– Summerbell, Maloney in battle for drivers’ title
After the completion of round two in this year’s Caribbean Motor Racing Champion-ships, Jamaica’s David Summerbell and Barbados’s Mark Maloney are keeping pace for the driver’s championship while Barbados has a commanding lead in the country title.
It was nothing but chaos and drama when the region’s best racers in the ‘Group 4’ category met in Barbados on Sunday at the Bushy Park Circuit for the Sea Board Marine-sponsored championships.
After the dust had settled, Summerbell emerged as the leader and is on course for another Caribbean championship win.
The Jamaican has 48 points while Maloney follows closely on his heels with 39.
Summerbell won the first race of the day in the group 4 category where the drivers went all out to stake their claim to the prestigious title.
Of the eight competitors who started the race only three finished, with Guyana’s Kevin Jeffery and Andrew King closing out the top three.
Defending champion Stuart Maloney has 22 points but so far he has only participated in the first round in Jamaica.
He was sidelined for the rest of the Barbados leg after his car suffered minor damages.
Guyana’s King, who was a no show in the Jamaican leg of the competition earlier in the year, holds the fourth position with 16 points.
King on Sunday failed to pick up a win which would have given him a maximum of 10 points.
Team-mate Jeffrey picked up a well deserved 13 points even though his car, a Mitsubishi Evolution, had given some serious trouble prior to the meet. The other points grabbers in the championships are Barry Mayers (13) and Stuart Williams (9) both of Barbados, while debutant of the series Guyana’s Gavin Gayadin picked up two crucial points behind Chris Campbell (6), Gary Williams (5) and Peter Thompson (5) all of Jamaica.
The third and final round of the championships will be held in Guyana on November 8 at the South Dakota Circuit and based on the enthusiasm displayed in Barbados racing fans will not want to miss a second of the action.
This round will also be do-or-die time for team Guyana especially with the veteran King looking for his first ever Caribbean championship title.
A heavyweight contingent is expected from Barbados who are in the lead of the team challenge with 82 points followed by Jamaica with 64 and Guyana with 31.