Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

After last weekend's impressive showdown at the Caribbean Karting Carnival international race meet, there seems to be no turning back for the Jamaican karters who dominated the event.

With the exception of the ICC Shifter and Rotax Jr Classes, the Jamaicans won most of the races. The three most impressive drivers were Jamaica's Mario Mair in the Rotax Masters Class and the Canadian duo of Jesus Rios, Rotax Jr Class, and Fritz Leesmann in the ICC Shifter Class. They won convincingly.

Very competitive races

In the other classes, the races were very competitive, especially in the Rotax Mini-Max and Comer 80cc events. There were several spills and minor mishaps on the track, which in some instances denied the race leaders the opportunity of taking the chequered flag.

"I love the track and the Jamaican people. The hospitality was very great, but among the karters I was impressed with were Joshua Sirgany, Thomas Issa, Fraser McConnell and Richard Lechler, said 13-year-old Pietro Fittipaldi Da Cruz, while getting ready to leave the island Thursday morning. He competed in the Rotax Mini-Max Class.

Fittipaldi Da Cruz and his sibling Enzo were among 21 overseas drivers who participated at the meet. Both are the grandsons of former World Formula One Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil. In spite of their talent, the Jamaicans turned out to be more than a handful for them.

President of the Jamaica Karting Association, Dave Wong, was overwhelmed.

'Fantastic race meet'

"It was a fantastic race meet, it really went well. The support was good, but the local guys stepped up their game and surprised the fans. Everybody was happy and the foreigners left here with high about our facilities, so we are looking for a bigger event in 2010.

One parent, Samuel Law, described it as a great victory for Jamaica. While singling out Joshua Sirgany as one of the top drivers, it was Richard Lecler who left the more than 900 fans stunned with his surprise performance.

He said Thomas Issa, Fraser McConnell and Williams Myers took things to another level in the Rotax Mini-Max Class.

President of the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club, Errol Anderson, said the rivalry goes to show how far off the Jamaicans are from some of these world-rated drivers.