Our Jamaican youth are constantly showing us that it’s never too early to start grooming our passions into an active lifestyle. Fourteen-year-old Jamwest motorsport driver Alan Gordon is on the road to doing just that.
"I like the adrenaline rush, the feeling you get when you’re pulling up to the starting grid and your heart starts pumping really hard."
“My dad first bought me a convertible car, a small one, and I started drifting around on the dirt,” Gordon told Youthlink, describing how he became interested in motor racing at seven years old. However, it wasn’t until two to three years later that young Gordon realised that he seriously wanted to race.
PASSION FOR RACING
The 2017 Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) at Jamwest Speedway in Westmoreland marked his official integration as a Jamwest motor racer. About his first official event, Gordon said, “I felt pretty good because I won one race and got two second places.” The teenager revealed that these successes only encouraged him to take racing even further. One of his most recent events was this year’s CMRC, which took place on May 12 and 13.
When asked to highlight his favourite thing about racing, he was quick to say, “I like the adrenaline rush, the feeling you get when you’re pulling up to the starting grid and your heart starts pumping really hard.” Though he reported that he does also get nervous before races, Gordon’s method of composure is to say a prayer at the starting grid for every race.
FUTURE ALONGSIDE RACING
While he does enjoy working on cars, even holding an interest in engineering, the mechanical maintenance of his car comes mainly from the assistance of his team at Jamwest.
Just entering third form, Gordon is also interested in science, business and mathematics, as he seeks to follow in the footsteps of his father Ian Gordon, owner of Jamwest Motorsports & Adventure Park (home of Jamwest Speedway).
“I want to do racing; at the the same time, I want to be a businessman like my father,” he proudly declared.
IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICE
Practice is the key to succeeding in motor racing. “It’s not hard for me becauses I put in a lot of practice; every weekend, for almost five hours.” Hours of practice will be a requirement for any passionate youngster dreaming of entering motor racing.
The young racer is currently practising for future events, where he will participate in the IP3 racer class in his current and favourite vehicle, a 2007 Mitsubishi Evolution 10 with 365hp.
