TTKA Karting 2
16th March 2008
Photography by Devi Nath
Article by Ryan Peyrau and Venus T. Miller

The day began nicely with blistering sunshine and drivers all ready to begin their practice sessions and get the scrutineering done.  You could feel the excitement as you walked through the pit area as everyone busied themselves with last minute tuning and tightening.

For yet another meet the racing tots were absent and we were deprived of the entertainment of the Cadet class.

The standard procedure would follow with the 100cc Class being first to the grid, Rotax Masters would then take centre stage followed by Rotax International and 125 Shifter.

The day was packed with excitement from the very first race as 100cc drivers Robert Cadiz (90), Mathew Crisp (12), Jonathan Mc Kenzie (99) and Sharaz Hosein (77) strapped up their helmets. Notably absent were Brittany Mohammed (14) and Kimberly Mc Kenzie (30).  The day however belonged to Jonathan as he dominated all three races of the day demonstrating fine driving skills to win overall.  The joy was evident as his uncle Barry ‘One Oot’ Mc Kenzie jumped with excitement.  Mention must be made however of Matthew’s performance as he consistently improved throughout the day making it obvious that he intends to put up a fierce battle this season. We can’t forget Robert though … I think he will be the one lurking in the shadows waiting on his opportunity to pounce.

Speaking of fierce battles, in the Rotax Masters class Gerrard Carrington (18) had his hands full as the older guys showed spectators that because “yuh old doh mean yuh cold.”  Ricardo Aguilera (555) seemed determined to prove just that as marked improvements were seen in his driving and overall performance.  Aslim Ali (70) was as consistent as always as he tried to hold off Rajin Baboolal (55) who was determined to challenge any and everyone in his way.  Also making up the class were Faizool ‘Buddit’ Madan (5) who seemed to have an extra burst of energy on the day, Rajiv Sant (3), Gordon Rooks (269) who seemed to be experiencing technical difficulties, Clyde Supersad (45) and new comer Rae Smith (24) who cruised around the track as he became familiar with all the twists and turns and his competitors’ driving style.

Rotax International was dubbed “The Return of Spongebob” (I didn’t come up wit dat eh allyuh) by the end of the day as Brandon Steele who competed in an Energy chassis sporting the number 134 in the last two years, reverted to his old number 13 and switched to a Birel chassis which he drove for the first time on Sunday.  Brandon moved from taking Sunday cruises and posing for the cameras last year, to being in the hunt and challenging top runners Nicolas Narinesingh (23), the ever talented Marc Gill (8), Luke Bhola (155) who returned this meet, Sharaz Hosein (77) and Jeremy Rooks (369).  Each race proved to be more exciting than the previous as Marc, Nicholas, Luke and Brandon all tried to snatch the checkered flag.  There was only one thing on their minds …. Winning!  An unfortunate incident took Luke and Nicholas out of the first race which left Marc and Brandon battling for victory.  In the end Marc would emerge the victor.  Brandon led the second race for the majority of laps to suddenly sputter into fourth.  The last race however was a nail biter and fate struck as Marc was forced out of the after breaking a chain leaving Nicholas to hold on to the victory.  The heart stopper though came when on the last lap Luke and Brandon were locked inches away from each other in battle when Luke made a daring move on the infield to pass Brandon and steal second with two more corners and ‘S’ before the checkered flag.  But wait …. It wasn’t over yet; Brandon seemed to suddenly remember that his mother threatened to make him walk home if she wasn’t satisfied with his performance, made a move that would have made his ‘gone but never forgotten’ grandfather, Tom Miller,  happy; and passed Luke on the final corner before the straight to regain second position.

Whew! With all that excitement the spectators could barely contain themselves when the Shifter races were on.  Again this meet we had a full compliment with David Coelho (50), Faizool Madan (5), Gerard Carrington (18), Vernon ‘Chicky’ Martin (76), Shainder Singh (16), Gregory De Verteuil (101), John Paul Tannous (33), Ryan Garcia (125)