The thrills, skills and spills of go-kart racing

They can reach speeds up to 40 miles per hour, do not run on fossil fuels or electricity, and can be built on a shoestring budget.

It perhaps goes without saying that the traditional go-kart is not your average race car, while the drivers that sit behind the steering wheel are not your average speed demons.

Two St David’s islanders synonymous with traditional go-kart racing are long-time friends George Cannonier and Alvin Pitcher.

Challenge

The pair used to race against each other as kids. And it is largely due to these two men that the sport of go-kart racing still exists today on the island.

Five-years ago on Easter Good Friday, Mr Pitcher challenged Mr Cannonier to a go-kart race off Lighthouse Hill.

Since then, the Mohawk Grand Prix has attracted thousands of people lining the perimeter of the racecourse.

This stretches from Lighthouse Hill to Great Bay Road, with spectators eager to catch a rare glimpse of a pastime once thought to be extinct in Bermuda. “I never imagined it would grow this big – we must have had 12,000 people down there,” said race founder Mr Pitcher, alluding to this year’s Good Friday spectacle.

“It’s going to be even bigger next year.”

Go-karts have long been associated with St. David’s and were once as common as conch stew and mussel pie.

“Go-karts are a big part of our culture in St. David’s,” Mr Cannonier said.

“Fishermen once used them to transfer fish from one point to another to sell — and it stuck.”

As children, Mr Pitcher and Mr Cannonier often risked their health racing in two-way traffic off Horse’s Hill.

“There was no such thing as brakes back then — we used to send a lookout ahead on a push bike,” Mr Pitcher recalled.

These days go-karts do have a breaking mechanism installed and have become more sophisticated.

“These guys are now making them with fibreglass and closing them all in like NASCARS,” said Mr Pitcher.

“We really have to enforce seat belts and brakes now because these guys are getting up to speeds of 35-40 mph.” Mr Cannonier finished runner-up in the inaugural Mohawk Grand Prix.

He said: “It’s amazing how fast the new carts these guys are building can go.

“I don’t know how they are building them, but it seems as though they have a secret engine in them.

“When I was younger we didn’t have brakes and all that in our go-karts.”

Speeding down twisted hills just inches above ground level is certainly not for the faint of heart or unskilled.

“It’s a very exciting sport but you really have to know how to manoeuvre around because you have people crashing in front of you,” Mr Cannonier said.

“There’s always a crash and so you have to manoeuvre around them to get to the finish.”

The annual Mohawk Grand Prix involves novice and expert drivers  in karts of all shapes, sizes and colours.

It is held in conjunction with the Good Friday festivities honouring the legacy of late St David’s County Cricket Club president, Gilbert Lambe.

There is no entry fee and the race is open to the general public.