Burt set to chase national title
Palmerston North’s Cadet ROK Class North Island champion Kiahn Burt is set to go head-to-head with his South Island opposite for national honours at the Kartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championships in Invercargill this weekend.
Burt won the 6-11 years North Island title late last year and is one of Manawatu’s top hopes at the national event this week. But he will have to beat South Island winner Louis Sharp from Christchurch
The importance of the annual National Sprint Championship meeting means that a number of drivers and team members have already made the long trip south at least once - either in January or more recently this year for the big Spirit of a Nation meeting last month.
Drivers can start testing for the event from Wednesday so many drivers got their trips south started early in the week.
‘‘The detour around Kaikoura adds about three hours to the trip, so it becomes a 13 rather than a 10 hour trip [from Picton to Invercargill],‘‘ says Daniel Bray of Auckland-based team N-zed Motorsport.
As well as competing himself (in both the KZ2 and Rotax DD2 classes) Bray’s team is running a number of other drivers at the meeting, his team transporter leaving Auckland with nine karts and related engines, wheels, tyres and spares on board.
The event has attracted 128 entries over 10 classes with Bray one of three class title winners from the last time the event was hosted by the Kartsport Southland club (2011).
Ten class titles will be contested over the two days of racing (five on Easter Saturday and five on Easter Sunday) at Invercargill with the biggest fields in 125cc Rotax Max Junior (22), Vortex Mini ROK (20), 125cc Rotax Max Light (19) and Cadet ROK (15).
Daniel Kinsman will be one of four drivers defending titles won at the 2016 National Sprint meeting in Hamilton.
Jaden Ransley from Christchurch is the reigning Junior 100cc Yamaha champion, Mathew Kinsman is current NZ #1 in 125cc Rotax Max Light, and Matthew Hamilton from Christchurch is the current NZ KZ2 class champion.
The chance to earn a national title is not the only reason for the healthy entry in the 9-13 yrs Vortex Mini ROK class. Claiming the 2017 NZ title at Invercargill earns the winner a trip to - and entry in - the annual ROK Cup International Finals meeting in Italy in October.