Young go-karters disappointed

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

Plagued by a series of misfortunes, Jamaica's young go-karters bowed out of action on Friday in the preliminary rounds of the World Karting Championship, which concludes in Portugal today.

While there will be no podium finish to celebrate, president of the Jamaica Karting Association (JKA), Neil Williams, described it as a good learning experience.

According to Williams, who is attending the meet, the Jamaicans had some serious issues with their engines and were, therefore, off the pace during their respective events.

"In qualifying, Thomas had an accident and his top-three qualifying runs were removed, so he qualified 51st. Likewise Collin Daley Jr. In the three heats, they were involved in accidents and never made it to the finals," said Williams.

He further explained that for the last chance to qualify, only the top six advance and Issa, who started 26th on the grid, finished in 17th place.

"Collin had an accident on the first lap and dropped out. But it was a good experience and we learnt a lot," said Williams.

The 14-year-old Issa qualified for the world event after a classy performance at the US Grand National Finals earlier this year. Daley booked his place to the world championship when he took the chequered flag at a critical go-kart race meet in Colorado, United States, in September.