BMRC Welcomes ‘New Faces & New Class’
Yesterday’s [Sept 30] Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club [BMRC] race day brought in “new faces and a new class to the RUBiS Southside Raceway.”
A spokesperson said, “Yesterday’s Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club race day brought in new faces with a new class to the RUBiS Southside Raceway.
“The BMRC held its first ever all-Honda Grom 125 Invitational. The race class was constructed by veteran riders Sandy Benevides and Jevaughn ‘Squirrel’ Simons, featuring new riders Tremayne Bean, Omar Smith and Bradley Butterfield.
“The first of three heats was a very close race with Simons taking first, followed closely by Benevides, then Smith. Bean and Butterfield closed in at fourth and fifth respectively.
Slideshow from yesterday’s BMRC action:
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“The second heat witnessed a much different result with Simons last off the line, giving himself much work to catch up. By lap three, Benevides had left the remainder of the pack behind and cruised to an easy victory. The battle for second was intense but in the end Simons managed to edge out newcomer Smith who subsequently took third.
“The final trophy heat in the Invitational saw a two-man race from the drop of the flag, where Simons took the lead ahead of Benevides, leaving Smith, Bean and Butterfield to fight for the final podium place. Out front, Benevides fought to gain ground on Simons but inevitably Simons proved too challenging to catch. Simons managed to lead from flag to flag with a top speed of 94kph and won the trophy.
“Benevides won a close second. Bean was visibly more comfortable and held off his two closest competitors for a few laps until Smith slipped past, securing third, leaving Bean in fourth and Butterfield in fifth.
“The new class proved a success for both new and veteran riders, solidifying the potential for the race to become a more permanent fixture to the summer race series in the new year.
“Outside of the Honda Grom Class, the club’s biggest and still growing scooter class saw three new riders across the 70cc and 4t classes.
The 4-minute live video replay from yesterday’s action is below:
“Minibike Advanced riders, graduates of the BMRC’s SPARK program, entered the scooter class for the first time. Fourteen year old Aiden Lopes entered on a 150cc 4t Cygnus, while twelve year old Sheun Simmons joined on a 70cc scooter. A third newcomer to the class was Antione Jones of the local television series ‘In the Know with Antoine Jones’ entering on a 70cc scooter.
“The collective Scooter Class had a total of 8 bikes across the two sub-classes which led to some intense high-speed action.
“From the flag drop in heat one, Ed Cook and Kenny DeSilva charged to the front followed respectively by Ricky Wade, Blair Jones, Dandre Outerbridge, Aiden Lopes, Sheun Simmons and Antione Jones pulling up the rear. Cook and DeSilva quickly pulled away from the rest on the high-speed track layout. By the end of lap two, they were already overlapping the back runners. Wade and Blair Jones started to pull a slight margin on Outerbridge, which they maintained for much of the race.
“Lopes and Simmons held consistent paces as they got used to their new machines while Antione Jones managed to hold his own, experiencing the racing environment for the first time.
“In the end, DeSilva, who averaged a 128kmh race speed, pulled away from Cook to take the checkered flag with Wade holding off Blair Jones for third overall, followed by Outerbridge, Lopes, Simmons and Antione Jones respectively.
“We look forward to more great racing and further growth from all riders as the 2018 season slowly comes to a close with only two race days left, October 14 and October 28.”
