JAMAICAN MOTOR RACING IDOL David Summerbell Jr. declared war on his opponents in the first leg of the 2010 Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) at the Dover Raceway in Jamaica, last weekend.
Summerbell was in total command at the north coast venue as he sped to victory in all three of the CMRC’s races.
His only threat came in the first race of the championship when he and Barbadian Mark Maloney engaged each other in a typical cat-and-mouse game.
But Summerbell, driving his Total Lubricants-sponsored Time Attack TA-1 Mitsubishi Evolution 8, showed why he is regarded as the king of Jamaican and Caribbean racing.
Maloney, in his 20B Mazda RX-3, executed a clinical pass on Summerbell going into turn seven and held him off for two laps. Summerbell made several attempts to get past Maloney, who held on to the racing line on each occasion.
However, the champion persisted and eventually got past Maloney to take the checkered flag before hundreds of screaming Jamaican supporters.
In the final two races, Summerbell won by well over half of the front straight.
From the previous afternoon, Summerbell had signalled his intention when he was the only competitor to go under 1 minute, 20 seconds during the official practice session.
This set the benchmark for the other competitors who struggled to get past the 1 min, 22-second mark.
However, heavy showers prior to the start of the official qualifying section forced the officials to cancel it until the following morning.
Predictably, mechanical and electrical issues plagued some competitors.
Andrew King of Guyana, who blew both of his engines, was the first casualty. Doug Maloney suffered gearbox problems which kept him out of the competition.
Doug Gore had his share of problems in his first three races but after a protest, was allowed to switch cars for the other two races.
This did not go down well with the Guyanese and Barbadian competitors, who threatened to withdraw from the remainder of the meet.
However, an agreement was reached by the officials, who subsequently dealt with the matter by stripping Gore of his points in the two races.
The man who many feared would have caused headaches for most of the other competitors on his return to competition was Guyanese Mark Vieira.
However, Vieira was less than spectacular in his newly acquired 3-rotor 20B Mazda RX-8.
He failed to deliver, as one problem after another prevented him from being very competitive.The second round of the championships is slated for August 28 and 29 at the Bushy Park racing circuit.
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Standings
Official points standings after the first leg.
1. David Summerbell Jr. (Jamaica) 30 points
2. Peter Ray (Jamaica) 26
3. Kevin Jeffrey (Guyana) 24
4. Mark Vieira (Guyana) 22
5. Paul Vieira (Guyana) 18
6. Mark Maloney (Barbados) 16
