St James Municipal Council Chairman Leeroy Williams has launched an investigation into a video that shows two high-powered racing cars being driven on the Mondo synthetic track at the Montego Bay Sports Complex (MBSC).

A copy of the 10-second video, which was seen by the Jamaica Observer, shows the two cars headed in the direction the track’s finish line in front of the grand stand.

The running track, which was laid in 2002 as part of the complex which was a gift from the Venezuelan Government under the Petro Caribe initiative, has been out of use because of poor maintenance and the hardened running surface was deemed unsuitable for competition or even training purposes.

Williams, who says that he saw the video on Thursday morning, said, “I was not aware that this was happening. The municipality has given no permission to anyone to use the facility for any such event.”

The mayor said he has ordered an investigation into the circumstances. “How did they get there, we have security and [the drivers] must have been given access.”

The video, which has gone viral, has elicited outrage, and one track and field official told the Observer, “It would appear that people are of the opinion that the track has been abandoned.”

An outraged Andrew Henry, coach of Mount Alvernia High School track and field team, says, “What I saw on the video disgusts me. To know that we have been asking and begging the Government for years to fix the facility that was a gift to the people of Jamaica, but all we hear are excuses.

“When I saw cars being driven on a track that was built for people to run on, this bothered me. It is a disrespect to the people of western Jamaica and to track and field in Jamaica as this track serves the entire country. I am sure this could never happen to any track in Kingston.”

Herbert Morrison Technical track coach Claude Grant says the refusal of the authorities to fix the stadium was nothing short of “disrespect”.

He says the absence of a track in western Jamaica to host meets has cost the schools in the region more than their eastern counterparts.

“It’s important for us to do well from this region that has produced Usain Bolt; Dexter Lee [2006 World Under-20 finalist]; Nickesha Anderson; and others,” he said on the eve of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Authority (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships in March. “We are not being treated as we should, as the track is not been fixed.

“All the schools are forced to travel to meets every week if we are to get the use of artificial tracks. We are the only regional meet [Western Championships] that is run on grass, and it cannot be fair as the cost of travelling is high and that takes away from other important parts of the preparation.

“None of the Kingston schools are asked to spend as much as we have been doing, so most of our budget goes into transportation.”

The track, which used to host up to six track meets each season, has not been used for that purpose in at least five years, and Mayor Williams says he has been having ongoing discussions with Sport Minister Olivia Grange about the full rehabilitation of the complex and not just the relaying of the running track.

A number of promises have been made by the Government about fixing the track, but in the four years since, none have commenced.

At an event held in Sam Sharpe Square in honour of the Reggae Girls’ first qualification to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Grange told the Observer that a crew that was fixing the Stadium East track at the time would be doing the same at the MBSC.

Grange also said last year, after the Carifta Games, which was hosted in Kingston, that work was set to start at MBSC, with only minor details to first be ironed out.