RAVI NAIR IS the new face among the big boys in the fastest car category in Fiji when he stood the tallest in the game of racing beating champion driver Ravindra Nath at last weekend?s sixth Pacific Energy Shell Lubricant quarter mile drag race at Taunovo Airstrip in Pacific Harbour, Navua.
This is not the first time Mr Nair has
won the drags and neither is it the first time he has beaten Mr Nath. He has
won the overall winner title three times now.
In 2013, Mr Nair ended a nine-year
winning streak by Mr Nath. Then in 2014, he pulled his second title to his name
and this most recent one is his third win at the pacific energy sponsored race.
Nair, an electronics engineer specialising
in media and communication etched his name in the record book and finally proved
that anything was possible when the mind is tuned.
His Mazda Rx7 roared passed the finish line
in the fastest time of 10.22 seconds recorded on the day.
The director of Light sounds and Royal
Weddings Fiji said fast cars is his hobby. He owns a series 5 Mazda RX7 which was
previously a street legal.
“I striped off the car and turned it into a
super fast car. The engine, a Mazda 20B, 3 rotor engine technically a 1995cc
engine modified to the top to obtain around 700+ horsepower – depending on what
boost it’s driven on,” he said.
“The surprising thing is it’s not a full drag
car yet. The tyre size is limited so the best fit on the car is a 10 inch wide
tyre. It still has a full stock chassis, stock original unmodified rear end
with a standard front and rear brake on it. But Nair still pulled it off among other
supercars such as Nath’s legendary C Mego, Tauz Khan’s MOOVIT and Lawrence Ah
Sam’s THUNDERBOLT.”
Nair says the only thing that was removed
was the entire interior for weight reduction, he then added an engine and a
gearbox with a Microtech ECU to bring up the performance of the car, a
protective roll cage, and a dual parachute system to help stop the car on high
speed. The car is well capable to run over 200km/h.
Nairs says in recent times he had measured speed around 230k/h and over.
“The car is yet to taste NOS (nitrous
oxide system),” he said.
Nair bought the car in 2009 from Labasa.
The car was not able to start, however he still bought it and transported it to Suva.
He said it took him close to two years to
upgrade the car.
Components were bought during the planning stages- two to three years
before he bought it.
Nair said his unrelenting passion for
fast cars began during his childhood days stemming from remote controlled toy cars.
“I still remember my first toy RC car my
dad bought for me from USA,” he said.
“Looking at that when I was a kid, I used to tell my
family that if I’d make a car someday it will be exactly alike,” he said.
He adored aerodynamic shape car with a
blitzing speed.
My dad used to say, “son when you start
earning money you can buy your own choice of sports car for now concentrate on
your education.”