Aucklander Daniel Kinsman led New Zealand’s strongest ever charge at an Australian Rotax National Championship meeting over the weekend finishing third in the 125cc Rotax Max Light class Final at this year’s meeting at Dubbo in central New South Wales.

One  of eight New Zealand karters to cross the Tasman for this year’s Rotax meeting Kinsman didn’t win any races – unlike compatriots Niki Urwin and Josh Drysdale – but ended up with the best placing when it counted. And that was after having to work his way up to 13th place – from the back of the grid – in the Pre-Final having been taken out on the warm-up lap of the third heat!

The 18-year-old also had to contend with a re-start in the Final after the race was red-flagged so that his compatriot Fraser Hart could be checked out by medical staff after a coming together with defending class title holder David Sera and Daniel Rochford.

Eventual winner Pierce Lehane never looked like being threatened for the lead when the race was re-started but Kinsman and Joseph Mawson engaged in a titanic battle for second, with Mawson just making it to the line in front from Kinsman and Tyler Greenbury.

Of the other Kiwis top Junior Josh Drysdale from Palmerston North was in the best position heading into a Final, having won two of his three heats and the class Pre-Final. He led the Final early on too, only to be caught and passed first by eventual winner Thomas Randle then Joseph Burton-Harris, James Golding and Jake Coleman, eventually crossing the line in fifth position.

Tauranga paraplegic Niki Urwin also enjoyed a good start to the meeting, qualifying second quickest in the DD2 Masters class then winning his second heat and finishing third in his Pre-Final.

Unfortunately he and Australian driver Scott Connole had a coming together in the Final which left both circulating at the back of the pack for the remainder of the race.

Helensville’s Daniel Conner was the best of the rest of the Kiwi entrants, finishing 17th in 125cc Rotax Max Lights with Hawke’s Bay’s Zach Zaloum 18th, Auckland’s Aarron Cunningham 21st and Palmerston North’s Brendon Hart 24th in 125cc Rotax Max Heavy.

Finally, Hart’s nephew Fraser Hart qualified fourth and finished fifth in the 125cc Rotax Max Light Pre-Final but was a non-finisher in the Final after his tangle with Rochford and Sera.