The day started with the second Ferrari Race of the weekend. I managed to find a hole in the fence at turn 2 and along with some other jostling photographers I watched exotic 360 Modena’s in their half hour of glory at the Gilles-Villeneuve Track. But before I could find my seat at turn 10 we quickly toured the Paddock and Pits managing to glimpse celebrities and F1 Drivers the likes of Frank Williams, Bernie Ecclestein, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Nicole Scherzinger, Jensen Button, Fernando Alonso, Niki Lauda, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

 Armed with my rented 400 prime lens I found my seat in Tribune 15 at turn 10 and witnessed my first actual F1 Race. Lewis Hamilton led from the start and continued on to win the Canadian GP 2010, followed by Jensen Button firmly restoring English pride in the F1 Championship. At the end of it all Formula 1 is a must if you love fast cars and racing, the sounds and sights are truly awe inspiring. Now to save up for our return to Canada, F1 Grand-Prix Du Canada 2011 here we come!

Saturday started with the Historic F1 race in which former F1 cars that were raced by the likes of Alain Prost and Gilles Villeneuve were once again allowed to lap the 4.3km Circuit. The present F1 cars were allowed a last Practice Session and at 1pm Qualifying started.  M. Schumacher made a surprise exit at the end of Q2 not making it into Q3. At the end of Qualifying it was L. Hamilton who managed to pip the two Red Bulls of M.Webber and S. Vettel in his final lap and actually running out of gas on his victory lap.

Sun morning and this tired photographer rolled out of his bed to do it all again…..The New Cedar and New Bronte Stages started on time and with  the overnight re-seeding the class leaders were made obvious….Powell continued to lead though it was very clear that his ” teacher ” was not going to make it easy….by the end of the planned 6 stages the field had narrowed once again….So on to Saith Park for a tarmac special and I have never seen so many fans for a local Rally….since this competition was separate from the Rally…..some of the teams made their intent clear…they were out to please the crowds and that they did….Higgins, Powell, Armstrong, Hamilton, Ainsley and the two ” dogs ” Whitey and Woody let it hang all over the place for two hours. Rally Trinidad 10 closed with Powell winning overall….congrats to all the class winners and hats off …bravo Rally Trinidad 10!

Sat morning and its Rally Mode for everyone….RT10 got off to a late start at the Cedar Hill and Bronte stages….while Powell and Higgins were battling for the lead, there was disaster as Dean Serrao’s WRC Subaru  caught on fire on stage one and he could only watch as it burned right down to the shell….this and other run offs by competitors saw the cancellation of Stages 1, 5 and 6…. The Preysal Stage started at about 4:15pm….by now attrition had taken its toll and quite a few cars were permanently out of the Rally including one of the podium favourites Paul Bourne who retired with a hydraulics problem….Unable to run the planned 3 stages due to poor visibility the last stage was cancelled and Saturday ended with Powell/ Telfer holding on to a slim lead.

The Scrutineering and Briefing for Rally Trinidad 10 was held at The Grand Bazaar Mall….38 Rally cars had to be carefully inspected to ensure they met the required safety standards and were properly classed.  Drivers and co-pilots were briefed on on any changes with the course and then were able to mix and mingle with the Rally Fans, Sponsors and the Local and Foreign Celebrities….Friday morning saw Team Shell having a Shakedown near the stages….while John Powell got the Pro Drive engineers to make some last minute adjustments to his S12, Mark and Nicky had their first drive in their Group N Evo IX and tried to settle in…..Friday evening all cars and teams were again on display at the Queens Park Savannah for the ceremonial opening of Rally Trinidad 10.

The Trinidad and Tobago karting Club started their 2k10 season with 34 entries ranging across the five classes. The Cadet class saw Aaron Mohammed showing his intent to dominate, Bridget Singh continued way out in front for the 100cc class( Ravi boy! ….4yrs before she gets her License to drive a car….enjoy these last years ), Marcus Skinner finally winning a race and winning overall in the Rotax International Class…well done Skinner…yuh smell enough exhaust last year, the return of Raj Baboolal in fine form in Rotax Masters and Nicholas Narinesingh winning all races in the shifter Class.

A great day of side by side racing including the most number of  crashes i have ever seen at T&T Karting resulting in a larger than usual no of retirees for the day…next race day….April 11th….looking forward to it.