Karting Team Claim Honours In New Orleans
[Written by Stephen Wright]
A team of Bermuda karting drivers narrowly missed out on double glory at the SimCraft 24 Hours of Nola in New Orleans at the weekend.
The Bermuda Triangle team, including David Barbosa, Scott Barnes, David Selley, Marc Tucker and American Alex Mayer, won the Masters class but were denied overall victory, settling for an impressive second place at Nola Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana.
After qualifying fourteenth out of 30 karts, the Bermuda outfit quickly raced to fifth before climbing into first, which they held for much of the gruelling 24 hours.
However, with about three hours remaining, the team suffered a series of problems to their L206 Margay Ignite kart, twice having to repair a broken chassis, but were still able to claw their way back into the top two with 40 minutes left.
“We were in the lead with three hours to go when our bad luck hit,” Scott Barnes, the island’s top driver, said.
“To get P2 is a little disappointing, especially as we were first for the majority of the race.
“Given the circumstances and all of the bad luck we endured during the last few hours, we were happy. Winning our class was the goal.”
Barnes was part of a combined Bermuda-US team, with Selley and Mayer at the previous race, the SimCraft 24 Hours of Orlando two years ago, finishing second in their class and seventh overall.
He said mechanical issues were part and parcel of such a race of attrition and praised the entire team for their resilience and positive attitude.
“We’re learning all of the time,” Barnes said. “There were nine of us – five drivers and four others helping out. It was a real team effort.
“It’s a long race, and you only have one kart, one motor.
“There’s so much stress on the kart, and if one thing breaks down, a ripple effect occurs. You know something will go wrong, and it’s important how the team handle it and how quickly you fix it. Being able to bounce back is crucial.
“We will take everything we learned this time and be even better next time around.”
Selley said the race was “the most emotional” he had been part of and was proud of how his teammates overcame the obstacles they faced.
“The last ten minutes was the longest ten minutes of the whole trip!” he said. “I’m proud of the entire team.”
David Barbosa, the team captain, echoed Selley’s sentiments.
“It’s was a difficult race, but everyone was together,” Barbosa said.
“When one of the team is down, you have to pick them back up. When someone makes a mistake, it’s everyone’s mistake. We were all links of the same chain.”
