Support Classes Spin Heads At Horsepower Heaven

Gear changes, international drivers and wheel-spin off the corners; the support classes at Horsepower Heaven drew the crowd to the fence!

KZ2
KZ2, in the guise of ICC, has run at Todd Road in the past – but nothing like what was witnessed on the weekend. Ryan Grant had dominated the lead-up, setting a blistering pace in the heats. But this came at a cost with extra rear tyre wear and he elected to rotate his rubber for the final.

Following a strong pre-final, fellow Kiwi Maranello driver Graeme Smyth hassled, and then got in front of, Grant for several laps. But once Grant’s tyres had “re-feathered” and stabilised, Ryan got by and pulled a small gap.

Scotland’s Daniel Borton ran third, but Bart Price, after getting held back in the pre-final, was charging to the front, displacing Borton before getting onto the tail of Smyth. Unfortunately they clipped wheels when Price made the pass, eliminating the New Zealander and allowing Borton through.

Troy Woolston, driving Josh Arandt’s Arrow, was next with Jace Lindstrom coming from the back of the grid for 5th.

Following his win Grant indicated that he’d love to come back to Australia on a regular basis throughout 2010. “We’d love to come over for a (KZ2) series next year and for sure, I think 8 or 9 of us (Kiwis) would come. I love this track and this has been a great event” he said.

Mention must be made of Justin Ruggier’s pace. The BRM driver had speed but a recurring engine problem saw him withdraw from the final. “I feel bad I ruined Bart’s pre-final when it faltered” he said.

1. Ryan Grant - NZ (Maranello/Maxter)
2. Daniel Borton – GB (BRM/Pavesi)
3. Bart Price – AU (Arrow/TM)
4. Troy Woolston – AU (Arrow/Vortex)
5. Jace Lindstrom – AU (Arrow/TM)

Above: KZ2 podium
pic - photowagon.com.au

Above: New Zealand's Ryan Grant and Graeme Smyth locked out the front row for the final

200 Super
The Dom drove The Dom-inator to a resounding victory in the 200 Super class. Using engines built to F100 specs, Albanese’s Arrow looked the tamest of all the karts in the field – though that is a rather relative term when two engines are bolted on the back!

After a solid run to second in the pre-final, Gerry Brookes was running second in the final, but then pointed Mitchel Evens through before retiring with braking issues (a pad had dropped out). “I’m not driving one of these things with no brakes!” he explained.

Evens had been having a shocker of a meeting, but it all came together for him in the final, the Tasmanian having a strong run to second.

The punishing nature of the class resulted in quite a few DNFs. Trent Palmer nursed his kart to third place - with a broken chassis rail and brake pad down to the backing plate! Jason White also retired when an axle bearing mount broke.

Outside of the Vintage scene, this seems to be the last class in karting that encourages owners to develop and build or modify their own gear. There were some interesting karts and parts on the grid – keep an eye on KartSportNews for a photo feature in the near future.

1. Dominic Albanese (Arrow/TM water-cooled x2)
2. Mitchel Evans (Arrow/TM water-cooled x2)
3. Trent Palmer (TM x2)
4. Scott Calvert (Azzurro/Fox air-cooled x2)
5. Jason Abbot (n/a)

Above: 200 Super podium
pic - photowagon.com.au

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