News - First Day, Kingston

Team News from MRT

First day of competition in Kingston

After the first day of competition in Kingston, Jamaica the crew of Brett Middleton and Andrew Benefield lead the Esso International Stages rally.

Just two stages were completed today, a 3km mud bath through a sugar plantation close to Kingston docks that was repeated twice. Whilst the team currently lead the international field by 21 seconds, they are certain the time they received on the first stage was incorrect and will be corrected overnight, possibly if scoring is completed. The pair were 24 seconds quicker than local hero Jeffery Pantone in an ex-TTE Celica.

"Usually I run a stop watch in the car, however there was no flying finish marker!! so my in car time is also wrong" commented Andrew Benefield. However even if the first time is potentially incorrect on the second run the crew were only 3 seconds behind an improved Pantone, even after a small spin. The time was equalled by Swedish Formula 2 champion Johannson in his Mitsubishi Evolution 6 and was a further 6 seconds quicker than an improving Japanese driver "Endo" in his Subaru.

Unfortunately it is hard to get a full picture of results as they are not published overnight, just as it is hard to report driver names as no entry list has been published.

"We do not relish the thought of running 1st car on the road in a foreign rally" commented Brett Middleton, "however with 16 much longer stages to be completed tomorrow it may be to much of an opportunity to avoid". Crews present their cars again at 6.00am for a long day finishing in the
dark after 9pm.

The first days action in Jamaica was certainly entertaining as all transport stage times were cancelled after the huge amount of local spectator traffic jammed all roads including the main highway. Foreign crews were told to relax, after all this is Jamaica!!, it will soon come.

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