It will be a small Jamaican team that heads to the second round of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) as only three confirmed competitors will make today’s shipment date, allowing them to arrive in Trinidad and Tobago for the July 30 event.

“So far we have Peter Rae, Charles Chen, and biker Norman Chung, whose race equipment will leave on Friday on the provided Seaboard Marine container,” Silbourne Clarke, CMRC coordinator — Jamaica, told Jamaica Observer’s Auto magazine.

According to Clarke, this doesn’t bode well for Jamaica’s chances, as it sits second with 264 points behind Trinidad’s 358 points in the overall CMRC country standings. Guyana stands on 40, Cayman 36 and Barbados 18. For round two, Trinidad and Tobago has the high probability of overhauling the others on home soil.

“The home event is where the chance is for each country to get the most points,” Clarke explained.

The lack of competitors to Trinidad have only compounded the mass of points lost on the opening round at JamWest Speedway, Westmoreland, on May 22, when Jamaicans David Summerbell Jr and Doug “Hollywood” Gore had their crash. One-hundred-and-thirty six of Jamaica’s points came from the trio of Kyle Gregg, Summerbell, and Gore during the CMRC Group 4 4WD class races. This has left Gregg to carry the flag high for the rest of the season as Gore and Summerbell Jr are in the process of getting back on track.

Gregg has confirmed he will pass on Trinidad to focus his efforts in his Texaco-backed Radical here at the next Dover race meet on Monday, August 7, and round three of the CMRC scheduled for Barbados on September 3.

“I love Bushy Park in Barbados; it’s the nicest track in the Caribbean and it suits the Radical, so my plans are to break the track record there,” Gregg said.

Clarke hopes that more Jamaican competitors will take up the mantle for the rest of the remaining rounds.

— Rory Daley