IT was a hard-fought victory for Maurice ‘Wurl Boss’ Whittingham who staved off a crew of up-and-coming drivers at the Drivers Rallysport Club (DRC) AutoDex Championship series opening held in Bybrook, St Catherine, on Sunday.

“My competition was uncomfortably close and after the championship runs I was very concerned, forcing me to bring my A-game,” Whittingham told Auto.

The battle for supremacy started early when Whittingham found his rear-wheel drive Toyota Starlet under pressure from a pair of Lancer Evolutions driven by Lee Vaz and Spencer Whittingham.

Spencer Whittingham, a former rally and circuit driver, made the biggest splash by slamming his car into the protective crates in search of the vital milliseconds needed to beat his rivals.

Vaz, a complete rookie, proved the toughest challenge, posting times often down to the same tenth of a second as Whittingham. He admitted to never having driven on the gravel surface or attempted a 360-degree turn in his car.

“I thought Spencer and Maurice would have been way ahead of me,” said Vaz.

In the end, the three would dominate the timing boards, Maurice Whittingham taking first place, and Vaz a creditable second. The success was enough to motivate Vaz to further explore his motorsports adeptness.

“There is a high possibility I’ll do the whole series,” he said.

The third-placed finisher was a triumph for the DRC, which has been promoting the series as a fun entry-level form of racing, as Montegonian Stephen Mahoney captured the spot in a 1600cc automatic Mitsubishi Lancer.

“I borrowed the car from a friend and drove it all the way from Montego Bay to compete,” Mahoney revealed after the event.

His placing was no fluke, but the result of an all-out fight also happening in the front-wheel-drive class. Pushed by class rivals like Mark March, who finished fourth, he sped to third with a smooth and deceptively fast drive. Rounding out the top five was another front-wheel drive combatant, Leroy Spence.

With six registered female drivers, the ladies challenge trophy was on, and as with their male counterparts proved an exciting watch. There was little stopping Tanee Green. Pulling double duty as both driver and DRC secretary she seamlessly shifted between roles, putting down a time two seconds faster than the closest female driver.

“Competition was my main intent. It was a little distracting at first; however, I found the balance eventually,” she explained.

Chasing her all day was Denise Clarke, but rising to second place with a gritty drive was Katherine Chin See, who took a few laps to get to grips with her new car.

“The Strong Solutions AutoWorx Swift Sport was a blast to drive and my team ensured the integrity of the car, encouraged me every step of the way, and provided tips for me to improve on each run,” she said.

Completing the top three for the ladies was rookie Danielle Powell, who put her Mazda Demio on the podium.