Big guns come out for Te Puke kart meeting

Photo: Daniel Bray

The big guns of the New Zealand KartSport world will be competing at Te Puke's Fagan's Valley Raceway this weekend at a jointly promoted national series meeting hosted by the Bay of Plenty Kart Club.
 

Sharing the limelight are drivers like Josh Hart, Andy Schofield and Hamish Cross contesting the Gen-i Kartstars Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand, and Daniel Bray, Bradley Hicks and Steve Brown contesting the the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart series.
 

By joining forces the categories provide clubs with a weekend of top class racing action put on by over 80 drivers across six classes.
 

The calibre of competitor could hardly be higher either, a good example current Gen-i Kartstars Rotax Max Challenge Lights class points leader Matthew Hamilton, who can't, unfortunately, make it to Te Puke this weekend because he is contesting the second round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar series across the Tasman!

 
In his place Palmerston North-based internatiional Josh Hart is expected to be the man to beat, with competition to come from Auckland's Kane Taylor and Christchurch's Chris Cox.
 

Hamish Cross from Rangiora heads the 125cc Rotax Max Heavy support class with his competition expected to come from top local driver Niki Urwin currently second in the class points standings, while Cambridge's Andy Schofield has the points lead in the Formula Junior class from Auckland's Shaun Grocock and South Islander James Penrose.
 

To the Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series classes and after two rounds it is international Daniel Bray from Auckland who leads the points standings in the premier KZ2 (125cc engine/6-speed gearbox) class from Bay of Plenty-based teammate Daniel Dufty and defending series champion - and recently re-crowned New Zealand sprint champion - Ryan Grant.
 

Bray won the first round of this year's series in Wellington in February but Grant fought back at the second round at Tokoroa, getting more confident with his new kart in every race.
 

Factor in Dufty and Grant's teammates Graeme Smyth (the 2009 NZ#1) and Richard Moore (the 2009 NZ Open class champion) and there is sure to be fireworks on the tight, technical Fagan's Valley Raceway track.

 
Not just in KZ2 either.

 
Local man Mark Swetman continues to fly the flag in the 125 S senior support class while in KF3 (an international category for Junior drivers) just 10 points separate the top four drivers led by North Island champion Bradley Hicks from Cambridge's Andy Schofield and defending class champion Arie Hutton (Auckland) who are second equal and Paul Blomqvist who is fourth.  
 

The weekend's joint series' round is the third of five with the fourth not until late August in Hamilton.