Karting: Bewley brothers capture national teams title

Hawke's Bay's Bewley brothers, Tom (left) and Harry, won the national primary-intermediate schools teams karting title. Photo/Duncan Brown

When individual glory proves elusive think of the team and what they can achieve.

Hawke's Bay karter Tom Bewley, 9, will remember this advice for the rest of his life after the 15th annual KartSport New Zealand National Schools Championships in Blenheim at the weekend. The Te Mata School Year 5 student was among four Bay starters in the field of 68.

"I went down there with a goal of winning the title for my Cadet ROK class and when I finished second by four points I was pretty disappointed. But that disappointment soon disappeared when I heard Harry and I had won the primary-intermediate teams title . . . I was all smiles again," Tom recalled.

Tom and his 11-year-old brother Harry, a Year 7 student at Havelock North Intermediate School, accumulated enough points to win the title despite Harry finishing 14 in the Mini ROK class. It's the first time either of their schools feature on the honours board and the first time a Hawke's Bay team have won the trophy since multiple national champion Maddison Wise and Karl McNicol combined to win it in 2010 while attending Taradale Intermediate and Taradale Primary schools respectively.

Canterbury's Louis Sharp beat Tom for the individual title. It was the third time the pair had competed against each other and the second time Sharp had come out on top.

The Bewley brothers will have the chance to try to retain their teams title in front of their home crowd when Hawke's Bay hosts the nationals next year. Tom will be in a new class as he takes over Harry's kart because Harry will move up to the Rotax Junior class next year.

Tom, who is in his second year of racing, will tackle Hawke's Bay's annual Blossom Meeting in September and the Hamilton-hosted North Island Championships at Labour Weekend.

Third-year racer Harry had been hoping to do better than 14th at the weekend.

"I didn't have much luck and I'm a bit too heavy for the class which is why I'm having the rest of the year off and Tom is getting my kart. But the teams title made up for what I missed out on in my own class."

While the Bewley brothers' parents, Dwayne and Kirsty, are proud of what their lads achieved on the track, Kirsty said they would remember Harry's trophy acceptance speech for the rest of their lives.

"Harry took control of the microphone and delivered a fantastic speech in front of a room of about 400 people. He thanked their schools and us before congratulating the Palmerston North Boys High School trio, who they know, on their success in the secondary schools division. It made us extremely proud."

"Tom made me do it. I only had 40 seconds to prepare," Harry said.

Tom will be hoping a change of class may bring a change of luck when it comes to individual titles. He will leave the Cadet ROK class with three major second placings on his CV, the weekend's, last year's North Island champs - which were hosted by his Hawke's Bay club - and last year's Blossom Meeting.

Napier Boys High School student Billy Mori finished third in the 125cc Rotax Max Light class and Lindisfarne College student Jackson Whitfield was 16th in the Rotax Max Junior class in Blenheim.

Kiahn Burt and Blake Dowell from Manawatu's Whakarongo School finished second to the Bewleys in the teams event and Jacob Douglas and Blake Knowles from Medbury School in Christchurch were third.

A team of Joshua Parkinson, Sam Wright and Sebastian Manson of Auckland's St Kentigern College were second to Palmerston North Boys High School and Jacob Mitchell, Jacob McLaren and Adam Godwin from Lincoln High School in Christchurch third in the secondary schools division.