The pressure in on New Zealand’s Rotax Max category karters this weekend at the final ‘double-header’ round of the 2018 Giltrap Group New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge in Hamilton this weekend.
After a mix of similar double-header as well as single rounds of the 2018 series it is still too close to call in most of the categories.
In DD2 Masters, for instance, just two points separate current leader Fraser Hart from Palmerston North from long-time Rotax category rival Matthew Hamilton from Christchurch with Auckland’s David Malcolm also still very much in contention in third.
It’s also too close to call in Rotax Junior where Palmerston North’s Jackson Rooney goes into the double-header meeting just six points up on Wellington’s Ryan Wood with top local driver Fynn Osborne only a further 10 points adrift in third place.
Hawke’s Bay ace Zac Stichbury has a slightly better points buffer (19) over Aucklander Ashton Grant in Rotax Max Light, but with both Josh Bethune and Jaden Hardy also within striking distance in third and fourth places respectively, young second-generation racer Stichbury will have to be both quick and consistent to hold onto the lead.
In fact, only one driver has the sort of points buffer which – in theory – should be able to see him through the Hamilton double-header, and that is Jono Buxeda from Tuakau in Rotax DD2. He heads down the road on Friday morning with a 66 point lead over fellow Auckland area karters Simon Davies with Jason Lee, and Tauranga’s Sam Waddell waiting in the wings.
The carrot for every Rotax category karter who signs up for the annual Giltrap Group New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge kart race series is a trip to the annual Grand Finals event, where class winners (plus the runner-up in some classes) compete against their fellows from the 60-plus other national Challenge series around the world.
This year’s Grand Finals event is being held in north-east Brazil in late November with seven seats on the NZ squad up for grabs, one each from Rotax Junior and Rotax Max Light, two from Rotax DD2 and three from Rotax DD2 Masters.
One Kiwi karter, Josh Hart from Palmerston North, has already earned a spot at the Brazil event, by winning the 125 Rotax Light class in this year’s Rotax Pro Tour in Australia! The other Kiwi contenders will have to wait, however, till after this weekend’s round results to see who gets to join him at the Grand Finals.
It’s not all one-way traffic across the Tasman either, with the Kiwi karters being joined by top Australian teenager Jac Preston at Hamilton this weekend.
Preston has raced here twice as a Junior but this year steps up to the Senior ranks with drives in two classes, Rotax DD2 and Rotax Max Light.
Once again the Giltrap Group Rotax Max Challenge shares top billing with the KZ2-based Molecule ProKart Series this weekend.
2018 Giltrap Group New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge Series
Rotax DD2
Points after Rnd 6 of 8
1. Jono Buxeda 532 points; 2. Simon Davies 466; 3. Sam Waddell 422; 4. Jason Lee 416; 5. Kaleb Ngatoa 407; 6. Bond Roby 396.
Rotax DD2 Masters
Points after Rnd 6 of 8:
1. Fraser Hart 528 points; 2. Matthew Hamilton 526; 3. David Malcolm 493; 4. Garry Claxton 474; 5. Tim Wakefield 454; 6. Callum Orr 338
Rotax Max Light
Points after Rnd 5 of 8:
1. Zac Stichbury 526 points; 2. Ashton Grant 507; 3. Joshua Bethune 496; 4. Jaden Hardy 496; 5. Scott Manson 332; 6. Corey Green 252.
Rotax Junior.
Points after Rnd 5 of 8:
1. Jackson Rooney 513 points; 2. Ryan Wood 507; 3, Fynn Osborne 497; 4. Breanna Morris 457; 5. Dylan Grant 446; 6. Riley Spargo 437.
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