MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaican champion race car driver Doug “Hollywood” Gore has distanced himself from claims of disrespecting the all-weather running track at the Montego Bay Sports Complex at Catherine Hall after he was seen in a now viral video driving his race car on it.

The video was widely condemned and saw a backlash from track and field lovers and also from the wider society, including the St James Municipal Council.

Mayor of Montego Bay Leeroy Williams told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday they had not given permission for the stadium to be used for that purpose and said he had ordered a probe into the matter.

Gore, who reached out to the Observer on Friday, explained that there was “no racing going on” and explained that he had agreed to participate in a video shoot for reggae artiste Stylo G.

The Montego Bay-based driver said he was not paid for the appearance and decided to do it mostly for social media purposes and said when they had access to the stadium, he was of the opinion the producers of the video had been given permission from “good contacts”.

The video shoot, Gore said, had started at a popular motor vehicle dealership before moving to the stadium facility where again he cautioned the producers that his car was not designed to be driven in the confines of the parking lot.

He said he was told that the plan was for him and another person to drive around the track simulating a race, but said “my car never came out of first gear and we just drove two laps before shutting it down”.

Gore, who said he received calls from a number of people, including a former track and field star, offering their support, said he was “astonished at the deplorable condition of not just the track”, but the entire place.

He said he was told the bathrooms did not work and he noticed signs of rust in the stands and the structure and remarked on the poor state of the running track that had seen a number of top Jamaican athletes compete between 2002 when it was first laid and 2018 when it’s badly worn condition forced the organisers of track and field events to take their events elsewhere.