Kyle Gregg opened his account by taking the chequered flag at Sunday’s Macklin Peterkin Memorial Rally in Bog Walk, St Catherine.

“It felt good to win after nearly not entering. I’m a bit relieved and glad to win for my dad on Father’s Day,” Gregg told Auto.

Gregg fought through pre-event illness to make it into the driver’s seat of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX with long-time navigator Hugh Hutchinson. The two found themselves in an enthralling battle with constant rival JN8 class rivals Joel Jackson and Dmitri Dawkins.

“I didn’t feel better until the third stage,” Gregg said.

Gregg’s lift in spirit and fortunes came after he got the better of Jackson, who was leading until then.

“The rally was a disaster for us,” Jackson explained.

On stage two, his Subaru WRX STI N14 lost its power steering, dropping him behind Gregg. With repairs completed before the start of stage three, the time damage had already been done; however, the car developed more issues.

“We fixed the power steering then the exhaust headers developed a leak, so we lost power for the rest of the day,” he added.

The Subaru pair were unable to catch the slowly recovering Gregg, but did enough to stay ahead of third-placed finisher Fraser McConnell. Thomas Hall and Bobby Marshall rounded out the top five.

For organiser Larry Henriques, the Macklin Peterkin Memorial Rally was a good start to the return to full-blown rally events.

“The turnout presents a hopeful sign for the rest of the year,” he said.

Having received positive feedback from all involved, he’s turning his efforts to add more variety in the rallysport season. Current plans include returning to St Ann with a hill climb and rally in the Lydford/Reynolds area.

“I’m in discussions with the appropriate parties to see how I can fit into the remainder of the motorsport calendar.”

— Rory Daley