Glenroy Sinclair, Senior Staff Reporter

Gary Gregg & Hugh Hutchinson in their Ford Focus WRC at the Tru Juice Wakefield stage on Day Two of the JMMC Petcom All Stages Rally at Bog Walk, St. Catherine on Sunday, December 10. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor

According to provisional results yesterday, businessman Gary Gregg and his co-driver Hugh Hutchinson were crowned winners of the JMMC/Petcom Stages Rally for the second consecutive year.

Finishing in second and third place respectively were two former champions, the teams of Doug Gore/Marc Evans and Jeffrey Panton/Justin Morin.

Driving his customary WRC Ford Focus car, Gregg assumed the lead as early as Day One after completing the Lydford stage in St. Ann.

Gregg, who recently underwent minor surgery, was in a no-nonsense mood yesterday, as he and his co-driver navigated their way through the orange fields in Bog Walk and across the scenic water splash stage.

Not even the threat of malaria and the drizzling rain could deter the hundreds of die-hard motorsport fans from coming out to cheer on their favourite drivers.

When the event re-started yesterday, at least five cars dropped out due to mechanical problem. Of the nine overseas entrants, the pair of John Powell and Michael March in their Toyota Corolla WRC car, was highly fancied to dethrone defending champion Gregg, but after the first run through the water splash stage in Bog Walk, the Powell/March pair no longer posed a threat to the Jamaicans.

On Saturday, the adjoining districts of Johnson Town in Lydford, St. Ann, buzzed with activities, as the roaring engines of the rally cars could be heard racing through the streets and on to the hilly terrains of the designated routes, an event welcomed by hundreds of screaming residents.

The official start of the rally was cancelled on Friday afternoon because of the threat of malaria in the swampy area of Jam World in Portmore, St. Catherine. This reduced the rally stages from 26 to 24, or 150 kilometres.