AS the sun set in Montego Bay on Tuesday, the island’s dexterity giants came out for the final battle of the year – Wet & Slide Rebirth: The Go Green Edition in Whitter Village, Ironshore.

The highly anticipated event, a collaboration between the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club (JMMC) and the Montego Bay Motoring Club (MMC), was the 5th and final event in the 2011 Dexterity Championship. It was on this day class and overall champions would be decided.

And, drivers from across Jamaica and beyond journeyed to the second city for a shot at cash prizes and the title of 2011 JMMC Dexterity Champion.

“This has been a very successful year for motorsports in Jamaica and we’re now bringing the motorsports entertainment package back to Montegonians and to this side of the world; letting people know what the exciting Wet & Slide Dexterity Championship is all about,” said Dean Corrodus, chairman of the JMMC.

“The name of the event alludes to its significance. It’s called Wet & Slide: The Rebirth. We actually started this type of wet tarmac dexterity event right here in Montego Bay. So this is sort of a homecoming for us. Montegonians are really great motorsports fans and they have turned out in their numbers today,” he said.

As the wet tarmac glistened in the moonlight, hundreds gathered to watch history in the making. Top championship contenders included Maurice ‘ Worl’ Boss’ Whittingham; Cleve ‘Cutta Hype’ Ottey; Richard Chang; and, a host of other ‘drifters’ from the Team Mad Dem, Team TRD and Carz Rehab camps.

Crowd favourites also included young gun Jamar Kinkaid, Ivan Lee, Ameer Johnson and Ian Wright with his ‘Big Red Truck’.

Multiple champion Maurice ‘Worl’ Boss’ Whittingham, though entering the days proceedings with an already unassailable lead in the overall points standing, faced some fierce competition for the fastest time of the day from challenger Ivan Lee, who had flown all the way from Mexico to compete.

“I’ve been fighting all year for the dexterity championship. I’ve won it many years before, but this one was a little special because I’m getting up in age and a lot of young drivers were challenging me citing that I’m over the hill. I said ‘I’m not giving you anything, you have to come for it, this is no walk in the park’,” said Montegonian Whittingham, who won the overall championship.

The event also featured a 4×1 relay in which two teams battled for supremacy. Montego Bay-based Team Mad Dem was victorious. Prizes were also given for the Lowest Car on the Ground; Most Outrageous Car; and the Cleanest Car.

Winners in the remaining categories of the dexterity test included Ivan Lee (rwd with limited slip differential and fastest time of the day) driving his Toyota Corolla SR5 (1:20:78); Christopher McFarlane (fwd) driving his Mitsubishi ASX (1:26:44); Garth Chin (rwd) in his Mercedes Benz 190e (1:34:49) and Ameer Johnson (fwd with limited slip differential) driving his Toyota Corolla Levin (1:25:07).