bay driver 6 june 2014

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www.baydriver.co.nz Weekend Wheels

Bay of Plenty

June 8 Hillclimb showdown: Te PukeMotorsport Bay of Plenty will hold its annual hillclimb challenge at Te Puke Quarry Rd. For details, visit: www.mbop.org.nz

June 9 Vintage AGM: Tauranga talksTalks by Bill Janes on an Alfa Romeo project, and Rod Brayshaw on ‘registrar’ challenges, will provide an interesting side to the Bay of Plenty Vintage Car Club’s AGM. For details, visit: www.bayofplentyvintagecarclub.com

Beyond the Bay

June 15 Winter Drag Wars: Meremere DragwayIf you can’t wait until Labour Weekend for the return of the sights and sounds of dragsters and burning rubber, then Meremere’s Winter Drag Wars could be just what you need. This fun event is open to street legal cars (Warrant of Fitness and registration needed) and motorbikes. For details, visit: www.framautolitedragway.co.nz

June 28 Rallying action: WairarapaThe gravel roads around Wairarapa will come alive to the annual Rally Wairarapa, which is being run for the 40th year this month. The challenging roads will be host the fourth round of the New Zealand Rally Championship – where Tauranga drivers Phil Campbell (7th) and Dave Holder (4th) are in a fi erce competition – as well as hosting the second round of the Rally Extreme Series that started its season in Hawke’s Bay last weekend.


After years of racing on the Te Puke track, Bay of Plenty kart racers Josh Adlam and Taylor Harte are hoping their hometown advantage will pay

off this weekend.

All eyes will be on the track at Te Puke’s Alley Rd when Kartsport Bay of Plenty hosts round four of the six-round Rotax Max Challenge series – seeing New Zealand’s top karters descend on the circuit June 7-8.

The series, which matches up drivers in various classes racing karts and instructs they drive the same 125cc Rotax engine, has become the gold stand-ard for the motorsport.

It also feeds into a world championship – which Mount Maunganui’s Taylor Harte is aiming for.

After finishing seventh in 2013, in his first year of the Rotax Max Junior series, Taylor’s consistent driving this season has been paying off.

Strong finishes, including third place at last month’s Hamilton round, have pushed him to the top to the championships table.

But with another two rounds to come after this weekend, the 14-year-old knows he needs to continue his steady approach to have a chance to win the series and a place racing at the world championships in Spain he so keenly wants.

“It would be great. I’d love to get to Spain,” says Taylor, who won the national sprint championships in his class in Wel-lington last year. Along with his consistent approach, he’s focussed on improving his chances by working on his fitness to ensure

he’s the perfect weight.Joining Taylor on the circuit will be

Papamoa karter Josh Adlam, 15, who after two years racing in the junior class this year stepped up into the Rotax Light class.

He’s the youngest competitor in the class, which is testing new drivers with tricky Mojo tyres that need to be driven consist-ently and carefully to ensure they retain grip.

Last year Josh finished third in his class at the Te Puke round, making up for his poor result the previous year when his chain fell off on the final corner seeing him fall from

fifth place to last.Despite challenges getting

used to the tyres, which penalise hard driving by

overheating and temporarily losing grip for a few laps, Josh is feeling relatively confident after a weekend practising with top Kiwi karter Andy Schofield.

“I was quite surprised just how close I was to him,” says Josh, who missed one of the earlier Rotax Max series rounds this year in what he’s treating as a training experience for the future.

“I want to do the best I can, but up against people with so much more experience you’ve got to be realistic,” says Josh, who is aiming for a top-six finish in Te Puke.

“I think I’m the youngest in my class by about two years, so I’ve got a lot to learn.”

While his primary focus this season is on improving the smoothness and consistency of his driving, only three weeks ago Josh showed he’s not to be completely dis-counted.

At the third round of the Rotax Max series in Hamilton he went from finishing almost last, at 29th place in the pre-final, to 12th in the final.

“It was a good boost to my confi-dence and a lot of people told me how well I did,” says Josh,

about his performance in a class dominated by top national and international

drivers.A full weekend’s racing is

on offer at the Kartsport BOP track this Saturday and Sunday, with

70 drivers competing in six classes for the Rotax Max Challenge and PROkart series. For details, visit: www.bopkartclub.org or www.kartsport.org.nz

Josh Adlam, 15, and Taylor Harte, 14, with their karts. Photo by Tracy Hardy

By Hamish Carter

Kart racers aim for top finish


SPECS

Sailing away in a Santa FeSailing away in a Santa FeSailing away in a Santa Fe

Well hello there. Yes, my fi rst impression of Hyundai’s Santa Fe is

wow, what a looker. Large SUVs can often be a little bit humdrum, boxy, cumbersome and not too exciting. But, Hyundai has hit the nail on

the head here.

I drove the 2.2 CRDi diesel Elite Limited Edition, and it put a smile on the dial. I was expecting a relatively small engine for a large vehicle to be underpowered, but the Koreans have built a real gem here, the 145kw power plant is so smooth and pow-erful, you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s something much larger under the hood.

Externally, the Santa Fe is a very good looking vehicle. The refi ned styling really catches the eye; it’s quite different from the rest of the SUV breeds.

The interior follows suit too. The centre console, which reminds me of a cobra’s head, is very well laid out, stylish and easy to navigate. The on-board display for entertainment, satel-lite navigation, controlling a Bluetooth connected phone and reverse camera is a breeze to fi nd your way around.

Heated electric seats make winter days disappear, and are incredibly comfortable – you could tour the country with ease in this. This model also came with seven seats, with room throughout for adults in every seat.

The 2.2 litre turbo diesel coupled with a six-speed automatic is a perfect match for this car.

The electronic, torque-on-demand 4WD system is a clever system, keeping the car in 2WD mode until it senses poor trac-tion. Then it will move the torque around the wheels to give you optimum grip at all times.

It also comes with 50:50 torque lock, sending equal power to the front and rear for off-road or less than ideal conditions, and would also be handy for towing the boat. Adjustable steering settings allow you to adjust the feel of the steering, from Sports, strangely enough giving you a sport-

ier, heavier feel – nice if you like the feel of greater responsiveness – through Normal to Comfort, which makes the steering light and easy. Fuel economy is also impressive, at just 7.3litres/100km combined economy, down to just 5.9L/100km on the open road.

Of course, this car comes with all of the safety features you’d expect from a quality vehicle – airbags everywhere, trac-tion control, stability control, and the impressive-sounding Advanced Traction Cornering Control, keeping you fi rmly planted on the road through the corners. It handles like a dream, with nowhere near the usual amount of roll you get in high-sided vehicles. No surprise this car has a fi ve star ANCAP rating.

So the important question – would I buy one? Yes. I even asked Jim at Farmer Auto Village Hyundai if I could keep it. He said I could, but I’m pretty sure he would have expected payment in return.

The Santa Fe Elite model I drove comes in at $79,990, and is worth every dollar. You can just tell this vehicle will be a good investment for many years to come.

The build quality, comfort and style Hyundai are becoming renowned for will see you happy well in to the future.

Santa Fe Elite Limited Edition

Engine: 4 cylinder, direct injection, turbo diesel

Displacement: 2199cc, 145 kW

Transmission: 6 speed automatic with

HIVEC adaptive logic

Drive System: Front wheel drive,

switchable to 4WD

Price From: $79,990

Dealer: Farmer Auto Village Hyundai,

116 Hewletts Rd, Mount Maunganui.

Ph 07 578 6017

or visit www.farmermotorgroup.co.nz

By Jay Burston


Open: Monday-Friday 8.00am-5.30pm Saturday 9.00am-5.00pm

116 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui. Tel: 07 578 6017 www.farmerautovillage.co.nz


116 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui. Tel: 07 578 6017 www.farmerautovillage.co.nz116 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga City Tel: 07 578 6017 www.farmerautovillage.co.nz Follow us on Facebook



116 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui. Tel: 07 578 6017 www.farmerautovillage.co.nz


116 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui. Tel: 07 578 6017 www.farmerautovillage.co.nz116 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga City Tel: 07 578 6017 www.farmerautovillage.co.nz Follow us on Facebook

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bay driver 6 june 2014

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