Daniel Bray and Arie Hutton were the big winners at KartSport New Zealand's CIK Trophy of New Zealand presented by Eyede NZ meeting in Wellington over the weekend.
Bray, 22, claimed the Senior trophy with a clean-sweep in the KZ2 class, while defending title holder Arie Hutton fought back to keep the Junior trophy for another year in the top Junior category, KF3.
Hosted by Wellington club KartSport Wellington at its CRC Raceway at Kaitoke in the foothills north-east of Upper Hutt, the three-day event attracted a class field of over 80 drivers including two from Australia.
Heading into the meeting multi-time New Zealand champion Ryan Grant was the favourite to successfully defend his 2009 CIK Trophy of New Zealand title in the KZ2 class. However reigning North Island class champion Bray claimed pole position in qualifying on Saturday morning then went on to win all three heat races and both the Pre-Final (the race which determines the grid for the winner-takes-all-Final) and the Final, the latter from Grant and top local driver Karl Wilson.
The 22-year-old spent the past year competing in the United States and he believes racing against some of the best kart racers there has helped him raise his game.
"I knew both Ryan and Karl were going to be hard to beat but having said that I was confident this year I had a package that was as good, if not better, than their's"
Bray won the first two heats from young Bay of Plenty driver Daniel Dufty with Australian driver Matthew Hayes third in the first and Grant third in the second. He then won the third from Grant and fellow Aucklander Richard Moore before winning the Pre-Final from Grant and Dufty and the Final from Grant and Wilson.
Young gun Arie Hutton, the 14-year-old who was second in the KF3 class at the Asia-Pacific Kart Championship meeting at Macau late last year, didn't have quite as dominant a run, but he and his father Robert beavered away with his kart's set-up all weekend before getting it right just in time.
"It was pretty much perfect by the Final," said a relieved Hutton. "Before that we were always trying to make the kart turn a little better and get off the corners better."
Before Hutton's late charge in the Final the weekend looked like being a Bradley Hicks' benefit.
Hicks, also from Auckland, claimed pole position in KF3 qualifying then won two of the three heats, before finishing second to the other heat winner, Cambridge's Andy Schofield, in the Pre-Final and fifth behind Hutton, Schofield, Matt Butchart and Paul Blomqvist in the Final.
In the Challenge Cup support classes New Plymouth driver Alex Geary scored a Daniel Bray-like clean-sweep in Senior 100cc Yamaha Light, with Rhys Tinney winning Junior 100cc Yamaha, and Logan Brown Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha.
KZ2
Daniel Bray 1; Ryan Grant 2; Karl Wilson 3; Richard Moore 4; Jason Farmilo 5; Daniel Dufty 6.
KF3
Arie Hutton 1; Andy Schofield 2; Matt Butchart 3; Paul Blomqvist 4; Bradley Hicks 5; Aaron Marr 6.
Senior 100cc Yamaha Light
Alex Geary 1; Phillip Watkins 2; James Gorham 3; Ryan Cappleman 4; John van Bommel 5; Daniel Rine 6.
Junior 100cc Yamaha
Rhys Tinney 1; Jaden Hardy 2; Hayden Pedersen 3; Aaron Marr 4; Harry Wheelans 5; Liam Lewis 6
Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha
Logan Brown 1; James Webb 2; James Munro 3; Cameron Smith 4.
