Nixon Cripps has finished a credible fourth in category at the Rotax Karting Grand Finals in Sarno, Italy. Part of the NZ Rotax Max Challenge Team, Cripps was the highest placed of six Kiwi drivers competing at the world Grand Finals where Kiwis have traditionally performed well.
Also competing from New Zealand were Ashton Phipps (Senior Max), Matt Hamilton (DD2 Masters), Marco Manson (Junior Max), Tommy Hart (Mini Max) and Cameron Hill (DD2).
“It has been a massive year for Team NZ overseas and the Rotax Grand Finals was no exception,” commented Tiff Chittenden. “The whole team showed great pace and there were a few ‘what could have been’ if it had not been for some bad technical or racing luck for some of the Kiwis. Nixon and the whole team had their challenges in such a highly competitive event, but all proved that they could cut it at international level and NZ should be extremely proud.”
Following a week of testing in dry conditions, the Kiwi contingent faced wet inclement weather for their six-minute qualifying sessions. Cripps was the best placed with the seventh fastest time in his Micro Max class with Hamilton and Manson also qualifying in the top ten in their categories.
Cripps then faced two difficult heats having to fight his way through the field to eventually place 13th for the Pre-Final. Patience was required once his final was underway where his speed shone through crossing the line sixth and then being promoted to fourth overall after two drivers ahead of him were penalised for infringements.
Having initially qualified tenth fastest in a field of 72 drivers in the Junior Max category, Marco Manson started second in his Pre-Final after performing the best of the team in his heats, and then in his final, while holding sixth place in the lead pack, was involved in a collision dropping him to the back of the field and out of contention.
Matt Hamilton also ran out of luck in his DD2 Masters final. Having finished in the top three in all of his heats, he eventually started from sixth position in his final before he was forced to retire on the opening lap with a mechanical failure.
Ashton Phipps was the fourth Kiwi to make it through to a final. Having worked his way through to making the Senior Max final, starting 30th, Phipps was able to move up through the pack until an incident dropped him to the back of the field before he again worked his way back to crossing the line in 25th position.
Tommy Hart’s campaign didn’t start as well as had hoped with a DNF in his Mini Max qualifying session. Then, having to work through a large field in all of his three heats, he knew he had a lot of work to do in his pre-final. Moving forward he eventually finished 22nd which meant he was unable to progress to the main event.
Cameron Hill was in the thick of it in his first DD2 International meeting and after moving forward in two of his heats, sustained some damage to his kart in his third outing. Finishing 29th in the Pre-Final saw an end to his racing.
With four drivers making the Rotax Karting Grand Finals it has again been a successful trip for the NZ Rotax Max Challenge Team with the highlight of a fourth place in the Micro Max class for Nixon Cripps.
