Caribbean Invasion 2009 – CMRC (Round 1)

May 24 & 25 2009, Dover Raceway

Cecil Munroe, Gleaner Online Writer

In the view of many, the Easter Carnival of Speed held last month at Dover Raceway served as a test bed for the machines that will be representing Jamaica in the Caribbean Motor racing Championship (CMRC). This was confirmed by none other than, Team Mobay’s, Douglas ‘Hollywood’ Gore who won the championship in 2007 but unfortunately was dethroned in 2008.

In an interview at the end of the Easter race meet, Doug Gore indicated that he had made several changes to the car and despite the challenges which arose during practice and qualifying they were able to put on a good show and get the car ready for battle in the CMRC. The ‘Evo Kingdom’ (Team Mobay Racing) had a good day at the Easter Carnival of Speed and it is blatantly obvious that Doug Gore and Chris Campbell will be bringing more than a fight to our Caribbean visitors.

David  and his Evo machine

David Summerbell Jr. driving his AMS Evo VIII was unable to reign supreme at last month’s meet. Drive-train issues sidelined the car for most of the races, but based on all reports thus far those problems have been addressed and the car will be ready to wreak havoc on the track. It should be pointed out that David owns the current lap record at Dover (1:19:095) done while driving the AMS Evo VIII in its first competitive outing at Dover! If that is not an indicator of the potential of David’s car then think about this – the car has never run a qualifying lap or race lap in time attack mode, which requires boost levels in excess of 30 lbs of boost.

What this suggests is simple – David has not even begun exploring the full potential of this awesome car. For persons who are new to this car, this Evo VIII essentially rewrote the record books in North America where Time Attack is concerned. We know that David Summerbell Jr. has more than capable hands and in the hands of a true master this car will rip the doors off anything brave or stupid enough to line up against it.

The record will show that to win you must first cross the finish line and this is one issue that the team will have to address. Mechanical gremlins plagued David on the overseas leg of the championship last year and the Easter meet was disrupted by similar issues. We are aware of the stellar performances attributed to this car and as such we can only hope that it will remain reliable for the ding-dong battles it will be apart of in round 1 of the CMRC.

Alan, the new star

The CMRC is only a part of the events that will unfold at Caribbean Invasion 2009. The Easter Carnival of Speed was a full package. It revealed new stars, gave birth to new match ups and in so doing whipped up a whirlwind of interest in racing at Dover. One new star that emerged is Alan Chen, the driver of a turbocharged Toyota Corolla GTS. The ‘regulars’ at the various events knew Alan from his exploits in Dexterity and most recently in Rally Jamaica 2008. People are still talking about the oven laden with donuts which he baked on the streets of new Kingston at the end of rally Jamaica 2008. His flair, finesse and superb car control skills were unleashed on a crowd that went senseless after he spun and slid his way into the hearts of the hundreds who lined the streets of New Kingston.

Alan brought these skills and much more to Dover in April. When you say racing at Dover, drifting would not normally come to mind but with Alan Chen around, drifting will always come to mind. The fans from the north of Jamaica were introduced to a rare find in April. Alan Chen did what few before had done. What all in attendance witnessed was a driver obliterating the competition while displaying a repertoire of skills. Alan Chen was drifting – yes drifting, through difficult or tight corners and in so doing carrying speed through the corners while forcing the car to turn – this is text book drift king stuff! Alan did what he has always done – demonstrate how to maintain control of a car even when it seems to be out of control with those lurid slides. Alan will be at Dover for the Caribbean Invasion and his fans will be expecting nothing but the best, with a little drift special, from one of Mandeville’s finest.

Honda challenge

The Honda make of motorcars is definitely leaving a big footprint on the asphalt at Dover. At the Easter Carnival of Speed no less than five well-prepared Hondas were making their presence felt. There was no doubt that the most dominant of the group was Peter Jaggon’s Mugen powered CRX. That little monster redefined the term ‘Honda power’. Not only did Peter drive the wheels of the CRX, thus outclassing his peers but, he also brought a big stick to the ‘big boys’ when he competed against the Evos and the RX 7’S. Unfortunately in the heat of the battle with the big boys his battery became loose, started moving around and he had to retire (I am certain the drivers in the race were relieved).

In the post race interview, Peter stated that he found the race very challenging and he enjoyed the competition with the cars that had a lot more power than his little monster. So all things being equal he will be attacking from the drop of the green flag to drive fear into the hearts of the drivers with the very powerful machines.

Not to be outdone Dean Corrodus (Honda Civic Type R) and Gary ‘The Colonel’ Gregg (Honda Civic Si) will continue their very close rivalry. In April they had a tie (Gary beat Dean in one race and the positions were reversed in the other). Both gentlemen rebuilt their cars and are now equipped with more powerful, circuit prepped machines and eager to flex their muscles in front of the insatiable crowd that is always present at Dover.

The battle lines that were drawn last meet still exist and the drivers are all busy completing final arrangements in order to deliver what has now become the norm at Dover, based on recent events – action packed, boost inspired, normally aspirated intoxicating racing, which cause a rush of blood, inducing fits of adrenalin faster than multiple doses of Viagra !

Nb.
I deliberately did not mention a few of the other popular local stars + the competition (our Caribbean neighbours). This will be addressed in the build up to Monday

Question
Which team or driver from the rest of the Caribbean do you think will pose the biggest threat to Doug, David and the other members of Team Jamaica?