20th September 2011

KZ2 Class title back in Grant's hands - from Kartsport NZ

Ryan Grant on his way to victory in the Mi Sedaap instant noodles Pro Kart Series. Pic: Fast Company/Graham Hughes

The Mi Sedaap instant noodles Pro Kart Series’ premier KZ2 class title is back in Ryan Grant’s hands after the 2008 and 2009 champion wrestled it back off 2010 title holder Daniel Bray at the final round in Hamilton over the weekend.

Heading into the round at KartSport Hamilton’s Agrisea New Zealand Raceway near Mystery Creek, Auckland international Bray – who currently leads his class on the SuperKarts USA Pro Tour in the US – held a three point lead in the series standings.

It was Grant who earned the bonus point for claiming pole position in qualifying however – narrowing Bray’s advantage down to just two points – and Grant who finished higher – seventh to Bray’s 11th – in the rain-hit third heat on Sunday morning.

That was the game-changer and when Grant finished second to Bray’s third in the Pre-Final then won the Final from teammate – and class round winner – Graeme Smyth with Bray third, the title was Grant’s, albeit by just two points.

“And can I just say it’s good to be back,” the 26-year-old Aucklander said as he reflected on the achievement.” It’s never easy coming back, and to be honest, until half way through the season we weren’t really concentrating on the points, we were more focused on developing the kart, but then the points were so close we thought we might as well put our heads down and see what happened.”

And Daniel Bray?

“It certainly wasn’t through any lack of effort on our part, but ultimately, ” he said today, ” we came up short. Right now that’s no consolation but I know when I look back on it, the class has been so close this year that the reality is it could have gone any one of three ways.”

Indeed. As Grant’s teammate Graeme Smyth proved on Sunday the battle was not just between Grant and Bray. Grant won the opening round of this year’s series from Smyth, Ryan Urban and Bray, while Bray won the second from Grant and the third from Smyth and Urban.

It was multi-time former New Zealand Sprint class champion Urban who won the fourth from Smyth and Richard Moore with Grant and Bray fourth and fifth respectively, then Smyth who won the final from Grant with Urban and Moore tied for third and Bray fifth.

For Smyth, in fact, the series was a case of ‘what might have been,’ Grant’s teammate the only other driver apart from Bray to win two rounds but out of title contention since a disastrous second round after blowing not one but two engines. As it was the Aucklander worked his way back up to fourth overall, an agonising one point shy of Urban in third but ahead of fellow young guns Richard Moore and the winner of the President’s Cup for the best performance by an under-18-year-old, Bradley Hicks.

In the other classes, KZ2 Masters went to season-long points leader Tom Curran from Hawke’s Bay from former New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge front-runner Mark Lane and fellow Aucklander Brett Hollander with Auckland’s Warren Parris winning the trophy for the first over-50-year-old home (in sixth place).

The Hamilton round was the fourth of five won by Curran, the other going to class stalwart Snow Mooney on his late season return at the penultimate round at Te Puke.

In the KF3 Junior category, meanwhile, both round and series victory went to Hawke’s Bay driver, Mitchell Turner. Turner qualified quickest and won all three heats before finishing second to top female competitor Emilee Wright in the (wet) Pre-Final and second again to arch-rival and eventual series runner-up Luke Dobbs in the Final.

Turner was a worthy round and series class winner, having topped his class at three of the five rounds and finished second and third respectively at the two others.

2011 Mi Sedaap Pro Kart Series

KZ2
Final Series Points
1. Ryan Grant 533 points; 2. Daniel Bray 531; 3. Ryan Urban 527; 4. Graeme Smyth 526; 5. Richard Moore 515; 6. Bradley Hicks 498

KZ2 Masters
Final Series points
1. Tom Curran 551 points; 2. Mark Lane 532; 3. Brett Hollander 523; 4. Todd Wheeler 514; 5. Mark Wheeler 506; 6. Warren Parris 495

KF3.
Final Series Points
1. Mitchell Turner 546 points; 2. Luke Dobbs 536; 3. Emilee Wright 519; 4. Jordan Morris 508; 5=. Connor Westbury 507; 5=. Logan Brown 507, 5=. Mitchell Sanders 507