The pendulum swung back Ryan Grant’s way in the Cable Systems KZ2 class at the fifth round of this year’s ProKart Series in Auckland over the August 15-16 weekend.
At the fourth round at Te Puke in June it was Grant in trouble in the Final, the multi-time former class champion slowing dramatically within sight of the chequered flag when his kart’s carburettor worked loose.
Though he only lost two places (from second to fourth) it was enough to deny him the series’ points lead in the class by just one point from teammate Graeme Smyth.
This time it was Smyth in the gun, the young Auckland kart and car racer failing to even start the Final at his home track thanks to a blown radiator hose.
Now, with just one more round (in Hamilton next month) to go, Grant – who went on to win the rain-lashed Final at Auckland from series returnee Jordan Morris and South Island class champion Chris Cox – has a five point buffer over Croc Promotions teammate Smyth with Cox a further two points back.
Jared Mackenzie was the pace-setter in qualifying on Saturday in the Aarque Group KZ2 Masters class and looked set for another strong weekend. He won the first heat but struck engine problems in the Pre-Final which forced him to sit out the Final.
The result was that former class champion Tom Curran from the Hawke’s Bay was again the man to beat, winning the round from Aucklanders Mark Lane and Mark Wheeler and extending his series’ lead – this time over final heat winner Steve Brown – to 18 points.
Defending class champion Garry Cullum from Auckland continued on his winning way in Aarque Group KZ2 Restricted, winning four of his five races and finishing second to Gerhard Benadie in the other.
Recently re-crowned NZ Schools champion Ryan Wood also continued to set the agenda in the Vortex Mini ROK class, leading home a now 18-strong field to further extend his series lead over season-long rival Fynn Osborne.
Ryan Crombie from host club KartSport Auckland pipped Wood for pole in qualifying but Wood won the first and final heats to win the round from Pre-Final winner Billy Frazer.
This year’s ProKart Series is again twinned with the Logitech New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge, with over 100 karters from as far afield as Dunedin and Whangarei making the trip to Auckland to compete across the two series over the weekend.
The KartSport Hamilton club hosts the final rounds of both series at AgriSea Raceway (Mystery Creek) over the September 12-13 weekend.
