Rally:WRC comes to town!

Rally Jamaica 2009

Christmas is regarded as the season of giving and motorsports fans will be given an early Christmas present in the form of a mouth-watering treat. The final major event on the Jamaican motorsports calendar, Rally Jamaica will be staged this weekend, Dec 4-6. What initially may have been regarded as a local event, Rally Jamaica, adopted an international flavor a long time ago, with several competitors from the Caribbean making the trip to mix it up with the local rally stars.

Essentially this rally is laden with potent machinery, directed by highly skilled individuals who have one mindset – Winning!

We are very good at beating the odds, but in rallies betting is futile. Claiming the top step on the podium requires more than chance. It requires meticulous planning and execution. Successful teams possess tried and proven machinery, with sound, bullet proof track records. The drivers on winning teams are equipped with a vast repertoire of skills, a prerequisite, to slay the ravenous creature –the constantly changing terrain – they will have to defeat while running flat out, if they intend to secure victory.

WRC Machines

In short form, we are accustomed to seeing rally cars which have earned world acclaim. Rally cars which have victory stamped all over them and in this event – Rally Jamaica – several of these cars will drive off the start ramp on Friday. Words to the wise, strap in tight, we are in for a wild and exhilarating ride!

As we prepare to indulge and fill our adrenalin cup with the exploits of defending Rally Jamaica Champion, Jeffrey Panton, Gary Gregg and our Caribbean neighbors who will be piloting WRC machines, other drivers in non WRC machines are busy plotting the demise of the ‘big guns’.

To the untrained eye (read, to the blind), Jamaica could easily be mistaken for Japan – Evos and Subbies are not in short supply. They litter the streets like trash after a street dance. Western Jamaica (Mobay) has shown that its residents have conquered the fine art of tuning Evos and one of their most prominent figures, Doug Gore, is planning to rip the livery off his Evo X with blinding speed, to earn top honors and also to ensure that he maintains his lead in the friendly rivalry between himself and Richie Rerrie (Group A Subaru Wrx). Rerrie’s fan base knows no limit, thanks to his flamboyant but calculated driving style, which fans are willing to travel miles to see.

Spectacle

The list of competitors is a long one, the machines are world class and a rally that is ten times more exciting than Jamaica’s final World Cup qualifier against Mexico (France 1998), will drive off this Friday at the JIIC car park in New Kingston. The battles on the stages begin on Saturday, but if you are as eager as I am, you will ensure that you are in New Kingston, early Friday afternoon, so you can absorb the intoxicating, breathtaking spectacle that Rally Jamaica has become. You will be glad you did!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer