As the saying goes, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

And that is certainly been the case for kart driver Bilal Binns since he got behind the wheel three years ago.

The 38-year-old races in the TAG Senior Class at the Southside Rubis Raceway and readily admits his thrills have come from battling it out at the back of the grid.

Despite grappling with a lack of practice time, resources and a race day mechanic, Binns’s enthusiasm for the sport has grown.

He talks of his failures with as much gusto as his successes and as he prepares feverishly for Sunday’s race day in St David’s, the second of the season, he wryly tells The Royal Gazette that things can only get better.

“My first weekend was terrible,” he said, shaking his head. “I had the summer off, and I waited for the last two weeks of the summer to start working on the kart. And as you can imagine, last minute everything went wrong.

“The motor wasn’t running properly, the kart wasn’t set up properly. I’m trying to get around it!”

It is clear, though, that a failure to finish does not mean a failure to enjoy. Binns, whose highlight remains a third-place finish at the Dockyard Grand Prix, recounts the woes of his season-opener with a broad smile and explains he is going all out this week to get his kart shipshape and ready to race.

“The first weekend, the practice session, I never got out because my kart wasn’t working properly,” he said.

“In qualifying, I got on the track ... nope, didn’t even get half way round.

“For the first heat, the rain comes down. They call for mandatory rain tyres — I don’t have rain tyres, so I sit it out.

“Then the kart cuts out. I’m in last place. We played with the jets and got it going, but in the last heat, as soon as the flag dropped, second corner, the kart dies again.

“It was a terrible first race day. I went to the shop Monday night and last night and I’ll be there all day Saturday. I want to have a real race!

“Fingers crossed it doesn’t rain and my kart starts.”

Binns is realistic about his ambitions, aware that he does not have the resources or the sponsorship of the guys at the front of the grid. He wants to drag himself up to the middle of the pack but admits he needs help ... and more practice time.

“You have to have a couple of things,” he said. “Seat time, and even more important, you need a mechanic. Between heats you have to come off and figure out why my kart is not running properly.

“You can’t do it on your own.”

He added: “I’ve had a mechanic for three years ... but neither of them have made it to the track! Darren Dowling and Adrian Burrows — these guys are qualified mechanics and I’ve been on at them to come down to the track. I’m calling them out!

“Unless I get a mechanic down there, I may go up another place, but I’m never going to be at the front of the pack. It’s not going to happen.

“But when I did my first Grand Prix, I got a third place, which was an incredible accomplishment. The potential is there. I just have to bring it together.”

Binns credits Bobby DeCosta, the man he calls the “Godfather of karting”, for guiding him through his first three years.

After watching the inaugural Dockyard Grand Prix, Binns told his girlfriend that he was going to suit up in the next one. A few trips to the track later, he had bought a kart from Travis Lewis.

“I had no way of getting the kart down to the track,” Binns admits. “I didn’t know how it worked, had no tools. I was a complete novice but I was convinced I was going to race.

“So Travis introduced me to Bobby, he is Mr Go-kart. He was like, come race with me and I’ll teach you the ropes. He’s been taking care of me from day one.

“Not only has Bobby taken me under his wing. He teaches me how to work on karts, he provides me with all the tools I need to work on my kart and he provides the transportation and storage of my kart. He is the reason I am able to continue racing”.

In keeping with Binns’s travails on the track, his first race day did not bode well.

“It was a pretty bad learning curve,” he said. ”I get in the kart for the first practice session. I’ll never forget it — I was on my third lap going around and I struck the barrier! No one was close to me and I remember looking at the front of the kart, it was all twisted. It was so embarrassing — I hadn’t even started a race yet and I’d broke my go-kart. I just remember thinking this is over, I’m done.”

However, the club came to the new recruit’s rescue and the likes of DeCosta got him back out on the track.

Things got worse, though, when he failed to maintain his racing line when being lapped.

“I cut in and I just heard a ‘bam’ and there was a kart on top of me. A girl named Amber Lopes hit the back of me because I didn’t stay on my line.

“So I got in my second accident and I thought ‘it’s definitely over now’. After all that I still went out and did my next heat. And I’ve been going ever since!”

For many, such an inauspicious start would mean curtains but Binns was hooked.

“It’s very addictive,” he said. “I never knew that battling for last place could be so much fun.”

He added: “You may not have a lot of money, you can be there to have fun. Guys have karts for sale for good prices so just come out, support the club and even if your kid wants to race, it’s a family-oriented sport.

“You have grandmas and grandpas down there. Everyone is friendly ... if you have an issue, they will help you.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring Bilal or finding out more about his efforts can e-mail bkbinns@gmail.com. For more information on how to get involved and what the club offers, e-mail bermudakartingclub@yahoo.com or go to the club’s Facebook page. Alternatively, call Scott Barnes on 505-1611. Racing begins at noon on Sunday