ProKart Series KZ2 class winner at the opening round was Auckland's Graeme Smyth (#24). Photos / Fast Company/Graham Hughes
ProKart Series KZ2 class winner at the opening round was Auckland's Graeme Smyth (#24). Photos / Fast Company/Graham Hughes
Teammates Ryan Grant and Graeme Smyth look set to renew their battle for KZ2 class honours at the second round of this year's ProKart Series in the Hawke's Bay this weekend.
Young gun Smyth mastered difficult wet/dry conditions at the opening series round in Rotorua two weekends ago but aftera difficult start multi-time former class champ Grant came back to finish second in the Pre-Final and win the Final.
Smyth brings with him an early lead in in the series points standings from top South Island driver Chris Cox and the first of the class young guns, Aaron Wilson.
Driver Garry Cullum (#96)
Kart and car racer Smyth will also be on a high after making his Bathurst debut (in a Ferrari no less) at the annual 12 Hour endurance race last weekend.
Grant is seventh, but wins over Smyth this weekend could see him accelerate up the standings.
"Whichever way it goes it's going to be good to watch," says series promotor Steve Brown. "Both drivers are absolutely at the top of their game at the moment."
Tom Curran driving in the KZ2 Masters (#7).
Local driver Tom Curran, meanwhile, is again the man to beat in the KZ2 Masters (over 40) class with recent class graduate Jared Mackenzie second and Nelson veteran Grant Kugener third after the first round.
Kugener was never far behind Curran in the changeable track conditions at Rotorua and having raced there for years knows the Hastings track as well as the class leader.
The KZ2 Restricted class was also dominated at Rotorua by last year's class title holder, Aucklander Garry Cullum, though impressing with his pace but unlucky not to finish the Final at Rotorua was young gun Connor Adlam who is second in the class points standings heading to the Bay.
Reigning North Island class champion Josh Parkinson from Auckland led home the Vortex Mini ROK junior support class at the opening series round but faces even greater competition this weekend with several drivers from the lower half of the North Island boosting grid numbers to 16.
Driver Josh Parkinson, Vortex Mini ROK (#NI)
An added incentive for the youngsters who complete the full series of racing in the class is that the winner gets the opportunity to compete at the final round of the Australian championships at the end of October,
This year's ProKart Series is again twinned with the New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge, with over 100 karters from as far afield as Dunedin and Whangarei making the trip to Hawke's Bay to compete across the two series.
