WITH community members raising concerns about illegal drag racing following the death of a 20-year-old woman in Marpi on the night of July 27, 2021, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said illegal drag racing must stop.
“Somebody eventually is going to get hurt. It might be you, your loved ones, someone’s daughter, someone’s son, or mother or father. So please stop and wait until the right avenue is open to the community,” the governor said.
“There’s a right way to do it, and we’re trying to do it.”
The governor said that he has been speaking with the local racing federation to obtain property that could serve as a site for legal car races.
“I’m not blaming anyone,” the governor said. “I’m just saying that there is the right way to race…and we are trying to get there.”
Meantime, “for everyone that is illegally drag racing, please stop. It doesn’t help anyone,” the governor added as he expressed his condolences to the family of the victim who, other sources said, was Sophia Patricia Aldan Demapan.
“Our prayers and our thoughts are with them,” Torres said.
The case is still under investigation, according to the Department of Public Safety.
About five years ago, the Commonwealth Racing Federation asked the CNMI government to designate the Cow Town area in Marpi as a raceway where legal motor races could be held.
“For decades, our organization together with dozens of local automotive racing teams and thousands of enthusiasts, have been making multiple attempts to create our own raceway park, to stop illegal drag racing, which have resulted in so many accidents, injuries, and deaths of our new generations, and provide a place with proper safety measures,” the federation stated in an online petition.
“In 2006, [House Bill] 15-133 was introduced by former Congressman Martin Ada to construct the raceway. The bill passed both [the House] and Senate, we had all the sponsors set to go, but was never signed by the Governor since the public land we proposed for the raceway (called Cow Town in Marpi District up north in Saipan) was to be designated for some other project — which never happened.”
The area is now a venue for motocross events.
“We strongly believe that by creating our own international raceway park, we could not only get the growing new generations of illegal drag racers off of our streets, but also provide a place to hold family events, and attract…visitors from around the world, which would benefit our local community, businesses, and government in so many ways,” the federation stated.
