Adrian Frater, News Editor
Western Bureau:
The team of Jeffrey Panton and Justin Morin, displaying phenomenal driving skills in their classy Lancer Evolution 9, sped away with top honours in Sunday's exciting 2006 Raynor King Memorial
Stages Rally, which unfolded in the humid cane fields of Frome, in Westmoreland.
With their main rivals and pre-rally favourites Doug Gore and Mark Nelson falling prey to a broken suspension, which knocked their ominous-looking Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8 out of the contest, Panton and Morin easily got the better of the other contenders in romping the course in a time of 23.29.850.
Rory King, the son of the late Raynor King, who was hoping to win the title as a tribute to his father, came close enough to warm the heart of his uncle, former national rally champion Stratton King. The young King teamed with Winston Dawson in finishing in second position in their Mitsubishi in a time of 23.39.968.
In his blood
"He can't help but make his mark because racing is in his blood," said King (Stratton), in describing his nephew's excellent driving. "He is definitely poised to uphold the family name as our family has a fine history in turning out exceptional drivers."
The team of Leslie Madden and Robert Dehaney, who were not expected to finish in the top three, capitalised on the misfortune of the Gore/Nelson team as they bagged third place in their Subaru Impreza, which navigated the challenging course in 23.50.230.
The other teams making up the top ten reads as follows: 4th - Richard Rerrie (Raynor King's nephew)/ Neil Baugh. 5th - Haresh Ramchandani/Colin Chambers, 6th - Marc Evans/Robert Thelwell, 7th Dean Corrodus/Leroy Spence, 8th - Bobby Marshal/Thomas Hall, 9th- Pernell Fitz-Coy/Marvin Porteous and 10th - Richard Chan/Ivan Lee.
The event, the third rally in the five-event Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club (JMMC) /Petcom/ Digicel National Rally, was organised by the Montego Bay Motoring Club (MBMC).
According to Dean Corrodus, the president of the MBMC, the event, which has become a favourite of drivers in the rally sport series, was moved forward to August 20, from the original late October date, because the event had been plagued by adverse weather in recent years.
