By Avenash Ramzan
A six-member racing team, accompanied by parents, mechanics and well-wishers, is off to Jamaica to compete at the Jamaica Karting Association’s season-finale event, dubbed Double Trouble.
Set for this weekend (November 25-26), the event will involve a direct showdown between the Guyanese karters, who are touring for the first time as a team, and the Jamaican karters, who were here for the GT Motorsports’ Georgetown Grand Prix in October.
The travel of both the Guyana and Jamaica contingents has been facilitated by Fly Jamaica, and representatives of the two countries are grateful for the support from the regional air carrier and its official Roxanne Reece.
Guyana’s chances of excelling on the Reggae Island rest on the shoulders of Matthew Phang (Senior Rotax), Mikhail Persaud, Rayden Persaud and Elan Rahaman (Junior Rotax) and the Tenpow brothers- Justin and Jeremy- who would be competing in the Micro and Mini Max Classes.
These young drivers have excelled in their respective categories at the GT Motorsports’ Georgetown Grand Prix events in 2017, hence their selection to represent the Golden Arrowhead.
They will face off against the likes of Senna Summerbell, Joshua Sirgany, Ryan Lue and Tommi Gore, all of whom proudly represented Jamaica at the last Georgetown Grand Prix.
At that event, the Jamaicans copped eight podium finishes and the Guyanese would look to match or even surpass that number this weekend. Additionally, the event will drop the curtains on the karting season in Jamaica and a lot is at stake for the home country drivers.
Up for grabs are several class championships and runner-up positions, as well as the ultimate prize in karting- the Abe Zaidie Trophy for the top karter of the year.
Summerbell left the last meet with a 15 points advantage over the two-time consecutive winner Ryan Lue. With over 100 points up for grabs over the weekend Lue will gunning for the big prize and will be looking to stretch his record of the most consecutive top titles of any karter with three claims on the memorial trophy.
Summerbell will be hoping what happened to him at the last meet, where his kart lost power in the last race, does not repeat. Another real threat to both contenders is the Guyanese competition in their respective classes splitting points in their bid for podium glory.
In any case race fans are in for a great show of karting skills, bulging grids and great sportsmanship at Double Trouble. Race action starts at 10:00h on both days.
