Circuit Attack – a sign of good things to come at Jamwest Speedway.

Jamaicans are not the easiest set of people to deal with. You don’t agree? Watch the evening news and then revisit your view. Tongues are wagging everywhere about what unfolded at Jamwest on Sunday.

The event branded Circuit Attack, which was held at Jamwest Speedway over the weekend, had no shortcomings in the promotion or publicity department. The advertisements were rotated more than a taxi-man’s tyres – you simply could not avoid hearing them! And for the competitors, the organizers went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that their involvement was possible. Race-cars were transported free of cost, to and from the track, a rather spacious and luxurious room was made available to drivers along Negril’s hip-strip, at a resort which was a stone’s throw from the notorious Jungle night-club! And there was also the cash incentive, based on race-result.

So, everyone knew about the event and a brightly colored carpet was rolled out to entice the drivers. Sounds like a recipe for a wonderful event. But, reality has a shameless and repulsive habit of biting you in the a..!

On race-day it became apparent by midday that the competitor list in all classes was hovering around the short side but the show went  on. The advertisements worked though. It was not a full-house but a walk along the front-stretch confirmed that a ‘good’ crowd was at the event. The small number of race-teams present obviously affected the quality of the product delivered, but the few who participated did what was expected of them to entertain the fans.

The main attraction of the event, Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore’s ATL DTM Audi TT-R, for the duration of the time I was at the event, did not disappoint. I do not need much motivation to go to the track, but the return of this awesome machine to race-duties, was something I was not prepared to miss. And thanks to my ‘status’ (read- Press) I grabbed rather rewarding viewing spots.

During qualifying, from my vantage point, I was able to see and hear the machine as it burnt a trail along the circuit’s very fast back- stretch ( the section after the sweeper at the end of the front straight). I enjoyed every shift of its sequential box and every curb-hopping moment! Thank you Doug Gore and ATL!

Doug’s ATL DTM Audi TT-R

But, I was also impressed by Peter Rae’s machine – ‘Zoom Zoom’. I do not want to guess how young that machine is, but it has not lost a stride! Peter Rae is definitely on the warpath and he might be the bearer of bad news for victory seekers this season.

The critics will always do  their job, but everything is a learning process and I sincerely hope that this event is the beginning of more wonderful things to come from the management team at Jamwest Speedway. I saw the German bred machine in action – at full-tilt, clipping rumble-strips – AWESOME!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer