Heroes of Speed could not have been a more appropriate title for the final race meet of the Jamaica Race Drivers Club’s (JRDC) 2016 season, which was held last Sunday at Dover Raceway, St Ann, as changeable weather and tight competition saw driving of such proportions.

“The races at our event on Monday were over-the-top exhilarating. Competitors and spectators that weren’t able to make the race meet have been expressing their disappointment for missing this big meet,” Monique Gibbs, JRDC president, told Auto.

The big news out the event was the back-to-back titles for Fraser McConnell. The 2015 champion swept his rivals with a hat-trick of class victories that secured him the 2016 Dover Circuit Racing Championship. Gibbs was amongst the first to congratulate McConnell.

“The ‘Young Guns’ of Fraser McConnell, Nicholas Barnes and William Myers put on an excellent show. Congratulations to all the 2016 series champions and special congrats to Fraser McConnell for taking home the 2016 Series Driver Championship the second year in a row,” she said.

McConnell grabbed maximum points with three Bracket 29 race wins and a pole position on the day, all while being hounded by Sebastien Rae.

“I am so thankful for the support; for great support from my family, my sponsors Tru-Juice and KIG, and most importantly the Moodies-NG Racing. They are the best in the league. I couldn’t be here without them,” McConnell explained.

The second champion of the day was rider Kyle Reynolds. Reynolds had dominated the Motorcycle class A and ended 2016 with his third grasp on the champion rider title.

“It feels good to be able to retain the championship for another year. Next year will be tough as the guys are coming for me,” he said.

The big battle of the day was the Thundersport 2 (TS2) class where Jamaica’s big two, Doug Gore and David Summerbell Jr, have been trying to stave off young interloper Kyle Gregg, who joined the category this year with a new sponsor and car. On aggregate, it was Gore who won two of the three races after some very close racing. Gregg was the only person within striking distance of Gore, but the Audi driver had already collected enough points to secure the TS2 title.

“Having three and sometimes four cars battling for the lead has made this year one of the most competitive yet, so to come out on top had been great,” he told Auto.

Gore will now focus his efforts on the final round of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) in Guyana later this year. Joslyn Crawford took home the 2016 Thundersport Class 1 title.

Motorcycle Class B went to Mario Woon. Bracket 45N was won by Cory Walters, while Patrick Patterson took Bracket 45T. Bracket 39, Bracket 35 and Improved Production were won by Cecil Munroe, Brian Shor, and Gary Barrett respectively. While Modified Production continues to be the realm of fresh talent with Nicholas Barnes and William Myers taking Modified Production Class 1 and Modified Production Class 2, respectively.