KartSportNews - karting news and features | go kart racing results, news, photos, tech and more...

Favourites Come Through In NZ Double

press release

Series-wise it was the favourites who came through at the joint final round of New Zealand's two multi-round KartSport series in Auckland over the October 02-03 weekend - despite round wins in four of the six classes contested going to other drivers.

Heading into the two-day final Josh Hart, (Palmerston North), Hamish Cross (Rangiora) and Andy Schofield (Cambridge) led their respective classes in the Gen-i Kartstars Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand, and Daniel Bray (Auckland), Mark Swetman (Bay of Plenty) and Bradley Hicks (Auckland) topped the points standings in their classes in the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series.

Above: Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series KZ2 series winner Daniel Bray
pic - Fast Company/Graham Hughes

Each went on to claim their respective series class titles, but only two - Swetman in the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart F125S Senior class and Hicks in the Mi Sedaap KF3 Junior one - did so by claiming class victory at the round.

In the other classes those wins went to Daniel Kinsman (125cc Rotax Max Light), Aarron Cunningham (125cc Rotax Max Heavy), Tom Alexander (125cc Rotax Max Junior) and Graeme Smyth (KZ2).

Young gun Kinsman, a former Junior class star, had his job made easier when two-time former Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand winner Josh Hart elected to stay in Europe and not contest the final round (having scored enough points at the first four rounds to be able to guarantee him his third title) though Kinsman still had to beat the other multi-time New Zealand champion in the class, Christchurch's Matthew Hamilton, and Hamilton's 2010 series rival Aucklander Kane Taylor.

With two trips to the annual Rotax Max Grand Final meeting (this year being held in Italy) up for grabs in the premier 125cc Rotax Light class, Hamilton and Taylor were not only fighting for second place behind Kinsman they were also fighting for the second trip (the first already won by Hart).

Above: Gen-i Kartstars Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand Rotax Light final round winner Daniel Kinsman
pic - Fast Company/Graham Hughes

After shadowing Kinsman in qualifying then beating him to the line in the first heat Taylor had a definite edge over Hamilton, and the second trip looked like his for the taking until 22 laps into the 32 lap Final, and with a four second buffer on Hamilton, Taylor's kart's engine spluttered and died.

It was a cruel blow for the hard-driving young Aucklander, who could only watch as Hamilton completed the race and scored enough points for second overall in class in the 2010 series and a place on the New Zealand team at the Grand Final for a second year in a row.

With enough points in the bag to make the 2010 125cc Rotax Max Junior title - and with it his own invite to the Grand Final in Italy in November - his, Cambridge's Andy Schofield was (with Josh Hart) the other driver to elect not to contest the final round, choosing instead to concentrate on the other class he was contested this year, the Mi Sedaap KF3 one.

That left the 125cc Junior Rotax class the preserve of local Shaun Grocock and Christchurch's Tom Alexander. The pair were remarkably evenly matched and put on some of the best racing seen over the weekend though Alexander made sure he was in front when the chequered flag came out in both the Pre-Final and Final.

Having been the dominant force in the 125cc Rotax Max Heavy class all year, Hamish Cross was also one of the pace-setters at the Auckland round, though come the Final it was local driver Aaron Cunningham who led him across the line.

With Cunningham not in the running for a series podium that had little effect on Cross' points or his own trip to this year's Grand Final. Cross in fact won two prizes, the overall class title and the Masters title, and it was the latter which earning him his place on the New Zealand team heading to Italy later this year for the Grand Final meeting.

This year is the first that a separate Masters (32 years and over) category has been added to the Grand Final program with trips to the Grand Final for the winner and runner-up in the Masters class.

Cross has been the favourite to claim one of the trips since the start of the season but the second turned into a two-way scrap between Auckland's Steven Currie and Bay of Plenty driver Niki Urwin.

The battle went down to the Final with second place in the Masters class and second Grand Final (Masters) spot going to Urwin.

It was a richly deserved and in many ways historic reward for the 32-year-old paraplegic from Tauranga who took up kart racing four years ago after losing the use of his lower body (he is paralysed from the chest down) in a motocross accident in Australia.

To the Mi Sedaap series and with Mark Swetman and Bradley Hicks again winning their classes at the Auckland final the only upset in the Mi Sedaap series was in the premier KZ2 class where Graeme Smyth won the round - albeit by just one point - from long-time series points leader Daniel Bray.

Bray, fittingly, won the final race of the season, and with it the class title for 2010, but Smyth elevated himself to second place - over Bay of Plenty driver Daniel Dufty - in the series standings by winning two of the three heats and the Pre-Final.

Swetman's mastery was again complete in F125S though just behind a battle royal raged all weekend between Aucklanders Mike Browning and Keith Warwick, and Bay of Plenty driver Scott Hancet. The trio were rarely more than a kart length or two apart with Browning looking to have the edge until the Final when he was an early retirement, Hancet going on to finish second, Warwick third.

The situation was similar in KF3, despite Aaron Marr and Aaron Wilson having an edge over eventual round and series winner Bradley Hicks in qualifying.

Season-long series rival Arie Hutton also managed to take a win off Hicks in the second heat but Hicks came back to win the third, the Pre-Final and the Final, the latter from Hutton, Reid Harker, Andy Schofield and Paul Blomqvist.

There were also overseas trip prizes up for grabs across the KZ2 and KF3 classes in the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series.

These came courtesy of sponsors Maranello and Paffoni with Seniors Graeme Smyth, Richard Moore and Scott Reddish winning the opportunity to drive with the Maranello team in a round of the WSK series in Italy next year and Juniors Bradley Hicks, Arie Hutton, Paul Blomqvist the opportunity to compete at next year's Winter Cup meeting, also in Italy.

Joint Gen-i Kartstars 2010 Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand/ Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series Moselle Panel & Paint Raceway Rosebank Domain Auckland Sat/Sun October 02-03 2010

Finals

125cc Rotax Max Light
1. Daniel Kinsman; 2. Matthew Hamilton; 3. Jake Pascoe; 4. Simon Evans; 5. Mason Armstrong; 6. Shaun Morris.
Series Points
1. Josh Hart 346 points; 2. Matthew Hamilton 334; 3. Kane Taylor 326; 4. Daniel Kinsman 323; 5. Jake Pascoe 317; 6. Chris Cox 306

125cc Rotax Max Heavy
1. Aaron Cunningham; 2. Hamish Cross; 3. Steven Currie; 4. Shane Hodgson; 5. Niki Urwin; 6. Brendon Hart.
Series Points:
1. Hamish Cross 353; 2. Shane Hodgson 331; 3. Niki Urwin 328; 4. Steven Currie 326; 5. Aarron Cunningham 323; 6. Brendon Hart 312.

125cc Rotax Max Masters
1. Hamish Cross; 2. Steven Currie; 3. Niki Urwin; 4. Brendon Hart.
Series Points
1. Hamish Cross 353; 2. Niki Urwin 328; 3. Steven Currie 326; 4. Brendon Hart 312; 5. Teddy Bassick 300; 6. Daryl Currie 299

125cc Rotax Max Junior
1. Tom Alexander; 2. Shaun Grocock; 3. C.J. Sinclair; 4. Nicholas Carpenter; 5. Caleb Hartley; 6. Jordan Hart
Series Points;
1. Andy Schofield 345; 2. Shaun Grocock 336; 3. C.J. Sinclair 323; 4. Tom Alexander 322; 5. Nicholas Carpenter 308; 6. Josh Drysdale 308

KZ2
Round
1. Graeme Smyth; 2. Daniel Bray; 3. Richard Moore; 4. Will Thomason; 5. Jason Farmilo; 6. Daniel Dufty.
Series Points:
1. Daniel Bray 546 points; 2. Graeme Smyth 525; 3. Daniel Dufty 524; 4. Richard Moore 515; 5. Rick Huston 498; 6. Scott Reddish 492

KZ2 Masters
Round
1. Steve Cox; 2. Tom Curran; 3. Steve Brown; 4. Leo Bult; 5. Brett Hollander.
Series Points:
1. Steve Brown 547 points; 2. Tom Curran 536; 3. Steve Cox 527; 4. Leo Bult 518; 5. Brett Hollander 417; 6. John Steward 413

F125S
Round
1. Mark Swetman; 2. Scott Hancet; 3. Mike Browning; 4. Keith Warwick; 5. Kerry James; 6. Troy Hopkinson.
Series Points:
1. Mark Swetman 444 points; 2=. Keith Warwick 423; 2=. Mike Browning 423; 4. Kerry James 410; 5. Scott Hancet 317; 6. Daniel Samuelson 312.

KF3
Round
1. Bradley Hicks; 2. Reid Harker; 3. Andy Schofield; 4. Arie Hutton; 5. Aaron Wilson; 6. Luke Dobbs
Series Points
1. Bradley Hicks 541 points; 2. Arie Hutton 529; 3. Paul Blomqvist 522; 4. Aaron Marr 516; 5. Reid Harker 514; 6. Luke Dobbs 507

Home

Home
	Favourites Come Through In NZ Double press release Series-wise it was the favourites who came through at the joint final round of New Zealand's two multi-round KartSport series in Auckland over the October 02-03 weekend - despite round wins in four of the six classes contested going to other drivers. Heading into the two-day final Josh Hart, (Palmerston North), Hamish Cross (Rangiora) and Andy Schofield (Cambridge) led their respective classes in the Gen-i Kartstars Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand, and Daniel Bray (Auckland), Mark Swetman (Bay of Plenty) and Bradley Hicks (Auckland) topped the points standings in their classes in the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series. Above: Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series KZ2 series winner Daniel Bray pic - Fast Company/Graham Hughes Each went on to claim their respective series class titles, but only two - Swetman in the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart F125S Senior class and Hicks in the Mi Sedaap KF3 Junior one - did so by claiming class victory at the round. In the other classes those wins went to Daniel Kinsman (125cc Rotax Max Light), Aarron Cunningham (125cc Rotax Max Heavy), Tom Alexander (125cc Rotax Max Junior) and Graeme Smyth (KZ2). Young gun Kinsman, a former Junior class star, had his job made easier when two-time former Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand winner Josh Hart elected to stay in Europe and not contest the final round (having scored enough points at the first four rounds to be able to guarantee him his third title) though Kinsman still had to beat the other multi-time New Zealand champion in the class, Christchurch's Matthew Hamilton, and Hamilton's 2010 series rival Aucklander Kane Taylor. With two trips to the annual Rotax Max Grand Final meeting (this year being held in Italy) up for grabs in the premier 125cc Rotax Light class, Hamilton and Taylor were not only fighting for second place behind Kinsman they were also fighting for the second trip (the first already won by Hart). Above: Gen-i Kartstars Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand Rotax Light final round winner Daniel Kinsman pic - Fast Company/Graham Hughes After shadowing Kinsman in qualifying then beating him to the line in the first heat Taylor had a definite edge over Hamilton, and the second trip looked like his for the taking until 22 laps into the 32 lap Final, and with a four second buffer on Hamilton, Taylor's kart's engine spluttered and died. It was a cruel blow for the hard-driving young Aucklander, who could only watch as Hamilton completed the race and scored enough points for second overall in class in the 2010 series and a place on the New Zealand team at the Grand Final for a second year in a row. With enough points in the bag to make the 2010 125cc Rotax Max Junior title - and with it his own invite to the Grand Final in Italy in November - his, Cambridge's Andy Schofield was (with Josh Hart) the other driver to elect not to contest the final round, choosing instead to concentrate on the other class he was contested this year, the Mi Sedaap KF3 one. That left the 125cc Junior Rotax class the preserve of local Shaun Grocock and Christchurch's Tom Alexander. The pair were remarkably evenly matched and put on some of the best racing seen over the weekend though Alexander made sure he was in front when the chequered flag came out in both the Pre-Final and Final. Having been the dominant force in the 125cc Rotax Max Heavy class all year, Hamish Cross was also one of the pace-setters at the Auckland round, though come the Final it was local driver Aaron Cunningham who led him across the line. With Cunningham not in the running for a series podium that had little effect on Cross' points or his own trip to this year's Grand Final. Cross in fact won two prizes, the overall class title and the Masters title, and it was the latter which earning him his place on the New Zealand team heading to Italy later this year for the Grand Final meeting. This year is the first that a separate Masters (32 years and over) category has been added to the Grand Final program with trips to the Grand Final for the winner and runner-up in the Masters class. Cross has been the favourite to claim one of the trips since the start of the season but the second turned into a two-way scrap between Auckland's Steven Currie and Bay of Plenty driver Niki Urwin. The battle went down to the Final with second place in the Masters class and second Grand Final (Masters) spot going to Urwin. It was a richly deserved and in many ways historic reward for the 32-year-old paraplegic from Tauranga who took up kart racing four years ago after losing the use of his lower body (he is paralysed from the chest down) in a motocross accident in Australia. To the Mi Sedaap series and with Mark Swetman and Bradley Hicks again winning their classes at the Auckland final the only upset in the Mi Sedaap series was in the premier KZ2 class where Graeme Smyth won the round - albeit by just one point - from long-time series points leader Daniel Bray. Bray, fittingly, won the final race of the season, and with it the class title for 2010, but Smyth elevated himself to second place - over Bay of Plenty driver Daniel Dufty - in the series standings by winning two of the three heats and the Pre-Final. Swetman's mastery was again complete in F125S though just behind a battle royal raged all weekend between Aucklanders Mike Browning and Keith Warwick, and Bay of Plenty driver Scott Hancet. The trio were rarely more than a kart length or two apart with Browning looking to have the edge until the Final when he was an early retirement, Hancet going on to finish second, Warwick third. The situation was similar in KF3, despite Aaron Marr and Aaron Wilson having an edge over eventual round and series winner Bradley Hicks in qualifying. Season-long series rival Arie Hutton also managed to take a win off Hicks in the second heat but Hicks came back to win the third, the Pre-Final and the Final, the latter from Hutton, Reid Harker, Andy Schofield and Paul Blomqvist. There were also overseas trip prizes up for grabs across the KZ2 and KF3 classes in the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series. These came courtesy of sponsors Maranello and Paffoni with Seniors Graeme Smyth, Richard Moore and Scott Reddish winning the opportunity to drive with the Maranello team in a round of the WSK series in Italy next year and Juniors Bradley Hicks, Arie Hutton, Paul Blomqvist the opportunity to compete at next year's Winter Cup meeting, also in Italy. Joint Gen-i Kartstars 2010 Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand/ Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series Moselle Panel & Paint Raceway Rosebank Domain Auckland Sat/Sun October 02-03 2010 Finals 125cc Rotax Max Light 1. Daniel Kinsman; 2. Matthew Hamilton; 3. Jake Pascoe; 4. Simon Evans; 5. Mason Armstrong; 6. Shaun Morris. Series Points 1. Josh Hart 346 points; 2. Matthew Hamilton 334; 3. Kane Taylor 326; 4. Daniel Kinsman 323; 5. Jake Pascoe 317; 6. Chris Cox 306 125cc Rotax Max Heavy 1. Aaron Cunningham; 2. Hamish Cross; 3. Steven Currie; 4. Shane Hodgson; 5. Niki Urwin; 6. Brendon Hart. Series Points: 1. Hamish Cross 353; 2. Shane Hodgson 331; 3. Niki Urwin 328; 4. Steven Currie 326; 5. Aarron Cunningham 323; 6. Brendon Hart 312. 125cc Rotax Max Masters 1. Hamish Cross; 2. Steven Currie; 3. Niki Urwin; 4. Brendon Hart. Series Points 1. Hamish Cross 353; 2. Niki Urwin 328; 3. Steven Currie 326; 4. Brendon Hart 312; 5. Teddy Bassick 300; 6. Daryl Currie 299 125cc Rotax Max Junior 1. Tom Alexander; 2. Shaun Grocock; 3. C.J. Sinclair; 4. Nicholas Carpenter; 5. Caleb Hartley; 6. Jordan Hart Series Points; 1. Andy Schofield 345; 2. Shaun Grocock 336; 3. C.J. Sinclair 323; 4. Tom Alexander 322; 5. Nicholas Carpenter 308; 6. Josh Drysdale 308 KZ2 Round 1. Graeme Smyth; 2. Daniel Bray; 3. Richard Moore; 4. Will Thomason; 5. Jason Farmilo; 6. Daniel Dufty. Series Points: 1. Daniel Bray 546 points; 2. Graeme Smyth 525; 3. Daniel Dufty 524; 4. Richard Moore 515; 5. Rick Huston 498; 6. Scott Reddish 492 KZ2 Masters Round 1. Steve Cox; 2. Tom Curran; 3. Steve Brown; 4. Leo Bult; 5. Brett Hollander. Series Points: 1. Steve Brown 547 points; 2. Tom Curran 536; 3. Steve Cox 527; 4. Leo Bult 518; 5. Brett Hollander 417; 6. John Steward 413 F125S Round 1. Mark Swetman; 2. Scott Hancet; 3. Mike Browning; 4. Keith Warwick; 5. Kerry James; 6. Troy Hopkinson. Series Points: 1. Mark Swetman 444 points; 2=. Keith Warwick 423; 2=. Mike Browning 423; 4. Kerry James 410; 5. Scott Hancet 317; 6. Daniel Samuelson 312. KF3 Round 1. Bradley Hicks; 2. Reid Harker; 3. Andy Schofield; 4. Arie Hutton; 5. Aaron Wilson; 6. Luke Dobbs Series Points 1. Bradley Hicks 541 points; 2. Arie Hutton 529; 3. Paul Blomqvist 522; 4. Aaron Marr 516; 5. Reid Harker 514; 6. Luke Dobbs 507 Home
© kartsportnews.com