THREE of Jamaica’s top young karters will make the trek to Guyana for this weekend’s Georgetown Grand Prix Caribbean Showdown at the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club.

They are Senna Summerbell, Joshua Sirgany and Ryan Lue. The karters will be joined by two members of the Jamaica Karting Association (JKA) executive — Peter Rae and Rugie Misir.

“This was made possible through our local connection with the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship and we’ve decided to participate with three of our top racers,” David Summerbell Jr, JKA president, told the Jamaica Observer’s Auto magazine.

Summerbell, Lue and Sirgany will have a challenging event ahead of them as they’ll have to deal with unfamiliarity with the circuit and machinery, since this will be their first time to the Guyanese facility and driving the provided brand of karts. The greater challenge comes from the fact that they will have to race at night.

“The event is Saturday night, but I have full confidence that they’ll perform their level best. The Guyanese take their racing very seriously,” said Summerbell Jr.

Each of the three is the leader in their local classes, while Summerbell and Lue are in contention for the JKA’s highest honour, the Abe Ziadie Memorial Trophy. In Guyana, Summerbell will compete in their X30 Junior category, while Sirgany and Lue will race in the X30 Senior and 60cc Sun Burst Kids Cup, respectively. Along with Guyanese drivers, competitors from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are expected to participate.

“The event should be available online,” Summerbell Jr added.

The JKA president also looked to the future in the hopes that this would not be just a one-off appearance and that they would reciprocate, at some point, bringing Guyanese karting talent to Jamaica.

— Rory Daley