Panton and Fennell Back In The Saddle for 2020

Jeffrey Panton's return to rallying is happening…and sooner than you might think. If you’ve been following his social media, you would have seen glimpses of him training and getting back into fighting form. It’s also hard to miss the Rally Barbados 2020 hashtag inserted into those Instagram stories. Panton had this to say about his road to recovery. “Rehabilitation has been reasonably quick and pain free. I couldn’t have asked for better!”

On Friday, it was announced that the Jamaican driver, along with regular co-driver Michael Fennel Jr will be competing in the Alan Healy Memorial Cadwell Park Stages on February 2nd. What has raised eyebrows though, is his weapon of choice. He’s sticking to the Ford moniker: however he’s opted for a Ford Fiesta R5. Could this be a case of “try before you buy”?

Panton is currently without a car and the R5 group in Barbados will see a significant rise in local entrants for the start of the 2020 season. “The R5 was made available to us and is only temporary. We decided to compete in this particular rally as it was the soonest event, and we wanted to take the opportunity to use the car in the UK before it had to be shipped.”

It will be a welcome sight to see Jeffrey Panton back behind the wheel. The intrigue will increase as the days to his announcement of what car he is going to campaign locally draw near. Let’s not forget what the ramifications of his choice will be. Regardless of car choice, Jeff’s comeback will be cheered from all corners.