JMRA Circuit Racing Archive
Dateline: December 20, 1958.
Caption from The Gleaner: A pulsating “LeMans” start and these racing cars are off in the first Jamaican Grand Prix, the feature race of the Auto Owners Club’s Rally held at Vernamfield last Sunday. There were ten cars in the race including MGA, MGs, Truimphs and Austin Healey Sprite.
Douglas Sinclair driving his BRE Dastun 510 in the rain at Vernamfield in a 1970’s race meet.
Jimmy and Veta Foote stand beside their Porsche which was awarded “Top Car” at the inaugural Jamaica Grand Prix event on Jamaica’s actual Independence Day in 1962 at Vernamfield, Clarendon.
Jimmy finished second in the 110-mile Jamaica Grand Prix, won the 22-mile Saloon race and Veta won the 44-mile “Powerpuff Derby” driving the same car. Altogether the car completed 166 miles on race day.
Formula cars line up for the start of the Purolator Filter Trophy race over 10 laps on the 1.1-mile Vernamfield “short circuit” at the Jamaica Motor Racing Association’s first meet of 1975.
Pictured from Left to Right: Richard Machado in a Terrapin, Paul Chong in a Lola (#14), Peter Moodie in a Brabham BT30 (#8) and Cornel D’Oyen in his Milo-sponsored Mallock.
Peter Moodie won the race in a total time of 10:03.4 seconds.
Billy Blackledge in his Chevron B-8 leads Leslie Ashman in his Lotus Elan at the Jamaica Motor Racing Association’s May 26, 1972 race meet at Vernamfield. Some 10,000 spectators were there to witness the day of racing, with Blackledge winning two races on the day including the Kingston Industrial Garage trophy race.
Legend has it that the Chevron burned to the ground at Vernamfield but the truth is that Blackledge sold the car after the 1973 season at Vernamfield to Richard Melville and Geoffrey DePass of Jamaica who dismantled it and took it to the shop of John Gunn in Miami for rebuilding, never returning to retrieve it. The car, chassis CHDBE87, one of only 44 built and first owned by Roger Heavens who raced the car in the 1970 European Championship Series, was sold to Harry Stevenson then to Charles Allen Hollis Sr. in 1975 who then owned and raced it for 41 years before offering it for sale in 2016.
Champion racing driver George Sherwood poses with the four trophies he won at the Vernamfield International race meet on Sunday November 25, 1973. Here he leans on his Austin Mini 1310 (Car #17). The event was the last race meet of the year. George was best known for driving the infamous “Belmont Bee” Mini.
Mark Moodie driving the iconic tube-framed BDA Ford Escort leads Stafford Haughton in his equally iconic V8 Ford Capri through the Chicane on the back straight at Vernamfield during a race meet in the mid-1970’s.
Mark Moodie was the last JMRA Champion when racing was halted at Vernamfield following the JMRA International in 1979.
Richard Machado in his Ford Capri, on his way to winning the Shell Trophy Race on August 27, 1972 at Vernam Field.
Machado won two races at the Jamaica Motor Racing Association’s 10-race event, also winning the race for Unlimited Capacity cars.
Cornel D’Oyen in his Milo-sonsored Mallock MK11B Formula 3 car on the front straight of Vernamfield in November 1973.
After racing ceased at Vernamfield, D’Oyen became president of the Jamaica Karting Association.
ateline mid-1970’s
Cornel D’Oyen #1 leads Mark Moodie in #11 and a pack of Formula cars through the BOAC essess before the start of a race at Vernamfield.
Peter Moodie driving his Ford-powered #8 Brabham formula car through the BOAC esses during a JMRA event at Vernamfield in the mid-1970’s.
Competitors in the Motor Sales Trophy race for Modified Saloon cars, easing their speed approaching Corner 1 in the JMRA circuit races at Vernamfield on Sunday May 28, 1972. The race was won by David Sinclair in a Holden GTX (not pictured).
Neil Gore Jnr in his Ford Escort Mexico leads the modified 1600 Ford Escort of Diego Febles of Santo Domingo in the event for Modified Saloon cars on Sunday August 27, 1972. In the rear is Gordon Roberts driving his Ford Escort Twin Cam.
