CIRCUIT RACING : STEPHEN GUNTER SPEAKS ABOUT TA-1 – FINALLY ! Part 1

Stephen Gunter is the human encyclopedia for Jamaican motorsports. Do you want to know who was driving what and competing where in the 1970′s, 80′s, 90′s and at present? Ask Stephen.

If he is in an accommodating mood, he will tell you who the individual was/is, the make and model of machine he was driving, the specific engine in the machine, the engine builder and he would also provide intimate details of the machine that would leave the curious segment of your brain puzzled, bewildered, struggling to ascertain which intelligence agency he is attached to!

If you speak to Stephen long enough, you will also learn that he is a connoisseur of spirits which are not adorned in a holy attire. Stephen has been active in all genres of motorsport  that exist on local soil. He wields an enviable motorsport repertoire. These pages cannot deliver the honor he deserves if we attempt to address the level at which the gentleman operates in terms of Jamaican motorsports.

At present, Stephen Gunter is the Chairman of the most powerful body in Jamaican motorsport – the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club (JMMC). The JMMC is the governing body for motorsport in Jamaica – that should give you some idea of the measure of the man !

DAVID SUMMERBELL JR.

Stephen Gunter is possibly most famously known for his friendship and motorsport relationship with the best driver Jamaica has produced to date – David Summerbell Jr. David Summerbell Jr when he is on the track, has the ability to trigger contagious love – he has the personality, demeanor and the driving prowess to secure respect without making a formal request. He is a gentle giant of the sport and if asked, even his fiercest rivals/opponents will reluctantly confess that he is a phenom behind the wheel.

In a conversation I had with Stephen Gunter, he conveyed the view that if David was given the appropriate set of circumstances, he could have gone all the way to the pinnacle of the sport – F1 !

David Summerbell Jr’s superiority when he sits in a seat and reaches for the steering wheel is well established and requires no debate. But, David did not always rise to P1. He had his Great Depression when victory was more tangible in his imagination than in reality. Who remembers that period?

During that period. outright victories were rare, dominance was a dream, the checkered flag was being waved by an adept 3-card man and only accessible to David before the race!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer