JOHN Powell’s Subaru Imprezza S14 will be the first of 25 cars off the ramp for the Rally Jamaica weekend event which begins today.

The announcement came at the drivers’ meeting held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew on Wednesday.

The event’s main highlight will be the fight for the last set of points in the Jamaica Millennium Motor Club’s 2012 Rally Sport Championship. The title is given to the driver who amasses the most points over the multiple disciplines over the Motorsports season. Currently, two Montegonians — Jordan Powell and Matthew Gore — are in the chase.

Gore sits 90 points adrift of Powell and with Rally Jamaica 2012 counting as two events doubling the potential score both drivers are keep to win.

“I need to finish, nothing spectacular,” Powell told Auto.

For him, the trophy holds special meaning.

“The first time I saw the trophy was in 1994 when Raynor King had it. I hoped one day to be good enough to have my name on it along with his,” said Powell.

Gore is also conscious of the title, as this could be his second time winning it.

“I want to go hard. But I need to be safe,” he said. “My strategy is really to put some pressure on Jordan all the way to the end of the rally.”

Gore has sought the assistance of international Toyota tuner Lance Ho Lung and fellow Team MoBay stable mate Jimmy Marsh. Powell, on the other hand, has been busy splitting his time between the Rally Jamaica and the upcoming Jam West circuit event.

“I haven’t had much time to work on the car, but I’m satisfied it can do the job in its current state. I just need to finish the rally in the top three in my class.”

Rally Jamaica will begin in full force on today with a ceremonial start at 6:00 pm on Knutsford Boulevard. Day one will see rally stages through St Catherine’s Bog Walk orange groves. Day two will begin in Bog Walk but make the trek to downtown Kingston for its finale.