St Kents back on top at Auckland Schools kart meet

Photo: Danjela Haigh

St Kentigern College is once again Auckland's top KartSport school after Shaun Grocock and Rollo Davies got the better of students from 14 other secondary schools at the KartSport Auckland-hosted Auckland Area Schools' KartSport Championship meeting on Sunday.

 

This year's Secondary Schools' division win is the fifth for St Kentigern College in the nine years the championship has been running, Grocock and Davies wresting it off 2009 title winner (the event was not held in 2010) Rutherford College.

 

Before Kings won the title in 2008 and Rutherford College won it in 2009, St Kentigern and Rangitoto Colleges had enjoyed a stranglehold over the Secondary Schools' title, students from Rangitoto winning the inaugural title in 2002 then successfully defending it in 2003 before their fellows from St Kentigern College began a four-year run of success in 2004.

 

In the Primary/Intermediate section meanwhile, Albany Primary/Junior High continued its own winning run thanks to two of the country's top up-and-coming female drivers, Chelsea Herbert and Danjela Haigh.

 

By winning her class Herbert gave her school a distinctive points advantage, she and Haigh enjoying a five point buffer (cfm with just two for St Kents in the secondary section) over second placed Ramarama School pair Michael De Ponte and Dylan Hallberg.

 

This is the third year Chelsea Herbert has been a member of the winning Primary/Intermediate section team, sharing the title with Kaitlyn Wonnacott in 2009 and with her brother Joel in 2008.

 

This year's event attracted just over 60 students from 27 Auckland schools and was held in wet, cool conditions at KartSport Auckland's Moselle Panel & Paint Raceway at the Rosebank Domain,

 

 

Secondary Schools

1. St Kentigern College (Shaun Grocock/Rollo Davies) 5 points

2. Pukekohe High School (Ben Kimber/Callum Gibbs) 7

3. Albany Junior High (Kaitlyn Wonnacott/Joel Herbert) 12

4. Long Bay College (Arran Crighton/Dion Pitt) 12

5. Howick College (CJ Sinclair/Jordan Morris) 13

6. Sacred Heart College (Nick Carpenter/Sam Carpenter) 13

 

Primary/Intermediate Schools

1. Albany Junior High (Chelsea Herbert/Danjela Haigh) 7 points

2. Ramarama School (Michael De Ponte/Dylan Hallberg 12

3. St Peters School (Sebastian Bainbridge/Connor Adam) 18

4. Birkenhead Primary (Jordan Baker/Ashton Grant) 19

5. Kings School (Henry Gelb/Jack Proctor) 25

6. Kaurilands School (Brodie Cox/Bailey Cox) 26    

Cadet
1. Dylan Smith 5
2. Brad Wilson 8
3. Lachlan Smith 10
4. Sam Wright 15
5. Lee Zeltwanger 19
6. Aidan Robson 20

 
JR
1. Chelsea Herbert 7
2. Jacob Smith 11
3. Michael De Ponte 12
4. Nathan Reid 13
5. Sebastian Bainbridge 14
6. Arran Crighton 24

 
Jun Yam
1. C.J. Sinclair 4
2. Shaun Grocock 7
3. Oscar Grant 13
4. Finley McLaren 14
5. Megan Dalbeth 20
6. Danjela Haigh 23

 
Formula Junior
1. Reid Harker 7
2. Emilee Wright 9
3. Luke Dobbs 10
4. Joe Ganley 17
5. Kaitlyn Wonnacott 21
6. Dion Pitt 23


125cc Rotax Max
1. Daniel Connor 4
2. Ben Kimber 9
3. Rollo Davies 11
4. Nicholas Carpenter 12
5. Callum Gibbs 19

Media: Fast Company Photo: Andre Elliott 20th Jun 11