St Andrews College is Top KartSport School
for a Second Year

Christchurch's St Andrew College is the country's top KartSport school for a second year in a row thanks to senior students Chris Cox and Andrew Errington successfully defending their 2008 KartSport New Zealand National School's title at the Fair Dinkum Homes & Sheds-backed 2009 meeting in the Hawke's Bay over the weekend of 11-12 July.

Chris Cox (#11) and Andrew Errington (#64)
Photo : Fast Company/Racepics

Despite stiff opposition from St Kentigern College's Jake Pascoe, Cox and Errington made the 125cc Rotax Max Light class their own, Cox winning two of the four heats and the final to win the individual class title and Errington finishing third overall behind Cox and Pascoe with a second and two thirds in the heats and another second in the final.

To make his weekend complete Cox, New Zealand Sprint champion in the Junior 100cc Yamaha class in 2008, also finished second in the Senior 100cc Yamaha Light class.

In its seventh year this year the 2009 Schools' Championship event, run in association with the Hawke's Bay Karting Club and Hawke's Bay's St John's College, attracted 139 entries from as far south as Dunedin and as far north as Whangarei to the Hawke's Bay where racing was held in cool dry conditions on Saturday and cold, wet conditions on Sunday.

Though the national Secondary Schools title stayed in the South Island for a second year the Primary and Intermediate Schools one came north.

Last year, in Dunedin, it was won by locals Liam Young and Cassidy Mowat for Dunedin's Waikari Primary and Kaikorai Valley College.

This year it went to Cadet class winner Dylan Drysdale and schoolmate Jacob Cranston (who finished fifth in Cadet) representing Palmerston North's Newbury Primary school.

Despite the straitened economic times this year's National Schools' championship meeting attracted record numbers - including a grid-stretching 47 in the Junior Yamaha class. That number required eight heats and A and B finals before a winner - Rangiora High's James Penrose - could be found.

Locally the big news was in the Junior classes, with runner-up positions in Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha for Maddison Wise, and Cadet for Karl McNichol.

A special feature of the annual National Schools Championship is the main prize, the Bruce McLaren KartSport Award presented by Formula Challenge. This year the award - and with it a drive in a Formula Challenge racing car at the Taupo Motorsport Park - goes to Chris Cox and Andrew Errington (left) for a second year running.

Event sponsor Fair Dinkum Homes & Sheds is a leading distributor of residential garages and carports, barns, farm sheds and industrial/commercial buildings. Fair Dinkum products are sold through distributors all over New Zealand. For more information go to www.fairdinkumsheds.co.nz

Fair Dinkum Homes & Sheds 2009 KartSport New Zealand National Schools' Championship in association with Hawke's Bay Karting Club and St Johns College ZM Raceway Roys Hill Hastings Fri-Sun July 10-12 2009

2009 KartSport New Zealand National Secondary Schools champion
St Andrews College Christchurch
Chris Cox & Andrew Errington

2009 KartSport New Zealand National Primary/Intermediate champion
Newbury School Palmerston North
Dylan Drysdale & Jacob Cranston

125cc Rotax Max Light (amended 28th July)
1. Chris Cox (St Andrews College) 5 points; 2. Jake Pascoe (St Kentigern College) 7; 3. Andrew Errington (St Andrews College) 10; 4. Stan Tangaroa Green (Te Awamutu College) 16; 5. Alex Geary (NZ Correspondence School) 18; 6. Richard Moore (King’s College) 26.

Senior 100cc Yamaha Light
1. Mitchell Baker (New Plymouth Boys High) 5 points; 2. Chris Cox (St Andrews College) 7; 3. Gary Cooze (Marlborough Boys High) 9; 4. Charlton Hawes (Kapiti College) 17; 5. John van Bommel (Tauranga Boys High) 21; 6. Richard Moore (Kings College) 22.

Formula Junior
1. Daniel Connor (Kaipara College) 4 points; 2. Arie Hutton (Kings College) 11; 3. Patrick Davy (Hutt Valley High) 11; 4. James Penrose (Rangiora High) 21; 5. Shaun Varney (Auckland Grammar) 22; 6. Aaron Marr (-)

Junior 100cc Yamaha
1. James Penrose (Rangiora High) 6 points; 2. Daniel Kinsman (Howick College) 7; 3. Bradley Hicks (Macleans College) 10; 4. Tom Alexander (St Thomas of Canterbury College) 11; 5. Daniel Colville (Pukekohe High School) 12; 6. Jayden Dodge (Burnside High School) 16.

Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha
1. Jordan McDonnell (Windsor Primary) 5 points; 2. Maddison Wise (Arthur Miller School/Taradale Intermediate) 9; 3. Mitchell Turner (-)18; 4. Thomas McLean (Whangarei Intermediate) 20; 5. Kaitlyn Wonnacott (Albany Jnr High) 23.

Cadet
1. Dylan Drysdale (Newbury School) 7 points; 2. Karl McNicol (St Patricks Intermediate) 16; 3. Cameron Taylor (Darfield Primary) 18; 4. Matthew Podjursky (Woodleigh Primary) 19; 5. Jacob Cranston (Newbury School) 24; 6. Jakob Flynn (Arthur Miller School/Taradale Intermediate)

Prepared by FAST COMPANY on behalf of KartSport NZ. To find out more about KartSport contact Ross MacKay on 021 677 919 or via e-mail on ross@fastcompany.co.nz