January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Bad break for Smith
Toriano Trott, Jonae Smith and Tristan Francis mixed it with the best Europe has to offer at the Metrakit Mini-GP World Festival.
Trott, the 12-year-old racing prodigy, was among the fastest qualifying group for his 70cc race and was going well in the main event before his rented bike had brake problems forcing him to cruise in at the back of the pack.
Jonae Smith, 19, one of the few female racers in Bermuda, worked her way from the back of the 35-man field into fifth place in the 125cc race.
But she was bumped off the track and out of the race, just as she was looking to hold on for a top ten finish.
Tristan Francis, who was still in Europe yesterday, finished 28th out of 38 in his 125cc race.
Smith said it had been a frustrating experience, crashing out of the race when she had been in such a good position.
"It was kind of mug. I was in 33rd place on the grid and after the first two corners I was up in sixth. I guess they didn't like that because on the next corner two guys sandwiched me in and bumped me off the track.
"There's some really good riders out there and they all had their own bikes. We were on rental bikes, which we weren't able to do anything with. But I thought we did pretty good in the circumstances.
"They'd been training on their own bikes on that track for months and we had just a few hours on a rented bike."
But she said she had loved every minute of the trip and returning to race her 80cc bike in Bermuda would feel like 'raving toys'.
"It was a wonderful, wonderful trip. The track was wonderful. Going at 135mph was the best feeling ever."
She said all the Bermuda team had gained from the experience and would be looking to race in the States to improve their skills next year.
Dennis 'Chicken' Wilson who travelled over with the Bermudians, including his son Toriano, said riding on rented bikes had been a big disadvantage for the Bermudians.
He said Toriano had been at the event in Valencia twice and had experienced bike problems both times.
"It's expensive but we are going to have to try and take our own bikes down next time," he added.[[In-content Ad]]
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