Winning the Junior 100cc Yamaha title at this year’s Cresswell Electrical KartSport New Zealand National Sprint Championships meeting in Blenheim today completed a very special family circle for 13-year-old Christchurch karter Caleb Cross.

Exactly 22 years ago, his father Hamish won the New Zealand Junior 100cc Yamaha title at the 1992 KartSport New Zealand National Sprint Championships meeting in the Hawke’s Bay.

“Talk about emotional,” Cross Snr said as he recalled the day he beat fellow Nelson-born kart-turned-car racer, the late Jason Richards, to the 1992 New Zealand Junior Yamaha title.” I didn’t cry when Caleb was born, but I did today. There can’t be that many fathers and sons with their names on the same trophy!”

Cross Jnr, already a multi-time Island and National champion, was up against defending New Zealand class champion Marcus Armstrong and 2013 New Zealand Schools’ class champion Ryan McPherson (both also from Christchurch) at this year’s Blenheim meeting. And McPherson outpaced both Cross and Armstrong in qualifying on Friday.

Armstrong was back on top in the first heat race this morning – winning it from McPherson and another Christchurch karter Jai Buckley – but Palmerston North driver Jacob Cranston beat both Cross and Armstrong in the second.

It was Armstrong who won the Pre-Final though, leading from start to finish, and Armstrong and McPherson who led the Lion’s share of laps in the Final.

But Cross was not to be denied, never letting Armstrong nor McPherson get too far in front and splitting the pair with seven laps to go.

He then played a waiting game until he spotted his winning opportunity, seizing the lead on the last lap with a daring round-the-outside pass on the fast, blind, up-and-over corner adjacent the Blnheim track’s pit entry shute.

“I was absolutely determined to win and I knew I could make a pass down there,” he said.

What Cross didn’t know was whether or not he could do it round the outside, but when Armstrong protected the inside line, he saw he chance.

It was a risk and Armstrong defended as best he could. But in doing so he lost valuable momentum, letting Cross get away and Cranston – who had caught Armstrong and Cross as they battled for the lead – also catch and pass him to claim second.

The Junior 100cc Yamaha title was one of five contested today with two of the other four going to defending 2013 class title holders Matthew Hamilton (KZ2) and Simon Hunter (100cc Yamaha Heavy), from Christchurch, and the others to Mathew Kinsman from Auckland (125cc Rotax Max Light), and Thomas Boniface (Cadet Raket) from New Plymouth.

Kinsman, the reigning North Island champion, led the 125cc Rotax Max Light Final from start to finish after younger brother – and reigning New Zealand title holder – Daniel Kinsman crashed heavily at the first turn, and the pair’s long-time rival Daniel Connor, from Helensville, got caught up in a first-lap tangle and ended up ninth at the line after fighting his way back from 17th place.

That left the way open for Palmerston North veteran Andrew Hoare to claim second and KartSport Manawatu clubmate Josh Drysdale work his way up to third.

Top female driver Olivia Yardley ran third for much of the Lights Final only to drop to fourth then fifth in the last couple of laps.

After dominating qualifying, the two heats and the Pre-Final, meanwhile, defending class title holder Simon Hunter finally found he had some title competition in the 100cc Yamaha Heavy Final in the form of fellow Gold Coast-based Kiwi, Lane Moore, and Hawke’s Bay young gun Zach Zaloum.

Both took turns leading Hunter at some stage, with Moore leading the race for six laps.

Hunter eventually prevailed, however, to claim his 21st National or Island title.

There was also a spirited battle for supremacy in the KZ2 class between 2012 NZ title holder Daniel Bray and 2013 champion Matthew Hamilton, with Bray leading the Final early on before being caught and passed by Hamilton.

Finally, if there was a prize for the closest finish it would have gone to new Cadet Raket class title holder Thomas Boniface from New Plymouth and fellow podium finishers Blake Evans from Rotorua and Jack Proctor from Auckland.

Evans led for 15 of the 17 laps, with North Island champion Joshua Parkinson and eventual winner Thomas Boniface in front on the other two. So close was it up front though that Boniface went back as far as sixth place at one stage and the only lap he led was the most important one, the last lap.

Even then he crossed the finish line just 0.449 of a second in front of Blake Evans and the top four finishers were less than a second apart at the flag.

Today’s programme saw five of nine 2014 New Zealand National Sprint class titles contested at the Blenheim track with the other four – Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha, 125cc Rotax Max Junior, 125cc Rotax Max Heavy and 100cc Yamaha Light – to be contested tomorrow (Easter Sunday).

Spectators are again welcome at the track with gates opening at 7.30am and karts on track from 9.00am. The action can also be followed live from 9.45am (NZST) via the Internet at http://new.livestream.com/i filmsport/KartSportNationalSprintChamps and/or via the Livestream app on your smart device (phone or tablet)

Results are also being streamed live on the Race Monitor website at http://www.race-monitor.com/Live (again, free apps are available via the Apple App Store or Google Play) and archived on the MyLaps website, www.mylaps.com

For more information go to http://www.kartsport.org.nz/about-us/latest-news/nz-sprint-champs-online-live