Bermudian Rider Place 3rd In UK
Two members of the Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club [BMRC] have just competed in an event in the UK, both performing very well, with one placing as high as third. Wytiko Showers [pictured] claimed a third place finish in the British MiniGP class XL80 with Jazari Caisey also racing during the weekend.
Both are young riders, and have developed within the BMRC ‘mini’ classifications and are champions in their own right; Jazari is the 2009 BMRC GP70 National Champion and one of the 2009 GP70 Battle Award winners; Wytiko holds the 2008 BMRC GP70 National Championship crown and is currently leading the 2010 BMRC GP80 Heart2Heart Championship Series.
Below is a synopsis of this weekend’s racing in the UK, courtesy of the BMRC:
Friday Practice
The boys were pumped and ready to go. In the first practice session, they were a little slow off the mark as they needed to adjust to the machinery and learn to track. By midday, Jazari was picking up speed and ended the first round of practice in 19th; Wytiko adjusted a bit quicker and put in some very good laps before low siding in turn 3 – no worries he and the bike came out unscathed.
During the day, typical British weather showed up – RAIN! The team scrambled to secure rain tires, but Jazari had to go out on dry tires with the rest of the field wearing rain tires, nevertheless Jazari ran faster times than most of the field! Once rain tires were secured – thanks to the Fab-Race Team – Jazari worked his way to the front of the pack, riding faster with every lap; but crashed out and had to return to the pits grassy and muddy!
Fortunately for Wytiko, he secured rain tires in time for his turn on the track. On the track, Wytiko was hooking it up with a 125cc rider who was pushing him to his limit! As Wytiko had never raced in the rain, the team and the locals were amazed by the fast laps he put in; while others came off the track Wytiko stayed out in the rain pushing himself; setting fast times and gaining the attention of everyone on the pit wall. But he too, crashed – in the same turn as Jazari – and came off the track grassy and muddy but the work put in secured him the fastest time of the day in the 80cc classification.
Positions post for the day
- Jazari qualified 6th in the grid
- Wytiko qualified 5th (in the class mixed with 125cc and 80 cc bikes)
The day also saw the boys having a meet and greet with the MotoGP riders and securing coveted autograph!
Saturday’s Race
On Saturday, the sun was out and the boys were at the track early. The team got busy making adjustments as the bikes were not running optimally. Jazari had a sticking clutch, Wytiko bike was lacking on the top end and with only one practice session to get thing sorted!
In the race, Jazari’s 6th place grid position saw him starting from the second row but his clutch problems prevailed and he slipped to the back of the pack on takeoff. Riding hard, Jazari worked his way up to 17th position where he finished the race.
In the 80cc/125cc race, Wytiko was lined up on the outside of row five and got a good start but tangled with a 125cc rider in turn one, which set him back slightly. Back in the race, he entered a heated battle for third and this battle continued for about ¾ of the race laps- he and the other rider continuously swapped positions till Wytiko was able to make the pass stick securing himself a 3rd place finish.
Sunday’s Race
For Sunday’s event the team was at the track before 6 AM! This was in order to beat the mad rush for the MotoGP races. A bit tired, the boys were on the track by 8AM for morning practice.
In Race 1, Jazari got another bad start – clutch problem still not fixed! Having to recover the positions lost and with the lead pack pulling away, Jazari rode hard managing to work his way back up to 17th position when the checkered flag flew. Race 1 for Wytiko saw him also get off to a bad start. Riding the wheels off the bike!, he was unable to make up the ground lost – the team knew the bike was not running right going into the race – during the race Wytiko kept gesturing to the team that he could not get anything more from the bike.
For Race 2, the team re-geared the bike and richened up the jetting – this helped Jazari get off to a good start. By turn two, the aggressive riding of the older riders shuffled Jazari back – he fought hard to stay with them and finished in 15th position. Wytiko went into race two ready! The bike was fixed as the team worked like slaves to figure out the issues, which turned out to be SHORTER INTERVAL GEARING! (Thanks Team Australia!) When the flag dropped, Wytiko battled with the leaders for several laps before getting caught up in another battle with an Italian rider that allowed the leaders to open up a gap. Wytiko determined to close the gap, passed the rider on the outside and the rider hit him sending him off the track causing him to lose more ground. Wytiko fought back hard, the race commentator was captivated with his performance! It took a mere five laps and Wytiko was back in the battle – when the white flag flew he knew it was no more messing around! Up the inside Wytiko went but the Italian rider would not give up – in turn two he hit Wytiko’s back wheel as he was cornering – Wytiko was out of the race!
Through it all! Our boys did us proud:
Jazari won a prize recognising him for his efforts through the weekend’s events.
Wytiko won the 3rd place trophy and hit the podium in style – spraying club soda like to big boys!
[Thanks to islandstats.com for the photo]
Congrats Tiko..