Jamaican drivers settle in for Guyana meet

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Co-ordinator

The intense battle on the track between Barbados and Jamaica continues today in Guyana, when the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) climaxes at the South Dakota race circuit.

It is the third and final leg of the series and scores of regional circuit racing drivers will be showcasing their talents. For some, it is the last opportunity to amass enough points to enhance their chances of winning one of the major titles.

Jamaica's David Summerbell leads the regional drivers' championship, ahead of Barbados' Mark Maloney. In the regional team championship Barbados has a clear lead, ahead of Jamaica.

"Our team arrived here in high spirits. We got the cars from Customs Thursday evening then tuned them up and hit the track," Jamaica's team manager, Hilary Jardine, told Automotives last Friday, speaking from his hotel room in Guyana.

Jardine, who is also the president of Jamaica Race Drivers Club (JRDC), is optimistic about Summerbell retaining his title.

"If Mark Maloney wins all three CMRC races and Summerbell finishes at least third in each race, then nobody can beat him. This is because Maloney would have been on 61 points and Summerbell 62," said Jardine, who noted that a win for Summerbell would be his fourth in six championships.

Three Jamaicans to compete

At last month's race meet in Jamaica at the Dover Raceway, St Ann, Summerbell's Mitsubishi Evolution 8 developed mechanical problems and the braking system failed, which resulted in him running off the track. In his pre-meet preparation, Summerbell explained that Stewarts Auto Sales provided a crew to accompany him to Guyana. The Jamaican line-up is completed by André Anderson and Peter 'Zoom Zoom' Rae.

A special attraction at today's meet will be the appearance of Doug Gore and his Audi TT, which is rated among the fastest race cars in the region. Gore will not participate in the CMRC events, but the regular races.

"There will be about 22 races," Jardine explained.

Jamaica's number one motorcyclist and lap record holder Stefan Chin, along with local nemeses Adrian Blake and Halquin Rodney will compete for championship honours.

"I am feeling pretty good right now. Steven Viera, the local champion for Guyana, is gonna give me a good competition. Hopefully the weather holds up though; the weather has been really bad over there with rain. But I have rain tyres too, so I am prepared to be racing," Chin was quoted by JRDC publicist, Trudy Williams.