Bray Reigns In Rotorua Rain
| press release | 20 March 2014 |
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Round one victor Daniel Bray continued on his winning way in the premier KZ2 class at the rain-soaked second round of the 2014 Pro Kart Series at Rotorua's The Rock FM Raceway over the March 15-16 weekend.
Bar an unexpected 11th place in the first heat race on Saturday afternoon - the result of a brake issue - Auckland-based international Bray was again the pace-setter in the KZ2 class, qualifying quickest and winning the other two heats, and both the Pre-Final and Final very much as he liked.
It was also a good weekend for the fellow members of Bray's GP Karts team, with Jaxon Evans and Michael Kurlov second and third respectively in the KZ2 Final, and Garry Cullum claiming his second class win in as many rounds in the new KZ2 Restricted class.
Above: KZ2 winner Daniel Bray
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Fast Company/Graham Hughes
Like Bray, 17-year-old Gold Coast-based expat Evans and Auckland-based Ukranian Kurlov had brake issues in the first heat, but once these were addressed Evans, the son of former New Zealand Formula Vee champion Debbie Evans (nee Lester), was never out of the top three, while Kurlov, a former Rotax Max Grand Challenge finalist who last year spannered for Bray in Europe and the United States, got better as the weekend went on, finishing fourth in the Pre-Final and third in the Final.
Class returnee, Graeme Smyth, was the other race winner, leading home young guns Mitchell Osborne, Mitchell Brown, Kent Wheeler and Rollo Brown in the first heat while Matt Butchart from Nelson also made his presence felt with a second and a third in the heats and a third in the Pre-Final.
In the new KZ2 Restricted class Aucklander Garry Cullum was again the overall winner, though he did not have it all his own way, sharing heat wins with Steve Brown and Gerhard Benadie before going on to win the Pre-Final and Final, the latter from Cameron Dance and Gerhard Benadie.
Above: 1st in KZ2 Restricted, Garry Cullum
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Fast Company/Graham Hughes
With Daniel Bray finishing back in the field in the first KZ2 class heat the only clean sweep (pole, first in each heat as well as the Pre-Final and Final) went to Hastings driver Tom Curran in KZ2 Masters.
The streaming wet track conditions also seemed to suit Auckland driver Mark Lane - who set the third quickest time in qualifying then finished second to Curran in the heats, Pre-Final and Final - and former Stockcar ace Graeme Lambert from Mangakino who finished third in both the Pre-Final and Final.
Nelson veteran Grant Kugener also impressed in the wet and windy conditions, being the only other driver under the 1.02.00 minute mark in qualifying before claiming a pair of thirds and a fifth in the heats, then fifth in the Pre-Final and fourth in the Final.
The weekend's Pro Kart Series round was the second of six with KartSport Hamilton hosting the third over the May 17-18 weekend.
Above: Tom Curran tookout KZ2 Masters
pic -
Fast Company/Graham Hughes
2014 Pro Kart Series Rnd 2 The Rock FM Raceway Amoore Rd Mamaku Rotorua Sat-Sun March 15-16 2014
KZ2
Final
1. Daniel Bray (Auckland); 2. Jaxon Evans (Gold Coast, Aust); 3. Michael Kurlov (Auckland); 4. Andy Knight (Christchurch); 5. Jordan Morris (Auckland); 6. Chris Cox (Rangiora).
KZ2 Restricted
Final
1. Garry Cullum (Auckland); 2. Cameron Dance (Auckland); 3. Gerhard Benadie (Auckland)
KZ2 Masters
Final
1. Tom Curran (Hastings); 2. Mark Lane (Auckland); 3. Graeme Lambert (Hamilton); 4. Grant Kugener (Nelson); 5. Leo Bult (Auckland); 6. Garry Claxton (Auckland).
