Scott Barnes made an ideal first impression for his new team in the Skusa Pro Tour Winter Nationals in Orlando, Florida.

Competing in the Shifters Masters class, the Bermudian claimed pole position for Maranello Kart USA in the opening round of the Shifters Masters class on Saturday before going on to clinch victory in both the pre-final and final.

The following day proved more frustrating with Barnes, having finished second in the pre-final crashing out of the final race when fighting for another podium finish.

Despite that disappointing conclusion to the weekend, Barnes was satisfied with his efforts, which means he holds the lead heading into the next two rounds of the Tour, the Spring Nationals, in Ohio in June.

“Saturday we came out on fire, got pole in the heat, which gave us ten bonus points, and then went on to win the pre-final and final,” Barnes said.

“It was a great points total and amazing to get that first win for the new team. It was a great day and the best way to start the campaign off and show them they made the right choice in me.

“Unfortunately, Sunday was not as great. I qualified third in the heat and then finished second in the pre-final, but in the final I was running second with six laps to go when I got taken out.

“I thought it was a move that was uncalled for and definitely shouldn’t have been made.

“That really hurt us, but overall it was a positive weekend and we left the opening two rounds of the series with a lead and that was the main focus looking at the big picture of targeting the championship.

“Obviously you want to be on the podium every round and the key was to get good points to take into the final rounds in June.”

Barnes is hoping to build on the momentum when he gets back on track in the final round of the Rok USA Florida Winter Tour in Orlando.

While he is not in contention for title honours, having missed a round of racing, he is hopeful of adding to the two podium places he sealed in the Shifter Masters and L206 Masters in the second round last month.

“Unfortunately we’re not in the championship points series because we missed the first round of action, but we’re definitely going there to try to win and compete for some more podiums.”