It’s KartSport New Zealand North and South Island Sprint Kart Championships title time again with events in Palmerston North and Invercargill over Labour Weekend.
The Mitre 10 Mega KartSport New Zealand North Island Sprint title meeting is being run by the KartSport Manawatu club at its Manawatu Toyota Raceway at Shirriffs Rd, Palmerston North, while the South Island Sprint title meeting in being hosted by the KartSport Southland club at its Invercargill Oil Shop Raceway at the Oreti Beach end of Invercargill’s Sandy Point Domain.
Both meetings have attracted strong entries with over 90 across nine classes for the North Island one and almost 60 across six classes for the South Island one.
Key interest at the North Island event will be in the Junior classes, with several drivers flying in this week after competing at major overseas events over the past fortnight.
For the past two weekends, for instance, this year’s ROK Cup NZ series’ Vortex Mini ROK title holder Tom Bewley from Havelock North has been competing in Italy, while last weekend fellow North Island Vortex Mini ROK class entrants Sebastian Manson from Auckland and Emerson Vincent from Pukekohe were competing at the big Race of Stars meeting on Australia’s Gold Coast.
At Palmerston North this weekend they will come up against in-form Vortex Mini ROK National Schools champion Mitchell Sparrow from Tuakau and last year’s North Island Cadet ROK class title holder Jay Urwin from Tauranga.
Aucklander Liam Sceats also competed at the Race of Stars meeting and this weekend lines up against top local driver Jackson Rooney, as well as Hamilton brothers Fynn and Clay Osborne, and Auckland pair Ryan Crombie and Dylan Grant in the Junior Rotax class at Palmerston North.
There will also be a lot of interest in the first appearance of the new Vortex ROK DVS Junior class at a KartSport Island Championship event. The class has attracted eight entries including several from drivers like Jackson Rooney Leo Scott, Joshua Richmond and Liam Sceats who are also contesting the Junior Rotax class.
Interest in the Senior ranks at the North Island event also centres on a number of drivers chasing more than one class title.
Local ace Jacob Cranston will contest the KZ2 class on Saturday and the Open class on Sunday. Also doing the KZ2/Open double are Regan Hall, Andrew Hunt and Graeme Smyth from Auckland, Brandon Lambert from Mangakino, and local club member Clint Beaumont.
Young guns Joshua Bethune from Auckland and Michael McCulloch from the Kapiti Coast, meanwhile, are both doing a Rotax category double, the pair lining up in the 125cc Rotax Max Light class on Saturday then the Rotax DD2 class on Sunday.
In the Rotax Max Light class they will come against one of the country’s top female drivers, Rianna O’Meara-Hunt as well as top Auckland karter Ashton Grant, while in Rotax DD2 on Sunday they will compete against top class specialists Bond Roby from Auckland, and kart and speedway saloon car ace Sam Waddell from Tauranga.
The Junior categories are also some of the best supported at the South Island titles meeting at Invercargill, with particular interest there in the Vortex Mini ROK and Junior Rotax classes.
Dunedin drivers James Black and Jaxon Harvey are set to take the battle to Christchurch’s Louis Sharp in Vortex Mini ROK on Saturday while Picton’s William Exton, the defending South Island title holder, will start as favourite in Junior 100cc Yamaha on Saturday and Junior Rotax on Sunday.
While it will be hard to go past multi-time former South Island champion Chris Cox from Rangiora in 125cc Rotax Max Light, and Dunedin’s Arron Black in Rotax Max Heavy on Saturday, Sunday’s Cadet ROK field is too close to call, with Christchurch’s Lochy McGregor set to take on KartSport Canterbury clubmate Izaak Fletcher, Arthur Broughan from Blenheim and local ace Jacob Earley for the coveted South Island title.
There will be karts on track at both meetings form 9.00am on both Saturday and Sunday with tuning runs, qualifying and heats followed by Pre-Finals (the race which decides the grid for the Final) and Finals for each class.
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