Photo: Ryan Grant It all came right for former series champion Ryan Grant in the KZ2 class final at the third round of this year's Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series at KartSport Auckland's Moselle Panel & Paint Raceway on Sunday.
After qualifying on pole then winning the first KZ2 class heat on Saturday Grant was forced to miss the second heat altogether when his kart's engine did a bottom end when it was being warmed up before the race, then ended up ninth in the third after the airbox and carburetor mount came loose.
That gave defending series champion Daniel Bray - who won the second and third heats and the Pre-Final in Grant's absence - the advantage going into the final.
But Bray had engine problems of his own.
"We went to warm up the engine we had in the kart, but it had no compression so we had to swap it for our other one...which had a new piston in it that needed running in."
Though a re-start - after one of the drivers stalled on the line - meant Bray got another couple of laps to bed the new piston in he was still on the back foot when the race eventually started, Grant grabbing the early initiative before he was caught and passed by teammate Graeme Smyth.
Smyth was dynamic as he probed and eventually found a way past Grant, but Grant was back in front by the time the flag came out to win the final from Smyth, Bray, Ryan Urban (who set the fastest race lap) and Richard Moore.
"It's just the difference between our driving styles," Grant said of his battle with Smyth. "Graeme's driving style suits a kart with colder tyres so in the first half of the race he's often faster than I am so I'm not going to hold him up. Once my kart comes on though, which it did with four or five laps to go today, it's game on!"
In the other Mi Sedaap series classes contested Hawke's Bay driver Tom Curran further extended his unbeaten run in KZ2 Masters, qualifying quickest and winning every race he started.
Second in the final, and credited with the fastest lap, was former Rotax Max Challenge front runner and New Zealand representative Mark Lane, with Brett Hollander third, the first of the Wheeler brothers - Mark - fourth and Steve Cox fifth.
In the series Junior support class, KF3, round one winner Mitchell Turner qualified quickest and won all three class heats but victory in both the Pre-Final and Final went to local driver, and round two class winner, Luke Dobbs.
Fellow Aucklander Joel Herbert set the fastest race lap on the way to second place in the final with Turner third and Emilee Wright fourth.
The weekend's round was the third of five on this year's Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series calendar with the fourth and penultimate series round to be held in the Bay of Plenty in August and the final at Hamilton in September.
2011 Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series
KZ2
Final
1. Ryan Grant; 2. Graeme Smyth; 3. Daniel Bray; 4. Ryan Urban; 5. Richard Moore; 6. Scott Reddish
KZ2 Masters
Final
1. Tom Curran; 2. Mark Lane; 3. Brett Hollander; 4. Mark Wheeler; 5. Steve Cox; 6. Todd Wheeler
KF3
Final
1. Luke Dobbs; 2. Joel Herbert; 3. Mitchell Turner; 4. Emilee Wright; 5. Mitch Sanders; 6. Connor Westbury
Calendar
Rnd 1 Feb 27-28 Royshill ZM Raceway Hastings
Rnd 2 April 02-03 Pinex Raceway Tokoroa
Rnd 3 May 28-29 Moselle Paint & Panel Raceway Auckland
Rnd 4 August 13-14 Fagan's Valley Raceway Te Puke
Rnd 5 September 17-18 Hamilton Kart Club Raceway
