Maurice Whittingham the ‘Boss’
MAURICE Whittingham continued to prove why he’s one of the best drivers, and the ‘Whurl Boss’ of dexterities in the island with a sparkling performance at Slippery Wen Wett, in St Elizabeth, on August 16.
“I liked the event, especially because it had a great mix of competitors and also, a few that don’t come out to the regular dexterities,” Whittingham told Auto.
Whittingham was a favourite from the opening test, taking home $8,000 in the kick-out challenge where he had three chances to pick up $2,000 from each of five cones on the course. Giving away his secret, should this section make Slippery Wen Wett 2016, Whittingham explained he simply adjusted his seat as far forward as he could to put him in the best position to reach out the window and grab the money.
“He was the only one to complete four out of the five cones,” said Kingsley Scott, event organiser.
Good fortune continued through the evening for the ‘Whurl Boss’ as he emerged the overall winner through the tough course that is typical of the Pines Plaza venue. In the end he bested second and third placed drivers Sanjay Singh, and Cleve Ottey, taking home a total of $53,000. However, it wasn’t as easy as he made it look as his headlights failed in the later hours impacting his runs.
Scott said the event received good feedback from both competitors and spectators despite his not being able to use the signature feature of the event, the crossover bridge.
“Due to safety concerns we weren’t able to use the bridge as we wanted,” Scott explained.
Rather than the cars going over the top, the tunnel section was incorporated in the runs and a few lucky patrons were able to stand on it as the competitors flashed beneath their feet. They were also kept busy by the insane stunts of the BMX riders the Crash Dummies.
“For next year, we’ll come with something new, but due to sponsor demand I’m working on another event in December,” Scott said.
Whittingham complimented Scott on what he felt was an innovative event, hoping that some of his ideas would make their way into regular dexterities and that a few of the drivers he faced would transition into the Drivers Rallysport Club AutoDex Championship series.