WITH the start of Rally Jamaica only a week away, two of the top young teams — Jetcon Racing and Team BD Gregg — are getting ready to tackle the stages of Bog Walk, St Catherine, for the final.

For Joel Jackson and Dmitri Dawkins of Jetcon Racing, it has been a rather inactive year as their Subaru Impreza WRX STI has been absent the whole rally season.

“Since the car hasn’t done much this year, it’s just been a checklist for reliability,” Jackson told Auto.

Even with an engine rebuild at the start of the year, the Jetcon Racing team has gone back through the car, addressing fluids, suspension and the engine.

“New turbo, new bushings, changed oils, spanner checked, everything. New tyres, brakes and the car is good to go,” he explained further.

As the saying goes in the sport, the car doesn’t drive itself, and both Jackson and Dawkins have been upping their personal fitness to handle the demands of driving flat out for two days on some of the most demanding terrain in the Caribbean. This is even more significant as both are recovering from the chikungunya virus.

“The rally is taxing. I normally do a lot of cardio exercises the six weeks leading up to Rally Jamaica, but chikungunya has prevented me from doing this. Once the adrenalin kicks in, I should be OK,” Dawkins said.

As the co-driver, Dawkins says his approach won’t change for what will be his sixth time participating in the event.

“I know the fastest doesn’t win. I’m just going to ensure that my notes are accurate and detailed, so Jetcon Racing can perform well through the entire event,” he added.

Tackling Rally Jamaica for the first time in a four-wheel drive, 2014 Circuit Racing Champion Kyle Gregg finds himself next to veteran Hugh Hutchinson, who led his father Gary to multiple rally victories.

Like their rivals, Team BD Gregg is aware of the punishment that Rally Jamaica can hand out to a car.

“We’ve taken any semi-worn parts off the car and replaced them. We’re not taking any chances,” Gregg said.

The team’s focus will be fine-tuning the car to Gregg’s driving style and giving their rally car one final shakedown before next week.

— Rory Daley