Save motor racing!
JRDC seeking approval for Dover meet in February
Published:Monday | December 27, 2021 | 12:09 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Motor racing at Dover raceway in St Ann could return in February 2022 according to Junior Barnes, chairman of the Jamaica Race Drivers Club (JRDC).
Barnes told The Gleaner that his organisation submitted all their relevant COVID-19 guidelines to the Government for the safe return of the sport and they are now anxiously awaiting their approvals.
“Our paperwork is in to the various government ministries, and we are awaiting approval, and once we are given the go-ahead, then our next meeting will be on February 27, 2022,” said Barnes.
“We have football and other sports that have been given the go-ahead to host events, and we haven’t, and so we are just waiting on the Government to give us the okay,” he said.
Follow the protocols
“I feel if we continue to keep the (positive) numbers down and follow the protocols, things will get better because the country has to open up,” Barnes said.
Barnes underscored that the last JRDC race meet was staged in Jamaica in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely curtailed the staging of sporting events in Jamaica.
He also pointed out that many of his drivers are now frustrated because they have not been able to compete for more than two years, and, therefore, he is urging the Government to act swiftly in order to save the sport.
“We have not raced since 2019, and I feel strongly that if we don’t race in February, we are going to kill the sport,” Barnes said. “We have hundreds of racers that are ready, but we have to live with this COVID 19. We also have racers that are sending the cars out of the country,” he said.
Barnes noted that Dover can hold up to 30,000 spectators, but they have applied to the Government for 3,000 fans to be at the venue during race days.
“We are willing to follow all the protocols and guidelines that have been set out by all the relevant government ministries,” said Barnes.
He added that the JRDC has asked for spectators at their events because Dover is not a small sporting event as fans will be on 40 acres of land.