DEAN

wonder why a competitor would leave the guaranteed excitement and adrenaline of something like a Dover track to participate in the behind-the-scenes efforts of promoting and organising. Well, it turns out that Corrodus started in the arena of promotion/organising back in 1995 before he even met the track.

“A friend of mine, Douglas

Gore, encouraged me to be a part of the newly formed Team Mobay Racing. As I was the only one at the time who didn’t own a race car, I saw that my greatest contribution to the team would be to plan and run the races so that all the other team members could have the opportunity to compete and enjoy themselves,” he said. Corrodus himself admitted that working at a race meet was probably one of the least desired tasks in motor sport. “Everyone wanted to be in the limelight driving and having fun, rather than doing mundane tasks such as running security at the gate or serving food and beverages in the restaurant or bar,” he said. Eventually, Corrodus would get his own taste of the track in the 2000s, and he fully return to organising and promoting post-2016.

This is where we get a bit of a look behind more than just the engines in motor sport.

As a promoter and organiser, Corrodus is in charge of planning and executing a series of championship events for patrons to attend each year. He also helps to determine a national or regional champion in a particular discipline of motor sport, chooses event dates, and secures venues and permits from governing and sanctioning bodies, among other things.

REFER TO BOLT

It might not sound like the most invigorating role; however, Corrodus thinks of it differently.

“I always refer to what Usain Bolt said in an interview when asked if at big races, he is ever daunted by the size of the stage or the competition. He answered that his job was simply to execute what he had been doing in training. The same is true on or off the racetrack,” he said. Corrodus further explained that the “thrill and reward” from racing and from organising were virtually the same for him as the nature of planning, research, and preparation is, ultimately, very similar in the two disciplines. “The goal is the same, whether competing on the track as a racer or competing for the entertainment dollar of attendees, whether those attendees are in the stands, in the competition, or are seeking commercial mileage from their involvement. Training and planning and a simple execution of those two ultimately result in success,” he said.

In addition to this relatively surprising insight, the organiser also shone some light on some of the key aspects that are actually valuable for the promotion and continued growth of racing in Jamaica. “The engagement and education of primary- and secondary-age youth in the career opportunities that exist in the automotive industry is tremendous. They can become engineers, drivers, mechanics, technicians, sales personnel, marketing and advertising professionals,” he said.

On the same note, Corrodus informed Automotives that “the continued development of facilities, programmes, and schools/training for the development of the huge talent pool that exists in Jamaica is the ongoing commitment”. In support of this goal, the organiser, promoter, and former racer will be offering himself as chairman and managing director of the Jamaica Race Drivers Club with a specific intention to develop dexterities, karting, and drag racing, the three traditional and most accessible avenues to participation in motor sport. The national championship series in all three will be coordinated with the aim of increasing the numbers participating at the entry level and thus gradually increasing the participation numbers at other advanced levels of the sport.