Youngsters go full throttle to prove the future is bright

They are the future of a sport that brings families together.

Karters Ryan Lopes, Blake Horseman and Ryan Burgess all took junior class titles in the just-concluded karting season.

They are the spearhead of the next wave of drivers who could someday find themselves competing and succeeding at the biggest races in the US like adult double winner Scott Barnes.

The TAG and Shifter Class winner said besides the three junior winners there were also “seven rental karts, which is good because that’s the future of our club. 

“It was a great season. All the classes were competitive, especially the juniors. The three guys were just fun to watch. 

“TAG was real competitive and the shifter increased in numbers. The shifters was the biggest class, which was great to see because it had been down in recent years. We had a steady 10 to 12 guys every week with guys like John Carreiro coming back out.”

Horseman, the Junior 10 to 15-year-olds Clone Class winner, said this season “was great. I had a lot of really good competition. The year before there were only three racers in the class… but since then a lot of other karts have shown up.”

Horseman has already been looking forward to his 15th birthday so he can move up to the TAG Class and race against the adults. 

Ryan Lopes, the Junior 10 to 15-year-olds Modified Class winner, said racing this year was better because he had more competition.

Lopes moved up from the Junior Clone Class and said he “likes racing against my friends”.

He is a keen student of the sport and while the other drivers are out on the course he likes to “watch what lines they take and how I can do it the next race”.

Ryan Burgess, the Junior 7 to 10-year-old Clone Class Winner, who has been racing for two years, also enjoys racing against his friends.

He got into the sport when his father Shawn Burgess took him down to the Southside Raceway and let drive a rental kart.

Shawn said: “It’s a lot of fun. It’s a nice family day as well. His older sister’s starting racing as well and she’s done about five races this year.”

Barnes echoed that: “We’re more like one big family. We come down on Sunday and we have a good time. If someone needs something, we help each other out. It’s a fun Sunday. That’s the way a club like this should be.”

Mikey Lopes, Ryan’s father who has won several powerboat titles, said it was good to see more drivers out this year and hopes that karting will continue to grow. 

“I’d like to see the club get back to where it use to be, but it’s fun and challenging. His sister (Amber Lopes) races. I like racing and I feed through them doing it. I get a thrill out of watching them race and I’m having fun working on the karts.”

Reggie Horseman, Blake’s dad, added “I’d like to thank Mikey because without Mikey, Blake’s racing wouldn’t have been possible. He’s done all the work on the karts. I’m not mechanically-minded and without Mikey’s expertise, Blake wouldn’t have done as well as he did. He kept the kart up and did a lot of work behind the scenes.”