Gore says sorry for driving on MoBay Stadium track

Top local race driver Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore yesterday confirmed that he was the driver of one of the two racing cars that were seen driving on the ‘out-of-use’ 400 metres synthetic running track at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall on Thursday but he said he was unaware that permission was not granted for its use.

According to Gore, he was contacted by Good Good Productions (a record label) and a promotion company out of England to do a photo shoot for reggae artiste Stylo G, and after meeting up with them at the ATL (Montego Bay) showroom, where they did the first part of the shoot, he was asked to go down to the stadium to do another part of the shoot.

“When I arrived there (the stadium), to my surprise, I saw that they had access to the actual track and field area,” said Gore. “… knowing that no track and field has been taking place on this complex for over five years, I did not doubt what they were telling me, to say that they had access to this area.”

Gore said he was asked to drive his car, which was accompanied by another vehicle, slowly around the track for a part of the final of the promo video, which he did. He said he was driving around only in first gear and that both cars were driving slowly.

“After the two laps, the car was then put on a wrecker and was taken back to the garage,” said Gore, who emphasised that he did not know he was doing something wrong.

“I had no knowledge of this being something illegal because three gates, and I repeat three gates, had to be unlocked to have access to the track for this to happen,” noted Gore. “There was nothing that came into my mind to say that this is something that was being done illegally or any malice was being done at the time.

“So, my apologies for what had happened, again I had no knowledge, and this again is to my surprise,” said Gore, who also apologised on behalf of the sponsors of the two cars that were driven on the track.

NO RESPONSE

While Gore’s explanation of the situation would seem to suggest that they were let into the park, efforts to contact Good Good Productions to find out who granted them access was unsuccessful as they did not respond to a message to their Instagram account.

When the news broke that the cars were spotted driving around the track, it sparked outrage among track and field enthusiasts in western Jamaica, who have not been able to use the track for the past five years because of its significant wear and tear. Montego Bay Mayor Leeroy Williams also reacted with shock and dismay at the news.

“No permission was granted for such an activity to take place at the stadium. No request was made to us and no permission was granted,” said Williams, who added that the only plausible explanation was that the security at the stadium, acting without authorisation, must have allowed them in. The security personnel have the keys to the complex.

While not disclosing the company that is contracted to provide security at the stadium, the St James Municipal Corporation which has oversight responsibility for the facility said a thorough investigation is being carried out to determine who facilitated the illegal use of the stadium track.

The stadium, a gift from the government of Venezuela via the San Jose Accord from which Jamaica benefited, has all but attained white elephant status because it is rarely used. The Government has failed to honour several promises to repair the running track, which is the only international standard track in western Jamaica, leaving the region’s athletes without a suitable facility to train and compete.