Storming Drive Nets Grant Title #2
at CIK Kart Meeting at Hamilton

A storming drive in the Final saw Auckland's Ryan Grant successfully defend his KZ2 class title at the annual CIK Trophy of New Zealand presented by Karcher KartSport meeting in Hamilton on Sunday 27th Jan 2008.

Nick Cassidy.
Photo : Fast Company/Andrew Bright-Ultrapix

Category pace-setter Ryan justified his pre-event favourite status by qualifying quickest and winning two of the three heats, but a problem in the Pre-Final - which determines grid positions for the winner-takes-all Final - saw him start the Final from the back row of the grid.

Despite the handicap he won the race - and with it the 2008 KZ2 title - from reigning North Island and New Zealand champion Niklaus Kiser. Not surprisingly perhaps he also set a new outright track lap record for the Hamilton Kart Club's RV Wholesale Supplies Raceway, 36.548.

Grant was one of three CIK Trophy of New Zealand winners at the annual 'international' meeting.

The other two were international kart and car racer Mitch Cunningham, who successfully defended his 2007 F100 title, and Auckland teenager Nick Cassidy who won the Junior ICA trophy.

Cunningham was untroubled in his title defence, qualifying quickest and winning all three heat races as well as the Pre-Final and Final, the latter from Wellington's Simon McLennan and local young gun Tyler Richardson.

Mitch Cunningham.
Photo : Fast Company/Andrew Bright-Ultrapix

Cassidy was another to sweep all before him, setting a pace no one else could match in qualifying then holding it through the heats, Pre-Final and Final. In the end fellow Aucklander Tom Blomqvist, was the best of the rest, leading home Wellington's Jamie McNee and Auckland's Daniel Kinsman in the Final.

Reigning North Island champion Cassidy also all but dominated the Junior 100cc Yamaha class to make it two class wins - one for a CIK Trophy in the JICA class, the other for a Challenge Cup win in the Yamaha class - in a row.

As he did in JICA Cassidy qualified quickest and won the first two heats.

But in this case he faded to fourth in the third heat - won by Rex Edwards - before being back to his dominant best in the Pre-Final and Final, winning the latter from Heat 3 winner Edwards and Arie Hutton.

In the other Challenge Cup support classes, Wellington's Karl Wilson, the reigning North Island champion, was gifted the win in Senior 100cc Yamaha Light after Final winner Lydia Dickinson was DQed on a technical matter, New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge representative Josh Hart won 125cc Rotax Max Hart from former North Island champion Aarron Cunningham and step-brother Brendon Hart, South Islander Scott Manson won Junior Restricted and Hawke's Bay's Mitchell Turner was unbeaten in Cadet.

2008 CIK Trophy of New Zealand Meeting presented by Karcher RV Wholesale Supplies Raceway Airport Road Hamilton January 25-27 2008

KZ2

Time Trial: 1. Ryan Grant 36.462; 2. Jason Lee 36.523; 3. Niklaus Kiser 36.626; 4. Daniel Bray 36.757; 5. Graeme Smyth 36.786; 6. Michael Wheaton 37.058

Heat 1:1. Grant; 2. Bray +0.446; 3. Niklaus Kiser +0.977; 4. Urban +1.464; 5. Lee +0.225; 6. Smyth +0.532

Heat 2: 1. Bray; 2. Grant +1.141; 3. Lee +0.208; 4. Urban +0.782; 5. Smyth +0.506; 6. Niklaus Kiser +3.287

Heat 3: 1. Grant; 2. Smyth +0.827; 3. Bray +1.380; 4. Niklaus Kiser +1.436; 5. Urban +5.767; 6. Lee +6.

Pre-Final: 1. Smyth; 2. Niklaus Kiser +1.138; 3. Urban +4.950; 4. Farmilo +5.256; 5. McLennan +5.485; 6. Wheaton +7.987 (Bray + 1 lap, 12. Lee +1 lap 13. Lovich +5 laps 14. Grant + 6 laps

Final: 1. Grant; 2. Niklaus Kiser +4.309; 3. Smyth +7.640; 4. Lee +12.524; 5. Michael Wheaton +17.541; 6. Farmilo +17.712

F100

Time Trial: 1. Mitch Cunningham 37.731; 2. Phillip Watkins 38.057; 3. Simon McLennan 38.230; 4. Tyler Richardson 38.427; 5. Ethan de Jong 38.476; 6. Karl Wilson 38.614

Heat 1: 1. Cunningham; 2. McLennan +4.894; 3. Phillip Watkins +3.499; 4. Wilson +5.900; 5. Stead +2.039; 6. Richardson 6 laps

Heat 2: 1. Cunningham; 2. McLennan +4.635; 3. Watkins +2.825; 4. Wilson +0.904; 5. de Jong +0.845; 6. Stead 7 laps

Heat 3: 1. Cunningham; 2. McLennan +11.418; 3. de Jong 4 laps; 4. Stead 10 laps; 5. Watkins 11 laps. dns: Wilson

Pre-Final: 1. Cunningham; 2. McLennan +7.554; 3. Watkins +12.704; 4. de Jong +14.016; 5. Richardson +2 laps; 6. Stead +21 laps.

Final: 1. Cunningham; 2. McLennan +6.529; 3. Richardson +9.226; 4. Watkins +9.612; 5. de Jong +15.081; 6. Stead +4 laps

100cc Yamaha Light

Time Trial: 1. Mathew Kinsman 40.401; 2. Karl Wilson 40.610; 3. Justin Herbert 40.646; 4. Mitchell Hill 40.730; 5. Josh Hart 40.746; 6. Richard Craig 40.747

Heat 1: 1. Wilson; 2. Hill +0.250; 3. Mathew Kinsman +0.458; 4. Herbert +1.469; 5. Hart +0.118; 6. Craig +3.593

Heat 2: 1. Mathew Kinsman; 2. Hill +0.223; 3. Wilson +0.135; 4. Hart +0.330; 5. Dickinson +0.288; 6. Herbert +2.113

Heat 3: 1. Wilson; 2. Mathew Kinsman +0.386; 3. Lydia Dickinson +1.343; 4. Hill +0.202; 5. Josh Hart +0.344; 6. Herbert +0.992

Pre-Final: 1. Wilson; 2. Hart +0.031; 3. Dickinson +0.163; 4. Hill +0.446; 5. Mathew Kinsman +0.935; 6. Meszaros +3.629.

Final: 1. Karl Wilson; 2. Hill +0.880; 3. Gorham +0.910; 4. David Meszaros +0.959; 5. Steven Wilson +2.696; 6. Mathew Kinsman +2.799

125cc Rotax Max Heavy

Time Trial: 1. Josh Hart 40.022; 2. Phillip Saunders 40.290; 3. Aarron Cunningham 40.373; 4. Albert Rohrlach 40.438; 5. Nick Rodgers 40.458; 6. Brendon Hart 40.537.

Heat 1: 1. Hart; 2. Cunningham 1.258; 3. Rohrlach +0.388; 4. Mike Male +3.800; 5. Rodgers +0.035; 6. Brendon Hart +0.342.

Heat 2: 1. Hart; 2. Saunders +2.149; 3. Rohrlach +2.116; 4. Rodgers +1.189; 5. Urwin +0.617; 6. Alexander +9.627

Heat 3: 1. Hart; 2. Cunningham +2.728; 3. Saunders +1.693; 4. Alexander +1.986; 5. Grimshaw +0.274; 6. Rodgers +0.

Pre-Final: 1. Hart; 2. Cunningham +4.721; 3. Alexander +7.473; 4. Rodgers +7.547; 5. Booth +8.745; 6. Williams +9.600

Final: 1. Josh Hart; 2. Cunningham +7.170; 3. Brendon Hart +13.861; 4. Booth +15.486; 5. Alexander +15.589; 6. Rodgers +15.811

Junior ICA

Time Trials: 1. Nick Cassidy 39.141; 2. Daniel Kinsman 39562; 3. Jamie McNee 39.623; 4. Tom Blomqvist 39.745; 5. John van Bommel 39.951; 6. Stan Tangaroa Green 40.008

Heat 1: 1. Cassidy; 2. Daniel Kinsman +1.720; 3. McNee +0.311; 4. Schofield +0.172; 5. van Bommel +1.402; 6. Tom Blomqvist +0.429

Heat 2: 1 Cassidy; 2. Daniel Kinsman +2.098; 3. van Bommell +3.906; 4. Paul Blomqvist +4.462; 5. Tom Blomqvist +1.162; 6. Tangaroa Green +0.676

Heat 3: 1. Cassidy; 2. Kinsman +1.255; 3. McNee +2.546; 4. Tom Blomqvist +5.456; 5. Scholfield +7.264; 6. Tangaroa Green +7.455

Pre Final: 1. Cassidy; 2. Tom Blomqvist +1.860; 3. Daniel Kinsman +2.056; 4. McNee +5.296; 5. Tangaroa Green +16.808; 6. van Bommel 9 laps.

Final: 1. Cassidy; 2. Tom Blomqvist +7.141; 3. McNee +14.967; 4. Daniel Kinsman +18.917; 5. Paul Blomqvist +25.735; 6. van Bommel +1 lap

Junior 100cc Yamaha

Time Trial: 1. Nick Cassidy 40.208; 2. Chris Cox 40.220; 3. Alex Geary 40.349; 4. Rex Edwards 40.427; 5. Arie Hutton 40.482; 6 James Hadley 40.512

Heat 1: 1. Cassidy; 2. Cox +0.041; 3. Geary +2.192; 4. Edwards +0.062; 5. Hadley +0.887; 6. Madsen-Prinn +0.390

Heat 2: 1. Cassidy; 2. Cox +0.070; 3. Hadley +1.372; 4. Geary +0.129; 5. Edwards +0.177; 6. Hutton +0.223

Heat 3: 1. Edwards; 2. Cox +0.070; 3. Hadley +0.388; 4. Cassidy +0.521; 5. Geary +0.060; 6. Madsen-Prinn +0.192

Pre-Final: 1. Cassidy; 2. Edwards +0.056; 3. Hadley +0.287; 4. Geary +0.379; 5. Hutton +0.663; 6. Vickers +2.450

Final: 1. Cassidy; 2. Edwards +3.164; 3. Hutton +4.871; 4. Cox +4.886; 5. Madsen-Prinn + 5.021; 6. Vickers +5.059

Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha

Time Trial: 1. Aaron Wilson 42.118; 2. Shaun Grocock 42.152; 3. Scott Manson 42.228; 4. Bramwell King 42.248; 5. Darrel Hannah 42.259; 6. Tom Alexander 42.304

Heat 1: 1. Darrel Hannah; 2. King +0.017; 3. Hicks +0.075; 4. Grocock +0.054; 5. Wilson +0.221; 6. Wooding +0.323

Heat 2: 1. Hannah; 2. Alexander +0.176; 3. King +0.577; 4. Hicks +0.117; 5. Grocock +0.139; 6. Manson +0.225

Heat 3: 1. Hannah; 2. King +0.059; 3. Hicks +0.169; 4. Grocock +0.204; 5. Manson +0.350; 6. Wilson +0.450

Pre-Final: 1. Manson; 2. Hicks +1.086; 3. Grocock +1.125; 4. Hannah +1.381; 5. King +1.821; 6. Wooding +1.871

Final: 1. Manson; 2. Hicks +0.255; 3. Hannah +3.436; 4. Rhys Tinney +3.767; 5. King +3.768; 6. Grocock +4.010

Cadet

Time Trial:

1. Mitchell Turner 45.612; 2. Joel Herbert 45.646; 3. Thomas McLean 45.708; 4. Jordan McDonnell 45.746; 5. Kurt James 46.016; 6. Blake Filleul 46.250

Heat 1: 1. Turner; 2. McDonnell +0.102; 3. McLean +1.705; 4. Herbert +0.041; 5. Filleul +6.456; 6. Lotter +0.081

Heat 2: 1. Turner; 2. McLean +3.431; 3. Herbert +9.114; 4. McDonnell +0.186; 5. Filleul +2.325; 6. James +0.176

Heat 3: 1. Turner; 2. James +1.865; 3. Filleul +0.021; 4. McLean +0.235; 5. Lotter +0.128; 6. Brown +0.416.

Pre-Final: 1. Turner; 2. McDonnell +0.056; 3. Herbert +7.733; 4. McLean +7.843; 5. Wonnacott +14.272; 6. James +16.

Final: 1. Turner; 2. McDonnell +7.336; 3. Herbert +7.356; 4. McLean +17.000; 5. Wonnacott +17.061; 6. Filleul +20.842

Prepared by FAST COMPANY on behalf of KartSport New Zealand. To find out more about the KartSport New Zealand 2008 CIK Trophy of New Zealand presented by Karcher contact Ross MacKay on 021 677 919 or via e-mail at ross@fastcompany.co.nz