A change of venue less than three weeks before the event. The East Coast Drag Racing, initially scheduled for Toamasina, will finally take place in Arivonimamo.
Huge disappointment. The Run Mada club, organizer of the fourth round of the Madagascar Run Championship, announced on Tuesday evening during a meeting with competitors that the East Coast Drag Racing could not be held in Toamasina. This penultimate round of the national championship was supposed to be organized there on November 1st.
“We had obtained authorization from the municipality and the prefect since July to use the expressway in Toamasina… It was only that day, at 4 p.m., that we received a call informing us that a decision taken at the highest level prohibited us from using these infrastructures,” explained Ndriana Ramaroson, one of the officials of the organizing club.
“We carried out a site visit to identify the track, the start and finish points, as well as the location of the closed park… Chinese officials present on site challenged us. We showed them the authorizations, then we spoke with a manager of the company in charge of the work, who confirmed to us the impossibility of using the site,” he recounted.
The Run Mada club therefore had to resolve to move the event to its usual site, the 213 Naval Air Base in Arivonimamo. The date remains unchanged: the race will take place on November 1st. The organizing club apologizes for the inconvenience caused by this last-minute change.
According to the organizers, the financial losses are considerable, involving non-refundable hotel reservations for twenty-two technical officials and plane tickets for some club members. Several competitors had also booked rooms and trailers to transport their race cars. “Our sponsors had agreed to support us for the organization of the event in Toamasina…” the official regrets.
Run Mada wanted to offer a new racing setting and organize a round of the national championship in Toamasina again, three years after the previous one. This thwarted project has caused deep disappointment among organizers, competitors, and fans of the discipline.
In the provisional standings after three rounds, Jaytaxx Rasolojaona, driving a BMW E30, leads with 67 points. Winner of the first round, he finished second in the next two. Mamodaly Nouroudine ranks second with 50 points, thanks to his victories in the last two races, after an abandonment in the inaugural round. Toala Rakotoarimanga completes the provisional podium with 41 points, ahead of Harintsoa Ranaivomampianina (34 points), Mano Ramaheriniarivo (30 points), and Jean de Dieu Rafanomezantsoa (26 points).
Fans were eagerly awaiting the participation of the famous Don Octane Volkswagen Polo. They were also hoping to see an “under nine” time, less than nine seconds, on the new Toamasina track.
Captured & Published at: 2026-10-15 05:54:02 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/10/run-4e-manche-least-coast-drag-racing.html