Current NZ KZ2 Karting Champion, 15-year-old Jay Urwin, continues to shine with a convincing win in the KZ Shifter Pro Final of Round 1 of the US Stars Pro Karting Championship, held at the iconic Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina, April 26-28.
The Tokoroa Kart Club member was ecstatic after the biggest win of his career. “It is amazing to win in America,” he said.
“It’s hard to explain how high the level is in the US, with so many drivers travelling from all over to compete here in Charlotte this weekend. This is something I have worked towards for a long time.”
Racing as part of the BirelART team in his factory KZ shifter kart, Urwin topped the time sheets in free practice with P2 in the first 2 sessions and P1 in the final session.
After some tough luck in qualifying due to the large number of karts on track, he found himself starting from P5 in the two pre-final heat races. The Matamata-based karter made his way to the front to take the win in Heat 1. He then followed this up with P2 in Heat 2, which put him P2 on the grid for the final.
As seen in previous finals, Urwin tends to keep his best until last.
He quickly established the pass into the lead and drove away to take the win by 7.9 seconds ahead of his PSL teammate, Ian Quinn.
Due to the early successes at both opening rounds of the SKUSA and Stars Pro Series, Urwin faces a busy schedule for the rest of the year with invitations to compete at all the remaining rounds of both Pro championship series.
His next race is Round 2 of the Stars Championship at New Castle Motorsport Park in Indiana May 31/June 1, followed by Round 2 of the SKUSA Championship at Motorsports Country Club, Ohio, June 14/16.
In the meantime, it is back to school this week for Urwin where he is a year 11 student, studying for NCEA in Cambridge
