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‘Carnival of Speed’ race meet gets Total support

Published:Wednesday | April 1, 2015 | 5:26 PMRobert Bailey
Andrea Stephenson (seated at right), marketing manager of Total Jamaica and Monique Gibbs (seated at left), general secretary of the Jamaica Race Drivers' Association (JRDC), pose with other motorsports principals at the launch of the Carnival of Speed Race meet yesterday. Others are (from left) Norman Chung, director of marketing and sales, Dekal Wireless, Silbourne Clarke, executive member, JRDC) and drivers Roger Foo, David Summerbell Jr, Vivian Mitchell and Peter Rae. The launch took place at the Sports Development Foundation office on Phoenix Avenue in Kingston.

Andrea Stephenson, marketing manager of Total Jamaica, said her company's sponsorship of this year's Jamaica Race Drivers' Club (JDRC) Carnival of Speed race meet is testimony to their commitment to the development of motorsports in Jamaica

The two-day race meet, which will be held at Dover Raceway in St Ann, is set to begin on Sunday with qualification in all classes - the Modified and Improved Production - as well as the motorbikes. Then action will continue on Monday, beginning at 10 a.m.

In addition to sponsoring the meet, Total also renewed its three-year sponsorship deal with the Summerbell Racing team.

"Total is into motorsports worldwide, and we enjoy being in motorsports," said Stephenson. "We like having the racers who are going to go out there and dominate.

"We like having the racers who are going to go out there and say that we are using Total lubricants."

She added: "Apart from that, the motorsports industry is a Total industry and it is something that we have always been involved with, and when it comes to Jamaica we just want to continue supporting the industry."

Total will also sponsor the IP3 45 Class.

"We have also committed to sponsoring the IP3 45 Class because these drivers need motivation and support behind them, and who's best to being behind them but the giant," Stephenson noted

United States-based professional driver Roger Foo will be the guest participant at the meet. Foo, who has more than 30 years of experience, will match his skills with Jamaica's top racers in the Modified class.

high expectations

Charles Chen, president of the JRDC, said he is looking forward to a very exciting race meet.

"We have high expectations because last year was the lowest point in terms of economy, but now we are seeing a nice rebuilding of the sport," said Chen.

"There are a lot of new entries and this time around we have a professional driver from the US, who took his own budget and beat factory teams there," he said.

Chen added that this race meet is usually the best meet of the year because it will set the tone for the remainder of the season.

"We see where Nicholas Barnes, Chris-John Addison and Amir Johnson are coming and they are all in their teens and they represent the next generation of upcoming racers," Chen said.