The 2024 Meridian General National Sprint Championship made history in many forms, while also offering plenty of heartbreak along the way for unlucky competitors. The event, hosted by KartSport Marlborough attracted the biggest line up of entries for a South Island based nationals in over a decade.

Eight classes were on the program, with competitors tackling qualifying Friday, before moving through heat racing on Saturday and on to pre-finals and finals Sunday. Apart from some light rain for the last two heats on Saturday, the weather was perfect all weekend and helped provide some brilliant racing.

Cadet ROK

History was made in Cadet ROK, with Christchurch driver Iver Spence becoming the first driver in the 30-year history of the Cadet class to go back-to-back as champion. He didn’t have it all his own way though, with close battles from both Nico Thomasen and Ryan Healey, who finished second and third respectively, both less than a second back from Spence.

1^st – Iver Spence, #1

2^nd – Nico Thomasen, #97

3^rd – Ryan Healey, #29

4^th – Reed Phillips, #6

5^th – Sam Amon, #74

6^th – Max Turner, #13

Vortex Mini ROK

Late drama would be the story of the final in Vortex Mini ROK, with the leading pair of South Island Champion Nixon Cripps and Manawatu front-runner Tommy Hart colliding as laps counted down. Reigning New Zealand number two Henry Fisher was already charging fast towards the pair as the fastest driver on track and capatalised on the chaos to take victory. George Tucker would move forward to second overall ahead of North Island Champion Braxton Kraayvanger in third. The win for Fisher will give him a second opportunity in two years to tackle the ROK Superfinal event in Italy later this year.

1^st – Henry Fisher, #9

2^nd – George Tucker, #4

3^rd – Braxton Kraayvanger, #NI

4^th – Jack McGrath, #11

5^th – Magni White, #38

6^th – Luke McMillan, #76

125cc Rotax Max Junior

As always, the sport’s junior classes provided plenty of action. Competition in the Rotax Junior class was close, with both Jamie Thompson getting out to an early lead in the final before being hunted down by Marco Manson. Manson would take the lead towards the end of the race, with a last lap battle inevitable. Though Thompson would make a pass and cross the line first, he’d later suffer a relegation promoting Marco Manson to the top step of the podium. Local hero Arthur Broughan would battle to come home in second, ahead of former Vortex Mini ROK champion Zach Tucker in third.

1^st – Marco Manson, #69

2^nd – Arthur Broughan, #47

3^rd – Zach Tucker, #11

4^th – Izaak Fletcher, #35

5^th – Harrison Xiao, #82

6^th – Jamie Thompson, #2

Vortex ROK DVS Junior

Heartbreak would be a key feature in the Vortex ROK DVS Junior class, with Hamilton’s Miles Baker piecing together a stunning drive to cross the finish line in first place, only to be swept of the podium with a pushback nosecone penalty. The result would promote Carson Daly to the top step, having perfectly survived a late battle with Canterbury’s Zach Tucker to best him by less than two tenths. Daly’s win will see him join the VMR and ROK DVS Senior winners at the ROK Superfinal event later this year.

1^st – Carson Daly, #97

2^nd – Zach Tucker, #33

3^rd – Cole Turney, #38

4^th – Marco Manson, #69

5^th – Izaak Fletcher, #35

6^th – Levi McMillan, #22

125cc Rotax Max Light

One of the sport’s longest running championship classes, Rotax Max Light, once again provided a stellar line up of talent. Some front runners quickly emerged, with both the returning Jackson Rooney and William Exton proving their pace along with two-time Junior champion Kiahn Burt. The trio would establish themselves as favourites early in the final, breaking away from the pack. Though Burt would have the speed to shadow Rooney, the latter would control the pace as required and went on to win the National Championship. Burt would finish second, with Exton dropping back three seconds to round out the podium. For the first time, the class would also feature a Master driver with multi-time Champion Matt Hamilton returning to the field and taking away the honours.

1^st – Jackson Rooney, #30

2^nd – Kiahn Burt, #7

3^rd – William Exton, #44

4^th – Ashton Phipps, #42

5^th – Ryan Bell, #97

6^th – Caleb Cross, #1

Master – Matt Hamilton, #9

125cc Rotax Max Heavy

Defending Champion Josh Bethune showed his pace from 2023 was still in place in Marlborough. Though Hiro Sheridan would try his best to stay close, Bethune never looked in doubt on his way to a second national championship in the class. Sheridan would clear out from the trailing pack to finish second, ahead of Thomas Emmerson who emerged from a battle for third. The Heavy class also featured a quality array of Masters and Legends drivers seeking to top their respective categories. In the end, Derryn French would take home the Masters title while Graham Sims would earn a popular Legends title.

1^st – Josh Bethune, #1

2^nd – Hiro Sheridan, #40

3^rd – Thomas Emmerson, #90

4^th – Adam Bell, #5

5^th – Aaron Tahu, #48

6^th – Lochlan Miller, #10

Master – Derryn French, #28

Legend – Graham Sims, #13

Vortex ROK DVS Senior

Two-time National junior champion Kiahn Burt quickly emerged as favourite in the Vortex ROK DVS Senior class final, dominating proceedings to clear out to a three and half second win. His win would double as a ticket to the ROK Superfinal in Italy later in the year. Though battles would emerge through the pack, by the end the results were clear cut with consistent class front runner Ayrton Williams finishing in second, with a further few seconds back to Jacob Douglas in third.  Building on his result in Palmerston North a year earlier, Craig Frost would win his second Masters title.

1^st – Kiahn Burt, #7

2^nd – Aryton Williams, #46

3^rd – Jacob Douglas, #9

4^th – Chris Cox, #NI

5^th – Blake Corin, #99

6^th – Cameron Hill, #43

Master – Craig Frost, #57

KZ2

A smaller but quality KZ2 field made the trek to Marlborough to battle in the sport’s premier class. Other than a small hiccup in one heat, the defending champion Jay Urwin looked consistently the favourite and made the most of that status to return to the top step of the podium in retaining his New Zealand number one position. Behind him, Jacob Cranston’s consistency throughout the year showed through as he held off a late charge from Blake Corin, with the pair finishing second and third respectively. Starting on the second row, Regan Hall would also retain his Masters title from 2023, winning the category for a second time.

1^st – Jay Urwin, #1

2^nd – Jacob Cranston #9

3^rd – Blake Corin, #99

4^th – Raymond Mallin, #34

5^th – Luke Thompson, #31

6^th – Myles Findlay, #6

Master – Regan Hall, #93

With a suite of new champions crowned and a host of drivers retaining titles, the 2024 Meridian General National Sprint Championship did not disappoint. Drivers will have a year to gather their gameplans ahead of the 2025 edition in Hamilton next Easter.

Photos by Shutter Media Group

Article added: Monday 08 April 2024