By Samuel Peters
A total of 98 participants registered from eight countries assembled to see who would be victorious in the various events of Legendary Drags 2023, organised by the Antigua and Barbuda Drag Racing Association (ABDRA) on the 25th and 26th November, 2023.
Apart from hosts Antigua and Barbuda, countries such as Anguilla, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, the United States of America and US Virgin Islands were present at the much anticipated event.
The two-day happening was well-attended by the public, both locally and virtually, as the proceedings were streamed online with a viewership that numbered in excess of 9800. The largest class was the 10 seconds class with over 24 registered participants. Unfortunately, there were no races in the 13 seconds class as there were not enough cars for the races.
Full Clip, which is owned by Shirlon Hughes of Anguilla, was the winner of the Outlaw Race, while Antigua and Barbuda’s Donnie Emanuel (The Lightning) placed second. In the nine seconds class, Orland Weekes managed to place both first and second in the race. In the 10 second class race, Antigua and Barbuda swept the first and second place positions with Clinton Jackson and Cliff Richards.
For the 11 seconds class race, Dilleon Piper of the Emerald Isle Montserrat was the winner, while Antigua’s Anthony Lake came second. The 12 second class, the winner was Al Mills of Antigua, while Maurice Williams came second. Finally, in the motorbike race, Kemo Hughes placed first while Rudy Lee placed second.
Vice President of the ABDRA, Brian Williams, stated that next year the event will be bigger as more participants are expected to register and the viewership will increase as interest in the event has been doing so steadily. He also said that, “The success of any of the Legendary Drags moving forward is all dependent on the executive that is in tenure that the time. There is still some work to do in getting the track to the stage where we can get even faster cars on the track safely. But for now, we’re doing our best to make sure all the safety protocols are adhered to, making sure all the drivers and spectators stay safe. But all in all, we consider 2023 Legendary Drags a success.”
On behalf of the Executive Board of ABDRA, we would like to extend a ‘thank-you’ to all the participating countries that came – St Lucia, Montserrat, St Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla, St Lucia, St Vincent, Jamaica – all those guys who came across to make the trip to compete. We appreciate them. We also want to thank all our racers here who came out in support and competed. Without you guys we would not be able to put on a show for the fans. We would also like to thank the public for coming to support the Legendary Drag events, and we look forward to doing our best to be able to put on a better product each and every year. We welcome all the criticisms that come in. The experiences for some are not the same for others, but whatever it is that we can take away to improve the product for everyone, we surely welcome it. Thank you!”
The event was sponsored by Harney Motors, Automotive Art, Heineken Beer, 3020 Performance, Motocraze and the Ministry of Tourism, who assisted ABDRA’s signature event (Legendary Drags).
