The JMC/Petcom All Stage Loose Rally 2002 was a new and exciting challenge for Roger Hill and myself. It was the first overseas rally that we were competing in as a team and we went with a plan to approach the stages with a greater degree of caution than we might at home but still drive hard enough not to be left out of the top five.

Having both competed in Jamaica in the past we knew the attrition rate would be high and as long as we were consistent we would be able to take a podium position.

We spent 12 hours on Friday doing pace notes on the stages and also trying to decipher the route-book that we were given. With no local knowledge this proved harder than we had anticipated and we ended up doing a very basic drive through a number of the stages in the dark. So when it actually came time to drive the stages, we were very cautious as we could not trust the pace notes completely which is very important in an all-stage event.

The rally itself was great fun. It was rough and hard on the cars and claimed many of the competitors in the early running. The Toyota Celica however worked well and absorbed the lashes we gave her with ease. The only problem we had mechanically involved the window regulator on my side of the car breaking and the door jamming closed at will, so I spent half of the time on Sunday climbing in and out of the permanently open window Nascar Style….thankfully no rain on the stages on Sunday or what little pace notes I had would have been destroyed!

Roger handled the car as though it was an extension of himself most of the time. Using the power and handbrake to make the tight corners seem like long sweeping bends and the long bends seem like straights. We actually started to think that the car may have been remembering her days of winning in Jamaica and was driving herself at times and we were just along for the ride…. At least that is what some of the Jamaican competitors told us.

The jumps at the end of the Caymanas South stage were probably the highlight of the rally for me. The first time through caused a little pain when a hard landing caused me to fight with the crotch strap in the car and it won… the next pace note was a little higher pitch than normal. But no permanent damage I hope. The second time through was more for the spectators than for time as Roger ignored the pace notes and pulled to the left of the jump and floored the car over the launch…this side was not for jumping it was for launching only. And I cannot forget to mention the donuts at the final time control at the golf course. Spinning on a dime would not be an exaggeration once the fun began. I think we enjoyed it more than the spectators who probably could not see us after the first rotation due to the dust and tire smoke.

We would like to make a special thanks to our sponsors Esso, Michelin, Nassco, Max-Meyers, and MotorMac, and also the Jamaica Motoring Club and Petcom and all the sponsors who made the trip to Jamaica possible. We will be back!!!

Graham Gittens
Co-Driver Toyota Celica ST-185