Kandré McDonald, Freelance Writer

The streets of New Kingston are set to blaze on Sunday, August 27, as the Red Bull Smokin' Streets hits Kingston's Hip Strip. This was revealed last Sunday at the media launch, staged at Vernamfield Raceway in Clarendon.

On August 27, the Hip Strip will be transformed into a racing track that will run along Knutsford Boulevard from the intersection at Trafalgar Road to Barbados Avenue. From that location, 60 go-kart drivers will go head to head in three categories as they compete for the crown of Jamaica's 'Ultimate Driver.'

The three categories are Junior, Master and Senior. The top 20 racers, regardless of their category, will then compete against each other for the grand prize of an all-expense-paid trip to Brazil for the last race of the Formula 1 series on October 22.

Stunts

However, on the advertised day, it will not only be go-karting that the general public, invited to attend free of cost, will be wooed by. There will also be stunts courtesy of the Crazy Bikerz, a BMX stunts team, and the Red Bull Air Force Skydivers.

In a bid to show the versatility of the machines that will be racing at the show, a team from the Jamaica Karting Association along with other respected drivers decided to put up a VW Golf, a Type R Honda Integra and an Evolution against two go-karts.

The aim of the exhibition was to show that the go-kart reached 0-60 mph before all the other cars. There were smiles on the faces of the kart drivers as their closest rival, the Evolution VII Type R, clocked 4.5 seconds as opposed to their 3.54 and 3.83 seconds.

Speaking with The Gleaner, Dwight Preddie, vice-president of the Jamaica Karting Association, outlined that the aim of the media launch was to show that the go-kart is no gimmick and that it is a serious piece of machine.

"All the karts participating in the competition will be done over, including body work and the likes, to depict the theme Red Bull Smokin' Streets, Preddie said.