Tarmac grips fans
The MoBay Racing Association (MRA) hosted a throwback to the days of high-speed rallysprint action when they took over the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium on Sunday, August 11 for the second in its sprint series.
“The Double 7, MRA SKATE sprint event was a rewarding experience for our team. It took a lot of hard work and coordination, but seeing everything come together made it all worth it. We’re proud of what we accomplished and grateful for the positive feedback from participants. It was a great opportunity to learn and grow as a team, and we’re excited about what’s next,” Mark-Anthony March, of MRA, told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly
Auto magazine.
The primary significance of SKATE was the fact that it was held on tarmac — something that has not happened for rallysprint in over a decade.
“Hosting a tarmac sprint has been one of the hardest for our team here at MRA. Seeing that there hasn’t been a tarmac sprint in over 10 years, we had the pressure of ensuring this event went well, was fun, and happened in a safe and timely manner. The overheads for such an event are also high, but with the help of corporate Jamaica most of these can be offset. There are a lot of moving parts in doing tarmac, but we now understand and have a total grasp on it. We can only go up from here,” he said.
SKATE saw a tarmac course created from the connecting roads within the venue and pitted cars from three motorsport genres, rally, circuit, and drift against each other for a day of excitement for the fans and competitors.
At the end of the day it was a trio of Subarus on the podium, with Demar Lee the fastest in his Impreza on the two-lap championship run. He took home the JN8 class win as well.
Montegonian Brandon King was a mere three seconds behind on the tricky course for second position, while Ian Galbraith completed the podium positions. Marvin Porteous and Akello Morgan rounded out the top five finishers.
The return to tarmac and the inclusion of the different genres resulted in one of the largest sprint competitor turnouts in a while.
“We’re thrilled with how the event turned out, and it’s inspiring to see the community come together after such a long time,” said March.
He said MRA is looking to formalise its Sprint championship in 2025 by adding another tarmac venue to its arsenal.
The plan is to return to Spot Valley at the end of October for the next sprint event.