Kyle Gregg dominates at Rally of the Kings
Kyle Gregg showed why he continues to be
one of the top drivers rally drivers in Jamaica, as he overcame significant
mechanical difficulties to win the Drivers Rallysport Club Rally of the Kings
in Bog Walk, St Catherine, recently.
Alongside co-driver Marcia Dawes, the pair
suffered severe brake failure on the second stage of the rally putting them
down the order when the event was held on September 29. With their Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution IX repaired during the lunchtime service halt, Gregg and Dawes
went for maximum attack all the way to the end of the event, bringing home
their car in first place. Along with their victory were six stage wins of the
eight.
With Rally of the Kings the only rally
event so far for the DRC season, Gregg’s performance is sobering for those
wanting to dethrone the 2018 Rally Jamaica winner in 2019. While he is bullish
on his chances of retaining the Rally Jamaica 2019 crown, Gregg doesn’t feel it
is done deal as yet because several of his key rivals, such as Joel Jackson and
Timothy Stewart, were missing at the event. Jackson indicated that his focus
this year was Rally Jamaica at the end of the year, and to that effort, his
Subaru Impreza STI has been pulled down to a bare shell to be rebuilt in time
for it.
One rival, who was present, Lee Vaz made
his overall intentions for Rally Jamaica known, hitting the Tru-Juice dirt
stages in a new car. He and co-driver Andrew Grahame used the event as a
baptism of fire for their 2010 Subaru Impreza STI, which he noted was a
significant upgrade from his previous car, an older 2007 model STI. Vaz moved
to the front of the field due to Gregg’s brake problem, and he kept the
pressure on for the rest of the day. The result was second place.
Both drivers said they’ll be testing their cars before the upcoming Rally Jamaica. Behind them was a trio of front-wheel-drive cars, as the only other turbocharger four-wheel-drive car driven by Roan Jones went out early. He was later joined in the DNF column by Thomas Hall and James Lechler. Derrick McDowell with Matthew Isaacs, and Colin and Spencer Whittingham were the remaining finishers. The two teams driving BMW 318Tis.
— Written by Nichola Beckford
