afternoon of thrills and spills as motorcycle racing made its debut at Clearwater Beach yesterday.

Competing in the fourth heat of the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club's joint Formula and Stock Modified class, the pair went wheel to wheel for 15 laps of the newly laid circuit.

The lead exchanged hands on several occasions as both sought and achieved to outbreak and outmuscle each other.

However, as the race neared its climax the pair found themselves on the exhaust pipes of the slower riders and it appeared only a matter of time before leather and tarmac would meet.

That proved to be the case as, approaching a sweeping left hander on the final lap, the pair came upon a back marker and as Belboda collided with him, Daniels, in second, had nowhere to go and joined his rival on the road.

Belboda managed to get his machine up and running and was able to reach the finish line to take the class win -- Stock/Modified competitor Patrick Groening taking the overall victory as a result of the spill.

Daniels, however, was not as fortunate as his rival and limped off the track nursing an injured ankle.

"All I can say is the two in front of me tangled and left me with nowhere to go. And to be friendly I didn't want to ride over them. It was either ride over them or drop the bike,'' Daniels said.

"It was a brilliant race and I believe that's what the crowd wanted to see and they got their money's worth on that one.'' Victorious Belboda said: "Ed was really making me ride hard. I overtook him and was trying to stay in front and another rider ended up sliding in front of me. I tried to avoid him but ended up going down.'' Other than a little dent to his pride, Belboda said he had emerged pretty much unscathed.

"The fairing got damaged and the handle grip but nothing that I can't fix,'' he said. "Considering I've been riding all this time for the last two years this is my first accident so I don't feel bad.'' Belboda, riding a big bore RXS, had an excellent day despite the coming together. He finished second in the first heat but won the remaining three to lead the Formula championship standings.

Elsewhere, Groening's victory in the final heat enabled him to win the Stock/Modified Class while Ray Masters and Leroy Trott took the honours in the GP `A' and `B' classes respectively.

Scooter championship leader Mark Lightbourn dominated once again while Paulo Silva led the field home in the Mini Bikes.

Master blaster: Grand Prix A class championship leader Ray Masters (112) leads Shannon Caisey (111) around a left hander at Clearwater Beach yesterday during the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club's debut at the venue.