More than 120 competitors made the trek to KartSport Marlborough this past weekend, from all corners of the country. While some had relatively simple journeys, others faced the uncontrollable as ferry crossings were constantly cancelled or rearranged. That didn’t put a dampener on the action though, with the racing dished out in rapid, exciting fashion.

The new event, perfectly monikered as Harvest Marlborough, doubled as round three of both the national Kartstars series, supported by Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy, and New Zealand’s edition of the global ROK Cup. Racing for the weekend included a time trial, three heats, pre-final and a winner-takes-all final for each class on offer.

At the youngest end of the scale, the future stars of the sport commenced battle in the Cadet ROK class, headlined by series leaders Levi Trotter and Iver Spence. Spence, who trailed the series lead by one point, took control of the event early by setting the fastest qualifying time. He would later go on to win every session, wrapping up the final with an impressive five-second gap back to second. Trotter would have his work cut out for him, qualifying down in eighth before fighting his way back for a second place finish overall, ahead of Benji Bellamy. Bellamy finished second on-track, before officials relegated him to third. Race officials were quick to commend him as he took full acceptance for the indiscretion.

On paper, the results of the Vortex Mini ROK class were a similar tale to Cadet, but the reality couldn’t be further away. Though reigning two-time National Champion Zach Tucker won every session, including a three-second gap in the Final, he had his worked cut out for him with South Island Champion Henry Fisher. Fisher gathered momentum throughout the event and took the fight to Tucker in the pre-final, with the pair swapping the lead multiple times right up to the chequered flag. Fisher would eventually come home second overall, ahead of Seth Comer who came out better off in a multi driver ‘battle of the race’ for third.

The Rotax Junior class saw Raymond Mallin extend his Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy Kartstars lead, narrowly winning the final. New Zealand Champion Kiahn Burt controlled the majority of the race, before a slightly too aggressively defensive line opened the door for Mallin to sweep by with momentum and lead home the final two laps, ahead of Burt. North Island Champion Ashton Phipps emerged in third overall, after a five-kart race long battle. Marco Manson produced the standout comeback story, finishing seventh overall after qualifying in 21^st with a broken chain.

The Vortex ROK DVS Junior class featured several of the front-runners from the Rotax Junior class doing double duties. Local Marlborough competitor Arthur Broughan would make a staggering statement in his first major event for the class, edging out Phipps for the fastest time in qualifying. Broughan, Phipps and Blake Corin would all pick up heat wins, with Corin also getting the edge in the pre-final. Just when it looked like he had the final nabbed too, Broughan pulled off an impressive second to last lap pass and continued for the victory. Raymond Mallin would work his way through to round out the podium.

With series leader George Sampson not in attendance, the Rotax Light class had plenty to play for. It was perhaps a somewhat surprise package that outmatched the competition in the end though, with Scott Manson finding some renewed form to lead home Wellington’s Tyler Edney. Edney’s consistency across the series to date will however reward him with the points lead, ahead of South Island Champion Caleb Cross who finished Harvest Marlborough in third.

One of the most consistent line ups across the series has been that of the Vortex ROK DVS class, with a nine-kart field of familiar faces approaching the starter in Blenheim. It would be Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy Kartstars leader Ayrton Williams who would continue his dominant hold over the class, with yet another round win. For Williams, it continues a record where he’s won every Kartstars event he’s competed in. The win was somewhat in doubt initially, with a trip to the Steward’s room required, though the win would eventually stand. South Island Champion Chris Cox would fight his way to a well-deserved second place overall, with Dylan Jessop finishing third.

Auckland’s Aaron Tahu striked the first blow to his fellow competitors in the time trial session for Rotax Max Heavy, narrowly leading home Thomas Emmerson. Tahu did go on to wrap up wins in all races bar the pre-final, with Shane Madsen and Emmerson rounding out the overall podium. Emmerson did sneak the pre-final win away but wasn’t able to replicate this in the winner takes all final.

The final action for the event was the six-speed gearbox glamour class of KZ2. While it was a smaller field than previous meetings, it produced a simply incredible qualifying session. Daniel Bray took first place with the smallest of possible margins, clocking a time one one-thousandth of a second ahead of Mitchell Sparrow. If that wasn’t impressive enough, the whole top four were separated by just half a tenth. Tyre saving would be the name of the game for most throughout the day, with drivers showing off different strategies. All these strategies collided in the final, with the overall top three of Bray, Luca Burns and Sparrow finishing with just two tenths of a second between them. Auckland’s Regan Hall would finish a solid fourth place overall and first Master driver.

With the third round of the Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy Kartstars series completed via the Harvest Marlborough event, the attention now turns to round four and the Manawatu & TRC Toyota New Zealand Sprint Championship at KartSport Manawatu over Easter.

Photo Credit: Bella Tahu

Article added: Thursday 23 March 2023