Urban Returns Home To Hero's Welcome
| press release | 21 November 2015 |
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Kiwi karter Ryan Urban, who claimed New Zealand's first ever class win at a Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals meeting in Portugal last weekend, returned home to a hero's welcome at Auckland International Airport on Saturday morning.
Competing against the world's best Rotax category racers at the meeting, Aucklander Urban, a multi-time New Zealand sprint kart champion and also Superkart racer of note, won the DD2 Masters class from Jim Ringelberg of The Netherlands and Argentinian Gabriel Zughella.
Above: New World #1 at Auckland International Airport
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Fast Company
Urban describes his breakthrough win as "something I have working towards since 2008."
"We had a really good shot to win it that year but got taken out of the Final in Turn 3, so basically since then it has been my mission to go over there and win a Grand Final," he said.
This year's was the fourth Grand Final Urban has qualified for and he says he had his 'eye on the prize' from the start of the week-long event.
"We played it smart this time," he said. "We knew we had pace, but we were saving it all for the Final."
Urban was both surprised and delighted with the large crowd of karters who made the effort to welcome him home at the airport this morning.
"I actually had no idea this was going to happen," he said." I thought it might be family, the guys from work and maybe a couple of others. Then when I came through the gate there was just a horde of people with big smiles on their faces and all clapping and yelling, it is just unbelievable, really, I am lost for words."
The 2015 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals meeting attracted 288 drivers from 50 countries with 72 starters in each of four classes, DD2, DD2 Masters, Rotax Senior and Rotax Junior.
