The Bayleys WPKA Goldstar Series roars back into action this weekend with karters from all over the country converging on the Kartsport Taranaki club’s Todd Energy Raceway at Waitara for the Supreme Kart Supplies-sponsored third round.
The series is one of the longest running regional ones in New Zealand with a cross-year calendar format that sees the first rounds at the end of one year and subsequent ones run up until May the next.
Revitalised this season with naming rights support from Bayleys and a new sponsor-friendly format put together by a new organising committee, the series has seen an increase in both numbers and intensity.
Leading the way in the Senior ranks after the first two rounds in Wellington and the Manawatu are Brad Still from Taranaki in the 125cc Rotax Max Light class and Zach Zaloum from Hawkes’ Bay and Jordan McDonnell (the pair are tied for first place) from Christchurch in 125cc Rotax Max Heavy.
Neither Still nor Zaloum and McDonnell have big leads however and this weekend will be all about local drivers Still and Aaron de Ridder maximising home track advantage.
For Still that means working hard to extend the five point lead he had on Chris Cox and John Wallace, who are tied for second place in the Lights class.
For de Ridder it will be about trying to bridge the three point lead Zach Zaloum and Jordan McDonnell have on him in the Heavy class points standings, while keeping a weather eye on top Masters category driver Brent Melhop who is fourth but only three points behind de Ridder.
Brent Robinson is in a similar position in the ClubSport 120 class, with a three point lead over a pair – John Paddy and Simon Frater – tied for second place, and it is even closer in the Junior ranks.
In Formula Junior only five points separate the top five going into this weekend’s meeting with Jacob Cranston two points ahead of fellow Palmerston North driver Kaleb Ngatoa, Wellington drivers Maddy Stewart and Josh Donohue tied for third two points back and Lee Zeltwanger, fifth just one point behind them.
There’s also just a solitary point between Bayley Walker and Ronan Murphy who are first and second respectively in the Junior Yamaha class, and only three points between first and second in Vortex Mini ROK, and Cadet ROK>
In Vortex Mini ROK Ryan Wood has 118 points to Riley Jack’s 115 and Tom Greig’s 114, while in Cadet ROK, Louis Sharp leads with 118 points from Zac Christensen with 115.
This weekend’s round is the third of four series rounds with the fifth in Hastings over the May 02-03 weekend and a final – stand-alone – championship meeting in Wellington on May 30 and 31.
Further information is available on facebook ‘GoldStar Series’ and at www.wpka.org.nz
