TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Grand Case Drag Race

There will be major traffic problem around Grand Case and road blocks on the N7 (main road) tomorrow evening from 7pm-1am. A motorcycle drag race is scheduled to take place between Grand Case and Hope Estate. Cars going to Orient Bay, Mont Vernon and French Quarter will be diverted through rue Shanty Town toward the Grand Case Airport. Cars headed toward Marigot will turn right just past the Hope Estate roundabout to take the road passing the airport. No parking on the entire Airport road beginning at the the bridge at La Villa Royale (near the public parking lot across from Calmos Cafe). You will be towed. There was a notice in the paper today.

thanks for the info.

Kind of surprised they are closing a main road for a drag race, seems like they could do it somewhere else, rather than on a main road. Hopefully it won't back traffic up too badly.

Reminds me of last year in March when there were bicycle races on both sides, Dutch & French and we were detoured around in circles.

They were informally drag racing on Sunday mornings in the mid-90's. We stayed on Orient Beach and were warned of them.

They have been doing it in the same place illegally for years. That is one thing that surprised me, that they legally sanctioned it there, as it would seem it would encourage further illegal racing there.

Anyone on island, to say whether the traffic was a big issue or not?

The drag race appeared to be a bust. It rained just before the event and we only heard a few motorcycles and cars, but quiet for the most part around Grand Case. Traffic did not seem to be an issue. I hope the fact that there were very few participants discourages them from having another event like this. Drag racing, legal or illegal could be (is) deadly on the streets of SXM.

OK, thanks for the report.

That drag strip can't be too long, if memory serves. Isn't there a series of speed bumps, actually more like rumble strips, on the approach to Grand Case that shorten a lot of the acceleration distance? I seem to recall losing a bottle of bubbly when those strips suddenly appeared.

The race was planned to start past Grand Case and the bumps and end at Hope Estate. A lot of obstacles though....signs, a small bridge, many street lights. It really isn't a safe place for that sort of thing.

In the early 2000's they used to have informal bike races on the straight stretch of road from Cole Bay to Marigot on sunday mornings. A gendarme was killed when he tried to stop them and I don't think they have tried it since there.

Paper article indicates a success. 30 participants with 15 more hung up in Guadeloupe. 5 to 6,000 in attendance. Plans for next year underway.

That article is so far from the truth. I live nearby.....I heard exactly 3 cars and 1 motorcycle. (Maybe drag racing is quiet lol.)That was around 8:30-9pm. Not a sound after that. It was raining, so attendance was more like 50 people, if that. It was such a failure that the guys that were cleaning up the next day were laughing about having to pick up 2 bags of garbage. maybe they were talking about another Island because that did not happen in St. Martin. Definitely, not 6,000 people anywhere near the N7 or Grand Case.

How about a link to that article?

That's just the link to the daily herald not to the article. Link to article would be best.

I just read the article. I just wonder where all those people were and why they weren't cheering or something. I did not go to the event, so I can't say that this didn't not absolutely happen, but, if the article is correct, then the 6000 spectators must have been napping. And where did 5-6000 people park??

We knew we were going to get a good crowd of spectators but the five to six thousand spectators we estimated was much more than we were expecting.

What?? This was from article. Never admits to how many were really there. Fake news is global.

I wasn't there, and have no comment, I'm just posting the requested link.

https://www.thedailyherald.sx/sports/loc...tators-saturday

Yes, it would seem to be very surprising if there were that many people there. As you say, fake news is everywhere.