Established kart stars fly in Napier.jpg "Image") Jackson Delamont waits to head out for the final
Hart, the Palmerston North driver who has been competing professionally in Europe for the past two years, was one of only two drivers - the other was Grant - to clean sweep a class over the three days, qualifying quickest then winning the heats, Pre-Final and Final in the 125cc Rotax Max Light class on Sunday.
Daniel Kinsman, the young gun from Auckland who won the New Zealand Junior Yamaha class title at the Nationals last year, got the closest of the other drivers in the 125cc Rotax Max Light class, throwing down a challenge to Hart in qualifying and in the Pre-Final (the race which determines the grid for the Final).
Come the winner-takes-all Final however and Hart led every lap to add the 2010 New Zealand 125cc Rotax Max Light title to his already impressive CV. Kinsman was second from long-time Hart sparring partner Andrew Hoare from Palmerston North, with Christchurch young gun Chris Cox fourth ahead of defending class title holder Ryan Urban and Christchurch drivers Matthew Straker and Matthew Hamilton.
Hart and Hamilton also came up against each other in the Senior 100cc Yamaha Light class on Saturday, with Hart again qualifying quickest and winning the heats and Pre-Final but Hamilton winning the Final, the 2010 New Zealand class title and the coveted prize that goes with it, a trip to the 2010 Toyota All Japan Challenge meeting in Japan later this year.
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Best yet for van Gisbergen Van Gisbergen was just one step away from a maiden win
After starting from fourth place on the grid van Gisbergen had moved up to second by Lap 8 when both Jamie Whincup and James Courtney suffered engine dramas putting them out of the race.
That left the young SP Tools-backed Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon driver in second place on the track - and on the podium for a third time this season.
“It was pretty unfortunate what happened to Jamie [Whincup] and James [Courtney] but we had a good race," said van Gisbergen. "It took me until the middle of the race to get on top of the car as we made some more big changes over night."
The Stone Brothers Racing Team will now return to the Gold Coast to begin preparations before the V8 Supercars make the trip across the Tasman for the Hamilton, New Zealand event 16-18 April.
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McLaren 'step up' for Hamilton this weekend Button is on a roll
Hamilton, who finished sixth, vented his frustration on the team radio after being pulled in for a second pit stop which he felt lost him second place. Team mate Jenson button put in one of his best ever drives to nurse his tyres and win comfortably.
Neale explained: "I completely understand why Lewis was frustrated. Every time Lewis comes in he has left nothing on the circuit and it is up to us to step up and follow him."
Hamilton was called in for a second time for new tyres on lap 34 in Melbourne when he was putting the pressure on second-placed Robert Kubica. But, after rejoining the race in fifth, the 25-year-old Briton could not move up the field again and a late shunt from Mark Webber forced the 2008 champion to settle for sixth while McLaren team-mate Jenson Button took victory.
Both Hamilton and Button have called for McLaren to improve the car's qualifying performance to give them a better chance of starting at the front of the grid. Hamilton started the Australian Grand Prix in 11th place, Button in fourth. Button could be the wild card again in Malaysia - tyre preservation seems to be the key to track position and race results - and in that area Buttin is a master almost without peer in F1.
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Strong entry for karting nationals Bradley Hick leads Arie Hutton
"Because it was our 50th anniversary event last year people made a real effort to make it to Hamilton, so to match the number this year is a real plus and shows that, despite the battering the economy has taken in the last 18 months, our sport remains in very good heart," says KartSport New Zealand's Development Manager Robert Hutton."
Ten class titles will be contested over the three-day Sprint Nationals event, Cadet, Junior Restricted 100cc Yamaha and KZ2 on Friday, Junior 100cc Yamaha, 100cc Yamaha Light and 100cc Yamaha Heavy on Saturday, and KF3, Open and the two Rotax classes, 125cc Light and 125cc Heavy on Sunday.
After last year's record 34 Cadet class entries the numbers have evened out a little with 100cc Yamaha Light the most popular Senior class with 31 entries and Junior 100cc Yamaha the most popular Junior one with 30. One of the main reasons for the strong 100cc Yamaha Light entry is the incentive of a trip to a major event in Japan for the winner.
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