For T’sana “Winty Quinty” Wint, motorsport has never simply been about speed. It is a passion that began in childhood, became an escape during one of the most difficult periods of her life and has now put her on a mission to help grow the sport she loves.
The Manchester native is currently the only woman actively competing in Jamaican rally motorsport, having worked her way from marshalling and navigating to getting behind the wheel herself. More recently, she has added another role to the list: event organiser.
It is a journey that can be traced all the way back to her childhood in Manchester.
A Love of Cars From Childhood
Wint estimates that she was just three or four years old when her fascination with cars began. Her mother had bought her first car, a Ford Cortina, and whenever her family was working on it, a young T’sana wanted to be right there with them.
“I used to be right there in the middle of the bonnet with them,” she recalled. “I used to be right there getting myself greasy.”
Her first experience operating a car came from the passenger seat, where she learned how to change gears before eventually progressing to the driver’s seat as she got older.
Motorsport was also happening around her. Growing up in Manchester, Wint remembers watching rallying and hill climbs come through her community. Those childhood experiences planted the idea that one day she could be more than a spectator.
As her interest grew, Jamaican motorsport figures David Summerbell Jr. and Doug Gore became inspirations and later mentors. Wint wanted to become a professional racing driver but recognised that she did not have the financial resources or opportunities to immediately pursue that ambition.
Instead, she found other ways into the sport.
Working Her Way Into the Driver’s Seat
Wint’s journey into competitive motorsport did not begin behind the wheel. She spent time marshalling at events before moving into competition in 2022, first as a co-driver and navigator and eventually as a driver.
By 2025, she had made her mark behind the wheel, taking first place in the JA1 driver class in the Montego Bay Racing Association’s competition. JA1 is an entry-level two-wheel-drive class for cars with engine capacities up to 1,400 cc.
Her competition car is a 1998 Hyundai Accent, which she describes as a beginner car, but she has her sights set on eventually moving into a Mitsubishi Evo VIII. The Evo VIII was a car of choice for David Summerbell Jr., one of the Jamaican motorsport figures Wint looked up to as a young fan and later came to regard as a mentor.
Although she has not competed in 2026, Wint has remained active in motorsport, shifting her focus towards event organisation.
Being the only woman on the rally scene during her time competing might seem intimidating, but Wint says her experience has been quite the opposite. She is also careful to point out that other Jamaican women competed before her.
“I’ve never felt pressured doing rally motorsport,” she said.
Instead, she describes Jamaica’s motorsport community as a family, where experienced racers offer advice, training and encouragement to those willing to learn.
“Once you’re willing to learn, once you’re willing to be a part of the sport, it’s all caring, comforting.”
Her advice to other women considering motorsport is equally straightforward: “If you’re thinking about it, do it now. Go ahead and go for it. Seize the opportunity and grab every opportunity that you get in life.”
Bringing Motorsport Back Home
After years of competing at events across Jamaica, Wint began thinking about what had happened to the rallying and hill climbs she remembered from childhood in Manchester.
The idea gained momentum after she competed at a night sprint at Brighton River in St Elizabeth in May 2025, one of the most memorable events of her racing career.
She began asking organisers about staging something similar in Manchester but soon discovered the challenges involved in hosting motorsport on public roads.
Rather than abandon the idea, Wint started doing the groundwork herself.
She approached local authorities and the National Works Agency (NWA), researched the requirements and began developing a proposal that addressed safety for competitors, residents and spectators.
What followed was roughly five months of planning, consultations, engineering work and securing the necessary support to stage what became Hilltop Badness.
“I wanted to see something else add to our lineup of activities,” Wint explained. “It was a part of our history, a part of our heritage, and I don’t see why we can’t have it if we can maintain certain safety aspects.”
Eventually, the NWA agreed to give the event a chance.
Hilltop Badness made its debut in Manchester on May 3rd, 2026. Despite working with what Wint describes as a minimal budget, the event attracted support from residents, police, motorsport competitors and fans.
For Wint, it was about more than racing. She wanted the event to bring activity into the community, support youth development and generate economic opportunities within the parish.
And when she could not convince someone else to make it happen, she decided to do it herself. “I decided to take the bull by the horn,” she said.
A Mother’s Pride
Behind Wint’s racing identity is a much more personal story.
The name “Winty Quinty” belonged first to her mother, who would give people a little wink whenever she was saying goodbye. A friend began calling her “Winty Quinty”, and the nickname stuck.
Her mother died about a decade ago, a loss Wint says sent her into a deep depression. During that period, motorsport became one of the things that helped reconnect her with life.
“Racing was what brought me back,” she said. “Sitting and watching racing and stuff like that was when I felt alive.”
When she eventually transitioned into the racing seat herself, she thought about the fact that her mother would never get to see that side of her.
Adopting “Winty Quinty” as her racing identity became a way of carrying her mother with her.
“I wanted to have that bit somewhere in my thought at the time of racing,” she explained. “The upgraded me and the me coming out of depression as Winty Quinty, which is my mom’s name, and taking her along the route with me.”
She now plans to establish the Winty Quinty Racing Foundation in her mother’s honour, with hopes of using it to encourage and develop another generation of Jamaican motorsport talent.
Glam Goddess and Mom Outside the Circuit
Wint’s life away from the track could hardly be more different.
A therapist by profession, she operates Glits and Glamour Body Contouring and Detox Studio in Manchester, providing services including massages, facials and detox treatments. She is also the mother of a teenage son, balancing motherhood and running a business with her involvement in motorsport.
Her working week is built around creating a quiet, relaxing environment for clients. Her weekends can involve dust, engines, noise and adrenaline.
Yet she says racing is where she finds her own peace.
Once the helmet goes on, the pressures of business, home and everyday life disappear. Her attention has to be completely fixed on the road and getting from start to finish safely.
“You’re so focused on driving to not make mistakes. You’re so focused on getting it right. You’re so focused on getting to the line in one piece and in a good time. Everything else, you shut it out.”
For Wint, that focus is part of what makes motorsport so addictive.
“I do it for the fun. I do it for feeling empowered. And I do it for feeling like I’m me.”
What’s Next for Winty Quinty?
Wint has not competed in 2026, but she has remained firmly involved in motorsport, turning her attention towards creating opportunities for other racers and building on the success of Hilltop Badness.
The next staging, Hilltop Badness: Clash of the Titans, is set for 11 October at Melrose Hill in Manchester. Positioned as a race meet ahead of the Christmas holiday season, the event will once again bring motorsport to an area where racing events were once a familiar part of the community.
The success of the inaugural Hilltop Badness in May has helped drum up greater interest, with racers in Jamaica and overseas expressing an interest in participating in future events. Ahead of Clash of the Titans, Wint is also collaborating with Stunner Media on a series featuring some of the drivers expected to participate.
The October event is part of a bigger vision. Wint says communities elsewhere in Jamaica have already approached her about bringing events similar to Hilltop Badness to their parishes. She now sees event organisation as another way to grow the sport, create opportunities for younger racers and help develop Jamaica’s next generation of motorsport talent.
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