Rally Jamaica 2014 will rev off tomorrow at 9:30 am in Bog Walk, St Catherine, with one of the largest local contingents for the year, but without several overseas participants from the North American Central America (NACAM) Rally Championship.

“Two of the cars were delayed in shipping from Columbia,” Lawrence Henriques, event organiser, told Auto.

At the driver’s meeting held on Wednesday at the Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew, he revealed that Mexican NACAM drivers Ricardo Trivino and Francisco Name Jr had shipping issues in Columbia, while Costa Rican Andres Molina is attempting to air freight his rally car to Jamaica in for the Saturday morning start. This has left Bajan Harold Morley as the only overseas driver confirmed.

“The rally has seen a resurgence of the local competitors and cements the fact that we can’t rely on overseas drivers to fill the ranks of our sport,” Henriques said.

Also missing are a host of local names and their World Rally Cars. The only such car in the rally is that of Leslie Madden Jr and his Subaru WRC, who will start first on the road. This has shook up event leaving a flock of young names and the possibility for any number of potential winners, especially from the JN8 class housing such names as Kyle Gregg and Joel Jackson. Both are bullish on their chances to win the rally.

“I feel my chances are very good without the WRCars. I was expecting Doug (Gore) to be my main competition if he drove his Mitsubishi Evolution X, but he’s driving the Honda Civic,” Gregg said.

Jackson made it clear who his target was.

“The possibility for victory is there. All I have to do is beat Kyle,” he said.

Rally Jamaica 2014 will run over the weekend starting to and ending in the Bog Walk Orchards. In all there are twelve special stages spanning two venues, one for each day of competition.

“The stages are mostly the same from previous event, so fans don’t have to change their favourite viewing spots,” Michael Fennell Jr, route setter, explained.

Given the high level of attrition Rally Jamaica is famous for, the organisers announced one big rule change for this year to help keep cars in the event. Each competitor is allowed to miss two stages each day, with the exception of the last for each, if they suffer verifiable mechanical failures.