Sirgany stirs up Baby Class

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

Steve Sirgany does a victory lap with the checkered flag attached to his kart a the recent international meet

After a pep-talk from his father, Steve Sirgany, at the recent International Go Kart meet, six year-old Justin created a stir in the 50cc Baby Class, winning four of the six races.

His stunning performance left many motorsports fans speechless. Prior to the racemeet, he was among the least expected to dominate the class, as not many people knew of his ability.

"He is very humble and listens keenly," said the elder Sirgany, who has been his driving coach since January.

A student of St Andrew Preparatory, young Sirgany fell in love with the sport from the day he made friends with Senna Summerbell and Travis Worton.

Not surprisingly, their fathers are race car drivers, while Justin's dad, now retired, dominated Dover in his days.

Young karters

"Because our fathers are associated with motorsports, the boys seem to have taken to the sport," Steve commented.

The younger Sirgany was just one of several young karters, who performed well at the meet. Others were Colin Daley Jr, who demonstrated to the Americans - Jordon Perry and Dore Choponic - that he is one for the future. Daley registered three wins in the Rotax Mini-Max Class.

Daley's seven-year-old friend, Jonathan Law, made his presence felt in the 80cc Baby Class. But it was Matthew Mair and Robert Kerr, two Jamaicans based in Miami, who stole the spotlight in the Shifter and Rotax Masters Classes, respectively.

Americans, Juan Valderama, Frederick Montoya and Juan Arenas, entertained the crowd with their deft driving in the Easykart Class. Other overseas-based Jamaicans, who took part in the meet, were Andrew Simmons, Timothy Stewart, Brian Fong Yee and Kyle Gregg.

Joel Jackson continues to show signs of maturity and improvement. He and his siblings, Sean and Justine, made their presence felt in the Rotax International events.

"It was really a successful meet. Right now, many of the foreigners have given a commitment that they would be returning next year with additional members," Neil Williams, president of the Jamaica Karting Association (JKA).

In the meantime, president of the Jamaica Millennium Motoring Club (JMMC), Errol Anderson, described the event as an ambitious project and a great meet, taking into consideration the time in which it was planned by the JKA.

"I congratulate the JKA for putting on such a fantastic meet, I think this is something that will grow," said Anderson.