The Barbadian pair of Sean Gill and Michael “Zippy” Cummins are among the favourite pairs entered in this weekend’s PetCom Rally Jamaica organized by the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club (JMMC).
Drawn No.2 in the Simpson Motors/Shell V-Power/Automotive Art/ Digicel Suzuki SX4 WRC, the pair, who finished second overall and won the downtown Super Special in last year’s rally, have been putting the finishing touches to the pace notes for the event which has attracted 30 pairs to contest 24 stages.
The briefing meeting took place at rally headquarters, Knutsford Court Hotel, last night.
“Our preparation is on schedule and we are quietly confident of giving a good account of ourselves, but it’s a long rally and caution will be the watchword as we take it one stage at a time,” Gill said.
Harold Morley is the other Barbadian entry in the weekend’s event which has attracted competitors from Trinidad and Tobago, Scotland, Ireland and host country Jamaica.
The ceremonial start will be in front of Victoria Mutual Building on Knutsford Boulevard in the capital city’s business district at 5:30 p.m. (Jamaica time) tomorrow.
It will move through Bog Walk on Saturday for a day in the orange groves and special stages in Bybrook and New Works starting at 8 a.m. in Angels, St Catherine.
On Sunday, action will get under way at 7:30 a.m. before ending at 4 p.m. on the waterfront of downtown Kingston for the Festival of Speed super special stage.
The organisers have invited 20 circuit racing cars of the Jamaica Drag Racers Club (JDRC), normally seen at Dover Raceway, to be part of the activities in the Super Special on Sunday afternoon.
The return to Bernard Lodge was a sentimental decision made by the organizers, as it has not been used for many years. For the 20th anniversary, they wanted to use some of the original rally stages which delighted competitors and spectators alike. The stage is characterized by long straights leading into deceptive corners.
