The Jamaica Race Drivers Club (JRDC) is looking to expand motorsports and access to the Dover Raceway for 2024.

Junior Barnes, chairman, JRDC, revealed his plans at a media day hosted at the iconic St Ann venue on Sunday, March 3.

“The aim for the media day, beyond getting media exposure, is to bring all genres as we can to meet at one venue. We want Dover not to be known only as a circuit venue, but a multipurpose venue,” he told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly Auto magazine.

Barnes referenced drag racing and the rise in popularity of drifting, both of which have been fighting the image of illegal street activity connected with the genres.

“We’re trying to get the drifters off the roads, since the country has no purpose-built drift facility, or a location that can handle high-speed drifting. Dover is available, with proper guidelines and training. We also have a 1/8 mile that we can run with a proper run-off area that the drag racers can come and test their vehicles here, instead of on the road,” said Barnes.

The JRDC chairman believes Dover Raceway can become one-stop testing and training facility, reducing potential risk to everyday motorists and racers themselves. To start this process the JRDC has been having track days on the first Sunday of every month.

Barnes wants to push even beyond that, appealing to public and private sector companies that may need driving training.

“We have special training for ambulance drivers, firefighters, police, and so forth,” he said.

Barnes added it was just a matter of reaching out to the JRDC for information on the training programmes.

The media day had circuit racers, drifters, and karters present to test and show off their skills to the media professionals on hand, while the competitors themselves were given a bit of public relations training to further better their chances for sponsorship and exposure from marketing consultant Tanya Lee Perkins of Leep Marketing.

As for the 2024 season, Barnes stated that the JRDC is in transition, acknowledging the elements that are now absent from the sport of circuit racing.

“Dover is a hard sell now without a Thundersport class. There’s no more [David] Summerbell, no Evolutions and Subarus, and now there are no Radicals. It’s a challenge to entertain with the remaining two-wheel drive competitors,” he said.

However, Barnes is betting on the young, fresh up-and-coming talent to take their place at the top step of the sport in the future.

“We have some young good talented drivers that are doing their best. I just hope that I’ll be here long enough to see Dover turn around to the glory days,” he shared.

Barnes does note that the club has been trying to reduce the financial load on competitors and that they have been reaching out to older, inactive drivers to bring them back into the fold.

The first of the four circuit racing meets will start on Easter Monday, April 1, with three events scheduled for Dover Raceway and one at JamWest Speedway in Westmoreland.