The 2024 KartSport New Zealand SuperKart Championship and Grand Prix were held last weekend at the Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon in Feilding and what an event it was! Forty two competitors were set to do battle in five classes over the weekend with free practice all day Friday and Saturday morning followed by qualifying and racing right through until Sunday afternoon.

This year’s championship promised to be a lot more competitive with the Australian Rotax Light and Heavy drivers on track after winning their spots on the grid as part of the recent Trans-Tasman Series- a collaboration between the SuperKart Drivers Club of New Zealand and the  Australian SuperKart Events of Scott Williams. Colin McIntyre, the current Australian Rotax Heavy Champion and Lucas Quattrocchi the current Australian number two Rotax Light were looking to hand it to the kiwis!

Friday was practice day and the weather played its part giving everyone the chance to get their karts dialled in to the mighty Manfeild circuit. The pits were buzzing with excitement and anticipation of the racing ahead. Everyone was pitching in to help each other, a positive, fun atmosphere that is typical of SuperKart racing in New Zealand.

Saturday morning dawned and the weather had taken a turn for the worse, overcast with rain and chilly temperatures. Everyone converted to wet setups and had two practice runs to get their karts dialled in before the afternoon qualifying sessions. The Rotax classes had the added challenge of working out the new MG wet tyre so the pressure was on.

Results from qualifying:

International:                                                KZ2:                                                                          Rotax Heavy:

1^st: Ryan Urban                                            1^ST: Zane Hills                                 1^st: Ryan Urban

2^nd: Andrew Hall                                           2^ND: Mitchell Frazer                      2^nd: Aaron Tahu

3^rd: Tony Bowden                                        3^RD: Peter Dicks                              3^rd: Daniel Shaw

4^th: Paul Dunlop                                           4^TH: Daryl Currie                                           4^th: Colin McIntyre (AUS)

5^th: Teddy Bassick                                        5^TH: Lawrence Wright                   5^th: Bryan Withers

6^th: Kim Stevens                                           6^TH: David Cox                                6^th: Grant Withers

7^th: Carl Hanson                                           7^TH: Todd Jolly                                7^th: Shannon Noble

                                                                        8^TH: Mathew Hooper

DD2:                                                               Rotax Light:

1^st: Daniel Mayall                                         1^ST: Tyler Edney

2^nd: Haylee McBride                                    2^ND: Logan Boyde

3^rd: Matt McBride                                        3^RD: Chris Benton

4^th: Craig Cook                                              4^TH: Jason Butterworth

5^th: Craig Rowe                                             5^TH: Lucas Quattrocchi (AUS)

6^th: Lee Sefton                                              6^TH: Chris Hogg

7^th: Steven Kruger                                        7^TH: Harry Townshend

8^th: Brent Melhop                                        8^TH: Emerson Lark

9^th: Clint Fell                                                  9^th: Joseph Peirce

10^th: Chris Coleman                                     10^th: James Barnett

Race one was held on Saturday afternoon with races two, three and four contested on Sunday followed by the New Zealand SuperKart Grand Prix.

In the International class Andrew Hall had excellent pace and was going head to head with top qualifier Ryan Urban in most of the races. The hard luck story of the meeting must go to Andrew after he seized his engine early in the final leaving Ryan to win the race and his third consecutive title and six in total in this class. After dropping their worst performances they were tied on points with the title going to Ryan on count back. Most likely “the one that got away” for Andrew but he will be back next year to have another go.

Tony Bowden was in good form and troubling Ryan and Andrew in some of the races. Tony had a huge moment in race one after turning left going into Higgins at high speed and ending up in the weeds. Thankfully he emerged unscathed with his kart still in one piece albeit with his pride a little dented! Tony’s wife Shea, a school teacher, has promised to educate him regarding the difference between left and right before the next event! It was however, great to see Tony have a good meeting after all the effort that he puts into the SuperKart Drivers Club. Teddy Bassick was also quick having some good battles with Tony and others, always a top contender with many years of experience under his belt. Kim Stevens, Paul Dunlop and Carl “Bread Bag” Hanson had some good racing throughout the weekend and it was good to see the International Class putting on an entertaining show for the spectators.

International Results:

1^st: Ryan Urban (Masters)                                                                                   

2^nd: Andrew Hall (Legends)                                     

3^rd: Tony Bowden                                       

4^th: Teddy Bassick                                                      

5^th: Kim Stevens                                           

6^th: Paul Dunlop

7^th: Carl Hanson

The KZ2 class was hotly contested with Mitch Frazer coming out on top after some extremly close racing. Unfortunately Zane Hills was excluded from race one on a technical infringement and this damaged his chances of having a crack at the title. He spent the rest of the weekend dicing with Mitch in some very close and intense racing. Daryl Currie and Mathew Hooper were never far from the action with Lawrence Wright, Todd Jolly, Peter Dicks and David Cox having some exciting racing further down the field. Peter Dicks was having a weekend he would rather forget. Credit must go to Zane for showing real racing spirit and not throwing in the towel after his exclusion from race one, a true sportsman. This class always provides close, action packed racing and is an easy pathway to circuit racing if you are currently racing KZ2 on the sprint circuits as very little modification is required to the karts.

KZ2 Results:

1^ST: Mitchell Frazer

2^ND: Daryl Currie (Masters)

3^RD: Mathew Hooper

4^TH: Lawrence Wright

5^TH: Todd Jolly (Masters)

6^TH: Zane Hills

7^TH: Peter Dicks

8^TH: David Cox (Masters)

DD2 was competitive as always with Dan Mayell and Craig Rowe battling it out in the first two races, both getting a first and second place each. Craig Cook and Matt McBride were in the mix with Haylee McBride finishing ahead of her husband in the first two races, “thumbs” up to Haylee! Lee Sefton, the reigning DD2 champion was slightly off the pace this year and was slugging it out with KartSport New Zealand President Brent Melhop (now a SuperKarting convert), Steven Krugel, Chris Coleman and Clint Fell. This was another closely fought class with a count back determining the outcome after a tie on points. Craig Rowe took the honours from Dan Mayell.

DD2 Results:

1^st: Craig Rowe (Masters)

2^nd: Daniel Mayall (Masters)

3^rd: Craig Cook

4^th: Matt McBride

5^th: Haylee McBride

6^th: Lee Sefton (Masters)

7^th: Brent Melhop (Legends)

8^th: Steven Kruger

9^th: Chris Coleman (Masters)

10^th: Clint Fell

Rotax Light provided the spectators with some outstanding racing. Places were changing multiple times every lap in every race. Tyler Edney came out on top in the end after some hard fought battles with Chris Benton, Logan Boyde, Joey Perice, Jason Butterworth and Harry Townshend. In the final Tyler had a huge moment when he did a full 360 degree spin through the Splash corner at high speed but managed to stay on the track and gather it all up without making contact with anyone. Lucas Quattrocchi had good pace once he got to grips with the new track but was involved in a couple of on track incidents causing him to slip down the final order. Chris Hogg and Jim “Pukeko” Barnett were circulating nicely and not too far off the scorching pace up front. Newbie Emmerson Lark was hindered with mechanical issues but still managed to get to the grid for the Grand Prix.

Rotax Light Results:

1^ST: Tyler Edney

2^ND: Chris Benton

3^RD: Logan Boyde

4^TH: Joseph Peirce

5^TH: Harry Townshend

6^TH: Jason Butterworth (Masters)

7^TH: Lucas Quattrocchi (AUS)

8^TH: Chris Hogg

9^th: James Barnett (Legends)

Rotax Heavy was pretty much dominated by Ryan Urban with Shannon Noble and Aaron Tahu trying their hardest to end his winning streak. Shannon managed to win one of the races but was no match for Ryan as he went on to win his third consecutive Rotax Heavy title. Daniel Shaw had an outstanding weekend coming home fourth in his first ever New Zealand SuperKart Championship meeting. Colin McIntyre showed some good pace once he got his head around the kart setup and the new track. Loyal supporters of the club, Brian and Grant Withers were not too far back showing good pace in most of the races.

Rotax Heavy Results:

1^st: Ryan Urban (Masters)

2^nd: Shannon Noble (Masters)

3^rd: Aaron Tahu

4^th: Daniel Shaw

5^th: Colin McIntyre (AUS)

6^th: Bryan Withers (Masters)

7^th: Grant Withers (Masters)

New Zealand SuperKart Grand Prix

International Results:                                                    Rotax Light Results:

1^st: Ryan Urban (Masters)                                              1st: Tyler Edney

2^nd: Teddy Bassick                                                           2^nd: Joseph Perice

3^rd: Carl Hanson                                                               3^rd: Harry Townshend

4^th: Tony Bowden                                                            4^th: Chris Benton

5^th: Kim Stevens                                                               5^th: Lucas Quattrocchi

6^th: Andrew Hall (Legends)                                            6^th: Logan Boyde

7^th: Paul Dunlop                                                               7^th: Jason Butterworth (Masters)

                                                                                            8^th: Chris Hogg

                                                                                            9^th: Emerson Lark

                                                                                            10^th: James Barnett (Legends)

KZ2 Results:                                                                      Rotax Heavy Results:

1^st: Mitch Frazer                                                               1^st: Ryan Urban (Masters)                                                           

2^nd: Zane Hills                                                                    2^nd: Shannon Noble (Masters)

3^rd: Daryl Currie (Masters)                                              3^rd: Colin McIntyre

4^th: Mathew Hooper                                                        4^th: Aaron Tahu

5^th: David Cox (Masters)                                                  5^th: Grant Withers (Masters)

6^th: Todd Jolly (Masters)                                                  6^th: Daniel Shaw

7^th: Lawrence Wright                                                        7^th: Bryan Withers (Masters)

8^th: Peter Dicks

DD2 Results:

1^st: Clinton Fell

2^nd: Daniel Mayell (Masters)

3^rd: Matt McBride

4^th: Craig Rowe (Masters)

5^th: Craig Cook

6^th: Haylee McBride

7^th: Brent Melhop (Legends)

8^th: Lee Sefton (Masters)

9^th: Steven Krugel

10^th: Chris Coleman (Masters)

Ryan Urban was awarded the Pommie Trophy. This trophy has a forty year long history and is awarded to the highest point’s earner in the International class.

Manufacturers Cup: Arrow Karts

Most Helpful Non-Committee member: Shea (Stella) Bowden

Stella does a massive amount of work in the background to keep the club running smoothly, one example of this was the goodie bags handed out to all the drivers at the meeting.

Tony Bowden was awarded this book from Scott Williams, one of the Australian crew:

If only Scott had got this book to Tony earlier in the season he may have saved a few more VM gearboxes from destruction.

On Saturday evening the committee put on drinks and a Bar-B-Que. This was attended by a large number of people and a great success. The club is fortunate to have a really positive atmosphere and social events like this are well received by everyone involved, all adding to another fun weekend of SuperKarting!

Lifestyle Mowing and Machinery (Andrew Hall) donated a brand new lawnmower and this was auctioned off twice at the prize giving on Sunday evening! Thanks to Brent Melhop for putting the mower straight back up for auction after winning it. Massive thanks to Andrew Hall for the generous donation, its gestures like this from people like Andrew that make the SuperKart Drivers Club such a success!

The Australian crew were a great bunch of people and well received by everyone. The Trans-Tasman Series proved to be a success story for all those involved. It was good to have drivers from Australia competing at the highest level against our best. Having them here was a big positive for the event and they are welcome back anytime!

The meeting was a huge success, running smoothly thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers and officials. There were no red flags, a testament to the safety standards that we enjoy in this great sport. A massive shout out to all the sponsors that jumped on board and made this event possible: Aquavate, Caltex Feilding, Commercial Sprayers, Plumbing H2O Limited, Warner Construction Limited, The River Road Kitchen, Bayswater Vehicle Group, Higgins Concrete, Vernon and Vazey, Professional Tyres and Automotive, Hanson Fleet Services, Lifestyle Mowing and Machinery, Strutwise, BM Fabrications and Transport Trailers. Planning is already underway for next year’s 2024/2025 season and talks are well underway for another Trans-Tasman Series.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/152367844774876

Webpage: www.sporty.co.nz/superkartdriversclub/Home-1

Photo Credits: Lara Currie Photography

.