International Invitational 2000
March 26, 2000
Woodleigh Raceway, May Pen

Pee Wee 80's - Sponsored by Honda
Anthony Mafood & Peter Issa clashed once more as the two riders dueled in the early laps of each moto, but Mafood was the first to see the checkered flag. Olivia Hoo did very well in her first ever race, but she unfortunately fell in the third moto & did not finish. Jared Wright & Joshua Wright also competed. Jared earned third place on the day. Joshua, who rode the smaller 50cc machine, earned first place for the NCB 50cc class.

Intermediate 80cc - Sponsored by Brinks
In this class we saw riders on two-stroke Kawasaki KX 60cc & 65cc machines as-well-as four-stroke Honda XR 100cc motorcycles. Motos one & two were holeshot to checkered victories by 9 year-old French-Canadian Kavel Benoit. Second place was held firmly by Mark Flanders, who resides in Florida. In the third moto the start was different, however, as Mark Flanders captured the lead out of the first turn & kept Benoit in second for a few laps. But once again the moto finished in the same manner as the first two.
Sweeping the class was Kaven Benoit, followed by Mark Flanders in second spot, Luke Issa in third position, & John Bailey in fourth.

80cc - Sponsored by Yamaja Engines Ltd.
Going into the first moto, Kaven Benoit was naturally expected to take the win (because he was the only person clearing all of the doubles on the circuit) in a decisive manner. Off of the start in the first moto, Kaven went down as Sebastien Rae led the field out of the first corner. Later on, while Benoit made his charge into fourth place, Rae went down, handing the lead to Ammar who was charging in second. Ammar lead until Benoit made his move over one of the doubles. John Ammar held on to second in front of Sebastien Rae. Finishing positions were the same in the second moto. In moto 3 the bad luck bug bit John Ammar, as his bike gave up on him during the first lap. We later learned that his spark plug fouled. Kaven Benoit swept the field in all 3 motos, he isn't the Canadian national 80cc champion for nothing, you know.
Overall victor was 11 year-old Kaven Benoit, with Sebastien Rae in Second. John Ammar earned a well-deserved third place podium spot even after a DNF in the third moto.

125cc - Sponsored by KFC
After practice on Saturday, the fastest rider on the track was without a doubt Shaw Dunkel, who raced Christian Sale's Yamaja Engines Ltd. Yamaha YZ 125. Yamaja Engines Ltd. generously lent Dunkel their race bike while Sale is still recovering from ACL reconstructive surgery.
Never before has there been so many 125's to contest at Woodleigh Raceway. A total of eleven competitors from countries such as USA, Canada, St. Lucia & Jamaica lined up to duke it out & have some fun.
Off of the start in moto 1 Dunkel got the short end of the stick, as he started dead last. This only made the race more interesting as he sliced through the pack with ease. Not even halfway through the race (lap 4), Shaw Dunkel took the lead from fellow Floridian, Matthew Fitzgerald. Finishing positions were Dunkel in first, 16 year-old Floridian Nicole Flanders in second, & St. Lucia's Wayne Quintyne in third spot.
Moto 2 had Shaw Dunkel out front from beginning to end, with Ronald Durbin (another Floridian) completing the race in second. Craig Powell, Jamaica's only rider in the class, had mechanical trouble throughout the moto as his radiator got smashed off of the starting line. Surprisingly & impressively, Powell finished in third place, but unfortunately he was unable to participate the third and final moto.
The third moto was another runaway by Shaw Dunkel. Shaw lapped all the way up to fourth place in only 10 laps! Overall winner was Shaw Dunkel, followed by Wayne Quintyne in second, & Matthew Fitzgerald & Ron Durbin tied for third.

Quads - Sponsored by Castrol
Exiting action throughout the day as the four-wheeled machines raced at top speeds around the car circuit at Woodleigh. Peter Jagon dominated in the first moto. But Philip Lee never gave up in the second & third motos, as the two exchanged the lead many times.
Peter Jagon emerged as the overall victor, with Philip lee in second, & an unknown rider on a smaller machine in third.

Shootouts - Sponsored by Air Jamaica
As opposed to the ten laps per moto, three-moto race format, the Air Jamaica sponsored shootouts were a one moto, five-lap all-out dash for victory. 80cc & 125cc machines would race by class, so there were two shootouts.

80cc Shootout
John Ammar took the holeshot as Sebastien Rae, Alan Langdon, Justin Reid, & Luke Hamilton followed. Kaven Benoit fell in the first turn once again & began his hunt on the lead. While Benoit climbed up through the field, Ammar went down & gave the lead to Sebastien Rae, who on the fourth lap lost the lead to the speedy French-Canadian, Kaven Benoit.
Once more, the checkered flag belonged to Benoit. Rae held off Ammar for second place.

125cc Shootout
In the beginning of this race, Floridian counterparts Nicole Flanders, Matt Fitzgerald, & Shaw Dunkel exchanged the lead again & again. This was very exciting, as riders would take off & land side-by-side. The crowd LOVED it. Shaw Dunkel soon decided it was time to leave the competition to fight for second place & pulled away. Nicole fell off pace, & unfortunately went down on the last lap, not to finish the race.
Taking the win was Shaw Dunkel, followed in sooth by Matt Fitzgerald in second & St. Lucian, Gary Devaux on the podium in third.