BKN Racing

That’s Kane’s 1st ever KartStars event over and done with at KartSport Hamilton. We entered as Kane hasn’t driven at this track since he was 11 in his Mini Rok kart - and he needed a chance to get to know the track before the 3rd round of the Top Half Series is there in 3 weeks time. We got down to the track late Friday afternoon, so he only managed to get on for 2 eight minute sessions before the event started on Saturday. So - with that in mind, we weren’t expecting a lot from qualifying or the weekend as a whole - we just wanted seat time at the track before the next Top Half round. He qualified 6th out of 8 DD2 karts. We did expect him to get quicker as the event went on as he got used to the cornering lines and braking points. So, starting all the 3 x 10 lap heats in 6th, he finished the 1st heat in 5th (+ 1), and then the 2nd and 3rd heats in 4th (+2). Next was the 16 lap pre-final when he had moved up the starting order to 4th. He finished 4th in that, which gave him a start from 4th in the 20 lap final. Kane was in a position to take advantage of the leaders getting into a tangle and finished in 3rd place and on the podium. It was a great result for Kane and so unexpected based on the fact that he was there to learn the track!

Kane’s Energy Corse teammate Ollie MOSEBY has to get a mention here. He drove beautifully all weekend finishing all the heats and pre-final in 3rd place. He actually lead the final race for a time and was unlucky to get tangled up with one of the other top 3 to ultimately finish in 4th. Unfortunately - that’s racing - but we all know with Ollie driving like he is that his time will come - and we all know that will be sooner rather than later.

Congratulations to all those who competed down there and to KartSport Hamilton for putting on such a great event. Thanks to all the sponsors of this event, and to all the volunteers who give up their time to make these events what they are.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who made the trip down to watch and support him. His nana Pat and granddad Clive, his nana Sylvia, his Aunty Fleur, his cousins Caitlin and Hayden, and Juanita and Kelvin who made a surprise visit Saturday afternoon.

That’s it for Kane now in the kart until Top Half Hamilton in 3 weeks time. We shall see you down there then!

Remember - if you can’t be here in Hamilton but you still want to watch Kane racing - KartSport NZ are live-streaming this 2 day event on their YouTube channel. Go to YouTube, type in ‘KartSport NZ’ and click on their live stream. It has a full commentary as well. Kane is first up in the track this morning at about 9.40am in qualifying. We aren’t to worried about where he qualifies today because he is still learning the track (as he hasn’t been here for 5 years and never as a senior!) and will get quicker as the weekend goes on. This is a lead in for Kane to round 4 of the Top Half series back here in 2 weeks time.

Day 1 of KartStars Hamilton and it looks like we are going to be battling the weather all day…….. 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️☀️

The race order and confirmed DD2 entry list is out for KartStars in Hamilton this weekend. 8 in the DD2 field (the usual suspects……) so guaranteed to have some very competitive racing. This is a warm up for Kane for round 3 of the Top Half Series in a few weeks time. Weather is looking ‘scratchy’ at the moment - but as the forecasters can’t get it right even 24 hours out we are taking it with a grain of salt at the moment - still plenty of time for it to go one way or the other…….

Kane has had to change his race number for this weekend - so he will be racing with 11 on his kart.

Kane is racing at the KartStar’s round in Hamilton next Saturday and Sunday (19th and 20th). Good practice for the 3rd round of the Top Half series in October. Hamilton is a great fast track and Kane has always enjoyed it there. We know we have some supporters coming down from Auckland to cheer him on - so everyone is welcome! We will be heading down on Friday afternoon to get some practice laps in - so Elmo will be getting some more use! If you can’t make it down - this event will be live streamed on the KartSport NZ Facebook and YouTube channels with a full commentary. See you there!!!!!

Kane’s first Club Day win at the new KartSport Auckland Mt Wellington track - but with the added honour of it being the annual Tony Bennett Memorial event. For those who are unaware, Tony raced in the Club Sport division and passed away in 2022 after he lost the battle with his mental health condition. Tony’s fellow competitors (led by the legendary Paul ‘Hutchie’ Hutchison) made sure his memory lives on by running this annual event in his name - along with bringing the issues surrounding mental health to the front of everyone’s mind.

The weather was ‘questionable’ all day long with very strong winds blowing very scattered showers through all day. In saying this - it was a 100% improvement on Saturdays weather! Despite all this - we were able to run slicks in all 5 races on Sunday which was great.

5 DD2’s lined up for this event - and with 5 races in total (4 heats and a final) - Kane won 3 and finished 2nd in the other 2 to take the points win.

Up there on the podium with his mate and Energy Corse team mate Ollie MOSEBY (yes everybody - they did hug and make up!) who took 2nd in a very close battle. In the last two races in which they shared one each - they were separated by less than half a second when crossing the finish line! These two young men are just so quick and evenly paced that if they put their heads down and worked together they would be a damn near unstoppable force in DD2!!!!!

The next event for Kane will be the final round of the Kart Stars Series to be held at the KartSport Hamilton track on the 19th and 20th of September, before getting back on the track for round 3 of the Top Half Series also being held at Hamilton in October.

Thanks to everyone who came along to support him and all those who were sending constant text messages for updates (as the Speedhive app was down all day……). See you in Hamilton soon!

A few wet practice laps today at KartSport Auckland. It didn’t stop raining all morning! Hoping for finer weather tomorrow!

Kane will be back racing at KartSport Auckland for the first time in about 6 months this Sunday. Racing starts at 9am on Sunday morning. Weather is looking awesome for Sunday as well! Everyone welcome (we always carry extra seats and the fridge is always full!). See you there. 👍🏻