The name Kristian Jeffrey will now be forever remembered, not because he is a sensational squash player, but for his skills behind the wheels which earned him the distinction of being ‘Caribbean Champion Driver’.

Jeffrey, the son of famed race car driver and sports enthusiast Kevin Jeffrey, created history when he became the first Guyanese to ever win the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) Driver’s championship on Sunday last at the South Dakota Circuit.

Witnessed by thousands at one of the Caribbean’s famous racing venues, Jeffrey did what many before him failed to do; including his father, and he did so emphatically.

In 2010, Kevin (Jeffrey) came just four points short of taking the crown and allowed Jamaica’s David Summerbell to take to prestigious title. Summerbell has won three CMRC championships.

Andrew King, in 2009 also placed second behind Summerbell while last year, Kevin Jeffrey again played second fiddle to Jamaica Doug Gore.

“I’ve been chasing this title for years and I came up short, but I’ll take this one through my son,” a joyous Kevin said while speaking to Chronicle Sports in the Pitts at South Dakota on Sunday last.

“I know my dad wanted to win this, so I’m dedicating this championship to him. He did a lot, the entire team worked hard and I think this is well deserved. Words can’t really express how I feel right now because I didn’t expect it,” Kristian said.

The historic run started from the first leg in Barbados when Kristian won all three Group 4 races and then travelled to Trinidad and Tobago in August and did exceptionally well.

“We’ve put a lot of work into the car and I want to also thank Stag Beer for their timely input. They came in and helped me to get some much needed parts and stuff for the car and I also want to dedicate this championship to them,” Kristian said while standing next to his Mitsubishi ‘EVO.’

After a catastrophic start to Sunday’s Group 4 races which saw Kevin being sidelined for the remainder of the day, Kristian won two of the three races beating former Champion Stuart Maloney in the process.

All the ‘big guns’ in Caribbean Motor Racing were present in Guyana, which according to Kristian, makes this championship even more remarkable.

“It’s always a pleasure racing against the best drivers, you learn a lot from those guys even while competing against them, so its all the learning process still,” said Kristian of his first time racing in the CMRC.

Along with Mark Vieira, Kristian Jeffrey will represent Guyana at the December 14 – 16 ‘Race of Champions’ in Barbados, where the world’s best drivers will converge on Bushy Park.

“That’s huge! Not every day you get to drive or race with some of the people you see on TV and who are stars in the world in motor racing, so I’ll be looking forward to teaming up with Mark and hopefully, we do Guyana proud,” Kristian added.

(By Rawle Toney)