their Saturday morning run from the Golf Club in Nuwara Eliya and drive down to Mahagastota, while the competitors taking part on April 5, Sunday would be afforded a non-compulsory, supervised practice session from 11.30am to 1.00pm on April 4, Saturday. The national meet, of the timed sessions for podium classifications will commence at 8.30am on Sunday.