Rallying: Gary ‘the Colonel’ Gregg conquers Rally Jamaica 2010

When I spoke to Gary Gregg on Thursday night he said – “Rallying is a tough sport”. A realistic assessment of what lies ahead suggests wisdom and it usually guarantees a calculated approach to the task at hand. Gary Gregg is obviously an accomplished driver but, he is also inexplicably underrated. Gary Gregg is a very skillful, but reserved and conservative driver. He will get the job done, favoring finesse over showmanship. On Sunday, before raucous patriots, Gary ‘the Colonel’ Gregg proved once again that he is a force to be reckoned with.

Detractors have a tendency of heaping praises on the car – his Ford Focus WRC, but if you understand rallying, you will also accept that if you have a deficiency in the skills / ability department you will not be on the top step of the podium once, much less repeatedly, in an event which is known for its propensity to break cars. Gary Gregg/ Hugh Hutchinson to the flipping world – Rally Jamaica 2010 Champions!

Rally Jamaica 2010 revealed its tough attributes to several competitors from as early as SS1. It held no pity. Its first casualty was possibly its biggest – Jeffery Panton. Jeffery had visions of his seventh victory but Rally Jamaica 2010 held reality and stamped it DNF. The foreigners were not spared and as John Powell found out, concrete posts and WRC cars are not compatible! Battered, bruised and leaving casualties behind in St. Ann and St Catherine, Rally Jamaica 2010 took to the streets of Downtown Kingston.

The teams which survived the carnage and were still in contention at the Super Special stage were: Gregg/Hutchinson, Gill/Cummings, Swann/Garrod, Betts/Manning, Morley/Clarke, Lee/Chambers, Hall/Gordon, Marshall/Laidlaw, Gardner/Tomlinson, Jackson/Dawkins and McFarlane/Piper.

At the waterfront, the drivers, including those who were not in contention, pulled every trick, from the Scandinavian flick to the Drift Bible, which kept the fans in rallying ecstasy.

Alan Chen

Wide and tight corners were packed with joke- telling, prank- playing fans, patiently awaiting the arrival of ‘their driver’. It didn’t take long for the winners of the best trick to be crowned. Mandeville crushed everyone on Sunday. Jeremy Groves in his red Starlet and Alan Chen (AE86) demonstrated sublime car control. The donuts that were served all along the stage are still being consumed by the cops who were on hand to maintain order!

As the rubber burnt, the clouds of smoke rose and as the barely visible Starlet exited the circle medley at KFC corner, its exhaust note was drowned by tsunami-like waves of appreciative shouts and chatter. Lost in lurid slides, as the car slid left, then right as it neared the tax office, I wondered if it was correct when someone said “Rallying has basically died in Jamaica”.

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer