The Bermuda Karting Club takes a breather this weekend after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel opening race day of the season in St David’s.

A total of 32 drivers took on their rivals and, for a while, wet conditions at the Rubis Southside Raceway last weekend.

The main takeaway for club president Scott “Skitchy” Barnes: every class is going to go down to the wire.

There were standout performances, including young Blake Horseman winning all three TAG Senior heats. However, he had plenty of company on the track, with the likes of David Barbosa, Jason “Skuzzie” North and Owen DeCosta not far behind.

“Blake got off to a fast start but David and Skuzzie are both in the mix,” said Barnes, who him himself bagged both of the Shifter races.

“I won,” he added, “but the other guys, like Ryan Rebello and Ryan Lopes, were right on me until the end.”

The wet conditions presented a challenge to the drivers, and probably increased a few pulse rates. “It’s very different and a few of the guys had not done it before,” Barnes said. “You don’t have as much grip. It takes away the horsepower and makes it more about driver ability and control.”

Elsewhere, the Junior Cadet class is small but fiercely competitive. Jacob Hines claimed two heat wins, with Nile Bean nicking one.

Barnes said: “The biggest class year was the juniors but this year it’s the smallest as a lot of the drivers have stepped up, plus Jamie Newtown has now gone back to Australia.

“There’s only three of them but it promises to be really good racing. They are neck and neck and it should be a good battle. They are all really close and none of them have won a championship. So now Jamie is not here, this is their chance.”

In the other junior class, the TAG, Ryan Burgess lit up the track with three wins, although Ashley Horseman and Jorja Thomas pushed him all the way. Surely it is only a matter of time before the girls break through the chequered flag.

“Ryan did well, said Barnes, “but the others are fast and getting faster.”

The most unpredictable class continues to be the closed-motor LO206 Masters (40 and up) class with three different winners: Bobby DeCosta, Jeff Sousa and Travis Lewis.

The newest class — the LO206 Seniors (15 and up) — is up and running, with Simos Charalambous completing three heats against Barnes. There is strong interest from other potential new drivers to bolster the grid for that class.

The club welcomes anyone who wants to get involved in the LO206, the most low cost of the classes, to get in touch. The rental karts are also available for young and old to get a feel of racing.

For more information on how to get involved and what the club offers, e-mail bermudakartingclub@yahoo.com or go to the club’s Facebook page. Alternatively, call Scott Barnes on 505-1611.