The chequered flag chasing, six-man team of daredevils spearheaded by Group 4 ace drivers Kevin Jeffrey and Andrew King, winged out to Jamaica this morning to do battle in the first leg of the annual Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) billed for Sunday.
The preparation was put in, the cars have been upgraded and the speed demons are ready to push their machines to the limit on Jamaica’s premier circuit, the Dover Raceway.
“I think I will be very competitive and finish on the podium barring no mechanical problems,” Jeffrey told this publication before departing for the ‘Land of Wood and Water’.
“My car’s (Mitsubishi Evolution V111) upgrades have been bearing fruit that is why I was able to break the South Dakota Circuit lap record earlier this year,” he added.
Jeffrey mentioned that it will be an uphill task to defeat David ‘King’ Summerbell Jr., Doug Gore and other racers on their home turf but he will be taking the fight to them on Sunday.
“It will be a tall order for me and Andrew to defeat the Jamaicans on their track but the two of us are experienced enough, we are proud Guyanese and it is important for us to be good ambassadors for our country,” he declared.
While King echoed Jeffrey’s comments, the champion race car driver stated that Dover was not one of his favourite tracks to race on but said that he will be pushing his Mazda RX7 as much as possible to support Jeffrey and tally as much points as possible.
King also told this publication that his machine was in mint condition after losing about 60 pounds when a new gear box was installed.
The Group 4 drivers along with Group 2A’s Harold Hopkinson and John Joseph and Group 2B’s Afraz Alli and Syed Hassan will be tasked with trying to accumulate the most points possible in the three-leg championships in order to drive off with the CMRC overall title which has eluded the local daredevils over the past three years.
The initial nine-man team was depleted after Group 4 driver, Paul Vieira, Group 2’s Chet Singh and Rameez Mohamed were forced to withdraw because of mechanical problems. The team will also be missing Super Bikers, Steven ‘Valentino Rossi’ Vieira and Maurice Menez.
The Jamaica leg will be followed by the second leg in Barbados in September while the local leg will be staged at the South Dakota Circuit in November.
The CMRC was first staged in 2007 with Jamaica winning its inaugural leg. Barbados sped off with the country title in 2011. Of the six annual events, four overall titles were won by Jamaica.
Last year the CMRC introduced two new territories, Trinidad and Tobago and the Cayman Islands, both of whom have committed to further support this year.
Notably absent will also be champion race car driver, Mark Vieira, who stated that his Mazda RX8 will not be operable in time for next week’s meet. Vieira, however, noted that his machine will be up and revving in time for the second leg.
Jeffrey and King thanked their team of mechanics and sponsors, Seaboard Marine, Doosan, Auto Motive Art, Infab, Naipaul AutoBody, Ways Performance and others.
