Ahmani Peets may look calm on the outside but his demeanour often hides his true feelings — except when he is behind the wheel.

Peets, 15, is autistic, and everyday social interactions are stressful for the Bermuda Institute student.

However, as the link-up between charity Base (Bermuda Autism Support & Education) and the Bermuda Karting Club proves, autism is no barrier to enjoying life in the fast lane.

Peets displayed an immediate aptitude for karting, graduating from racing on the Wii, to testing it out for real at Disney World, Florida, to hopping in a rental kart at the Rubis Southside Raceway in St David’s.

“He likes how it makes him feel,” said dad Anthony, who is president of Base.

“He wanted to try it so we put him in a kart — he didn’t crash, didn’t mind spinning out or bumping people.

“Socially my little guy is a little reticent to interact. At school his heartrate is 220bpm — outside he’s calm but inside its racing.

“In a kart he’s low, 85-90bpm. He feels fine — no one is going to ask him a question.”

Ahmani’s experiences proved the foundation for Base’s title sponsor of the third Dockyard Grand Prix, which takes place on April 29-30.

It is a partnership that also opened the door for a guest driver to line up on the Dockyard track next month.

Canadian Austin Riley, 18, is a special talent with a growing global fanbase.

Like Ahmani, Austin is autistic and had similar challenges at school and in social situations ... he also happens to be lightning behind the wheel.

“With my son being autistic and having an interest in karting, I decided to Google autism and go-karting and the first face that came up was Austin Riley,” Anthony said.

“He was diagnosed late. My little guy was diagnosed at 16 months and Austin was diagnosed at 14, so Austin struggled a lot at school at not being understood.

“Austin has a story to tell — he’s travelled hundreds of thousands of miles to different parts of the world.”

Riley’s tours include presentations to schools and he has an impressive online presence featuring his website www.racingwithautism.com, Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter.

“He doesn’t talk too much but he’s grown a lot,” Anthony said. “He’s 18 now and he got a lot of confidence when he was here in Bermuda last time where he used his voice and spoke. Now he talks a little more.”

While Austin embraces new opportunities — he is the subject of a documentary that will film in Bermuda — Ahmani is honing his skills on the track and enjoying the sensation of racing the BKC rental karts.

The plan is to steadily introduce him to the racing programme at a club Anthony says has embraced him fully.

“Basically, Ahmani plays the Wii and he has amazing concentration — it’s off the chart. These guys at the club have a rental kart programme with David Barbosa, who owns the karts.

“It’s been about a year, the karts go about 45-50 mph and Ahmani likes the way it makes him feel.

“The plan is to get him his own kart. We’re going to Austin’s go-karting school this summer for some training and we’ll look at whether we need to invest so we’ll see.

“Ahmani likes it and the kids are kind and accepting here which is good, It’s a good club.

“Austin’s dad and I, we bonded over the fact our kids are on the autism spectrum. Austin can’t tie his shoelaces or do simple addition but he just got a contract to drive Nissan Micra cars and his goal is to get into F1 — that’s what he wants to do!”

Both the Peets and BKC hope the upcoming grand prix shines a light on autism, what it entails and the opportunities, rather than the disadvantegs, it brings.

“The bottom line is that our focus is on awareness and giving parents an opportunity to look at the variety of things we can do,” Anthony said.

“We look at the cans and the uniqueness of what they bring. A lot of people truly don’t understand what autism is — Bill Gates is on the spectrum, Dan Ackroyd is on the spectrum. It just means their lives have to be ordered a certain way so things work out well for them.

“It shows on the track. Austin might not be able to talk to you but catch me!”

The BKC would like to thank the following sponsors for helping make the Dockyard Grand Prix possible: title sponsors Base, Rubis, Pepsi, Fritolay, e-moo, Red Laser; additional sponsors, Keen Joe Vieira Trucking Limited, Sparyard, Hakuna Matata Charters, D & J Construction, Wedco, Bone Fish Bar & Grill and Dynamic digital.For more information on the BKC and the Dockyard Grand Prix, e-mail bermudakartingclub@yahoo.com or go to the club’s Facebook page.