Sunday Start for Regional Kart Series

KARTSPORT NEW ZEALAND
Media information
For immediate release

* 2013 CRC Speedshow Top Half Series
2013 Mainland Series
April 14
2013

12-04-13

PREVIEW

Sunday Start for Regional Kart Series in North And South Islands

Multi-round regional series have long been the lifeblood of karting in the North Island and this weekend the South Island is chiming in with one of its own.

On Sunday Auckland club KartSport Mt Wellington hosts the first round of the long-running and now CRC Speedshow-sponsored Top Half series while in Christchurch the KartSport Canterbury club is running the opening round of this year's new-look Mainland Series.

Both events have attracted good number of karters from across their regions, the CRC Speedshow Top Half one from the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Auckland and Northland, the Mainland one from all over the South Island.

The CRC Speedshow Top Half series is one of two long-running regional series in the North Island, the other being the Wellington Provincial Karting Association's Gold Star Series which caters for karters who live in the lower half of the North Island.

Regional series are an important stepping stone between club and Island then National competition, encouraging drivers to travel to and experience tracks other than the one they regularly race at.

Chairman of the CRC Speedshow Top Half Series organizing committee, Tim Ganley, says that the Top Half series has been run for more than 20 years and is regarded as being an iconic series by competitors, and the secretary of the Mainland one, Lynda Cox, says that after three years of running it on an informal basis to fine-tune the format the hope is that with a more formal structure this year the Mainland one will one day enjoy similar status in the south.

"Obviously the distances (between tracks) are greater here in the South Island, but our goal is to encourage our club day drivers to step up and travel to other clubs to gain experience."

The biggest difference between the two series is one based on expedience and the relative numbers of drivers in the series' catchment areas.

While the Top Half rounds are stand-alone meetings, the Mainland ones piggy-back on existing meetings, the annual Memorial one in Christchurch this weekend, the always popular two-day Sunbelts one in Nelson and Marlborough over Queen's Birthday weekend, and the Southern Series pair in Invercargill and Dunedin over the August 31/September 01 weekend.

Both series have attracted strong entries with over 80 set to compete at the Auckland meeting and over 70 at the Christchurch one.

Ends

2013 CRC Speedshow Top Half Series
Calendar
Rnd 1 April 14 KartSport Mt Wellington, Auckland
Rnd 2 May 12 KartSport Bay of Plenty, Te Puke
Rnd 3 June 16 KartSport Auckland
Rnd 4 July 07 KartSport Tokoroa, Tokoroa

2013 Mainland Series
Rnd 1 April 14 KartSport Canterbury Memorial meeting
Rnd 2 June 01 KartSport Nelson Sunbelts meeting Day 1
Rnd 3 June 02 KartSport Marlborough Sunbelts meeting Day 2
Rnd 4 August 31 KartSport Southland Southern Series Day 1
Rnd 5 September 01 KarttSport Dunedin Southern Series Day 2

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