January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
'He was carrying the mantle for the island'
Island’s racing community rocked to its core with loss of 14-year-old Toriano
'He was carrying the mantle for the island'
That's the verdict of the riders who coached him and raced against him locally. And they insist the young star would have wanted the sport to continue and for others to follow in his footsteps and race overseas.
Wilson was already well on his way to achieving his dream of riding Moto GP. He was racing on the Red Bull rookies circuit - a series for the most talented young riders in America and was working with top class riders like former world champion Kevin Schwanz, who had tipped him for the top.
David Jones, the president of the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club, and the man who taught Toriano the basics when he first came to the local track at around 8-years-old said he is sure young Wilson would have been a champion.
"This club loves those boys," said Jones of the Wilson brothers.
"We were all looking to Tori for big things. He'd put Bermuda on the map. We were hoping for him to go all the way.
"We had no inclination that something as tragic as this could ever happen.
"He was the one that was carrying the mantle for the island. He was out there at such a young age he had a lot of life ahead of him. Good things were coming his way.
"I was looking beyond him being Bermuda's first professional rider. He would have been our first champion I'm sure of that.
Jones said his heart went out to Dennis 'Chicken' Wilson, Toriano's father and an integral part of the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club.
"Chicken was doing his best for all of them. They're the Wilson racing family. He had three brothers that race and you would always see them at the track together.
"When they weren't racing together they were swimming or working at the supermarket together."
Paul De Couto, spokesman for the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club who coached Toriano and took him to press interviews locally, said he was the best young rider the island had ever produced.
"He was our golden child out there. The whole club is lost for words.
"Our condolences go out to his family. I can't imagine what his dad Dennis must be going through.
"Bike racing was something they shared and it brought the whole family so close together.
"Toriano was doing so well and he had all the big sponsors looking at him. This was his passion. He was so confident and comfortable out there. For a small town boy to go out there and do what he was doing was amazing."
De Couto said Wilson had a 'beautiful personality' and was an inspiration to everyone at the club.
He said the youngster would have wanted the sport to continue and for others to follow him to the States.
"I can see his positive legacy as having opened the door for other riders to go and race overseas."
His cousin and fellow racer Cyril Whitter echoed those sentiments. He said it was an inevitable that an incident like this would bring fear and doubt to the sport.
But he said riders, who lived for the adrenaline of racing, accepted the risks and the club's leaders recognized it was better for young people to channel their energy and 'need for speed' on the race track.
"The club provides for anyone who wants to experience an extreme atmosphere in a controlled environment.
"If Tori was here, he'd want us to ride, if he was injured he'd want us to ride - that's a given.
"As racers we are not always the most logical - we put ourselves in harms way to go after something we feel we excel at - we accept the risk and we go for it.
"Tori was doing what he loved to do and doing it well."
He said there were other talented young riders - like Bruce DeGrilla and Zane Phillpot - who could go on and continue Toriano's legacy by making it overseas.
"Tori has opened the door for other racers to get to an international level
"He's proved it can be done and he's provided a gateway for the kids at that track and given them something to aspire to.
"He wanted nothing more than to help them improve and get them out there with him next year."
There will be an urgent BMRC membership meeting held tonight, at 7pm at the BIU head-quarters. All members are encouraged to attend.[[In-content Ad]]
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