Gregg, Hutchinson stamp class

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

Jamaica's Gary Gregg and Hugh Hutchinson stamped their supremacy on the Petcom/JMMC Stages Rally yesterday, with a convincing win over the Barbados pair of Sean Gill and Michael Cummins.

Up to late yesterday evening the provisional results showed Gregg/Hutchinson ahead of Gill/Cummins and the United Kingdom's Robert Swan and Garren Garrod in third place. The top places were dominated by the overseas entrants.

Dubbed 'Rally Jamaica 2010', the three-day event ended with excitement and fanfare at the Kingston waterfront, attracting hundreds of motorsport fans who turned out in droves to get a close-up look at the colourful rally cars.

Day-three

When day three got under way yesterday, at the Petcom Service Station in Angels, Spanish Town, St. Catherine, most of Jamaica's top drivers were out of contention for a shot at the title. The task was therefore left to Gregg and his co-driver Hutchinson, to ensure that the trophy stays in Jamaica.

Though they assumed the lead on day two (Saturday), Gregg and Hutchinson were very careful yesterday, making every effort to avoid mistakes. But Gill and Cummins, driving their impressive looking WRC Suzuki SX4 car for the first time, reduced Gregg's lead at one stage.

One of the high points of the final day was the water splash stage in Wakefield, where the large crowd erupted in cheers each time the competitors negotiated their away through the pool of water and on to the dusty and bumpy dirt track.

"It was interesting how the event impacted the people in downtown Kingston. They were very excited and seem to have enjoyed every moment of it," commented Errol Anderson, president of the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club, who spoke with The Gleaner briefly yesterday.