It has been a quick turnaround for seven KartSport New Zealand Academy team members, with the majority already back on track in New Zealand following a massive week of action at the Rok Cup SuperFinal at South Garda Karting in Italy.
A total of 412 verified drivers from 48 countries took part in the four-day event on October 11-14, competing across seven classes.
Kiwis Zach Tucker, Henry Fisher, Raymond Mallin, Blake Corin, Mitchell Corin, Mason Armstrong and Aaron Cunningham were tasked with flying the New Zealand flag at the event, bringing home some strong results against some of the world’s best.
“Any overseas competition is a massive commitment, both logistically and financially, from the New Zealand drivers and their families and teams,” KartSport New Zealand Academy Director and Head Coach Tiffany Chittenden told Velocity News.
“The level of competition is a big step for our drivers, especially in Europe where the competitors live at the tracks all year around. Our Team NZ drivers have done an outstanding job of turning up and performing as well as they did.
“All of the team were consistently knocking on the top 10, and for a couple, a podium was achievable if things had gone their way.
“KartSport New Zealand is extremely proud of all of the drivers, and the KartSport Academy hopes to grow to assist more Kiwis to compete at more events overseas and show the talent that we have here in NZ.”
It was Tucker’s second trip to the event, and Fisher joined him in the competitive Mini ROK class, which featured 72 entries.
Fisher made progress across all three days of track action ahead of the Main Final, for which he qualified 17th.
“The first lap was dicey, with contact causing my kart to lift all four wheels off the track, and I dropped back to 20th,” he said of the final in a post shared by the KartSport New Zealand Academy. He recovered and moved forward to finish 13th.
Tucker also found himself in the wars in the Main Final, having started 15th and charged to 6th over the opening corners. Contact from behind saw him drop down the order, and he came home 19th.
Mallin, meanwhile, was in the Junior ROK Class, qualifying for the Main Final in 15th out of a massive pool of 104 competitors.
He, too, made inroads into the pack and sat 8th by the end of Lap 6, but was unfortunately caught out by contact from another competitor, which saw him lose ground and finish 20th.
Mallin has just finished competing at the ROK Vegas event in Las Vegas, qualifying 15th for the final but only completing 11 of the 27 laps before being forced to retire.
Brothers Blake Corin and Mitchell Corin competed in the Super ROK class and overcame several obstacles outside their control to storm to top ten finishes in the final.
Blake started the final 17th, moving through the pack and deep into the top ten before contact bent his steering, leaving him to settle for ninth.
Mitchell started 28th and gained a massive 18 positions to come home 10th, just one place behind his brother.
Armstrong and Cunningham were in the Expert ROK class. The former was forced to sit out qualifying and started from the back in all three heats to qualify 32nd for the final. He gained 13 places to finish the event 19th.
Cunningham, meanwhile, qualified 12th for the final and crossed the line 15th.
