Ryan Rebello stamped his authority with a dominant display in the inaugural Showdown at Sundown at Bermuda Motorsports Park over the weekend.

The experienced driver won every race on the way to claiming honours in the KZ class in front of more than 1,000 spectators that were treated to exhilarating bumper-to-bumper racing under the lights at the Southside, St David’s racetrack for the first time.

“I'm a little bit tired but I'm good,” a weary yet elated Rebello told The Royal Gazette.

“I swept the four heat races and the main event, which is good and It took a lot of effort to get to here.

“The competition was strong and I am very pleased with the performance. There was some moments of doubt, but I prevailed and am quite happy about that.”

Rebello said the races were closer than results suggests.

“The competition is so tight it boils down to who’s having a better day than the other guy,” he said.

“The heat races were very close; we were bumper to bumper the whole time. It was a lot of pressure, we all had to drive fast and it was good competition.

“The final was a little more spread out. I believe my competitors just made a few more mistakes than I did, which really separates it when we we're all on the same playing field.”

Rebello adapted well to the conditions associated with racing at night, which he conceded was more tricky than normal

“It’s a trick on the brain at night and took a little more time to process than normal,” he said.

The night’s only double class winner was Warwick Academy student Tanner Correia, who walked away with Tag Junior and Cadet honours.

“I feel pretty good about myself and proud of myself for winning the Showdown at Sundown for both classes,” the 11-year-old said.

“It was flat out racing and I had a great time. It was an extremely cool experience.”

Also standing proudly on the podium was American female driver, Camryn Reed, who won the battle of the sexes in the LO206 Senior class with a dazzling display of her own.

“I might have upset a few of the local guys, but that's what I like to do,” she said.

“I like to upset the older guys and I think that's what I did this weekend. We work really hard and run one of the largest 206 programmes in the States, so we are at the track often and this is what we do. For us it was just another day at the racetrack.”

The Louisiana resident hopes to race again on island if given the opportunity.

“It’s my fist time in Bermuda and it’s an absolutely beautiful island,” she said.

“The people have been so nice and accommodating so it’s definitely on my bucket list to come back if you guys welcome me back. It’s been a wonderful experience.”

Making a rare appearance on island was Bermuda’s top driver, Scott “Skitchy” Barnes, who demonstrated his class on the way to claiming the KZ Master crown.

“Hats off to the committee and everyone as well as the spectators for coming out,” he said.

“It felt like a street race down here, which is awesome. Two wins in the finals for the overall win and four podiums in four different classes with karts that don’t belong to me, I’ll definitely take it.

“We haven’t raced all season and with a bunch of equipment that wasn’t tuned in and getting into one kart from another that’s completely different is hard. To do four classes is hard but I’ll definitely take the results.

“I've raced under the lights a bunch of times in Vegas, Texas, Florida and New Orleans, but for the first Bermuda race it’s awesome to see. I think the committee pulled of a great event and the spectators loved it. It was pretty cool to see and hopefully we can make it an annual event.”

Also claiming overall honours were David Barboza and Ryan Burgess in the LO206 Master and Tag Senior classes respectively.

“It feels good to be on the podium. We had some good competition out there and it was a great event,” Barboza said.

“I’ve run a couple of night races in Italy and New Orleans before so I know what it's like.”

Burgess was thrilled to claim bragging rights in a fiercely contested Tag Senior class.

“It feels great to get the win and it’s definitely a tricky class with great competitors,” he said.

“The final was great and pretty much the whole two days was great battles.”

Bermuda Karting Association president Chris Smith chalked up the Showdown at Sundown as a roaring success and was delighted to see spectators come out in force at the event.

“What an awesome event and it’s good to get this big crowd out here. We get crowds every other time we race down here, but nothing like this,” he said.

“It's exciting and exhilarating and hopefully we can drum up some more support from the general public.

“We might have to think about doing this annually for sure. We'd love to and there is a lot of work, so a big thanks to all the people that helped.

“We had great competition and you want good, heated competition because that means guys are passionate for sure. It was good stuff.

“Nobody was really sure with under the lights in the dark how to set up their kart. It took some adjustments and obviously you can see who got the adjustments right with the winners.”