2009 Year in Review
Jamaica Race Driver’s Club year in review 2009
By Motorsports Writer Dean Corrodus
2009 was a challenging year for most persons...especially on the financial side, but while most entities underwent downsizing exercises, layoffs and cutbacks, The Jamaica Race Driver’s Club (JRDC) was busy forging ahead with record setting events, large competitor grids, consistent prize money and top notch entertainment that reached an ever widening audience through live streaming of events on the internet and broadcasts on radio, broadcast television, newspapers and periodicals. Increased capacity and comfort for spectators, a large food court with an impressive array of Jamaican cuisine, extended parking, new or refurbished pedestrian access bridges across the track and the steady introduction of new drivers and teams to the racing arena all conspired to make 2009 one of the most successful seasons to date for the club in its five years of existence.
The season started out as usual in Easter, with the staging of the Carnival of Speed event on May 24 & 25, declared open by Minister of Sport Hon. Olivia Grange, to start a full day of fifteen scheduled races which was to be the norm for the season, with competition taking place in the Improved Production Classes 45, 37, 33 and 27, the Modified Production classes 1, 2 and 3, the Lime Thundersport class and motorcycles.
Peter Jaggon emerged as the champion driver of the meet with four (4) race wins from five starts in his green and orange Horse P Racing prepared Jaggon Gases Honda CRX.
The trend for the season started to emerge early at this meet as well, as Alan Chen (Allied Construction/MAD Racing turbo-charged rear wheel drive Toyota Corolla SR5) and Stephen Bansie (Scotia Group Subaru Impreza RX Sti) both emerged as top contenders in their respective classes.
The second meet of the season was the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) held just one month after the first on May 24 and 25, with Jamaica playing host to the first round of the championship which was contested by Barbados and Guyana as well. The event saw impressive performances by defending CMRC Champion Stuart Maloney in the Automotive Art Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI, but the real start of the event was Jamaica’s David Summerbell, who was to win all three championship races on the day on his way to eventually securing the title in November at the South Dakota race track when they hosted the final round of the championship. The Alan Chen was awarded the meet champion prize after an impressive day of driving.
Come summer it was time for the Independence Blast Off meet on August 1st and 2nd, where in pouring rain for the morning session of races, Stephen Bansie, Kyle Gregg, Chris Campbell, Natasha Chang, Brian Foster, Charles Maxwell, Dean Corrodus, Sebastian Rae, Peter Jaggon, Doug Gore and David Senior all having race wins along with Adrian Blake and Halquin Rodney on motorcycles. The event also saw an incident between headline drivers David Summerbell and Doug Gore which saw both cars retire from the race after colliding and hitting the wall at the exit to Pinky’s Bluff. The meet champion was Chris Campbell.
The fourth and final event of the season was the October 18 & 19 “Heroes of Speed” event, where the fallen heroes were honored and championship titles were decided in all classes.
Memorable performances were Alan Chen drifting his rear wheel drive Corolla around the track, Chris Campbell holding off David Summerbell for victory in the 1st Thundersport race, Summerbell driving his car to the track from Montego Bay after an all night engine change, Stephan Chin coming close to breaking the motorcycle track record, Teddy Burton winning the two MP2 races in fine style, Stephen Bansie crossing the line first in the two IP27 races (but being demoted to 5th for breaking out in the second race) and the usual battle between Douglas Gore and Summerbell, the former using his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X when the Evo 5 suffered a problem. David Summerbell earned the most points (14.4) from the event and was crowned meet champion.
Raymond Donaldson won the IP45 championship for the second year running and also entered the IP37 bracket class in his purpose built Evolution VI racecar, fulfilling the original intent of the organizers for this class to be used as an introduction to racing for newcomers before they “graduate” to the higher classes.
2009 also marked the 20th anniversary of Dover Raceway, which was commemorated at a dinner ceremony at the Pegasus Hotel on Monday, May 18, where persons involved in the operation of the facility over the years were recognized.
The club is looking forward to 2010 which will see the return of sponsors such as LIME, who have doubled their commitment to the club, Total Fuels and lubricants, Tyre Warehouse and several newcomers who will be announced shortly.
Below is a list of the class champions for 2009.
IP45. Raymond Donaldson, HS Engineering/City Fusion/CRC Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV.
IP37: Brian Foster, Sherwin Williams Paints /Horse P Racing/Vector Engineering Honda Civic Hatchback.
IP33: Gary Barrett, Car City/Jump Fence Racing/Motor World Honda Civic
IP27: Stephen Bansie, Scotiabank Group/Vital Med Distributors Ltd/Sunoco Fuels Subaru Impreza WRX Sti.
MP1: Kyle Gregg, BD Gregg & Bros/TSW Wheels/Hero Tires Honda Civic Si.
MP2: Tedroy Burton, MAD Racing/Uncle Clem Meats/Stamma’s Wrecking/Federal Auto Honda Civic hatchback.
MP3: Douglas Gore, Motor Sales & Service Ltd/Sherwin Williams Paints/Slam Condoms/Wings for Life/Guardian Asset Management/Amsoil/Boomerang Tyre Sales/Leroy’s Auto Glass Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V and X.
Thundersport: Christopher Campbell, Stoplight Wholesale/Casa’s Garage/Campbell’s Wholesale Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV.
Overall Champion: Christopher Campbell
For further information, call Daneisha Morgan at the Jamaica Race Driver’s Club office at 924-JRDC or visit the club’s website at www.jrdc.org
