International Rallycross star Fraser McConnell put up a tough fight. Rory Daly
Jamaican rallysport fans were treated to a dominant performance from international rallycross star Fraser McConnell at the Drivers Rallysport Club (DRC) + Montego Bay Racing Association (MRA) Sprint 1, held on Sunday, April 21st, at Spot Valley Raceway in Montego Bay.
“I knew I’d be coming here for the event so I called to see what cars they had and Lee Vaz offered me the opportunity to drive it to show him the car’s potential as he was trying to sell it. So it was a win-win for both sides,” McConnell said.
Jamaica Observer’s weekly motoring magazine.
He was in a tight battle with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 drivers Demar Lee, Brandon King and Rainer King. He was over a second faster than Lee and set the fastest time of the day on the Spot Valley course. With a time of 2:53.316, McConnell earned the fastest time of the day and the JN8 class win. King placed third.
With that speed, McConnell went into the championship run as the favorite to win and he didn’t disappoint, this time finishing seven seconds faster than his closest competitor, Brandon King.
“Sunday was a lot of fun. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a full spec rally car and it was my first time at Spot Valley so it was a great experience,” McConnell said.
The podium for the Championship Run was topped by Rainer King. Maurice Whittingham was the fastest JA2 driver and fastest two-wheel drive car, finishing 4th in the Championship Run. He was followed by Bobby Marshall who finished 5th in the Championship Run and 1st in the JA3 class. Spencer Whittingham was the only JA4 driver and Brandon King was the only JA8 driver.
“Our sprint was a success and while we would have liked to have more entries, our goal is to execute with consistency and show the drivers we are here for the sport,” said MRA’s Mark Anthony March.
March added that he had chosen to work with his MRA partners and the DRC in order to avoid putting a strain on the motorsport calendar.
“We have a packed schedule and we didn’t want our drivers to feel overwhelmed or, worse, have to pick events, so we partnered up where there were events close together on the calendar,” he said.
Now they’re planning on organising a sprint on paved roads on their side of the island.
