The 2010 City of Sails 2-Day Challenge was contested at Kartsport Auckland’s Moselle Panel and Paint Raceway over the weekend of August 14th/15th; a change in calendar and seasons due to track repairs at the complex being unfinished for the initial scheduling of the event. 

Despite this change of seasons the event was still well patronised & the Auckland Club thanks the competitors who supported the club & the event by their attendance.  The event, this year, saw the return of reverse direction; with 3 heats being contested on the Saturday in anti-clockwise direction & the remaining 4 heats & finals contested on Sunday in clockwise (normal) direction.

In addition to dealing with the two different track directions drivers also had to cope with two different weather patterns.  Thankfully, at least each day was the same for its entirety; wet Saturday & dry Sunday.

First class to hit the track was the Lascom Motorsport sponsored Rotax Heavy with a good geographical spread of drivers all vying for top honours. Shane Hodgson had solid performances all weekend & took the honours from Zach Zaloum & Aarron Cunningham.

Following the heavies came Rotax Light, sponsored by Sheppard Industries; & a class class it was.  Daniel Connors consistency paid off & it was he who took the weekends win, with a clear points advantage, from Shaun Morris & Matthew Bufton.

Smith Precision Engines Cadet class, the first of the junior section, was another class field, although Matt Podjursky was in another class – of his own!  With no finishes outside of the top three Podjursky was the clear winner. Dylan Smith & Sebastian Bainbridge, close on points, finished second & third with Christchurch’s Thomas Pooley taking fourth.  Pooley’s Christchurch club mate Caleb Cross started the weekend well in the wet on Saturday but faded on the Sunday.

A strong class of Junior Restricted’s battled for dominance over the two days & points were close.  In the North Harbour Brakes & Steering class the hard luck award would have to go to young Jacob Smith, though some would argue Thomas Joyes was unlucky also.  However, it was Kaitlyn Wonnacott who gained the upper hand, winning the class from national title holder Maddie Wise with Smith in third.

Following these two Junior classes on track were the Paffoni sponsored KZ2’s; a class with a difference in that these guys have standing rather than the normal rolling starts.  Apart from conceding the first heats win to Graeme Smyth, Ryan Urban dominated this class to the extent that a start for him in the final was not required.  Urban taking the honors from Smyth & improving on his last years second place in Open Class.  Third place went to Will Thomason.

Staying with the seniors, Yamaha Light was next up; & it was in this Marshall Batteries sponsored class that Kristian Reid snuck up on everyone; because over the two days there was no one driver that appeared to have total dominance.  After a fourth place in Heat 1 Reid didn’t finish outside the top three & took the overall win by 5 points from Stan Tangaroa-Green with Brad Still a further 5 points back.

Formula Junior class was dominated by Bradley Hicks in 2009; currently NZ#2, Hicks didn’t dominate to the same extent in 2010 but he still achieved the win.  Reid Harker, a driver who has “stepped up” over recent meetings in this class, finished second with Andy Schofield, NZ#3, in third.

Kartsport Auckland extends its thanks to all the class sponsors for making the 2010 event the success it was & looks forward to the 2011 event being back on track in its normal slot of January.

RESULTS:

Cadet Class

1.  Matt Podjursky  Tnki   2. Dylan Smith  Ak     3. Sebastian Bainbridge MtW     4.  Thomas Pooley  Chch    5. Lachlan Smith  Ak     6.  Chelsea Herbert  MtW

Junior Restricted Class

1. Kaitlyn Wonnacott  Ak     2.  Maddie Wise  HBay     3.  Jacob Smith  Ak     4.  Thomas Joyes  Ham     5.  Joe Ganley  Ak     6. Nathan Reid  Ak

Formula Junior Class

1.  Bradley Hicks   MtW     2. Reid Harker  MtW     3. Andy Schofield  Tok     4.  C.J. Sinclair   MtW     5.  Rhys Tinney  Ham     6.  Aaron Wilson  Ak

Senior Yamaha Light Class

1.  Kristian Reid   Ak     2. Stan Tangaroa-Green  Ham   3.  Brad Still Tnki     4. Scott Sample  Ak     5. Matthew Bufton  Rot    6. Jason Butterworth  MtW

Senior Rotax Light Class

1.  Daniel Connor  MtW    2.  Shaun Morris  Ak     3.  Matthew Bufton  Rot      4.  Kane Taylor  Ak     5. Ethan de Jong  Ham  6.  Jake Pascoe  MtW

Senior Rotax Heavy Class

1.  Shane Hodgson  MtW   2.  Zach Zaloum  HBay     3.  Aarron Cunningham  MtW     4.  Anthony Murch  Ak    5.  Niki Urwin  BoP   6.  Garry Cullum  Ak

KZ2 Class

1.  Ryan Urban  MtW     2.  Graeme Smyth  Ak     3.  Will Thomason Wgtn      4.  Scott Reddish  Ak   5.  Mathew Kinsman  MtW     6.  Daniel Colville  MtW

Copyright © KartSport New Zealand. All rights reserved.