October 18, 2015 - KartSport Taranaki October Club Day - A new lap record at KartSport Taranaki!

The final club day before the North Islands and a chance to make sure all was good with the kart and driver. Thomas was the only Mini ROK at Club Day and posted some very quick times and smashed the track record in H1 by 2/10ths of a second. Considering there were no drafting opportunities and a slight head-wind, this was a great confidence boost. The new Vortex Mini ROK Anti-clockwise record now sits at 30.697s...well done Thomas! Really looking forward to the North Island Champs next weekend at Te Puke now.

October 3 & 4, 2015 - Citrus Meeting, Te Puke Auto Electric Raceway, Bay of Plenty

Our first trip to the Te Puke track was purely for learning and testing, with no expectations about results. However, Thomas seemed to get to grips with the technical track fairly fast. Some very fast drivers were at this meeting, and in the Tuning Run, Thomas was only 3.5/10ths off the pace...great considering he had not even seen the track! Q1 rolled around soon after and Thomo posted a time of 40.906, which gave him P7...and half a second of pace to find. H1 was going well until the last lap, when an over-exuberant driver collected the kart and drove over it, crashing into another on the way past. This caused damage and a dropped chain and a DNF...brilliant! H2 yielded a 3rd placing with a 40.621s time and then Thomas recorded a 4th in H3. The heavens opened for H4, making it a bit of a lottery with setup. Our first wet race in the new kart and a guess at setup gave us a 5th placing. At the end of the first day, Thomas was sitting in 5th overall. Day two was CIK format and the weather had eased up and the track was looking good. H5 brought another 4th but we were still looking for 3/10ths. We figured that the lack of brand new tyres was a factor, but were determined to try and find it anyway. A change in setup saw us move backwards, collecting an 8th placing. The Final was 26 laps, so the trick was going to be getting the kart to last the distance before going off. Things were looking good until lap 16, when Thomas drove over a kerb and knocked the airbox off with his elbow, pulling the carb from the engine! Frustrating, but a valuable lesson! Looking forward to coming back to Te Puke with new new-found speed and confidence.

September 27, 2015 - KartSport Taranaki September Club Day

The first chance to run the brand new Tony Kart Nordix chassis and learn how fast we can make it go. Thomas was the only Mini ROK there, but there were three Yamaha JR drivers competing also. The new kart was very fast straight out of the box, posting times 2/10ths faster than our previous chassis, eventually getting down to a 31.021s time in the Grand Prix. This bodes very well for the confidence of the driver, so next weekend in Te Puke will be an interesting test for the kart and Thomas. Thanks to Maurice Frost at Supreme Kart Supplies for the help in getting the kart setup and fast straight away.

October 22 - 24, 2015 - KartSport NZ North Island Sprint Championships, Te Puke Auto Electric Raceway, Bay of Plenty

No sooner had we got to the track and got setup, it was time to get started. The knowledge we gained from the Citrus meeting two weeks prior was great for Thomas’s confidence on the track in the dry conditions. A solid day of testing was had, with some valuable setup information gained for this new Tony Kart chassis. The following morning, the weather was the same. Thomas was fastest on-track in the Tuning Run, posting a 40.318s. During Q1 and Q2, he posted 40.237s and 40.211s respectively, placing him on P3 for the heat racing on Saturday morning. The weather on Saturday was terrible (typical North Islands!) with heavy rain all day. This was a shame, as we hadn’t been able to do any wet testing with the new chassis and setup was going to be a challenge! H1 yielded a 4th placing from P3 and H2 landed Thomas a 7th, after some on-track issues. We changed axles and rear hubs to find some more grip in the ugly weather, as he was starting from P4 in the Pre-Final. This race was a slip in two placings down to 6th, so we were heading the wrong way with setup! Another few changes for the Final meant more grip, but still not enough. Thomas was holding position in 6th for most of the race until he got a touch-up in the top corner before the main straight. This assistance sent him onto the slippery kerb, turning the kart around and dropping to 12th spot. He drove hard for the next 3 laps, but couldn’t gain any more spots. A shame the weather dictated the outcome for us, but at least we have great speed in normal conditions. We need to do some work on our wet setup for the next meeting, so more time at the track is needed. Special thank you to Grandad Barney for coming to Tauranga and thanks to Maurice Frost and Andrew Cranston for all your help. Also, thank you to Jacob Cranston and Zac Zaloum for your words of wisdom and encouragement during the weekend.

November 7 & 8, 2015 - Round One, Bayley's WPKA Goldstar Series - KartSport Taranaki

The weather was hot and sunny and the team was itching for a good result. We got setup early and the competition started to roll into the pits. The pace was pretty fast on practice day, with four drivers all posting respectable times. Sunday morning dawned fine also, just a touch cooler however. Thomas was given grids of P11, P8, P5 and P4. H1 was a good drive and some great passing to end up on 4th with the best time 0.100s off the pace. H2 was also a good result, although we felt we should have been a bit further up even though once again the times were only 0.100s away. A few changes and then H3 turned out a 4th placing again. This time we lost some speed, so the mission was to try and regain what we had lost. H4 was a great drive, but Thomas had to concede the race win to another driver who was on a charge!, but only by 0.200s. The combined points gave Thomas a P3 for the final. Things were going great until he was collected at the end of the sweeper and turned around by a slightly keen driver. At the end of the heats, Thomas was left in 4th place and we were scratching our heads about where we had gone wrong? The Grand Prix was a good race, with Thomas bringing the kart from P7 to 3rd, after a spirited drive. Still a little frustrated with our final position, we look forward to doing some more testing to try and iron out the inconsistency issues we’re having! Thanks as always to Grandad Barney for coming along and a big thanks to Maurice Frost for all his help on the day.

November 29, 2015 - KartSport Taranaki Club Champs

With a revamped KartSport Taranaki calendar, the Club Champs have shifted from June to November. The day went pretty uneventfully, and was effectively a good test day to try some stuff. With 5 wins from 5 starts, and some valuable testing completed, the team secured the Club Championships and is focussed on doing well at Palmerston North next weekend. Thanks again to Grandad Barney for making the trip south to support Thomas.

December 5 & 6, 2015 - Round Two, Bayley's WPKA Goldstar Series - KartSport Manawatu

Another trip to Palmerston North on Saturday morning, and we were hoping to repeat the pace we found at Club Champs the weekend before. Practice was good, but always difficult to know whether we had the required pace to contain Jackson Rooney, Clay Osborne and William Exton. After a day of testing the kart was retired for race-day. A 7 o’clock start and a wet track was less than what we were hoping for, and the team was keen for a great result. We got underway and the pace was pretty fast, with four drivers all posting respectable times. Thomas was given grids of P7, P13, P4 and P10. After a great start, Thomas got to the front and drive away to a 1.5s win..a great start to the meeting. H2 was a tall order from right down the back, but another great drive saw him make it up to 4th. The third heat was a good run which netted another race win by 3.6s. Only 1/10th separated Thomas from Jackson in H4 for 2nd place, which gave Thomo pole position for the Final. He drove well, but Jackson pipped him for the win and on count-back took the day off us! However, the speed we found was good and we’re full of confidence again and looking forward to 2016 again! Thanks again to all those who have helped, especially Grandad Barney, Donna and the girls, Maurice Frost, IKS Race Engines and Lyndsay at the Sign Shop. Last round of the Winter Series in two weeks, then a chance to focus on the Speedway car for something different.

December 20, 2015 - KartSport Taranaki Club Day

The final hit-out for the year and a chance to do some more testing in the opposite direction at Todd Energy Raceway. A field of 5 karts rolled up, only two Mini ROK’s and three Yamahas. One JR driver would be extremely tough to beat, so that was the mission. The grid draws were P1, P2, P3, and P4. With some committed driving, Thomas managed to win the first four heats, just managing to head-off the fastest Yamaha driver by a nosecone! The Final was different however, with the JR kart just too fast and having to settle for a 2nd. The combined points gave Thomas the win for the day and the scene was set for a tough GP. Coming from the back, the Mini ROK Tony Kart did not have enough pace to stay with the JR kart, so had to settle for 2nd again, but still wrapping up the GP Series overall. Now the focus will switch to the Ministock, with a few trips to practice before Thomas’s debut at Stratford in early 2016. Thanks to Collingwood Motorsport for the use of the car, we’re very keen to see how this all works out on the dirt!.

January 30, 2016 - Youth Ministock Spectacular, Stratford International Speedway

Thomas debuted the Collingwood Motorsport Ministock at Stratford International Speedway, entered in the Youth Ministock Spectacular event. Under the SNZ Mentoring Programme he was made to run from the rear of the field for qualifying. However, after a couple of tentative, but steady races...managed to qualify 15th out of 27 in his group. This meant he had made it into the main heats, which was far more than we anticipated on debut amongst a classy field of experienced drivers from all over the North Island. Even though he had qualified well, under the SNZ rules, he then had to start rear-of-field (30th place) for the two heat races. Not too deterred by this, Thomas then drove himself from P30 to 20th in each race, ending up 20th overall. All night he grew in confidence, now realising what he needs to do to be nearer the front. He lowered his lap times by over a second from the start to the end of the meeting and made us all very proud! Really looking forward to the City of New Plymouth Youth Ministock Classic in 3 weeks time! Thanks to Roydon and Marsha Collingwood for the support and advice on the night. Thanks also to the car sponsors… Collingwood Traffic Management, Kiser Civil, South Taranaki Panel & Paint and Corson Tyres New Plymouth.

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April 12, 2015 - International Kart Supplies 3-Way Series Round 2, KartSport Mt. Wellington

Another drive to Auckland for Round 2 of the IKS 3-Way event. After a good performance at the Nationals, Thomas was looking to build on his points lead from Round 1 to try and secure the series again. The kart looked a little off the pace on practice, so changes were made to remedy this. Whilst a perfect setup was not found, we felt the kart would be as good as the others on raceday. A quiet night to nut-out a setup for Sunday was had. With grid draws of 8, 7, 1 and 6, the stage was set for a ding-dong battle with a number of fast drivers, including 2NZ Billy Frazer. H1 was a frustrating start, with the kart looking loose resulting in a 5th place. H2 was another 5th place and the best result came in H3. He ended up in 3rd place after a decision from the officials to relegate him behind the 2nd placed driver seemed so wrong. H4 was a good drive, but the result of Thomas going too defensive early cost him a spot, finishing in 4th. So....a 5th place start in the final and a great race was undone by contact when another driver tried to drive at right-angles through the LH side pod, taking Thomas and himself out. Thomas got back on the track, but finished in 8th place. Unfortunately the officials did not see the incident so did not speak to the driver about this pretty average attempt to pass. The chances of winning the series now are slim, with Thomas 10 points off Billy Frazer with one round remaining. Thanks again to Grandad Barney, Mat Kinsman, Jody Vincent, IKS and the Sodi Racing Team.

May 17, 2015 - International Kart Supplies 3-Way Series Round 3, KartSport Mt. Wellington

We headed north on Saturday morning to contest the final round of the IKS 3-Way event at Mt. Wellington. Thomas had not been in the kart since April 12, so we wanted to put in a good show in Auckland. Whilst Billy Frazer had a good points lead heading into Rd 3, Thomas was keen to do the best he could to get as close as he could. We always enjoy racing Billy, he is very fast and it helps us improve as well. We tried a few combinations of set-up on Saturday and settled on a pretty good kart for Sundays racing. We were fortunate to be staying with the Lawson family and Kristy had cooked us a great roast meal on Saturday night...thanks Kristy! Thomas was given grid draws of 2, 10, 9 and 3, so he set about trying to bank as many points as possible. H1 was a good start, leading the 12-strong pack home in 1st place. H2 was a great effort from P10 to finish in 3rd spot. Thomas backed this up with another good drive to 4th in H3...things were looking good, but Billy Frazer was still very fast, winning H2 and H3. H4 was troubled by a brief shower as the karts went out the gate on slicks...meaning Thomas had to drive with just the right balance of power and traction to take the win in convincing fashion. This put Thomas on Pole Position for the final right beside Billy Frazer on P2 and Ryan Crombie in P3. At the start line, the kart engine fluttered and the others got around him into the sweeper. Thomas dug in hard, but just couldn’t peg back the gap and ended the race in 3rd. In the end, Thomas had amassed enough points to take the Round win, but even though he had won two rounds of the series, he was beaten by 9 points for the overall series win. We travelled home pretty happy after a good weekend at the track. A very special thanks again to Grandad Barney, Mat Kinsman, Jody Vincent, IKS and the Sodi Racing Team for all the help and advice, and thank you to those who came to the track to support and watch.

May 30 & 31, 2015 - KartSport Hamilton “Winter Cup”

The team drove to Hamilton on Thursday night and stayed with Craig & Mel Tonkin (cheers guys!) at Rukuhia, in anticipation of a days testing on Friday. The kart looked good and the times seemed fast enough to be on the pace. We replaced the rear axle bearings and got setup for Saturday morning. The first tuning run was a disaster, with a wiring issue stopping the kart after only one lap. Engine swapped and ready to run, Thomas received grids of 10, 7, 1 & 6. The first heat was good, making up 5 spots although the kart was off the pace by about 1/2 a second. Changes made for H2 and things were better until Thomas got bombed on the final lap, shoving him off the track and back to 9th. Starting on P1 for H3 yielded a 3rd and then P6 in H4 gave Thomas a 3rd after a good drive. A frustrating day, with some pace still to find. We headed home after a few changes to contemplate how we were going to be more competitive on Sunday. The weather was still dry, albeit very cold on Sunday morning. Today was all about understanding where we need to be for the Nationals in 2016, so this direction was one we really needed to nail down a good setup for. H1 was a start from P5 and Thomas drove well to move up to 3rd across the stripe, and an improvement of 4/10ths already! H2 was a start from P2 and Thomas only dropped one spot, even after receiving a 3s penalty for a poor start. At least we had a gain in speed of 2/10ths and we were going in the right direction with setup. H3 was a great drive from P11 to 4th and some good knowledge gained about the kart. This meant Thomas started from P4 for the final and battled hard but had to settle for a 4th place finish. Some good results and lessons learned over the weekend, so the team is optimistic that the next outing at Hamilton will be a much better showing. Thank you to Jody Vincent from the Sodi Racing Team for all the assistance and advice, and thank you to Craig, Mel and Blake for putting us up for a couple of nights. A very special thanks to Grandad Barney, and to those who came to the track to support Thomo.

June 28, 2015 - CRC Top Half Series Round 3, KartSport Hamilton

After Thomas played rugby on Saturday morning, we drove to Hamilton and arrived at the track at 4pm. We got setup and ready for Sundays racing, without getting a chance to run on the track. We had arranged to stay with Craig, Mel and Blake Tonkin again, so we headed off to their place. On Sunday morning the tuning runs were delayed due to issues with the grid draws and the field was over-subscribed with 25 karts lining up. Thomas was given grid draws of 6, 12, 17 and 7 for the four heats. After the tuning run, the kart setup remained untouched as it looked good. H1 rolled around, Thomas got a great start and bolted early. The kart was very fast and he picked up the heat win. He set the fastest lap time of H1 (43.796s) and things were looking promising. H2 was another great start and after a few laps Thomas was making good progress to the front of the pack. However, while making a pass on another driver who didn’t anticipate him getting alongside him and turned in a bit too early, there was contact and his chain flicked off. The race was restarted as it had been red-flagged and Thomas started from the rear of the field. He drove hard but was a lap down and finished in P16 even though he was 4th fastest. H3 was a great race and Thomas drove well from P17 to record a 4th and was the third fastest kart on the track. Then, H4 was another good result, 2nd fastest on the track by 5/100ths of a second and a photo-finish for third spot. The points total from the first four heats gave him a P5 start on the grid for the final. Another great race and another third place finish, giving him 4th overall even with a 16th placing in H2. The team was very happy with the results and the speed of the kart at Hamilton. We’re all set to tackle the deep south now in two weeks time....the NZ Schools. A big “Thank you” to Jody Vincent and Mat Kinsman from the Sodi Racing Team and IKS Race Engines for all the assistance and advice. Cheers to Craig, Mel and Blake for putting us up for the night. Once again, thanks to Grandad Barney for driving to Hamilton to support Thomo.

July 9 - 12, 2015 - KartSport NZ Schools Championships, KartSport Dunedin

A long trip to the deep south was made, with Barney taking the trailer and karts ahead and Thomas, Donna and Robert flying down. We were very fortunate to have been offered accommodation with the Bone family of Dunedin, and Tyson was lined up in the Cadet ROK class on Sunday. The weather was atrocious, with temperatures dropping to ^–12° overnight and the top section of the track completely frozen each morning. This prompted a number of changes to the setup to try and find some grip in these conditions. The two practice days yielded some good knowledge gains, so we packed up and awaited race day (Saturday). Thomas was given grid draws of 5, 8, 13 and 4. The tuning runs were delayed due to the serious de-icing of the track to get the ice off the surface. After both tuning runs we were ready and H1 rolled around. Thomas got a great start and followed Callum Hedge closely to record a second placing. He set the fastest lap of H1 (30.356s) and things were looking good. H2 was another great start and Thomas made good progress to get to P4 by the end of the race. H3 was a disaster, with a great start being undone by a driver crashing into the RF wheel of the kart after failing to apply the brakes and rolling backwards into Thomas as he was trying to avoid the stricken kart, bending the RF tie-rod and steering column. Some hasty repairs followed, after a 13th was recorded for H3. Then a start from P4 in H4 resulted in an 11th placing after some more drama. Points accrued from the first four heats gave him a P7 start for the final. Another great race, even after a high-flying kart drove over Thomo’s helmet and luckily missed the important bits on the kart, allowing him to continue. A good choice to switch back to wets yielded a great result and a 2nd placing on a really wet and icy track. So...in the wash-up of the event, we ended up 6th overall. The team was a bit flat after the final result but happy with the speed of the kart in the end. A big “Thank you” to Mat Kinsman from Sodi Racing Team and IKS Race Engines for his help. Thank you to Paul, Michelle and Tyson Bone for putting us up for the week. Once again, a massive thank you to Grandad Barney for taking all the gear down to Dunedin for us, a great effort and one we really appreciated.

August 30, 2015 - KartSport Taranaki August Club Day

A week after Hawkes Bay, the team decided to have a run at home for a change. Following the AGM, where Robert was re-elected as President of KartSport Taranaki...the racing got underway. Huge numbers had turned up to race, and a bunch of new members also fronted. There were 4 karts in Thomas’s class, but he was the only Mini ROK. A great day of testing combinations, with gains made over the day. Five wins from all five starts was a good way to prepare for Blossom this weekend, so we’ll hope for a good day.

September 5 & 6, 2015 - 48th Annual KartSport Hawkes Bay Blossom meeting

Blossom is always a good meeting and the level of competition is always high. This year was no exception, with some of the best drivers in the country attending. Once again, we seemed to get poor grid draws, making the workload for Thomas pretty high. Nevertheless, he dug in a drove his heart out. H1, H2, H3 and H4 all produced 5th placings, generally only a 1/10th off the pace. Day 2 was a change in direction to Clockwise and another set of average grid draws. H5 was a good race, and a 3rd spot. H6 was a disaster, with Thomas getting held up and pushed off ending up in 11th. After some venting...H7 was also a disaster when he was bombed into turn 1 with 2 laps to go by the same driver who had been crashing into everyone the whole weekend. Some heavy damage was sustained to the kart, to the value of around $800. To add insult to injury, the officials deemed it a “racing incident” when the footage clearly showed otherwise. The officials didn’t even want to view the footage and then admitted at the end of the meeting they had made the wrong decision. The Final was great, with Thomas making his way up to 2nd behind Ryan Wood. In the wash-up of the meeting, Thomas ended up in 5th place, but should have been up as high as 3rd! Our run of bad luck at Blossom continues...one day we may get lucky in the ‘Bay’. Thanks to Jody Vincent and Mat Kinsman from Sodi NZ and IKS Race Engines.

September 12, 2015 - Rotax Max Challenge Round 6, KartSport Hamilton

This will be the final meeting in our Sodi Nordica, with the switch to the new Tony Kart Nordix happening next week. A very special thanks to Sodi Racing Team NZ for all the support, fun and learning we have experience in the past 13 months, we are very grateful for the opportunity to run this great kart. In testing conditions, Thomas qualified in 8th spot, 0.361s off the flying Jackson Rooney. H1 brought a 7th placing and H2 was a 5th. This put Thomas on P6 for the Pre-Final and this was a good race. With some mid-race moisture hitting the surface, this worked to Thomas’s advantage. He was able to move up to 3rd place and in a great spot for the Final from P3. Unfortunately, the setup chosen for the Final was not perfect and we had too much grip in the kart. Thomas slowly drifted from 3rd to 9th and this caused much frustration. This is not the first time this has happened and it is very difficult to understand. Thomas finished the day 6th overall. Watch this space for a solution (hopefully)

August 23, 2015 - KartSport Hawkes Bay August Club Day

It’s always a long drive to Hastings, but once we get there it’s an enjoyable place to be. The track was dry and there was some great drivers lined up to race. Thomas was keen to get on the pace quickly, seeing as it had been over a month since being behind the wheel. We had jacked up to stay with cousin Lisa and her husband Chris, which was awesome. On Sunday morning a field of 10 Mini ROKS turned up, including some of Thomas’s friends from the lower North Island. The kart was great and Thomas really had the bit between his teeth and put in some good performances. He recorded 4 race wins from the five heats and finished behind Jackson Rooney in the GP, after a couple of changes were made to try some setup combinations. He set three fastest lap times which was also really satisfying. The team was very happy with the Club Day win over some very good competition and are looking forward to Blossom in two weeks’ time. Thanks to Jody Vincent and Mat Kinsman from the Sodi Racing Team / IKS Race Engines and Grandad Barney for making the trek to Hawke’s Bay.