JOEL Jackson took the opening round of the Jamaican National Rally Championship in Bog Walk, St Catherine, by dominating the Tru-Juice Stages on Sunday.

The event had a paltry entry list of three cars.

Jackson’s victory was not without its obstacles, as in the afternoon’s final stage his Subaru Impreza WRX STI suffered turbo failure and began leaking fuel from a broken fuel tank. He and co-driver Dmitri Dawkins were able to limp to the finish.

“Not sure where it happened, but the car started to fill with oil smoke and gas fumes,” Jackson told Auto.

The small crowd expected to see Jackson leading to the end. However, Daryl King in his Honda Civic overtook Jackson in the rally’s final stage.

“It started to rain. I came across Joel’s dust thinking he’d gone off allowing us to catch up. Once I got closer, I saw the smoke and went around him,” said King. Jackson’s time loss was not significant enough to hand King the overall win. King had to settle for second place.

Keith Saunders finished third.

Wayne Piper of the newly formed Drivers Rallysport Club, who oversaw the event’s running, defended his decision not to scrap the meet.

“We need to congratulate the teams that took part, as holding the rally was in support of their efforts and that of their sponsors. We have to set the standards upon which the sport has to be rebuilt,” he said.