Carlton Super Cross

Carlton Super Cross

When the day was finally upon us to witness the much acclaimed Carlton Super Cross 2010 everyone was caught with a feeling of pure excitement. The Motor Racing Association (MRA) together with the Organization of Aspiring Youth (Tharuniyata Hetak) without doubt delivered the goods.

The day commenced with the youngsters below the age of 10 years taking their 50cc machines on to the track. Akalanka senadeera went on to win the race without much competition delivered by his fellow riders. The highlights of the motor cycle events were found in every ones favourite event- Motor Cycles up to 250cc. the question on every ones mind was whether Lanka’s golden boy Gayan Sandaruwan could shake off the competition that was to come from Indian rider C S Santhosh or whether he would crumple under preasure. When the start was given Santhosh was out of the start line leaving the other riders to follow. Sandaruwan nevertheless was at his tail attempting to take advantage of any possible opportunity Santhosh may give. And the opportunity came in the early laps of the race when Santhosh became the victim of a nasty fall. With Santhosh bowing down from the first race Sandaruwan, follwed by Nuwan Dassanayake and Tuan Ossen went on to take their places on the podium. In their second race Sandaruwan led the race amongst a cheering crowd. Santhosh seemed to have technical difficulties and was thus unable to deliver the competition every one hoped for. Yet again Sandaruwan went on to win the race with TVS team rider Santhosh settling down for second and Tuan Ossen taking third. In the Open event for bikes it was Santhosh who led the race at the beginning but Sandaruwan over took him and maintained his position till he took the chequered flag for the third time for the day. Other motor cycle events which drew our attention was the under 16 event. Shehan Adikari who was expected to do well had to settle for a third place after he crashed out and returned to the race.

In the car events there was an equally phenomenal performance given. It was Passindu Peiris who stole the lime light with his exceptional performances. With three wins under his belt every one felt that the last SL-GT event would be comfortably won by him but it was not to be. Going in to the early laps of the race Peiris persuing Aravinda Premadasa, turned completely over forcing him to pull out of the race. The vehicle although damaged Peiris walked away unscathed. Among the other memorable moments were Upulwan Seresinghe’s and Nishan Wasalathanthri’s skillful handling of their machines in the SLH cars 1600cc event. But one of the biggest moments came from the Nissan March event where Rohitha Rajapakse had pole position at the start grid. It was a proud moment for every one as we realized that our President His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse’s support for the sport was paramount as his son Namal Rajapakse being the driving force behind the success of this sports weekend while his talented son Rohitha Rajapakse competed in the motor racing event. It displayed the vision of wanting to be part of the people and wanting to uplift sports in rural areas.

With trophies and crash prizes awarded for the winners the Carlton Super cross was successfully concluded with a promise to return next year with more thrills and spills

RESULTS of the Carlton Super Cross 2010- Motorcycle events

Motor Cycles Under 10 (50 cc):  1. Duwara Akalanka Senadeera 2. Hasindu Kosalaka Gunasekara 3. Shavidu Shenal Nithiksha.

Motor Cycles Street trail 250 cc: 1. R.M. Safras  2. Dinesh Anurudda 3. Haren Yatawaka.

Motor Cycles Under 13 (85 cc): 1. Jacques Gunawardena, 2. Kasun Tharaka Wickramaarachi, 3. Ivan Biaggi Gurusinghe.

Motor Cycles 250 cc (race 1): 1. Gayan Sandaruwan, 2. Nuwan Daasanayake, 3. Tuan Ossen.

Motor Cycles Under 16 (85 cc): 1. Shanuka Jayana, 2. S.U. Manchanayake, 3. Shehan Adikari.

Motor Cycles 250 cc (race 2) 1. Gayan Sandaruwan, 2. C.S. Santhosh, 3. Tuan Ossen.

Motor Cycles Street trail open: 1. R.M. Safras, 2. Haren Yatawake, 3. Dinesh Anurudda.

Racing motor cycles Open event: 1. Gayan Sandaruwan, 2. C.S. Santhosh, 3. Tuan Ossen.

Gravel Moto 450 cc: 1. W.M. Luxshman Amara Kumara, 2. N. Madushanka, 3. Sudeep Vidarshika.

Gravel Moto 450 cc: 1. Ramal Pathirana, 2. Sudeep Vidarshika, 3. Udika Srimal.

Results of the Carlton super cross 2010 -Motor car events

SL-GT (race 1) 3500cc: 1. Pasindu Peiris, 2. Aravinda Premadasa, 3. Janaka Dias.

Ford Laser / Mazda 1500cc: 1. Chaminda Weerasuriya, 2. Kamil Hussain, 3. Upulwan Serasinghe.

Cars Over 12 kg/HP: 1. Upulwan Serasinghe, 2. Prasanna de Alwis, 3. U.C. Perera.

Nishan March: 1. Harsha Panduwawala, 2. Rohitha Rajapaksa, 3. Nadeera Jinasena.

SL-H cars up to 1600(race1): 1. Pasindu Peiris, 2. Upulwan Serasinghe, 3. Nishan Waslathantrti.

Mini 7: 1. W.M.K. Wickramasinghe, 2. Lasantha Gunasekara, 3. Donald Buultjens.

Cars 10 to 12 kg bph: 1. Shantha Surawera, 2. Pradeep Wijesiriwardene, 3. Upulwan Serasinghe.

Ford Laser / Mazda 1600: 1. Chaminda Weerasuriya, 2. Upulwan Serasinghe, 3. Daminda Weerasuriya.

T and J Open: 1. Sheran Fernando, 2. Manjula Wijesinghe, 3. Sanjaya Sedara Senarath.

SL-H cars upto 1600(race 2): 1. Pasindu Peiris, 2. Upulwan Serasinghe, 3. Nishan Wasalathantri.

SL-GT 3500cc (race 2): 1. Aravinada Premadasa, 2. Janaka Dias, 3. Dinesh Deheragoda.

Beaches

West Coast Beach Resorts

The West Coast stretches northwards from Mt. Lavinia a southern suburb of Colombo. Mt. Lavinia and Negombo are the best developed beach resorts in this region. Isolated hotels have sprung up in most places along the western coastal stretch.

Mt. Lavinia

11 kilometers south of from Colombo along the road to Galle is the beach resort of Mt. Lavinia. The sea is safe for bathing and is a popular bathing spot with clean sandy beaches. The name Lavinia reminds of a secret love affair between a British Governor and a local damsel who used to meet at the holiday house of the Governor which stood on the spot where the Mt. Lavinia Hotel is located.

                Negombo

The major beach resort in the West Coast is Negombo. The wide sandy beaches and the safe sea attract thousands of visitors to Negombo, a traditional fishing town. Several hotels ranging from luxury hotels to small motels, guest houses and restaurants have come up along the coastal stretch called Lewis Place. The fish market is worth visiting where busy trading of a variety of fish including prawns, crabs and seer takes place wide in the mornings when the fishing crafts return to the shore with their catch. The most popular fishing craft is the outrigger canoe called oruwa dug out from a huge log and is seen in large numbers in the Negombo lagoon.

South Coast Beach Resorts

The southern coastal belt is the most popular among the tourists and comes to life mainly from October through April when the monsoon moves north east and the sea becomes calm with blue skies. It is an ideal place to spend the Winter vacation fully made use of by the European tourists. The main beach resorts are at Beruwala, Bentota and Hikkaduwa having several beach hotels with their exclusive beachfronts. Another interesting stretch of beach in the south is Unawatuna. 

        Beruwala

An hour's drive from Colombo along the south coast will take the visitor to Beruwala that marks the beginning of the South Coast Beach Resort. Several tourist hotels of "Star" grade provide comfortable accommodation and meals. Beruwala is considered to be the first Muslim settlement in the Island established by the Arab traders as far back as the 8th century. There is a famous Muslim mosque at the beachhead close to which is a light house one of several erected along the Sri Lankan. 

        Bentota



Four kilometers to the south of Beruwala is the Bentota National Tourist Resort, a romantic rendezvous of river and sea. It is a planned resort with four-star class hotels, a Railway Station, Post Office, Bank, Shopping Arcade, a Tourist Information Centre, and an abundance of water based recreational activities. 

          Hikkaduwa

Hikkaduwa (99 km. from Colombo) is the place for underwater delights where there is a marine sanctuary abundant with rare corals and tropical fish. The underwater world of colourful corals and beautiful shoals of fish can be explored either by snorkeling or taking a ride in a glass bottom boat.

         Unawatuna



Four kilometers south of Galle is Unawatuna (120 km. from Colombo), a beautiful stretch of beach in the south safe for bathing. Rumasssala, a rocky outcrop projecting into the sea at Unawatuna is connected with the legendary Ramayana as a piece of mountain fallen from the portion of Himalaya brought to Lanka by Hanuman who went in search of a medicinal herb to treat Laxamana, Rama’s brother wounded in battle. 

            The road leading south from Colombo passes through the Southern Beach Resorts winding its way through stretches of coconut land. An alert visitor will spot a man high up in the air crossing from tree to tree on two ropes tied tightly to the trees like a tight rope walker in a circus. He is a ‘toddy tapper’ getting about his daily chores tapping the sap off the tender inflorescence of the coconut trees which is used to distill Sri Lankan Arrack and other alcoholic beverages. 

A half hour's drive from Bentota is Ambalangoda, the home of "mask making" in Sri Lanka. Colourful masks worn during traditional dance performances are carved out of soft wood and brightly painted.

Galle the southern capital (116 km. from Colombo) was the seaport of Sri Lanka before the Colombo Port was developed. Its main attraction is the Fort that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1619 and subsequently expanded and developed by the Dutch and the British the one time colonial masters of the Island. What now remains is mostly the work of the Dutch and the British.      

At Kudawella (189 km. from Colombo) is a blowhole, rare geological formation on the rocky beach throwing huge columns of water high up into the air with a loud noise like a natural spout. This noise has given the village its name Hoommane. Huge ocean waves breaking on the rocks are thrown up through an opening in the rock causing this wonderful sight that should not be missed by anyone going along the southern coastal road. 

East Coast Beach Resorts

From April to October, the East Coast comes to life. It is one of the best stretches of beach in Sri Lanka. The Eastern beaches stretch for over 300 kilometers along which tourist resorts have developed in Nilaveli, 16 km. from Trincomalee and Kalkudah, 32 km. north of Batticaloa.         

             Trincomalee

            Horatio Nelson, the British admiral of the 18th century had on arriving at the Trincomalee harbour described it as the finest harbour in the world. It is a beautiful natural harbour worthy of that description and had been in use from the days of the early Sinhala kings. The old Portuguese/Dutch Fort reminiscent of the colonial rule of the Island has the year 1676 inscribed above its entrance by the Dutch. It was subsequently named Ford Frederick by the British.

              Nilaveli

Nilaveli is a prime beach resort in the East Coast. It is ideally suited for sun bathing, sea bathing and diving. A few meters off shore is a small rocky island good for snorkeling.

             Kalkudah & Passekudah



These are very fine beaches in the East Coast. Kalkudah Bay is a 2 km. long wide stretch of beach well protected from the monsoon by the off shore reef. Passekudah Bay is another wide beach 4 km. long just south of Kalkudah. The combined area of Passekudah and Kalkudah was declared a National Holiday Resort in 1973. This is an ideal stretch for bathing, windsurfing and water skiing.

             Batticaloa

Batticaloa town in the East Coast like most other coastal townships was under Portuguese and Dutch rule. A Dutch Fort stands close to the Batticaloa lagoon. The most famous attraction of Batticaloa is its ‘Singing Fish’. On full moon nights a faint but distinct musical sound rises from the lagoon waters. This is attributed to a noise emanated by a kind of fish found in the lagoon.