Brandon Frank relived his thrilling win in the Hamilton Grand Prix main event on Sunday and said his success more than justified his decision to return to the sport.

Frank, 27, of Smith’s, took four years off from the track to focus on work but got back behind the wheel this season.

Always quick, his comeback year was crowned on Front Street with a stunning victory in the Shifter 125cc Class, which saw him overhaul Shannon Caisey at the final turn with three laps remaining.

And with thousands lining the city’s streets, it was an experience he will never forget.

“After four years out, I had three-quarters of a season down Southside and made out all right but I just wanted to be back in town — and I pulled it off,” he told the Bermuda Sun.

“The final race I started third because I had a bad qualifying session. So I knew I had to make my move early because you can’t pass everywhere on that track. There are only certain corners you can pass.

“So I pushed hard early, had a little hiccup in the first couple of laps, there was a car pile-up, got out of that and managed to keep my head and stay cool. 

“I knew Shannon had a lead on us so I saw him and just started pushing harder — and I caught him with three laps to go.”

From then on it was a case of not making any mistakes around a tight track.

“It was very technical and tight,” he said. “There was really no room for error. If you made a mistake, you were going to damage something.”

He added: “I just love racing. I race boats as well. I had to take a break from karting because it’s not a cheap sport. It was definitely the right decision to come back!

“That’s the best crowd I have ever raced in front of — and definitely the biggest crowd. The spectators in Bermuda, they just love racing.”

The Bermuda Karting Club president Scott ‘Skitchy’ Barnes said the response of the public to the two-day event — the first grand prix in Hamilton for 12 years — was overwhelming.

“We had a three-hour rain delay and to see the crowd stick around for three hours in the rain… I mean, we must have had five to six thousand there for the main event. That was probably the highlight of the weekend, to see everyone stick around through the rain.”

Sunday final results

125cc Shifter Class

1 #187 Brandon Frank

2 #7 Shannon “Superman” Caisey

3 #14 Rian Lindo

4 #13 David Selley

5 #5 Devon Durrant

6 #2 John Carreiro Jr.

7 #72 Anthony Bean

8 #9 Scott “Skitchy” Barnes

DNF #78 Ben Savill

DNF #51 Stephen Corrado

DNF #74 Jason Smith

DNF #87 Ed Stowe

DNF #38 Mark Selley

DNF #11 Kevin Daley

Fastest lap time — #187 Time: 38.473 seconds

TAG Senior Class

1 #9 Scott “Skitchy” Barnes 

2 #51 Stephen Corrado

3 #53 Bobby DeCosta

4 #76 Jeff Sousa

5 #72 Corey Lewis 

6 #88 Tyler Smith

7 #99 Al Seymour Jr.

DNF #6 David Barbosa 

DNF #82 Kenneth “Speedy” Harrison

DNF #48 Patrick Ingham

DNF #16 Jehan Durrant

Fastest lap time — #9: Time: 42.224 seconds

Margin of victory:  7.357 seconds

Junior Clone Class (10-15 years old)

1 #22 Zavier Smith

2 #24 Blake Horseman

3 #20 Lucas Bridges

4 #127 Matthew Ivo

5 #18 Ryan Burgess

DNF - #10 Zanardi Daley

Fastest lap time — #24 Time: 47.124 seconds

 

Junior Cadet Class (7-12 years old)

1 #5 D’Niko Durrant

2 #12 Nile Bean

3 #84 Nathan DeCosta

4 #6 Jacob Pereira

Fastest lap time — #5 Time: 48.493 seconds

 

TAG Junior Class (12-15 years old)

1 Owen DeCosta

2 #25 Ryan Lopes

3 #31 Lauryn Burgess

Fastest lap time - #84 Time: 42.690 seconds