Rally Jamaica 2010 A Success!! Report
December 8, 2010 by SCampbell · Comments Off
Albeit a relatively low entry list, the rally had promised to produce some of the most exciting action from a field of quality entrants to include, 6 World Rally Championship (WRC) cars and 7 international entries, one as far off of as Great Britain. It has been some time since spectators have had the chance to see someone from outside the Caribbean compete in our local event.
Outside of the low entry list, there was much to celebrate about for the throng of spectators that turned up to watch the Super Special down town Kingston. Up until Rally Jamaica 2010, the water front has been left neglected by motorsport action for 15 years. To the delight of many hard core fans and spectators, the water front was returned to its glory days, reminding everyone of the scenery, the sound of anti-lag popping and the sight of a race car moving on Ocean Boulevard at speeds never before thought of in the presence of so many law enforcement individuals.
One thing that has been noticeable in the three day event is the amount of questions regarding the whereabouts of racers who have migrated to other disciplines of motor sports for a number of years. It is indeed evident that the event has garnered new spectators this year, and the organizers of the event are intent on continuing this trend. The sport may not have been given the deserved attention of mainstream media, but social media has picked up the slack and brought the event and real time updates during the event to computer screens all over the world. Face Book, Twitter, Wheelsjamaica.com and other avenues kept enthusiasts informed and interested on the results of Rally Jamaica 2010 the entire weekend.
The Trophy Stays Here
Amongst a field dominated by Subarus in the two top classes (JA9 and JN8), the Rally Jamaica trophy seemed set to emigrate from Jamaica’s shores. In the JA9 class, more popularly known as the WRC class, there was formidable
Roger Skeete
competition with the likes of Bajans Roger “The Sheriff” Skeete and co-driver Garry Clarke in a Subaru S12 WRC, who recently captured the Rally Barbados 2010 crown; Trinidad representatives John “Penti” Powell and Nicholas Telfer, also in a Subaru S12 WRC; and another capable Bajan Dean Serrao with Jamaican co-driver
Dean Serrao
Mark Nelson in a Subaru S9 WRC; the stage was set for Gary “The Colonel” Gregg and Hugh Hutchinson to brace for a Subaru onslaught in their defending championship winning BD Gregg sponsored Ford Focus WRC. The other Jamaicans, Jeffrey “Fudgie” Panton and Mike Fennel Jr., a favorite amongst spectators were also ready to recapture the trophy from the colonel that
Jeffrey Panton
they had won in 2008 in their Ford Focus WRC. As stated so eloquently by Sean Gill and co-driver Michael “Zippy” Cummings, their much anticipated Suzuki SX4 WRC will be mostly going through a test for this event to ensure that their beautiful car holds up in one of the Caribbean’s most spectacular gravel rallies.
Before the end of SS1 (Stage 1), Penti had a nightmare start by colliding into a concrete pole, resulting his very early
Sean Gill
Gary Gregg
exit. Panton suffered driveline issues and was unable to move off the line at the start of the same SS1, and The Sheriff continued to mount a steady challenge into day 2 when he had an off which led to issues with his gearbox on the morning of the technical Bog Walk stages. Also, Serrao/Clarke experienced a mishap of a flammable nature towards the end of the Bog Walk stages. Meanwhile, it was now Gill’s turn to mount a serious challenge to the front runners Gregg/Hutchinson, who had been leading from the start of the rally. It was however, a valiant effort by the team that piloted the SX4, which only gained them a victory for the water front stages. Gary Gregg and Hugh Hutchinson emerged overall winners of this year’s event with an overall time of 1:27:48.519, followed by Gill and Cummings with an overall time of 1:29:17.587, being the only other WRC entry completing the rally.
British Lesson
The other much anticipated matchup was in the JN8 class where Dave “Bush Tiger” Lee and Colin “Stuffy” Chambers
Dave Lee
were surrounded by 4 subarus in their Spot Valley Mitsubishi Evolution 8. Fellow Jamaicans Joel “Shifter Kart” Jackson and Dmitri “Uten” Dawkins seemed raring to go in the Jetcon/Catherine’s Peak sponsored Subaru Impreza and holding the torch, however lightly for the Jamaicans against defending champions James Betts/Trevor Manning, Harold Morley/Peter Clarke and first time entrants Robert Swann/Darren Garrod, all piloting subarus.
After SS1 and SS2, Joel and Dmitri appeared to be on track for maintaining a Jamaican
Joel Jackson
presence by leading the competition by 5 seconds. The third stage saw misfortune for Joel and Dmitri after they overshot a turn and ending up in a ditch that took them nearly 20 minutes to dislodge their ride. This resulted in an unassailable lead for the others and Joel and Dmitri’s loss of any hope of recovering that lead. They however, completed the super special stages at the water front ahead of the pack, obtained a third place finish for Day 2 and received a award courtesy of Petcom for the continued development of young driving aces.
So, after the Jetcon team’s drop from the leader board, the battle was now on between the defending champions Betts/Manning, Morley/Clarke, Swann/Garrod and Lee/Chambers.
Robert Swann
The attrition rate normally expected on this gravel stages rally appeared to have affected all other classes, but this one. All starters finished the event, but first time British entrants Swann/Garrod hosted a rally clinic for the other competitors by finishing with the fastest time of 1:34:01.458, which was good for third overall. Unlike most other competitors, their car finished nearly spotless, as if they used it for a tarmac event. Prior to running the event, he pointed out that Rally Barbados was amongst his favorite events that he has
entered. He has since praised Rally Jamaica by stating that it is now one of his favorites also, and that he had an excellent time putting on a lesson for us Caribbean folk.
Harold Morley
Defending class champion, James Betts and Trevor Manning finished 2nd in this class with an elapsed time of 1:35:23.422, ahead of Harold Morley/Peter Clarke (1:37:35.879)
2WD Carnage
The much anticipated battle between Matthew “The Magnet” Gore, Daryl King and Jordan Powell, fizzled to an
Daryl King
anticlimax as they appeared to have been competing for a ‘car breaker’ prize. Competing in the JA2 class, all three teams opted early out of the competition on Day 1 by suffering varying maladies between engine failure and gearbox disintegration. Defending class champions Daryl King and Rameses McGregor suffered an engine failure in their Knot Nice Toyota Starlet on Day 1 which brought a halt to their hopes of returning for Day 2.
Matthew Gore
Rally Sport Drivers Champion for 2010 Matthew Gore and co-driver Raymond Farquharson had gear box difficulty in their Wata sponsored Toyota Starlet, but was able to return to competition to claim Day 2 honours,
Jordan Powell
while Jordan Powell and co driver Chad Pearson in their Team Challenger Toyota Corolla FX suffered gear box issues on Day 1, returned on Day 2 to give some viewers a close up of a quadruple somersault in the Tru Juice orange groves.
The others misfortunes created an avenue for Dion “Baby Bomb” Gardner and co-driver Gina Tomlinson in their
Dion Gardner
Petcom sponsored Mitsubishi Mirage to be the remaining team in the JA2 class to complete the event and capture the prize with an elapsed time of 1:53:57.515.
In the JA3 class, now 4 time champion Bobby Marshall and new co-driver Michelle Laidlaw copped the trophy and finished with a best time of 1:49:03.632 ahead of
Bobby Marshall
the team of Christopher “Teach” McFarlane and Wayne Piper in a Stewarts Auto sponsored Mitsubishi Lancer GT (1:55:29.866).
However, the Two Wheel Drive battle was won by the team of Thomas Hall and Andre Gordon in their Silverstar Motors/Xsomo/Mobil 1 sponsored Toyota Starlet. They led all other 2WD classes from the start of the rally, and had not relinquished the lead for the entire event. For the 2008 Drivers Champion, it can be said that he has been a consistent competitor over the past 6 years, but recently he has been suffering from varying difficulties, from drive line issues, chassis issues and other mechanical difficulties. It was a pleasant surprise to see
Thomas Hall
Thomas and Andre emerge victorious for the JA4 class and 2WD overall with a best time of 1:47:07.437, which was also good for 7th overall. The only other competition in the JA4 class, Alan Chen and Marcia Dawes-Lamey in the Allied Concrete sponsored rear wheel driven Toyota Corolla, experienced gearbox issues on Day 1, but returned for Day 2 to entertain the water front crowd.
Jason Lawson and Nigel “Nya” Lyn were the sole entrants for JN2, and experienced some difficulty on Day 1, but managed to return for Day 2 for special honours. The McDowell brothers, Gordon and Derrick were also the sole entrants for the JA7 class in their Team Mack Attack Mazda GTS, but were also unable to complete the entire event.
Start of an Exciting Future
Even though we missed Panton, and were hoping that Powell and others were able to continue to put on a truly remarkable show for us at the water front, the return of this stage has shed some light on the future of the event. It is here to stay, whether detractors continue to say rally is dead or not. This weekend has introduced many spectators to the sport, The Mayor of Kingston has pledged continued patronage, and the Mining and Energy Minister, Mr. James Robertson has also pledged continued support through the Petcom brand.
Next year will mark the 20th Anniversary of the Event, and the organizers most certainly will have something special in store.
Pictures courtesy of Donavan Montague.
Again, we thank our sponsors:
Petcom
Knutsford Court Hotel
Seaboard Marine Jamaica Limited
Seafreight Jamaica Limited
Kingston Wharves Limited
Xsomo International
Trade Wind Citrus – producers of Tru Juice
Advanced Performance Parts
KFC
Dr. Glass
CVM Tv
Prosound
Just Bet – Supreme Ventures Sports Betting
Catherine’s Peak
Red Bull
LIME
Island Car Rentals
KIG
Champaigne Wrecking
KSAC
Red Bull
Ellco Jamaica
Rally Jamaica 2010 Final Results
December 7, 2010 by SCampbell · Comments Off
Please see below in PDF format, Overall Results and Stage By Stage Results
Provisional Overall Results
December 5, 2010 by SCampbell · Comments Off
Please see below the PROVISIONAL results for the Down Town Super Special Stages and the Overall for Rally Jamaica 2010 in order of position finish.
SUPER SPECIAL DOWN TOWN RESULTS:
JA9
Gill/Cummings (Suzuki SX4 WRC) - 2:30.000
Gregg/Hutchinson (Ford Focus WRC) - 2:32.000
JN8
Jackson/Dawkins (Subaru Impreza) - 2:42.000
Betts/Manning (Subaru Impreza) - 2:43.000
Morley/Clarke (Subaru Impreza) - 2:43.000
Swann/Garrod (Subaru Impreza) - 2:45.000
Lee/Chambers (Subaru Impreza) - 2:47.000
JA7
McDowell/McDowell (Mazda GTS) – 3:27.000
JA4
Hall/Gordon (Toyota Starlet) – 2:51.000
Chen/Lamey (Toyota Corolla GTS) – 2:56.000
JA3
Marshall/Laidlaw (Mitsubishi Mirage) – 2:51.000
McFarlane/Piper (Mitsubishi Lancer GT) – 3:19.000
JA2
Whittingham/Johnson (Toyota Levin) – 2:51.000
Gore/Farquharson (Toyota Starlet) – 2:55.000
Gardner/Tomlinson (Mitsubishi Mirage) – 3:34.000
JN2
Lawson/Lyn (Toyota Corolla GTS) – 3:18.000
OVERALL RESULTS:
1 – Gregg/Hutchinson – JA9 – 1:27:48.519
2 – Gill/Cummings – JA9 – 1:29:17.587
3 – Swann/Garrod – JN8 – 1:34:01.458
4 – Betts/Manning – JN8 – 1:35:23.422
5 – Morley/Clarke – JN8 – 1:37:35.879
6 – Lee/Chambers – JN8 – 1:40:46.060
7 – Hall/Gordon – JA4 – 1:47:07.437
8 – Marshall/Laidlaw – JA3 – 1:49:03.632
9 – Gardner/Tomlinson – JA2 – 1:53:57.515
10 – Jackson/Dawkins – JN8 – 1:54:56.457
11 – McFarlane/Piper – JA3 – 1:55:19.866
