Auckland karters Ryan Grant and Jason Lee will be winging their way to Las Vegas later this year after claiming their respective class titles at the final round of the 2007 Eaton Fluid Power 125cc Shifter Series at KartSport Auckland's The Pallet Company Raceway over the September 29-30 weekend.
Grant, 22, ended up winning the 2007 KZ2 crown by 32 points from Taranaki's Niklaus Kiser while Lee, 20, won the F125S title by five points from fellow Aucklander Daniel Bray.
For their efforts the pair have won expenses-paid trips to this year's season-ending MG Tires-backed Shifter Kart SuperNationals in Las Vegas. The annual SuperNational meeting ranks as one of the biggest in the United States, attracting hundreds of Shifter kart (karts with gearbox-equipped engines) entries from all over North America and - increasingly - around the world.
For good reason too, as competitors in the Super Pro class will be racing for a $US20,000 purse, with $US10,000 going to the winner!
This year's five-day meeting will again be held on a temporary circuit marked out in the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas with sign-on on Wednesday November 14 and activity on the track from November 14 until the Finals on Sunday November 18.
This will be the first year that New Zealand has had an official representation at the meeting and chances are good that Grant and Lee will feature in the final results.
Grant, in particular, has been in a class of his own this year, the 2006 New Zealand Sprint champion winning all but one of the six rounds of the 2007 KZ2 series, including the final at The Pallet Company Raceway over the weekend.
Niklaus Kiser was always a factor, never finishing a round lower than fourth. But he had his hands full trying to stay in front a the battling Shane Hodgson, Jason Farmilo and Graeme Smyth who ended up separated by only three points, Hodgson earning the final step on the podium with 620, with Farmilo fourth with 618 and young gun Smyth fifth with 617.
Final round winner Daniel Bray made Jason Lee's job a lot harder in the F125S class, Lee winning the first then fourth and fifth rounds, but 2006 North Island Sprint champion Bray taking the top spot at the third and final rounds to keep Lee's winning margin in the single figures.
Mark Swetman from the Bay of Plenty kept Bray honest as well, winning the fourth round and qualifying quickest then finishing second to Bray at the final over the weekend.
New Zealand's F125S KartSport Club is sending a six-strong group to this year's SuperNationals at Las Vegas with four other members - Daniel Bray, Daniel Eggleton, Steve Brown and Snow Mooney travelling with Grant and Lee to compete at the meeting.
Picture - Ryan Grant leads Shane Hodgson
2007 Eaton Fluid Power 125cc Shifter Series Final round The Pallet Company Raceway Rosebank Domain Auckland Sat/Sun Sept 29/30 2007
KZ2
Final Series points
1. Ryan Grant 662 points
2. Niklaus Kiser 630
3. Shane Hodgson 620
4. Jason Farmilo 618
5. Graeme Smyth 617
6. Shaun Wotherspoon 591
F125S
Final Series point
1. Jason Lee 646 points
2. Daniel Bray 641
3. Mark Swetman 635
4. Daniel Eggleton 623
5. Greg Helleur 618
6. Rick Huston 613
