Jamaica leads CMRC

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

With his eyes set on winning this year's major circuit racing title, the Total Lubricant- sponsored André Anderson gave a stout-hearted performance and was champion driver of last Sunday's Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) meet. However, it was his teammates, Kyle Gregg and Doug Gore from the ATL camp, who stole the show and saved the day for Jamaica.

"It's a good feeling knowing how hard we worked putting the car together, and it was able to complete all the races. This shows how reliable it is," said Anderson, who registered three wins, two second places, and a fourth-position finish.

He took the chequered flag twice in the Modified Production Class 3 and once in the Bracket 27 class. By virtue of this, Anderson amassed the most points on the day, which puts him at the top of the tables in the race for the 2013 champion driver's title.

Mechanical problems

But what had promised to be a highly competitive race meet did not live up to expectations. A number of drivers, including defending regional champion David Summerbell Jr, had serious mechanical problems. They were forced out of action before the meet was even half-way through. Natasha Chang, who should have made her debut in the CMRC Group 2 and the first female to represent Jamaica in the championship, was among those whose car had mechanical problems.

Motorcyclist Caswell Lewis crashed and was airlifted to the hospital in Montego Bay, St James. He was not severely injured.

If not for Kyle Gregg and Doug Gore, the Jamaican team could have been now occupying the cellar position after the CMRC first leg. However, Jamaica leads the CMRC Class Two championship on 136 points, followed by Guyana (71) and Barbados (39). Gregg won all three races in this class and is now on 75 points, with countryman Sebastian Rae in second place on 33 points.

In the bigger class, the CMRC Group 4, Doug Gore is also on 75 points. He is followed by Barbados' Doug Maloney (48) and Jamaica's George Bayley (28) in second and third positions, respectively. Gore's effort helped Jamaica assume the lead in that class on 170 points, with Barbados in second place on 56, and Guyana having 34 points.

One of the high points of the meet was the battle between the Dougs - Gore of Jamaica and Maloney of Barbados, both of whom were driving Audis. But it was the Audi TT, driven by Gore, which prevailed.

"We just had a good day. Reliability was the key. The Audi really stood up. It is still undefeated since leaving the garage in Germany where some major repairs were done last year," said Gore.

Next scheduling

The next leg of the CMRC is scheduled for Barbados in September but may be held in Jamaica as there is the possibility of staging it at JamWest in Westmoreland.

Outside of the CMRC events, Dwight Spencer was the top driver in the Bracket 45 N class, O Davis is on top of the tables in the Bracket 45T class, and Andrew Delapenha dominated the Bracket 38 class.

Sebastian Rae took top honours in the Bracket 32 class, likewise André Anderson in the Bracket 27 class. Guy Fraser was the most successful driver in the MP 1, Gregg dominated MP 2 yet again and his teammate Anderson took control of MP 3.

The consistent Charles Chen was on target in the MP4. Alan Chen and Doug Gore, respectively, led the Thundersport I and II classes. Dennis Chin-Quee and Jason Campbell took the chequered flag in the 'A' and 'B' sections of the motorcycle events.

Arriving in a white car on the track, top-class dancehall act Bounty Killer had the more than 4,000 fans screaming with his performance during the break, which came close to the end of the race meet.