Linton’s love of speed

There is the popular saying that a “berry never falls far from the tree”. This is evidently true in the case of 41-year-old Jackie Linton who among other things is an avid race-car/driver/navigator/mechanic. Having been born in a family where her grandfather had a car similar to that of her father, a box Viva, a mother who rode bikes and a father who raced and fixed cars, it is no surprise that their only daughter would one day follow in their footsteps. Speaking to EASY about her interest in cars and motor-sport, Linton said she remembers it was around the age of six or seven, helping her dad do simple things like handing him a spanner or screwdriver, holding a wrench, and so on, that her love for cars started. “I also remember helping him hold the pistons while he tried desperately to get the piston rings off after he had heated them on the stove. As time went on, I learnt quite a bit about fixing cars from watching my father and grandfather. So I would say it was from that time my interest and love for everything to do with cars grew.” However, it was from going to Bushy Park on the many Sunday afternoons to watch her father race that, young Jackie Straughan at the time, love for speed started to grow. “My dad used to race at Bushy Park,  so we used to go there as a family. It was there I met my future husband. “I met Adrian not knowing he was involved in car racing. After that first meeting we would hook up after school. I was around 18 or 19 and most of our dates used to be fixing cars. “He would take out the roll cage from his car when we wanted to go out to lunch or dinner. Eventually we both agreed that if we wanted to spend more time together, navigating with him was one such way.  “Our first event was in the 1988 Shell Rally in his Daihatsu Charade. Even though I was a bit nervous at the start, it was quite interesting. I think he was trying to frighten me by doing handbrake turns, but every time he would go around a corner or go through a puddle, I would giggle.“He tried to make it tough for me but it was exciting because I was a daredevil then.” It was not long after competing in the Shell Rally that she would experience her first taste of overseas competition. “My first experience in rallying overseas was an experience that I will never forget. Adrian was among five teams from Barbados chosen to take part in the Trinidad and Tobago Penta Paints 500 Rally and he asked me if I wanted to go and naturally I said yes. “I was then teaching at the Holy Innocence School in St Thomas and planned to leave school the evening and take the bus to the airport and meet Adrian in Trinidad. A number of blunders almost landed me in serious trouble. “When I got to Trinidad, the immigration officers were making fun at my size and height after I told them I was there to navigate in the weekend rally. Some of them asked me if I can see over the dashboard . . . all kinds of hilarious questions. “So engrossed, they forgot to stamp the entry date in my passport. The first thing that went wrong is that I did not tell my parents I was going to Trinidad. “The second problem was, I was placed on the wrong flight so I ended up in Trinidad on an earlier flight than the one I was supposed to be on – with no money and no way of contacting Adrian. “When Adrian checked the flight I was scheduled to arrive on, they told him I was not on that flight.  “All this time I was sitting there outside the arrival hall at the airport watching rally cars and police vehicles going up and down and I said to myself, ‘they like they looking for somebody’, not knowing it was me.“Eventually Adrian came and got me. But before that he had called my parents asking which flight I had left on. They were shocked since I had not told them I was going to Trinidad, so I knew when I returned home I would have a lot of explaining to do.”However, Linton’s biggest hurdle was yet to unfold. “Having completed the rally I headed to the airport to catch the first flight out the Monday morning with the intention of going straight to school. It was then I had the scare of my life. “When the immigration officer checked the records, there were none of me entering the country so I was told my luggage would have to be removed from the aircraft and I had to be body-searched and then questioned by the police.” Fortunately, Lynette Eastmond was there and acted as her attorney in resolving the matter.The rally of Great Britain in 2006 would be Linton’s first taste of international rallying. In that rally Linton performed the role of manager. “During one of the stages, I found myself changing four tyres in less than 15 minutes flat, in sleet with high-heel boots and long fingernails. Nevertheless, I had to do it since we did not have a touring team.”Linton, who has a passion for drag racing and rail cars, is hoping to live her dream of owning and competing in a rail car. “My favourite is driving the rails. From day one I have been fantasising about it. In the meantime more inspiration comes from watching Ashley Force and her father John Force, the NHRH champion. I would also like to do a snow rally before I call it a day. “Even if I do it once, that is my dream – and to do it well. My next goal is to get involved in drag racing with the newly formed club, The Barbados Association of Dragsters and Drifters.“I am hoping lots more ladies will join the club and let us have some friendly rivalry between us.”