Photo: Daniel Kinsman leads Cody McMastersIt's North and South Island championship time again for the country's top KartSport competitors with events in the Hawke's Bay and Nelson over Labour Weekend later this month.
Both meetings have again attracted strong entries, with over 140 already received for the Thirsty Whale-sponsored North Island event at KartSport Hawke's Bay's ZM Raceway at Roys Hill near Hastings and over 80 for the Enersave South Island event at KartSport Nelson's Classic Hits Raceway near Nelson.
Ten class titles will be contested at the North Island meeting, eight at the South Island one with qualifying and racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the north and Saturday and Sunday in the south
NORTH ISLAND
Each meeting has attracted a number of reigning New Zealand champions, in the case of the North Island one Aucklanders Daniel Kinsman (Yamaha 100cc Light) and Daniel Bray (Open), Helensville's Daniel Connor (125cc Rotax Max Light) and New Zealand-born Australian driver Lane Moore (125cc Rotax Max Heavy).
With top local driver Zach Zaloum, Kinsman is also one of two 2010 North Island champions keen to defend their titles in the Hawke's Bay this year, Kinsman's in the 100cc Yamaha Light and 125cc Rotax Max Light classes, Zaloum in 125cc Rotax Max Heavy.
Zaloum is one of a number of top-ranked Hawke's Bay drivers set to fly the flag for their home province at this year's North Islands, with former New Zealand Cadet (2008) and Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha (2010) champion Maddie Wise and 2009 Cadet champion Mitchell Turner both serious threats in the Junior 100cc Yamaha and KF3 classes.
SOUTH ISLAND
Interest at the Enersave-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 reigning New Zealand and two-time South Island Junior 100cc Yamaha champion James Penrose from Loburn in North Canterbury who has now moved up to the Senior ranks and is one of a number of competitors who will contest two classes, in his case Senior 100cc Yamaha Light and 125cc Rotax Max Light.
In both he will face stiff competition from two drivers who have enjoyed recent success in the car world, Christchurch's Cody McMaster - who is the defending South Island champion in both the Senior 100cc Yamaha Light and 125cc Rotax Max Light classes - and Rangiora's Chris Cox who is the defending South Island KZ2 class title holder.
Cox will be by far the busiest driver over the weekend, contesting three classes, Senior 100cc Yamaha Light, 125cc Rotax Max Light and KZ2.
Interest in the KZ2 class continues to grow in the South Island with defending title holder Cox set to be joined on the grid by as many as nine other drivers including former kart front-runner and now BNT NZV8s young gun Andy Knight, Dunedin brothers Regan and Dyson Freeman and fast-improving young Christchurch driver Sam Gillam.
The South Island event will also see a father and son combination competing, long-time kart and car racer, and 2010 New Zealand 125cc Rotax Max Heavy champion, Hamish Cross set to contest the 125cc Rotax Max Heavy class, son Caleb the Cadet one.
DAY BY DAY
This year the two events will run to a slightly different timetable with the North Island one spread over three days (Fri-Sun) and the South Island one just the two (Sat-Sun).
At the North Island meeting that means that the Cadet, Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha and KZ2 titles will be contested on Friday, the Junior 100cc Yamaha and Senior 100cc Yamaha Light and Heavy titles on Saturday and the KF3, Open and both 125cc Rotax Max Light and 125cc Rotax Max Heavy titles on Sunday.
At the South Island meeting the Cadet, Junior 100cc Yamaha, 125cc Rotax Max Light and KZ2 titles will be contested on Saturday, the Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha, Open, 125cc Rotax Max Heavy and Senior 100cc Yamaha Light titles on Sunday.
