Preview: NZ North & South Island Championships
press release
It's North and South Island championship time again for New Zealand's top KartSport competitors with events in Auckland and Christchurch over Labour Weekend.
Both meetings have again attracted strong entries, with over 100 karters heading to KartSport Auckland's Moselle Panel & Paint Raceway in Auckland for the North Island event and over 80 set to compete at the Christchurch Kart Club's Armstrong Motor Group Raceway in Christchurch.
Ten class titles will be contested at the North Island meeting, seven at the South Island meeting with both running over three full days.
NORTH ISLAND
Each meeting has attracted a number of reigning New Zealand champions, in the case of the North Island one Aucklander Tony Chambers (Open), Palmerston North's Thomas Ingram (Cadet) and Hawke's Bay's Maddie Wise (Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha). There will also be several 2009 North Island class champions trying to make it two in a row, namely Aucklanders Ryan Urban (125cc Rotax Max Light), Daniel Bray (KZ2) and Bradley Hicks (KF3).
Above: North Island's Ryan Urban, Rotax Light
pic - fast company / Graham Hughes
Numbers-wise it is the Senior 100cc Yamaha Light class which is the best supported at the North Islands this year with 20 entries, closely followed by the Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha class with 19 and 125cc Rotax Max Light with 18.
After their ding-dong battle at the final round of the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart series at KartSport Auckland's recently resurfaced track at the Rosebank Domain a fortnight ago, it's going to hard to look past KZ2 class champion Daniel Bray and former NZ#1 and 2010 Mi Sedaap Series runner-up Graeme Smyth in the KZ2 class this weekend.
That said, it will also be interesting to watch the progress both of former New Zealand Junior class champion Matthew Kinsman and this year's Mi Sedaap Series F125S champion Mark Swetman as they make their Island event debut in the six-speed gearbox-equipped 125cc KZ2 class karts.
Kinsman's younger brother Daniel will also be one of the drivers to watch in both the 125cc Rotax Max Light and 100cc Yamaha Light classes as he goes up against 2009 NZ and Nth Island class #1 Ryan Urban in the Rotax class and 2009 NZ #1 Alex Geary from New Plymouth and defending North Island title holder Andrew Hoare from Palmerston North in the Yamaha one. It will also be interesting to see how Australian visitor Scott Auld, a six-time State champion across the Tasman, goes against his Kiwi counterparts in the 100cc Yamaha Light category.
Auld is being hosted by Tokoroa's Brad Tyrrell, who just happens to be the defending North Island 125cc Rotax Max Heavy class champion. That class has attracted a 13-strong entry with Hawke's Bay's Zack Zaloum and Hamilton's Mike Grimshaw set to provide Tyrrell the competition.
Above: North Island's KF3 driver Bradley Hicks (3) and Arie Hutton
pic - fast company / Graham Hughes
Zaloum and Grimshaw are just two of a number of drivers competing in more than one class over the weekend, the pair also going up against Wellington's Hayden Sarcich and former New Zealand kart champion and now successful car racer Ryan Bailey (Auckland) in 100cc Yamaha Heavy.
In the Junior categories defending North Island champion Auckland's Bradley Hicks won't have his regular KF3 class sparring partner, Arie Hutton, to battle with (the latter having school exams on Friday) but he can still expect competition from fellow KartSport Mt Wellington club members Reid Harker and Paul Blomqvist, Auckland's Aaron Wilson and Taranaki driver Aaron Marr.
Marr, Hicks and Harker will also do battle in the Junior 100cc Yamaha class, in this case against 2009 North Island champion Andy Schofield (Cambridge) and a group of hard-charging up-and-coming youngsters which should include Hamilton's Rhys Tinney, NZ Schools' championship class winner Josh Drysdale (Palmerston North) and Auckland's Shaun Grocock.
SOUTH ISLAND
Interest at the Mainland Karting-sponsored South Island Championships is spread evenly across the Senior and Junior classes with a mixture of established stars and impressive new faces vying for Island honours.
Heading the list is muti-time New Zealand champion and defending South Island 125cc Rotax Max Light title holder Matthew Hamilton from Christchurch. He is one of a number of drivers contesting two classes, 125cc Rotax Max Light and Senior 100cc Yamaha Light.
Above: South Island Yamaha Light drivers Jamie Conroy ahead of Matthew Hamilton
pic - fast company / Blair Hall
In the Rotax Light class he faces competition from former New Zealand Schools' Kart Championship class title holder (and former South Island Junior 100cc Yamaha champion) Chris Cox (Rangiora) as well as kart and car racer Cody McMaster (Christchurch).
Hamilton will also come up against Cox - as well as defending South Island champion Jamie Conroy from Invercargill and championship regulars Scott Downes and Jeremy Burgess from Christchurch - in Senior 100cc Yamaha Light.
In 125cc Rotax Max Heavy, meanwhile, a real battle of the 'big guns' is brewing with reigning New Zealand class champion Hamish Cross (Rangiora) coming up against 2009 New Zealand champion Simon Hunter as well as 2009 South Island champion Mark Coulbeck (both Christchurch).
This year's meeting also sees the debut at the South Island Championship meeting of the KZ2 class with a field of the six-speed gearbox-equipped 125cc machines headed by top local kart/NZV8s racer Andy Knight and including young gun Chris Cox (a very busy boy over the weekend) and top Dunedin driver Dyson Freeman.
In the Junior classes reigning New Zealand and defending South Island Junior 100cc Yamaha champion James Penrose from Rangiora is definitely the driver to beat in that class with competition expected to come from Tom Alexander and Scott Manson (both Christchurch) and Blenheim driver Brook Reeve.
In Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha Christchurch's Jordan McDonnell will be the one to watch while in Cadet, second-generation drivers Caleb Cross (son of 125cc Rotax Max Heavy favourite Hamish Cross) and Marcus Armstrong (son of Porsche racing local businessman Rick Armstrong) are set to provide the interest.
DAY BY DAY
Both events run over three days with Time Trials for all classes held on Friday and racing on Saturday and Sunday.
In Auckland five class titles (Cadet, Junior 100cc Yamaha, 125cc Rotax Max Light, 100cc Yamaha Heavy and KZ2) will be contested on Saturday, five (Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha, KF3, Open, 125cc Rotax Max Heavy and 100cc Yamaha Light ) on Sunday.
In Christchurch four class titles (Cadet, Junior 100cc Yamaha, 125cc Rotax Max Light and KZ2) will be contested on Saturday, three (Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha, 125cc Rotax Max Heavy and 100cc Yamaha Light) on Sunday.
