Spills and thrills at Dover

By Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter

Peter Moodie Jnr. races towards the Carib Cement corner ahead of Chippy Addison and Gary Gregg during the Pro Champ Independence race meet held at the Dover raceway in St. Ann on Monday. - Michael Sloley

"IT WAS a very good meet," that is how Larry Henriques, meet organiser, described the Independence Day race meet which concluded on Monday at the Dover raceway in St. Ann.

Despite a heavy afternoon downpour, more than 2,000 stood in the rain to witness the bumper-to-bumper rivalry between Charles Phillip, Christopher "Chippy" Addison, Gary Gregg, Peter Moodie Jnr. and David Summerbell Jnr.

The brightest moments came when the drivers began dicing for positions while negotiating the "horse-shoe turns" and steep corners.

"Stephan Chin, Emeile Janaire and Dustin Chin all had spills. Stephan sustained a broken collarbone and had to be rushed to hospital, the others received minor injuries," explained Rory Jardine, a former national champion, who has retired and now organises motorcycle races.

Race two of the Improved Production Class brought the crowd to its feet. Addison led for most of the event with Gregg chasing in serious pursuit over the 10-lap event.

However, it was young Kris Bowla who brought the crowd alive. On the final lap of the event, he burst out of the pack and flashed past Gregg to finish second behind Phillips.

Most of the cars seemed to be well prepared for the meet, but some patrons expressed disappointment at not seeing the drivers challenging the race leaders.

The October Heroes' Day race meet has been dedicated to Alfred Chen, a motor racing legend who died in a helicopter crash in the hills of Trelawny, last year.

"Several overseas drivers from Trinidad and Barbados are expected for this upcoming meet, but we have not got any confirmation as yet," said Henriques.

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