Auckland karter Ryan Urban stormed back from problems in qualifying to successfully defend his status as man to beat in the Open class at the Farmer Autovillage Tauranga Street Race in the Bay of Plenty over the weekend.
Urban, who won the Open class when the event was last run on the downtown Tauranga circuit in 2008, worked his way from 27th at the start to 17th in the first heat, then tfrom 17th to fifth in the second and fifth to second in the third before winning the final to keep his record intact.
Second in the Open class final was Palmerston North driver Andrew Hoare, third Pukekohe's Jody Vincent with quickest qualifier, local driver John van Bommel, fifth.
The popular Tauranga event, now the only true converted street race karters can contest, attracted a 100+ entry from drivers from all over the country with class final wins going to Urban (Open), Lance Fisher (125cc Rotax Max Light), Stuart Gould (125cc Rotax Max Heavy), Brad Still (100cc Yamaha Light), Todd Sherley (100cc Yamaha Heavy), Reid Harker (Junior 100cc Yamaha), James Webb (Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha) and Sebastian Bainbridge (Cadet).
Thousands of spectators flocked to the track to watch the action in perfect weather conditions.
Open
Final. 1. Ryan Urban; 2. Andrew Hoare; 3. Jody Vincent; 4. Regan Anisy; 5. John van Bommel; 6. David Samuelson
125cc Rotax Max Light
Final. 1. Lance Fisher; 2. John van Bommel; 3. Mason Armstrong; 4. Ben Drummond; 5. Matt Hollier; 6. Fulton Penny
125cc Rotax Max Heavy
Final. 1. Stuart Gould; 2. Mike Grimshaw; 3. Scott Fountain; 4. Daniel Sayles; 5. David Waldmeyer; 6. Gary Claxton
100cc Yamaha Light
Final. 1. Brad Still; 2. David Meszaros; 3. Justin Herbert; 4. Stan Tangaroa-Green; 5. Matthew Bufton; 6. Scott Blummont
100cc Yamaha Heavy
Final.1. Todd Sherley; 2. Adam Davis; 3. Aaron Cunningham; 4. Sharn Connor; 5. Toss Alexander; 6. Chris Sanson.
Junior 100cc Yamaha
Final: 1. Reid Harker; 2. Brook Reeve; 3. Aaron Marr; 4. Chris Sinclair; 5. Josh Drysdale; 6. Jordan Hart.
Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha
Final. 1. James Webb; 2. Caleb Huston; 3. Jacob Smith; 4. Ethan Anderson; 5. Kurt James; 6. Connor Hayes
Cadet
Final. 1. Sebastian Bainbridge; 2. Amy Smith; 3. Dylan Smith; 4. Reece Hendl-Cox; 5. Lachlan Smith; 6. Lee Zeltwanger
