The country’s fastest karts and top karters will head to Taupo Motorsport Park on Saturday the 28th of February for one of the country’s fastest and most spectacular motorsport events – the 2015 Kartsport New Zealand Superkart Championships and Grand Prix – and motorsport fans can come and watch for free.
Superkarts are karting’s version of Formula One and are amongst the fastest forms of motorsport in the country – lapping circuits as quick or often quicker than their bigger single seater cousins or V8 type machinery.
This is the first time the event has been held at Taupo for a number of years having been held at Manfeild for the past three years and competitors are looking forward to a change of venue and record-breaking speeds around the circuit. To mark the occasion and to encourage existing and new fans to come along and watch – promoters will give free entry and parking for all spectators for the entire weekend, including the action-packed Superkart Saturday.
The karters will test on Friday and race all day Saturday, and there will be several support classes of cars from the New Zealand Racing Drivers’ League to fill in the gaps, with sportscars and rotaries racing on Saturday. A bumper field of racing cars on Sunday makes this a ‘must see’ event for motorsport fans.
The kart classes racing at Taupo will include the 250cc 6 speed International class karts which are like mini F1 cars and capable of speeds of well over 230km/hr along with mind-boggling cornering speeds, braking power and acceleration. All sport special body kits and in some cases, highly effective aerodynamics.
These karts have the most power to weight ratio in any form of motorsport. Estimated speeds of 230km/hr will be reached on the back straight. With over 90 horsepower and excellent aerodynamic down force, these impressive karts will have an average lap speed – and that’s an average lap speed, not a maximum speed – of no less than 135km/hr.
Defending champion, Wellington’s Karl Wilson, will be looking to maintain his winning streak. He’ll have his hands full, however, with huge challenges expected from 2014 Superkart Series winner Andrew Hall from Auckland, ex-champ Paul Dunlop from Clydevale in the deep south and Taranaki young gun Alex Geary. Other drivers contesting the class include Tauranga’s Geoff Sherrell, Warwick Dunn and Aucklander Martijn Weiss.
The Horizon Energy Services sponsored National 250 class comprises of 250cc single cylinder shifter karts powered by highly developed five speed motocross style engines. This class runs on shorter sprint style chassis. With up to 70hp, these karts are a real handful for their intrepid drivers and these machines too will see speeds of 200km/hr with a competitive lap time around the 1min 33s mark.
Favourite for this class is Wellington’s Tony Gestro who has shown great form lately since switching from the International class. Last year’s champion Chris Simmonds will look to pull another good performance out of the bag along with 2014 series winner and current 3NZ Nick Isaac from Taranaki. Other drivers in with a sniff include Wellingtonians Dan Isaac, Sean Cuthbert and Peter Hoare.
The Horizon Energy Services sponsored National 125cc class comprises of 125cc single cylinder shifter karts similar to the 250cc machines but with slightly less power. Speeds of 170km/hr and excellent handling make these karts fun to drive and provide stunning racing.
This is the first time this class has been contested for a number of years so it’s anyone’s guess who will take home the winner’s trophy. Drivers to watch out for will include young gun Bradley Tremain from Tokoroa as well as Manawatu’s Peter Dicks, Darryl Currie and Mitchell Ward.
The Energy Hydraulics Ltd sponsored Rotax Max Light class comprises karts powered by 125cc single speed Rotax engines. This is the biggest class # as far as entries for the event goes and everyone from officials to drivers is expecting the racing to be intense.
Competitors to watch include 2014 series winner Charlotte Oram from Wellington, Taranaki’s Logan Boyde, former champion Gareth Playle as well as Aucklander Tony Kinsman – who has shown great form in recent events.
For those racers who are not pint-sized The Qual IT sponsored Rotax Max Heavy class are powered by the same engines as the light class, but a higher overall weight limit means it’s great for the more generously proportioned racers. Despite this, these karts will still see 150km/hr and lap times around the 1 min 43s mark.
Competitors to watch are 2014 series champion, Brad Alexander from Auckland, 2NZ Karl Cameron, 3NZ David Odering and Auckland’s Caleb Hartley. Taupo’s Teddy Bassick is fresh off a round win in January so he’s got to be in the hunt also.
The event format will be four heats and a final in each class. Qualifying begins at 9.20am on Saturday February 28th with racing from 10.30am. The event will be sponsored by Horizon Energy Services (Taranaki), Energy Hydraulics Ltd (Taranaki) and Qual IT (Wellington).
