After a season of getting down and dirty, the Asphalt Assault dexterity series returned to its roots on Saturday, April 1 at the Palisadoes International Raceway, Kingston, with Asphalt Assault: First Strike.

“I would like to say a big thank you to all our sponsors, team members, volunteers, competitors, and spectators without whom none of this would have been possible,” Christopher James of organizers Team Streetz, told the Jamaica Observer‘s weekly Auto magazine.

With the motorsports calendar resurrected early last year, Team Streetz moved the series to Bog Walk, St Catherine, under their Dirt Splurt banner due to the gravel surface of the venue being used. The season opener returned to the concrete of the Palisadoes International Raceway parking lot for the wet dexterity format, where the course is intermittently flooded with water to balance the course they commonly use. Still it wasn’t smooth sailing according to James, despite moving back into their familiar setup.

“Despite our best efforts, there will always be challenges. The lights came late, the water truck fell through at the last minute, five members of the team were unavoidably absent, and several of the rest of us had to be battling a cold. But God is great, we all pulled through, and plan C worked even if plan B didn’t,” he said.

Posting the fastest time over the three attempts at the course was Demar Lee. Lee has been making waves in the dexterity scene for a while now in his Subaru Impreza STi. Thrilling the crowd, he danced his rally car through the cones to immerge the top finisher.

Following him was Montegonian Chrs-Jon Addison. The circuit racer, also known for his drifting, kept Lee honest by pushing him every round in his Toyota Corolla.

Closing the podium spots was Rajendra Jadusingh. While third may not sound like an achievement, Jadusingh was also a close contender for top honours in his MINI Cooper throughout the night with his precious driving.

“The results show the balance of the course. First place 4WD, second place RWD, and third place FWD. Note that the third-place front-wheel drive car has exactly 72 wheel horsepower, proving that you don’t need a suped-up racecar to be competitive,” explained James.

Yohan Townsend and Ian Wright rounded out the top five competitors.

“We had good spectator turnout, and they were thoroughly entertained with everybody looking forward to the second event in June,” said James.