Prokart Series Attracts Australian Interest

Prokart Series Attracts Australian Interest

Word of how good New Zealand's KZ2-based ProKart Series is has spread across the Tasman with two top drivers from the Australian Karting Championship - Josh Smith from Townsville and Jonathon Mangos from Adelaide - set to compete at the fourth round in Te Puke over the weekend.

For Smith it is a return bout, after finishing second on debut at the third round of the series in Tokoroa last month, but for Mangos the trip to the KartSport Bay of Plenty club's Te Puke Auto Electric Raceway at Fagan's Valley will be an all-new experience.

In Australia the pair are run by top former racer Tom Williamson, who has first-hand experience of racing here, having won the New Zealand 125cc Rotax Max Heavy title in 2007.

It was he who suggested Smith cross the Tasman for the Tokoroa round and so impressed was he with how the experience panned out for Smith he recommended Mangos join him at Te Puke this weekend.

The pair will be run by Auckland-based international Daniel Bray who says Williamson has made a canny decision.

"Josh and Jonathan are both racing KZ2 in Australia this year and in terms of seat time against quality drivers you simply can’t beat our series."

It's certainly competitive, with three different winners in the premier Cable Systems-backed KZ2 class at the three rounds so far held and only five points currently separating series' leader Graeme Smyth from Auckland and multi-time New Zealand champ Ryan Grant and current South Island class champion Chris Cox who are currently tied in second place.

There has also been a different winner at each round in the KZ Masters and Vortex Mini ROK support classes.

In Masters defending title holder Tom Curran from the Hawke's Bay won at Rotorua, but Mark Wheeler won at Hawke's Bay and fellow Aucklander Jared Mackenzie claimed the top spot at Tokoroa.

In the Vortex Mini ROK junior support class, Joshua Parkinson from Auckland won at the first round, Connor Davison from Hamilton won at the second and Fynn Osborne, also from Hamilton, won at Tokoroa, but class National Schools' champion Ryan Wood from Wellington is the current class points leader.

Only in the KZ2 Restricted class has one driver made every post a winning one - so far - that honour going to defending title holder Garry Cullum though even there it is close, young gun Connor Adam pipping him for top spot in qualifying and fellow Aucklander Shaun Curran beating him to the line in the first heat at the third round last month.

This year's ProKart Series is again twinned with the New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge, with over 100 karters from as far afield as Dunedin and Whangarei making the trip to Te Puke to compete across the two series over the weekend.

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