 By
M Naushad Amit
It all started as a teenage dream. After more than
30 years his dream is set to come alive and make
many faces grin with happiness. This is a short
story of a boy named Jayantha Perera who as an
ordinary teenager had a craving of building a tarmac
racing track of his own in his hometown Mirigama
where the teenager was born, bred, schooled and
earned respect as a topnotch businessman in the
area.
His dream of building a tarmac racing track has
almost been fulfilled with a 1.4 kilometre long and
30 metre wide racing track being developed in an
area that spans 11 acres. It contains 7 bends
altogether with 5 of them being left curves. Out of
the five bends to left four prove to be a challenge
to the competitors. Except for one of the remaining
two bends to the right the other is not so hard to
tackle. The track is in the centre of a 50-acre land
which Perera had bought two years ago for the
purpose of materialising his dream.
“I must be the luckiest man on earth to have my
childhood dream come alive this way. It may not be
something very common for one to have such a vision
as a teenager in the mid-1960s. But I always had the
craze on motor racing but I have never raced. I
always enjoyed watching races and even now in my
mid-40s I still haven’t lost interest on what I
loved most. This racing track was a result of it,”
said Perera in an exclusive interview with The
Nation.
 As
Perera went back down memory lane he spoke of the
dream he had of building a racing track of his own
from the time he was a 14-year-old boy. Perera who
was actively involved in the extra curricular
activities at his alma mater; Mirigama Central
School may have been the only boy with such a wild
dream at his age. “At the beginning it was just a
thought that struck deep in my mind. I only knew of
cars and motorbikes racing each other for supremacy
which fascinated me every time I saw a race. I
didn’t have the slightest idea on how to build a
track that would be fit for national events,” he
added.
So far Perera has witnessed almost 75 percent of
the racing events held in the country and has even
gone to the extent of witnessing a few Formula 1
international races. Perera had the courage to start
a small scale business in the early 1970s with a
paltry sum of Rs. 750.00 as his initial capital and
today he is the Chairman and Managing Director of a
well established group of Companies in his hometown,
Mirigama.
“With every step I took on the way to build up
and develop my business I always reminded myself of
my dream of building a race track. I started as a
textile dealer in Mirigama and gradually built up to
be a successful businessman who employed hundreds of
youth from the area. But I always reserved time for
motor racing events. So far I have witnessed 17 Fox
Hill Supercross events and also seen a few
international meets. Though I’m not a competitor I
have naturally obtained the experience on how to
build a racing track. After my business affairs
became a success after 30 years I thought it is time
to start materialising my dream and looked for a
suitable land. But I had to wait for four years
until I found this land which was an ideal spot for
a racing track,” Perera explained.
While on an overseas tour with his family, Perera
had by chance met a family settled in the United
States of America who was looking for a suitable
buyer for a land they owned. After gathering
necessary information the Perera’s were eager to pay
a visit to the location on their way back home. But
he had not known this land would be the permanent
and perfect answer for his dream.
“The moment my wife and I saw the land we never
thought twice and bought it as this was the best
location I could have imagined for my purpose. Then
we began constructing the track on January 30 in
2007. I bought all the necessary machinery needed to
develop the track and recruited manpower. All
resources and raw materials were used to clear the
land and build the track at Mirigama. I always loved
my hometown and my country. I thought first
preference must be given to Mirigama and was
successful in carrying out my plan” Perera further
said.
When he began to develop the racing track two
years ago many had advised Perera not to invest on
something that will not give any returns. But Perera
who had all he needed to fulfill his dream had opted
to continue on the project despite temporary
setbacks which were only verbal. “I know this will
not give me a big income but this is what I loved to
see happen from my younger days. After convincing
many around me, I initiated the construction of the
track by drawing the centre line of the track. Then
each morning I marked a distance of 10 metres for
the workers to complete within the day and went on
with my usual duties. This way in two years we were
able to complete the track. My wife was the livewire
behind this. She would always encourage me to
complete this project despite a few minor obstacles
that we came across. Today I can say that 50 percent
of my dream has materialised and within a few years,
more features will be added apart from the racing
track,” he said.
The original designing of the track was done by
Perera and he had to obtain expertise from a few
experienced motor drivers and officials before
laying the tarmac. According to Perera, so far only
the track has been completed. More features that are
planned will be completed after the first official
racing event which will be conducted by the Sri
Lanka Motor Cycle Club (SLMC) on November 1.
“Only the track has been completed for now. But
there are so many things to be done to complete the
project. I have added a 10 metre runoff area to the
entire track which is marked with white lines on
either side. The basic requirements to conduct an
international event are there. There will be a
subway underground tunnel from the entrance to the
viewing area and spectators will be seated at least
10 metres away on both sides of the track as in
international events. A pit lane will be added on
the outer side of the race track near the
start/finish point. We will add a car park that
could hold more than 300 vehicles at a time and
special security personnel will be deployed on race
days for crowd control,” Perera clarified on a few
features that would be added in the very near
future.
According to the project the entire area around
the track is expected to hold a large crowd of
50,000 where Perera hopes to construct permanent
seating arrangements. Within the duration of 5 years
he expects to add a star class hotel and a theme
leisure park on the remaining area of 40 acres. “My
ultimate aim is to build an entire complex where
motor sports, leisure and hospitality could merge on
a single land. This way, visitors will have more
than one reason to visit Mirigama. It will not be
just motor sport altogether. They will find time to
enjoy other activities as the proposed leisure park
and hotel will also be venues for viewing the races.
This is a lifetime dream of mine and as far as I’m
concerned things have just started to materialise
and there’s a long way to go,” Perera pinned his
hope to complete the entire project in five years
time.
With all he has done to help the motor racers in
the country, Perera said he still enjoys watching
drivers and riders competing on a track he built as
a mere spectator. “This is my hobby and nothing,
except my family, matters more,” he further added.
As the inaugural event on the newly laid tarmac
racing track the SLMC will conduct the “Mirigama
Circuit Meet 2009” at the Mirigama Super Race Track
on November 1 with the following events scheduled to
be held for the day.
Motorcycle events: Group O Standard; 1. up to
125cc (2 Stroke), 2. up to 125cc (4 Stroke), up to
160 cc (4 Stroke), 4. up to 250 cc (4 Stroke); Group
P – Standard Modified; 5. up to 125 cc (2 Stroke);
Group R – Thoroughbred Motorcycles; 6 up to 125cc;
Group Super Motard; 7. up to 250cc, 8. up to 450cc
Motorcar events: Group SL-N; 9. Over 12 Kg./Hp, 10.
Over 10 up to 12 Kg./Hp, 11. Nissan March 1000 cc,
12. Mini 7 up to 1000 cc; Group SL-A; 13. Modified
up to 1050 cc, 14. Modified up to 1400 cc; Group
SL-F; 15. Ford Formula 1600 cc. |
