Throw Back Thursday – Dateline: 1970’s Vernamfield
Douglas Sinclair driving his BRE Dastun 510 in the rain at Vernamfield in a 1970’s race meet.
The Sinclair 510 was a genuine BRE, one of only five 510’s built by Brock Racing Enterprises for SCCA Trans-Am racing. Sinclair’s 510 utilised the same BRE livery design as the four other cars with the exception of the iconic red and blue stripes and red roof; Sinclair’s stripes and roof were yellow. Sinclair’s Garage was the Datsun dealer in Jamaica, while BRE was the official factory supported racing team that dominated the SCCA Trans Am 2.5 championship, winning in 1971 & 1972 before all other manufacturers pulled out because of the dominance of the BRE 510.
The Sinclair BRE 510 was raced at Vernamfield until the last-ever JMRA event in 1979, after which it was shipped to the US and raced sporadically there by Sinclair. It was brought back to Jamaica when circuit racing started at Dover Raceway in 1989 and raced for a few years before being parked again. Neglected for many years before the closing of the Sinclair’s Garage dealership, the Sinclair BRE 510 was sold in 2001 and now resides in a private collection in New Mexico, USA where it is being restored for vintage racing.
Photo of the Sinclair BRE 510 at Vernamfield courtesy of Paul Banks’ private collection.
