Nor'West News: April 13, 2023

Thursday April 13 2023 3
IN FORM: Christchurch karter Zach Tucker (left) has become the first driver ever to win the Mini ROK national title three times in a row, while South
Island champion Caleb Cross won the Rotax Light class.
PHOTOS: VICKY JACK/KARTSPORT NZ
Karters shine at NZ sprint champs
Christchurch’s Zach Tucker
has stolen the limelight with
commanding victories at
the KartSport New Zealand
national sprint championships in
Palmerston North.
The 12-year-old has become
the first driver to earn three New
Zealand championships in a
row in Vortex Mini ROK, a key
development class.
Nine categories were decided
at the championships, which
attracted over 180 karters from
throughout the country to
the Manawatu & TRC Toyota
Raceway over Easter, marking
the biggest event in more than a
decade.
Tucker, in his final year at
Medbury School, was in supreme
form throughout, under the
guidance of the WKS Kartstore
team in Christchurch. He was
the fastest in qualifying, and
won all three heats, the pre-final
and the final ahead of clubmate
Henry Fisher and Aryan Lala
from Palmerston North. There
were three red flag stoppages, but
Tucker was able to control the
restarts to dominate.
Tucker’s third straight title in
the class betters the previous
two in a row won by US-based
pro racer Jacob Douglas, Matthew
Penrose and Supercars star
Fabian Coulthard.
Hometown karter Michael
McCulloch, from the N-Zed
Motorsport team, drove his
Parolin kart to victory in the
DVS Senior class after winning
one heat and finishing on the
podium in the other two. With
high-flying Ayrton Williams disqualified
post-race from second,
McCulloch won the title from
Christchurch pair, Dylan Jessop
and Chris Cox.
The DVS Junior class was
dominated by Tauranga’s Blake
Corin who won two of the three
heats, and the pre-final. He was
threatened early in the final by
North Island champion Ashton
Phipps from Auckland and later
by Christchurch’s Izaak Fletcher,
who had the fastest lap time
on the way to runner-up spot.
Marlborough’s Arthur Broughan
was third.
The Rotax Light class attracted
27 starters with the bunched
fields providing plenty of tussles
and bangs. Marlborough’s William
Exton won two heats and
the pre-final to start off the front
for the early lead. South Island
champion Caleb Cross, who won
the opening heat, pushed to the
lead with Exton dropping back.
That promoted McCulloch,
chasing a second title on the day,
up to second place with another
local, Jackson Rooney into third.
In the tightest of battles at the
front, Cross held on to claim the
honours and further reward for
Matt Hamilton’s Christchurchbased
team. Rooney and Bewley,
who crossed the line third and
fourth would both suffer from
pushback bumper penalties,
promoting Brad Hewson to the
number three spot.
The Cadet ROK class is subject
to an appeal hearing, with
Christchurch nine-year-old Iver
Spence the provisional winner
after winning all three heats.
As well as New Zealand
titles, the championships were
the penultimate rounds of the
Hampton Downs NZ Racing
Academy KartStars Series, which
offers $50,000 in prizes, and the
ROK Cup, with entry to the ROK
Superfinal in Italy at stake.
Updated points in the Kart-
Stars Series and ROK Cup will
be announced this week as both
competitions reach a conclusion
at the final round in Rotorua
next month.
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