Southland Sport
Kiwi kart drivers Daniel Kinsman and Callum Hedge, both of Auckland, came away with two class titles apiece at this year’s Sievwright Blasting Panel Paint KartSport New Zealand National Sprint Championships meeting in Invercargill during Easter weekend (April 14-16).
The pair were dominant in their respective classes at the biggest meeting on the New Zealand KartSport calendar, held at the KartSport Southland club’s Invercargill Oil Shop Raceway at Sandy Point.
Kinsman won the 2017 New Zealand 125cc Rotax Max Light title on Saturday and the New Zealand Senior 100cc Yamaha title on Sunday while Hedge won the 2017 New Zealand Junior 100cc Yamaha title on Saturday and the New Zealand Junior 125cc Rotax title on Sunday.
Making it particularly special for the Kinsman family, Daniel’s brother Mathew, won the 2017 New Zealand Rotax DD2 title.
“I’m stoked to win two titles and genuinely happy for Mat too,” Daniel said afterwards.
Fellow Aucklander Ryan Urban claimed his ninth NZ National Sprint title in the 125cc Rotax Max class final on Saturday. It was a close race, with Dunedin’s Aaron Black and Palmerston North’s Ashley Higgins closing during the final three laps, but Urban managed to stay in front until the chequered flag.
“I made a bit of a balls-up with my tyre pressures, so I am pretty happy with the result. I certainly didn’t make it easy for myself,” Urban said.
In the Cadet ROK junior class final, reigning South Island champion Louis Sharp, of Christchurch, won the NZ national sprint title after a first-past-the-post Tom Bewley, of Hawke’s Bay, was excluded after a technical infringement.
In the Vortex Mini ROK junior class final Jacob Douglas, of Christchurch, earned himself a trip to the ROK Cup International Finals in Italy in October by leading home Clay Osborne, of Hamilton, and Zac Christensen, of Christchurch.
Finally the best performance by a locally-based KartSport Southland club member was put in by Geoege Keast, of Invercargill, who finished fifth in 125cc Rotax Max Heavy and sixth in Senior 100cc Yamaha.
For full results go to kartsport.org.nz