Sera & Luciani Win New Zealand Nationals
Tweetpress release
DAY 1 REPORT - TWO TITLES CROSS THE TASMAN
Visting Australian karters David Sera and Remo Luciani claimed two of the six class titles up for grabs on the first day of competition at the MG Tyres KartSport New Zealand National Sprint Championships meeting in Hamilton today.
Both had to work for their silverware, Sera particularly, the 23-year-old from Melbourne somehow managing to make his way from the back of the grid to the front to win the125cc Rotax Max Light class Final.
Above: Ryan Urban has qualified quickest for Sunday's 100cc Yamaha Light class clash at the MG Tyres 2012 KartSport New Zealand National Sprint Championship meeting in Hamilton
pic -
Fast Company/Graham Hughes
Before that defending class champion Daniel Connor from Auckland had held the upper hand, qualifying quickest - to Sera's eighth - then winning both heats and the Pre-Final from the Kinsman brothers Mathew and Daniel.
In fact, when Sera stopped in the Pre-Final with an engine problem it looked like his race was run. Undeterred, however, the multi-time Australian champion put his head down and passed what looked like half the field on the first lap of the Final before working his way inexhorably to the front to take the chequered flag by just over a half a second from Connor with local driver Stan Tangaroa-Green third.
The other Aussie title winner, 51-year-old veteran Remo Luciani from Horsham in Victoria, qualified fifth quickest on Friday, finished third in the first heat and runner-up in the second and Pre-Final then got the better of a race-long battle for the top spot in the Final with eventual runner-up Zach Zaloum from Hastings and one of the other Australian drivers in the field, Lane Moore from the Gold Coast.
Completing a memorable day for the 'Lucky Country' the third Aussie in the class, Mark Dorbolo from Melbourne, worked his way up through the field from ninth to fourth.
Meanwhile, Auckland-based international Daniel Bray led the Kiwi charge, storming back from problems in qualifying (he broke a gear selector) to claim the KZ2 title from three-time former champ Ryan Grant.
With Bray sidelined by the broken selector Grant was the quickest qualifier and heat and Pre-Final winner. But after working his way forward from P11 to P4 in the heats and P4 to P2 in the Pre-Final Bray says he knew he had his rival's measure in the Final.
"Definitely. And the proof was there in the first heat when Ryan, Graeme (Smyth), Matt (Hamilton) and I all ran pretty much the same lap times. For me to be able to do that and not cook the tyres coming through the field meant I knew I had a good kart under me."
In the other classes contested today Auckland's Arie Hutton completed a clean-sweep in KF2, qualifying quickest and going on to win the heats, Pre-Final and Final, the latter from Wanganui's Aaron Marr.
Scott Manson did a similar job - despite the best intentions of fellow Christchurch driver Jordon McDonnell - in Junior 100cc Yamaha, while Matthew Payne was the best of the local entrants, finally winning the Cadet Final after the lead changed several times every lap for all 18 laps. Second was reigning South Island champion, Jacob Mitchell, third Liam Lawson from Auckland.
Close to 200 entries from across New Zealand and Australia entered this year's MG Tyres-backed National Sprint Championships with 125cc Yamaha Light the best supported Senior class with 30 entries and Junior 100cc Yamaha the best supported Junior (under 16) one with 24.
Six class titles - Cadet, Junior 100cc Yamaha, 100cc Yamaha Heavy, KZ2, 125cc Rotax Max Light and KF2 - were contested today, and another four - Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha, KF3, 125cc Rotax Max Heavy and 100cc Yamaha Light - will be contested on Sunday.
Results
KZ2
1. Daniel Bray (Auckland)
2. Ryan Grant (Auckland)
3. Graeme Smyth (Auckland)
4. Matthew Hamilton (Christchurch)
5. Bradley Hicks (Auckland)
6. Matt Williams (Christchurch)
7. Ricky Capo (Australia)
KF2
1. Arie Hutton (Auckland)
2. Aaron Marr (Wanganui)
3. Roland Davies (Auckland)
4. James Gorham (Wellington)
5. Donna Lee +4 Laps (Hastings)
125cc Rotax Max Light
1. David Sera (Australia)
2. Daniel Connor (Auckland)
3. Stan Tangaroa Green (Hamilton)
4. Mathew Kinsman (Auckland)
5. Andrew Hoare (Palmerston North)
6. Paul Blomqvist (Auckland)
100cc Yamaha Heavy
1. Remo Luciani (Australia)
2. Zach Zaloum (Hastings)
3. Lane Moore (Australia)
4. Mark Dorbolo (Australia)
5. Aaron de Ridder (New Plymouth)
6. Stuart Marshall (Auckland)
Junior 100cc Yamaha
1. Scott Manson (Christchurch)
2. Jordan McDonnell (Christchurch)
3. Josh Drysdale (Palmerston North)
4. James Munro (Christchurch)
5. C J Sinclair (Auckland)
6. Matthew Podjursky (New Plymouth)
Cadet
1. Matthew Payne (Hamilton)
2. Jacob Mitchell (Christchurch)
3. Liam Lawson (Auckland)
4. Sam Wright (Hamilton)
5. Reuben Adams (Christchurch)
6. Tom Greig (Palmerston North)
