Chris Cox and Caleb Huston spearheaded a multi-title blitz at KartSport New Zealand’s two Island Sprint Championship meetings over Labour Weekend.
Cox, from Rangiora, had KartSport New Zealand officials digging out their record books on Sunday evening after he claimed not one, not two, but three different kart titles at this year’s Keep It Clean-sponsored South Island Sprint Championship meeting at Mosgiel.
Local ace Huston, meanwhile, claimed two of the 12 class titles on offer at the BatteryZone North Island title meeting at KartSport Rotorua’s The Rock FM Raceway in the Mamaku Ranges.
South Island meeting
Making his three-title haul even more impressive is the fact that Cox, a student, has been a regular on the podium at South Island championship kart meetings since 2005 and the KZ2 class title he won on Friday was his eighth.
The Senior 100cc Yamaha Light title he added on Saturday made it nine and the 125cc Rotax Max class title he earned on Sunday gave him the magic 10.
Cox, who has also won New Zealand and New Zealand Schools’ titles in the Junior 100cc Yamaha class, was one of nine different title winners at the annual South Island meeting hosted this year by Otago club KartSport Otago at its Silverstream Raceway near Mosgiel.
Best local performance went to young Jack Cayford who won an exciting Cadet Raket class final from fellow KartSport Dunedin club member Reef Jolly and class pace-setter, William Exton from Blenheim.
Another KartSport Dunedin club member, Josh Bethune, also won a title, the new Vortex Mini ROK one, being contested at the meeting for the first time.
Cox, Cayford and Bethune were three of close to 100 karters from all over the South Island – and one from the North – who converged on Silverstream Raceway for this year’s South Island title meeting.
Eleven different class titles were contested over three days with the other Senior title (the ones not won by Cox!) going to Brenley Marshall from Invercargill (100cc Yamaha Heavy) from Dunedin’s Arron Black, and Christchurch driver Jordan McDonnell (125cc Rotax Max Heavy) from Invercargill’s George Keast and Dunedin’s Daniel Harvey.
The other Junior class titles went to Ayden Polaschek (Junior 125cc Rotax Max), and Ryan McPherson (Junior 100cc Yamaha) both from Christchurch, Callum Hedge (Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha) who had made the long trip south from Tauranga, and William Exton (Cadet ROK) from Blenheim.
North Island meeting
Young gun Caleb Huston, meanwhile, is the pride of his Rotorua club after winning the 125cc Rotax Max Junior class title from Palmerston North pair Jacob Cranston and Dylan Drysdale on Friday then the Junior 100cc Yamaha title from Aucklander Liam Lawson and Cranston on Saturday.
As he said afterwards; “after not winning a title in seven years I’ve won two in 24 hours. It means a lot to win something big.”
Huston was one of over 180 kart racers from all over the North Island – as well as one from the South – who converged on KartSport Rotorua’s Mamaku track for this year’s Island event.
In another outstanding result, Aucklander Graeme Smyth reclaimed the North Island KZ2 class title he last won in 2009, while the 100cc Yamaha Light class win went to former New Zealand champion and representative Josh Hart from Palmerston North.
Hart has spent the last few years behind the spanners, rather than the steering wheel, working for teams in Europe and now Australia, but it obviously hasn’t affected his pace.
Other class wins in the Senior ranks went to Aucklanders Daniel Kinsman (125cc Rotax Max Light), Ryan Urban (100cc Yamaha Heavy) and Mark Elder (Open) while the other Junior class titles went to Auckland drivers Asten Addy (Cadet Raket), Lee Zeltwanger (Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha) and Joshua Parkinson (Vortex Mini ROK).
Australian ace David Sera also crossed the Tasman for the Rotorua event, finishing third in the 125cc Rotax Max Light final behind Daniel Kinsman and Andy Schofield.
