Reggae racers off to Barbados CMRC meet
JAMAICAN drivers and bikers will this weekend vie for supremacy in the Barbados leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) series. Defending driver champion ‘King’ David Summerbell Jr currently leads the points standing followed by the Barbados father/son duo of Mark and Doug Maloney in second and third place respectively.
With his Evolution 8 fully restored from brake problems experienced at the Independence of Speed race meet in August 7 at Dover, president of the Jamaica Race Drivers Club, Hilary Jardine, expects Summerbell Jr to retain his lead in the driver’s championship.
“David won all his races in the first CMRC leg in May at Dover and we are going for both driver and country championship,” Jardine said yesterday as the Reggae racers boarded their flight for Barbados. “We have a very good chance of winning the driver’s title,” he added.
Guyana is defending CMRC country champion.
However, Jamaica’s chance of winning the title of country champion was dealt a blow this week. Missing from the Barbados foray is Chris Campbell and his Fruta-sponsored BMW M3. Jardine yesterday told Auto that Campbell’s car suffered minor damage and would not be able to make the meet.
“The other guys will give us points,” a confident Jardine nonetheless remarked.
Reggae Racers team member Dean Shaw, driving an unmistakable pickup truck, was also upbeat about his Barbados chances.
“It’s not just an ordinary pickup,” said Shaw. A 1342cc turbo-charged motorbike engine pushing 300hp powers his racing machine. And Shaw quickly reminds that with a tube chassis and “so much power”, his vehicle is perfectly suited for the small Barbados track.
“A lot of people want to see it,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, Andre Anderson, the youngest member of the team in his second trip participating in the CMRC meet, also fancies his chances in the four-wheel-drive class.
“I went to Guyana last year and raced pretty close to finish third,” Anderson said. “The car is quicker this year and our chances are improved over last time,” he declared.
