Lopes giving her all against the 'big boys'

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23: Amber Lopes has made the jump to the Senior TAG Class. 

The 16-year-old MSA student is competing against Bermuda’s best karters and she is holding her own against the "big boys".

Lopes is seventh out of nine in the standings as she takes on the likes of David Barbosa, Scott Barnes and Stephen Corrado. 

She was introduced to the sport at age 14.

“I first started racing because my uncle (Louis Martins) raced and I thought it would be a good idea if I raced.”

Racing is a family affair as her parents and her aunts come out to support her.

“My little brother (Ryan) races with me and some cousins and some friends come out to support me.”

She said having her brother Ryan race “helps us connect because we can talk about it.”

Lopes’ father and uncle work on her and her brother’s kart in the pits making the critical adjustments between races. She also gets help from family friends Patrick Stamper and Tony Cabral. 

Lopes said: “I liked the freedom and control of racing and just being able to drive. It was fun.”

For her first race she didn’t have much time behind.

“I just went out for my first race. Then I started practising and getting better.”

Lopes said she excels on the straightaways and while she has yet to win in the 125 TAG Class, she has had her share of success the past two seasons including winning the Junior Clone Class.

“It’s really fun when you win because you feel like everyone who was hoping you would win so when you win, everyone is excited. Not everyone can win so to win it’s exciting.”

She’s come up through the junior ranks with Al Seymour Jr, who is also competing in the TAG Class this season.

“I like racing against Al Seymour Jr because I feel like we’re competitive and we’ve raced together when I first started.”

She said it’s more difficult this season because quite often there will be eight or nine karts out on the track.

“I have to try to race my own line but be faster than the other karts to overtake them.”

She encourages other young people to try the sport.

“You can just pay $50 and rent a kart for a day to see if you like it.”