Karting season goes to the wire

Everything is on the line for the island’s top drivers at the Southside race track this Sunday.

Bermuda Karting Club will stage their final points race day of the season — with all three main categories still up for grabs.

Scott ‘Skitchy’ Barnes, David Barbosa, Stephen Corrado and Brandon Franks are just some of the guys who will be fighting it out over the remaining three races, with the action getting under way at 12:30pm.

The format lends itself to a last-race showdown, with the final one of the three heats on Sunday offering  double points.

“The last race day had some of the best TAG racing I have ever seen,” said Michael Fontanetta, the club’s treasurer and part-time Shifter driver.

“David Barbosa, Scott Barnes and Stephen Corrado  — they were hammering each other, passing each other, going back and forth. It was like watching the last lap of the Indy 500.

“Eventually Stephen got the advantage and hung on to it. But none of the two that lost were that disappointed  —- it was just a classic battle and a great show.”

All three are still in with a shout of winning the season’s title, while Barnes and Corrado will also transfer their rivalry to the Shifter class. The junior division, along with the membership and adult classes, has also swelled this season.

There are now three junior classes offering more variety and opportunity for the next generation — the Junior Clone Class, the Junior Cadet Class and Junior Tag.

Rental karts are available for tryouts as well.

It all adds up to a thriving scene and whets the appetite for the Hamilton Grand Prix on May 31-June 1, which sees kart racing return to Front Street for an event that is set to attract thousands to the city. It’s seen by the club as a natural progression from the Dockyard Grand Prix, which was such a success last year. Dockyard brought a lot of pepople back out,” said Fontanetta.

“It was easier to get spoonsorship for Hamilton because Dockayd was about us proving we could do it.” He added: “ It’s been a tremendous season.” 

For more details email [email protected] and for further information go to www.bermudakartingclub.com or the club’s Facebook page. 

Current standings

Tag Sr. Class

840 points Scott Barnes

821 David Barbosa

748 Stephen Corrado

671 Corey Lewis

433 Al Seymour Jr.

415 Kenneth Harrison/Patrick Ingham

340 Jeff Sousa

320 Jehan Durrant

289 Andy Pereira

288 Bobby DeCosta

139 Tyler Smith

127 Patrick Ingham

47 Jason ‘Skuzzie’ North

17 Ronald Denbrook

125cc Shifter Class

824 Scott Barnes

772 Stephen Corrado

715 Brandon Frank

600 Shannon Caisey

441 Jason Smith

435 Edward Stowe

355 Devon Durrant

337 Che Stowe

328 John Carreiro Jr.

298 David Selley

218 Kevin Daley

196 Michael Fontanetta

120 Ben Savill

74 Rian Lindo

54 Kenneth Harrison

Junior Modified Clone Class (10-15 years old)

746 Zavier Smith

688 Blake Horseman

477 Lauryn Burgess

435 Ryan Burgess

208 Matthew Ivo

159 Zanardi Daley

140 Lucas Bridges

Junior Clone Class (7-10 years old)

477 D’Nico Durrant

Junior Cadet Class (7 - 12 years old)

88 Nile Bean

78 Jacob Pereira

71 Koidi Simmons

38 Nathan DeCosta

Points system

The first two races on Sunday will offer 20 points for the winner, 17 for second, 15 for third, 13 for fourth and then 12 for fifth, descending by one for each further placing down. The third race is same format but double points.