KYLE Gregg and co-driver Marcia Dawes took top honours in the Richard Stewart Memorial Rally Jamaica 2019 held in Bog Walk, St Catherine, on the weekend of December 6 – 8, 2019.

The winning team drove their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

“I’m glad with the win. This is the third time I’ve won it, and the first back-to-back after winning it last year, so I’m happy,” Gregg told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly Auto magazine.

Dawes joined Gregg at the 2018 staging of the event — making this a back to back win for her as well. Second place went to Thomas Hall and James Lechler, and third to Timothy Stewart and Stephen Gunter.

“We had a strategy and we stuck to it,” Dawes said.

Gregg was a favourite all year, coming off a strong international win in April at Rally Trinidad, the pair then won the Rally of the Kings in September ahead of preparing for Rally Jamaica. Unlike last year, Gregg has no mechanical problems to content with and was in the lead by over two minutes at the end of day one. This was mostly due to their class rivals faltering beginning with Joel Jackson, whose Subaru Impreza STI crashed out. Technical issues plagued Stewart, while Hall had a raft of punctures to deal with.

Lee Vaz, also in an Impreza STI, rolled and spent the entire rally trying to return to a place where he could challenge for the win.

Gregg’s margin of victory at the end of the rally was a fraction over one minute, but Dawes explained that it was a matter of pace management that caused the reduction in the gap as they opted to drive at a speed that would keep them out of trouble.

For Hall, his second place proved a welcome reward for his first event in the higher JN8 class for production-based turbocharged, four-wheel drive vehicles. His tyre woes disappeared on day two — allowing him to overhaul teammate Stewart also driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

“Much better rally this year for us. The level of competition is just crazy. We were all within striking distance of each other,” said Stewart.

Vaz would be the last of the major players to retire from the rally as he clipped a rock on the final stage destroying his front suspension.

This released the pressure on Leslie Madden Jr, leaving him the top Subaru finisher. Co-driven by Sean Williams, the two were making a return to rallying after a long layoff. They were followed by the Bobby Marshall and Marcel Brandon, the first of the two-wheel-drive drivers.