Hundreds of diehard motorsport fans are expected to cram the Palisadoes International Raceway in Kingston tomorrow, to witness the intense rivalry between Jamaica, Italy, Aruba, Barbados, Canada, United States, Brazil and the Dominica Republic, in what has been described as one of the biggest karting events in the region.

The competitors, which include a number of world champions and the best of the respective countries, will face off in seven different classes.

"All the karts have now cleared Customs and the drivers have arrived. An additional number of karters, who were not on list, also came in and they will be renting karts to compete at the meet," Dave Wong, president of the Jamaica Karting Association (JKA), disclosed yesterday.

late arrivals

Among the late arrivals were Andrew Lewis and Andrew Simmons. Simmons is the son of local businessman Mike Simmons, of Sibony Garments in downtown Kingston. Both father and son will compete in the Rotax Masters Class.

Lewis is the son of the highly rated, former circuit racing driver, Michael Lewis, of Dover fame. The younger Lewis has been rated among the better karters on the Miami circuit. This has paved the way for a clash between himself and Matthew Mair, who dominated the international meet last year. Also competing will be Canada champion Fritz Leezman.

The track has been buzzing with non-stop excitement over the two weeks, as the karters fine-tune their preparation.

"Based on the list of competitors, the meet promises to be a very competitive and exciting affair, but I think our local boys will dominate the 80 cc class," the JKA president said.

The grandchildren of former Formula One, CART and Indianapolis 500 world champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, will be in action.

"I like the track, especially with the different types of corners, but I am hoping to win on the weekend," said 13-year-old Pietro Fittipaldi Da Cruz, who will be competing in the Rotax Mini-max Class.

His sibling, Enzo, promised to give it his all. He will be taking on the top class karters in the 80 cc Class. The boy's father, Carlos Da Cruz, is confident that they will do well.

In the meantime, Alvaro Frias, who arrived in the island on Tuesday, said his charge, Ian Rodriguez of Guatemala, should dominate his rivals in the competitive 80 cc Class.