Panton, Fennell jubilant after landing T&T Rally

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

Though the celebrations might be over, the pair of Jeffrey Panton and co-driver Michael Fennell Jr, who recently established a regional record by taking the chequered flag at Trinidad and Tobago's premier rally event, are still weighing their options to determine their next major assignment.

"Winning the T&T Rally was very important for us because since 2009 we have not won a major rally event," a jubilant Panton told The Gleaner this week. "By virtue of this victory, we have now won all the major rallies in the region (Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica)."

"Highly competitive," was how he described the T&T event, so much so that at one stage only the competitors who trusted their pace notes believed that they had a real chance of winning.

Panton, a St George's College past student, and Fennell, formerly of Calabar High, said they were desperate for the win and never gave up.

Given their success, newly elected president of the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club (JMMC), Dean Corrodus, says he was inspired by the win and is now in the process of navigating a successful route to ensure that Jamaicans taste more victories in the other disciplines of motorsport.

"Panton (Jeffrey) is now the most successful Jamaican rally driver. He has won 17 rallies within the region, one more than Doug Gore," stressed Corrodus.

11 finishers

According to a report carried in the Adrenaline Sun, only 11 of the 31 cars which started the T&T rally finished the three-day event.

Parts of the report read: "With stages which more than doubled the length driven in a Barbados event and which saw the top group of World rally cars driving flat-out for more than six minutes and some just under eight minutes, there were plenty thrills and spills.

"But none were more impressive than Jamaica's Panton, who showed what driving to pace notes was all about. In his Ford Focus WRC, he rocketed through the dusty, but smooth stages and despite a few mechanical gremlins which threaten to end his reign at the front, Panton was more than able to cruise to an easy victory over the three-day event."

Two other Jamaicans competed at the meet. Bobby Marshall won the Two-Wheel Drive Class; while Jamaica's champion rally driver, Gary Gregg, had a minor mishap and was unable to participate any further in the event.

Shedding some light on his plans for local motor racing, the JMMC president is hoping to take drag racing to another level.

"My aim is establish different regional championships in all the other disciplines of motorsport. We would love to also have a regional rally championship," said Corrodus, who believes that the Jamaican drivers are on par with the rest of the world.