Rooney's Perfect Goldstar Score


 press release 3 May 2016

Wins don't come much sweeter than the one young Palmerston North karter Jackson Rooney claimed at the final round of the 2015/16 Bayley's Goldstar Series in the Hawke's Bay on Sunday.

By claiming a fourth Vortex Mini ROK class win in as many rounds Rooney did what no one else - Senior or Junior - could manage this season, claim a series' class title with a perfect - 240 point - score.

Vortex Mini ROK winner Jackson Rooney leads the way
Above: Vortex Mini ROK winner Jackson Rooney leads the way
pic - Fast Company/Vicky Jack

He did it in style too, winning three of the five heats and finishing second in the other two, despite the best efforts of reigning class South Island champion, William Exton from Picton, and New Plymouth ace Thomas Boniface (the other two heat winners).

Rooney also won the standalone Vortex Mini ROK class Grand Prix race from  Boniface and Exton, and ended up second - to Boniface - in the series' class Grand Prix points standings.

Two other drivers - New Plymouth's Brad Still and Wellington's Rianna O'Meara-Hunt - claimed class wins at three of this season's four Bayley's Goldstar series rounds, including Sunday's final in Hawke's Bay, ending up with 238 points each.

Still had his work cut out in the 125cc Rotax Max Light class, the result going to countback after recent Junior class graduate Jacob Cranston from Palmerston North also ended the day with two wins and two second places. Third on the day and second overall as far as the series goes was another Manawatu karter, James Higgins, with Ethan Hourigan from Wellington fourth on the day and third overall.

Top female driver Rianna O'Meara-Hunt also ended up tied for the top spot on points in the Formula Junior class - in her case with local driver Frank May - and stayed that way when even a countback couldn’t split the pair.

Third for the round and second for the series was Tom Greig from the Manawatu with Ryan Wood from Wellington fourth on the day and Palmerston  North driver Riley Jack third for the series.

Fifth and sixth respectively at their home round were two youngsters with familiar surnames, Ronan (son of Bathurst winner Greg) Murphy and Zac (son of former two-time NZ Formula Ford champion the late Ashley) Stichbury. The results topped off a great Bayley's Goldstar series for the pair who also finished fourth (Murphy) and fifth (Stichbury) in the series points standings.

Brad Still (#33), 125cc Rotax Max Light
Above: Brad Still (#33), 125cc Rotax Max Light
pic - Fast Company/Vicky Jack

As well as a joint round win, O'Meara-Hunt also won the standalone Junior Grand Prix race - from Tom Greig, Ryan Wood and Ronan Murphy - and lowered the class lap record at the track.

The other big tie - this time in the series' points standings - came in the 125cc Rotax Max Heavy class, where Brendon Gridley from Nelson and Ashley Higgins from Palmerston North claimed one round win, three second places and a third apiece to finish on 233 points.

Each round had a different class winner - Higgins, Kevin Barker, Gridley and Zach Zaloum - with Hawke's Bay ace Zaloum, who only contested his 'home' round this season, the dominant figure on Sunday with four heat wins and a second place.

The other close finish - round and series - came in the Cadet ROK class where South Island champ Louis Sharp beat recently crowned class New Zealand champion Mason Potter from Auckland's KartSport Mt Wellington club on the day but fifth placed Liam Sceats, also from Auckland's Mt Wellington club, scored enough points to  take the class series' title by two points from Sharp, with Potter third and Logan Manson from the Manawatu fourth.

It was Sharp who won the Cadet ROK Grand Prix, though, this time from Manson and Sceats, and in so doing sewed up the series' class GP title with 196 points, four more than second placed Sceats and 10 more than third placed Mason Potter.

In Open, meanwhile, Daniel Rine from the Manawatu led home club mate Clint Beaumont on Sunday, the pair also finishing first and second in the Senior Grand Prix and Grand Prix series' points standing, while Braden Parsons won three of the five heats and the standalone class GP to claim 120 ClubSport honours on the day.

Series-wise, however, Parsons was pipped by clubmate Brent Hickmott (who finished third in Hawke's Bay) by just three points with Brenden Print third.

It is now the turn of the KartSport Taranaki club to host the 2015/16 Bayley's WPKA Goldstar series' standalone 'Championship' round at Waitara's Todd Energy Raceway on Sunday June 05.

Rianna O'Meara-Hunt (#3), Formula Junior
Above: Rianna O'Meara-Hunt (#3), Formula Junior
pic - Fast Company/Vicky Jack

2015/16 Bayleys WPKA Goldstar Series Rnd 4 Chemz Raceway Roy's Hill Hastings Hawke's Bay Sun May 01 2016

125cc Rotax Max Light
Round - 1. Brad Still; 2. Jacob Cranston; 3. James Higgins; 4. Ethan Hourigan; 5. Johnathan Pearson; 6. Mike Peebles.                  
Series - 1. Brad Still (Tara) 238; 2. James Higgins (Mwtu) 228; 3. Ethan Hourigan (Wgtn) 220; 4. Zachary Thompson (Wgtn) 167; 5. Jonathan Dwyer (Tara) 152; 6. Thomas Batt (Wgtn) 152.

125cc Rotax Max Heavy
Round - 1. Zach Zaloum; 2. Ashley Higgins; 3. Brendon Gridley; 4. Kevin Barker; 5. Campbell Jamieson; 6. Francois Rauterbach   
Series - 1=. Brendon Gridley (Roto) & Ashley Higgins (Mwtu) 233 points; 3. Kevin Barker (Nel) 230; 4. Campbell Jamieson (Tara) 223; 5. Francois Rautenbach (Tara) 217; 6. Zach Zaloum (Hbay) 60.

Open
Round - 1. Daniel Rine; 2. Clint Beaumont.
Series - 1. Daniel Rine (Mwtu) 235; 2. Clint Beaumont (Mwtu) 224; 3. Jacob Cranston (Mwtu) 117; 4. Henri Ham (Mwatu) 111;  5. Jayden Smith (Tara) 107; 6. Mathew Kinsman (Mt Well) 60.

ClubSport 120
Round - 1. Braden Parsons; 2. William Pearson; 3. Brent Hickmott; 4. Brenden Print; 5. John Paddy; 6. Gary Soper            
Series - 1. Brent Hickmott (Mwtu); 2. Braden Parsons (Mwatu); 3. Brenden Print (Mwtu); 4. Gary Soper (Tara) 223; 5. Brent Robinson (Mwatu) 220

Formula Junior
Round - 1=. Rianna O'Meara-Hunt & Frank May; 3. Tom Greig; 4. Ryan Wood; 5. Zac Stitchbury; 6. Ronan Murphy                            
Series - 1. Rianna O'Meara-Hunt (Wgtn) 238 points; 2. Tom Greig (Mwtu) 226; 3. Riley Jack (Mwtu) 212; 4. Ronan Murphy (Hbay) 209; 5. Zac Stichbury (HBay) 206; 6. Jackson Whitfield (Hbay) 198.

Vortex Mini ROK
Round - 1. Jackson Rooney; 2. William Exton; 3. Thomas Boniface; 4. Zac Christensen; 5. Harry Bewley; 6. Jenson Bate
Series - 1. Jackson Rooney (Mwtu) 240 points; 2.  William Exton 228; 3. Thomas Boniface (Tara) 228; 4. Zac Christensen (ChCh) 220; 5. Daniel Austin (Mwtu) 209; 6. Harry Bewley (Hbay) 202.

Cadet ROK
Round - 1. Louis Sharp; 2. Mason Potter; 3. Logan Manson; 4. Ben Stewart; 5. Liam Sceats; 6. Thomas Bewley
Series - 1. Liam Sceats (Mt Well) 233 points; 2. SI Louis Sharp (ChCh) 231; 3. NS Mason Potter (Mt Well) 229; 4. Logan Manson (Mwtu) 224; Ben Stewart (Wgtn) 220; 6. Kiahn Burt (Mwtu) 216

GPs

Senior GP
Round - 1. Daniel Rine; 2. Clint Beaumont; 3. Brad Still; 4. Ethan Hourigan; 5. Jacob Cranston; 6. Johnathan Pearson
Series - 1. Daniel Rine 198 points; 2 Clint Beaumont 183; 3. Brad Still (1st RML) 180; 4. Ethan Hourigan 175; 5. Ashley Higgins 165 (1st RMH); 6. Jacob Cranston 139.

Junior GP
Round - 1. Rianna O'Meara-Hunt; 2. Tom Greig; 3. Ryan Wood; 4. Ronan Murphy; 5. Frank May; 6. Riley Jack
Series - 1. Rianna O'Meara-Hunt 182; 2. Tm Greig 180; 3. Riley Jack 170; 4. Zac Stichbury 169;5. Ronan Murphy 167; 6. Jackson Whitfield 158.

Vortex Mini ROK GP
Round - 1. Jackson Rooney; 2. Thomas Boniface; 3. William Exton; 4. Zac Christensen; 5. Dylan Anderson; 6. Jenson Bate           
Series - 1. Thomas Boniface 192 points; 2. Jackson Rooney 188; 3. William Exton 187; 4. Daniel Austin (Mwtu) 166; 5. Jesse Free (Wgtn) 166; 6. Dylan Anderson (Hbay) 165

Cadat ROK GP
Round - 1. Louis Sharp; 2. Logan Manson; 3. Liam Sceats; 4. Hugo Neale; 5. Mason Potter; 6. Ben Stewart          
Series - 1. Louis Sharp 196 points; 2. Liam Sceats 192; 3. Mason Potter 186; 4. Ben Stewart 180; 5. Logan Manson 178; 6. Hugo Neale (Mwtu) 173



 

 

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