Glenroy Sinclair, Senior Staff Reporter

Jamaica's Gary Gregg (left) and his United Kingdom-based engineer are applauded by Petcom's sales and marketing manager, Alphanso Chambers (right), at Monday night's awards ceremony of the 2006 JMMC/Petcom All Stages Rally. Gregg and his co-driver Hugh Hutchinson won the event for the second consecutive year. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

Gary Gregg and his United Kingdom-based engineer, Ian Davies, held the winning trophies aloft to thunderous applause of scores of die-hard motorsports fans, who turned out at the Hilton's New Kingston hotel on Monday night to congratulate the team on winning the 2006 JMMC/Petcom All Stages Rally for the second consecutive year.

Absent from the jubilant moment was Gregg's co-driver, Hugh Hutchinson, a Jamaican who lives in Miami, Florida, but keeps travelling to Jamaica annually for the island's premier motorsports event.

Despite driving one of the fastest cars in the two-day festival, Gregg stressed that it was the driver and team which made the difference.

"There were others cars like mine that took part in the rally, but this now proves that it is not just the car, but the man behind the wheel," said Gregg, who is looking forward to the Barbados Rally next June.

His WRC Ford Focus car assumed the lead on day-two (Saturday), following the cancellation of the Jam World Stage in Portmore, St. Catherine, on day-one (Friday).

Never easy

"It was never easy, but we thought we would have come under a lot more pressure. Our only scare was the last two stages in Bog Walk (Sunday) after the rainfall. We had to be very cautious not to slip off the road," said Gregg, who spoke with The Gleaner from his office in downtown Kingston yesterday.

A businessman by profession, Gregg who recently had a minor surgery, was given another four weeks by doctors to fully recover.

"But he (doctor) understands and said I could compete in the rally," said Gregg.

Finishing in second place behind Gregg and Hutchinson were Jeffrey Panton and Justin Morin in a Mitsubishi Evolution IX. Third place went to Doug Gore and Mark Nelson in a Mitsubishi Evolution VIII.

On Sunday night Jamaican-born John Powell, who lives in Trinidad and Tobago, lodged a protest but nothing has been heard of it since Monday night.