CRG NZ

Mega weekend at the 2nd round of the The NZ Rotax Max Challenge held at Kartsport Hamilton.
The weather was looking pretty bad but we were lucky enough to enjoy good hard racing in the sun.
Great results by our team.
Stunning drive by Dayton Emmett Motorsport in his Mini Max final, awesome battle with our good friends Dominic Dale Racing for the final podium spot with Dayton eventually getting the upper hand to come home in 3rd.
The Rotax Light final was intense, unfortunately for Tai Eglinton and Amelia Carter their finals ended early both losing their chains.
Mathew Johnston and Ashton Phipps both had a strong presence at the pointy end of the field, it was a calculated race by the top 4 with all of them smashing out qualy laps for the entire 20 lap final, gains were only going to be made if one of them made a mistake but credit to them, they all drove flawlessly. Mathew finishing P4 and Ashton taking it flag to flag for a great win 🏆
So proud of our team, always punching above our weight and keeping that Black and Orange CRG kart in the limelight.

First ever club day at the new amazing Sir Colin Giltrap Raceway in Auckland. First of all on behalf of CRG NZ I would like to congratulate and thank every single person involved in bringing this dream to reality. With the opening ceremony, the past and present members of karting walking around the pits, catching up with people from 10, 20 , 30 years back it was pretty emotional and finally seeing our kids drive through the cut red ribbon to officially open the track it was destined to be a good day. The track is outstanding and the racing was pretty epic.
The racing over the weekend from team CRG was outstanding but tonight's post is more about what goes on behind the scenes, the people that don't wear helmets and the drivers when they are not wearing their helmets, I'm probably being a little biased but I don't think there is a better team in NZ that does things quite like CRG NZ, we aren't all about test days and finding the best engines that money can buy so we can win, don't get me wrong we love to win and we do put in the effort, we are most certainly a team that punches well above our weight but we are all about family and that's what I consider this team to be, its our extended family that work and play together, share each others highs and lows, help each other out whenever and wherever we can. Enjoy a few drinks and a laugh, this weekend just reminded us of what this sport is meant to be about. Also to see the whole Cunningham family at the track Bob, Lyndsay, Aarron, Wade, Mitch, Rebecca and the boys. this family has done so much for our sport right from their beginning in 1994, to see them all together again from where it all began was a sight to cherish.
I hope moving forward that people will take a step back and just think about what this sport is about and what it was about when they first started, its about creating memories with your children, getting up at 4am because of the excitement of our first club day, forming lifetime bonds with strangers, all enjoying the same thing that we all love which is racing. There is no room for political s**t, we should all move on and do what's best for the members, families and racers, its time to reflect and bring back the grassroots of the sport, the fun, the smiles.
To our team, CRG NZ, thanks for being part of this awesome little group of people, looking forward to many more days of racing.

2026 RMC NZ.

Team CRG NZ kicked off the year with the first round of the NZ Rotax Max Challenge held at Kartsport Rotorua.
Huge numbers, hard racing and plenty of drama, the first 2 we like, the third not so much lol.
Bit of an eye opener, learning the MOJO tyre and how it works on NZ tracks. After Friday testing we thought we had a good idea of where we needed to be. Unfortunately and admittedly my mistake we were to far out of the window for qualifying and put our Rotax Light drivers on the back foot with not so good qualy positions.
But as we always do as a team we put it behind us, soldier on, study the data, get the feedback from our drivers and do the best to make our karts stronger.
The hard part was being back in amongst the s**tfight it was very difficult to make up ground. However in every race our team moved forward, despite the challenge in front of us and the odd penalty I was really proud of how our team stuck together as a whole. We all had fast karts putting in good lap times, Ashton putting in the fastest lap of heat 2 despite having to move through traffic at the same time, and then the Final Ashton and Mathew having the 2nd and 4th fastest laps respectively also while negotiating the traffic. Our newest member Tai making huge gains over the weekend not only learning the new tyre but also learning a totally different kart and setting his PB in the final. Amelia and Hannah also showing really good pace but were just caught up in that annoying take no prisoners part of the pack. So to our Rotax light drivers i pat you all on the back, not the results we were hoping for but so many positives leading into the next round.
Next I want to bring you to the attention to our little rocketship Mini Max driver Dayton Emmett Motorsport , still only new to the game, racing for 2 years but due to other sport commitments hasn't actually done a lot of racing. Well didn't he turn some heads, finishing P4 in his final Dayton showed a lot of grit and his racecraft and speed has improved so much over the past couple of months. Race of the weekend I think was the Super Heat coming out of turn 1 in P9 Dayton made his way back up to 4th passing some pretty talented young drivers on the way through, the CRG 950 Black Mirror was singing a nice tune. Top effort little man.
Huge thanks as always to our families and friends that are there through thick and thin helping this team do what we love but there are 2 standout people for me, they don't stop, forever on peoples karts helping with anything that needs to be done.
Bailey James Maunsell and Mike Rose you guys are legends, your contribution to this team doesn't go unnoticed and we are forever thankful.
Looking forward to Round 2, this series is awesome, everyone is fast and the racing is intense which is what weave been looking for and haven't had for a while.
Big thanks to Richard and Tania from Right Karts for putting this series together. You have team CRG NZs full support.

CRG NZ Victorious at the 2025 Top Half Series, taking out the top 2 steps overall.
Mathew Johnston P1
Ashton Phipps P2
The final round was held at Kartsport Hamilton, we thought we had the best tyre strategy with both boys still having a green set of slicks to use so everything should have just flowed nicely.
Well what a different story that turned out to be, we were cursed with the dreaded bad batch of tyres on all 3 of our karts, Mathew, Ashton and Hannah. Day 1 we persevered with what we had but all of our karts just had no pace to compete with.
Day 2 we made the decision to go back to our first sets that had already been used at the previous 3 rounds with 100+ laps on them, turned out it was the best of a bad situation with all 3 karts finding better pace and Ashton having the fastest lap in both Sunday races. The tyres were better but were still old and they fell off the cliff in the final. Still no one was even close to contest for the title so it was just a question of which CRG is going to take the series. Ashton and Mathew gave it everything they had in the final finishing 3rd and 5th respectively and that was enough for Mathew to take the Series win by 3 points.
Mathew Johnston joined team CRG NZ just over 2 years ago, watching his progression through the ranks has been a great thing to witness and this year he has really put his name on the map. With the support of his Mum and Dad, Sharon and PJ as a family this is something special to celebrate, it is a pleasure having the Johnston family as part of our CRG NZ crew. So on behalf of the team, Congratulations on this great achievement and we praise you all. Massive thanks to our resident Einstein Mike Rose, thankyou to all our families and supporters for all the help throughout the series.
Next stop Kartsport Auckland where we sign off the year and also sign off from the Rosebank Rd track as we prepare to get up and running at our new track on Prices Rd.

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2025 Top Half Series Round 3 was held at Kartsport Rotorua.
The weather certainly made it a tricky weekend as it has been throughout the whole series, wet and dry conditions, tyre choices were last minute but CRG NZ still held strong.
Mathew and Ashton have been the only 2 drivers that have been on the podium at every round and that's why they lock out the top 2 steps in the Championship. Good pace and consistency throughout the series, Matty with a 13 point lead in 1st and Ashton in 2nd a long way ahead of 3rd.
The racing was intense on day 1 but it all changed in heat 3, Rotax light was the first class on the grid at 9am on day 2, the track was still wet and the weather had cleared so it was really a 50/50 on tyre choice. As a team we decided to stay on wets, those that aren't in the running for the championship took a gamble on slicks, Ashton won the race so the call on the wet tyre was the best for that race but it was at the expense of ruining our tyres and being on the back foot if it was to rain again during the day.
So leading into the final it was CRG NZ on grids 2 and 3 the track was dry but at the last minute the rain came again as we were about to head to the grid so we had no choice but to run a wet tyre that was now a slick. Mathew, Hannah and Ashton did a great job in the final considering we had no tyre as you can see in the photos. Ashton coming home in P6, Matty P8 and unfortunately Hannah with a DNF
Mathew and Ashton still finishing on the podium for the round 2nd and 3rd respectively.
So now we head to Hamilton for the final round, the new 8 total slick tyre rule for the series has been interesting to watch and how people have managed it. From what I've seen most people will be going into the final round with used tyres, good thing for Ashton and Mathew they still both have only scanned in 4 tyres so they still have a green set up their sleeves. Bring on the Final.

Great start to the 2025 Ingham Driven Top Half Series.
Round 1 was held at Kartsport BOP.
Team CRG NZ were represented with 3 drivers.
#58 Hannah Joyce, Hannah had an up and down weekend suffering a few push back penalties which was costly to the final placing, finished P17 for the round but finished off strong with a great drive in the final.
#3 Ashton Phipps, Ashton had a good weekend all round, couple of dramas with the engine blowing it's gearbox in the 3rd heat but still put it on pole for the final, didnt quite have the pace and setup for the final but still ended the weekend sitting in P2 for the series.
#48 Mathew Johnston , Mathew has a new nickname now, Lightning McQueen. Mathew was Poles ahead of the rest of the field with his pace all weekend, the kart was on point and the driver did a mega job behind the wheel. Well deserved mate, finally it all came together and now you've shown that you belong at the top. P1 in the final in convincing fashion.
So all in all a mega weekend for Team CRG NZ locking out the top 2 steps of the podium leading into round 2 at Kartsport Auckland in 4 weeks time.
📸 180 Photography

2025 National School Championships.
Kartsport BOP.

Team CRG fronted with 4 drivers, the weather was off and on with rain and very unpredictable so without a lot of time between sessions it was tough to know exactly what the best setup on the kart was going to be.
VMR
Dayton Emmett, getting better and better every time he races, showing some really positive results.
Qualified P16, made some good places up in the heats and prefinal
Final- P12 to finish a credible P9
Rotax Light
Hannah Joyce had really good pace on the Friday sitting comfortably in the top 10. Unfortunately on Lap 1 Heat 1 on Saturday Hannah was involved in an incident that put an end to her weekend.
Ashton Phipps, the weekend started a bit on the back foot, after going into qualy on wet tyres with a semi dry track, Ashton decided to come in early to save the tyres so at the end of qualy he was starting the 2 heats from P15. Ashton progressed through the field in the heats to start the prefinal on P8, bought it home in 3rd to then start the final on P6. The final was an epic race, Ashton made his way in to P2 and the chase was on for the leader, managed to get to him and make a few moves for the lead, a smart race by both Ashton and Raymond Mallin saw the lead swap a few times, a last lap dive by Ashton just didn't quite stick and Raymond crossed the line first, so for Ashton it was a P2 finish for the day.
Amelia Carter also in the same boat came in early from qualy to save the tyres, ultimately paying off in the final steaming through the pack from grid 20 to finish P9 over the line. Unfortunately due to a push back penalty Amelia finished P11 on the results board.
All in all it was a great weekend, all the drivers gave it their all in the tough conditions.

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2025 Kartstars Series Final Round Series Decider.

Short and Sweet, the final round was epic, the racing was tough the weather conditions were terrible but CRG NZ once again come out on top.
Ashton and Mathew forever proving their worth at the top end of the field.
Ashton taking the series win for the second year running and retains the black number plate. 🥇
Mathew claiming 3rd overall for the series and looking stronger every time he hits the track. 🥉
Amelia Carter just keeps trucking, always with a smile on her face such a pleasure to have her in our team.
Hiro Sheridan for his last rodeo made the late move to come and mix it in the senior lights field, Hiro's drive in the weekend was amazing and very influential to the final outcome.
Team work makes the dream work.
So very proud of all of our drivers and crew, couldn't ask for a better group of people to be associated with, you are all champions.
Thanks again to our workhorse Bailey, always there for everyone giving it his all.
This one is dedicated to our very special friends Mike and Sally Rose, Mike is our #1 mechanic who has been there for the team from day 1, unfortunately Mike couldn't make the final round due to the passing of Sally's mother.
On Behalf of the CRG NZ team we send our love during this tough time ❤️.
CRG NZ ⚫️🟠

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Kartstars 2025 Round 4 Kartsport Manawatu

It was great to be back at Kartsport Manawatu for the 4th round of the Kartstars Series. This is a track that our drivers haven't done a lot of miles at but all the same love the challenge of the anti clockwise smooth but bumpy surface.

CRG NZ were represented with only 3 drivers, Mathew and Ashton in Rotax Lights and Hiro in Rotax Heavies.
Friday practice all went to plan, by the end of the day all 3 karts had good pace.
Saturday Qualifying started out great for Ashton and Mathew coming in at P3 and P4 respectively. Hiro didn't have such a great qualy only able to put it on P8.

Hiro's Saturday didn't go very well, struggling for pace and wasn't able to make any inroads as he normally would, unfortunately it was only at the end of the day we found that a loosening spark plug and a broken seat mount was a major contribution to that.

Ashton and Mathew we looking good sitting at the pointy end of the field, unfortunately for Mathew in heat 2 while sitting in 4th place broke a chain on the last lap and suffered a DNF.

Sunday morning the rain set in so the prefinal and Finals were going to be wet.

Hiro and Ashton didn't have a lot of joy in the rain, Ashton started his final in P3 but just didn't have the pace in the kart slipping back to finish P6, Hiro started his Final in P8 and likewise just didn't have the pace of the front runners finishing P5 on track but with a nose cone penalty fell back to P7 in the results.

Mathew Johnston had a great final, due to the DNF on Saturday he had to start the Final in P8, Mathew showed his wet driving skill in the rain and just kept moving forward and with that brilliant drive in the tough conditions he crossed the line in P4. Great end to the weekend, well done Matty.

All in all it was a great weekend with the team, our drivers are very humble and its always great working with these talented lads, sometimes we need to take it on the chin, regroup and come back stronger next time.

Huge thanks to Bailey James Maunsell our energizer bunny who keeps going all day to help the team.

Thanks to all our supporters and families back home, next stop Kartsport Rotorua for the final round in 6 weeks.

📸 Bella Tahu Photography

2025 Kartsport NZ Nationals.

Done and Dusted. Well, what a weekend.
Huge event, big numbers, stacked fields and the pace was fast.
Team CRG fronted with 6 drivers covering 7 classes.
As a team we are all proud of our results, some were good some had a tough time but we still stuck together and supported our team the best we could. The close family unit we have at Team CRG NZ is second to none, great times lots of laughs and a bit of racing in-between.

Results Below

Rotax Junior #48 Will Davie
Will didn't have a great start to his Nationals campaign plagued with engine issues, unfortunately by the time we got to the bottom of the issue it was to late, Will still pushed on and had a great race in the prefinal but didn't quite accumulate enough points to make the final. P41

Rotax Max Lights #19 Amelia Cater #42 Ashton Phipps #48 Mathew Johnston.
All 3 of our Rotax light drivers had great pace, this field had to be the toughest competition we had ever faced. Former World and National Champions, Top drivers from Australia. All 3 CRG NZ drivers made the final, Amelia was looking really good throughout the final knocking on the door of a top 10 finish until her race was ended by being driven over by another kart and having to much damage to continue. Ashton really dug deep for this one, half a lap into the final he was down in 12th place through past the pits, slowly edging his way through, it came down to a last lap pass to come home P3 and claim the 3NZ plate. Mathew has shown over the recent past that he is a main contender at the pointy end of the field and showed just that in the final. He got the elbows out and battled with the best of the best. In this class of 40 only 6 people go home with trophies, Mathew got one of those trophies with an outstanding P6.... 6NZ.

Rotax Max Heavies Hiro Sheridan Aarron Cunningham
Hiro's weekend started out on the back foot with a P11 in qualifying. This field was also stacked with former World Champions, NZ Champions and International drivers from Australia.
Hiro drove an amazing final, with everyone so close on times and nobody making any mistakes a top 6 finish was nothing short of a successful weekend. Hiro was able to do that and although unfortunately Hiro had to give up his 2NZ plate to finish P6 in this event was also outstanding....6NZ
Aarron was looking really good in the final, running his masters green plate didn't hold him back from giving the young fellas a run for their money. Aarron had made up some good ground pumping out some fast laps and matching the pace up front until a mechanical failure put an end to his race having to retire 5 laps from home.

Vortex DVS Senior #42 Ashton Phipps
It was only a week before the Nationals entries closed that Ashton and his big brother Bailey decided they wanted to also run in DVS Senior, we accumulated a kart thank you to Pool And Spa Maintenance PJ & Sharon, and a couple of engines thankyou to Peter Hill and Darren Walker. We went down to Hamilton for 1 test day prior to the event and thought the pace was pretty good so that got parked up so we could concentrate on the Rotax Kart.
Ashton Qualified P1, won every race, lead every lap and won the final in convincing style to claim the 1NZ plate, the kart, engine and driver package was unstoppable. P1 Baby.....1NZ

Our sincere thanks goes out to our whole CRG NZ crew, special mentions to Noel Phipps Mike Rose Bailey and Dayton for all their hard work across the whole team. Thankyou to Steve Maclean from Tyrepower Mackay making the trip over the ditch to see how we roll and meeting our amazing group of people. Huge thanks to our ladies Sharon, Tania and Brigitte for the keeping our bellies full, but most of all, thankyou all for being part of this team, our sport can get pretty intense sometimes so the few drinkies and a lot of laughs makes it all worth while.

On behalf of Brigitte and Myself we are so proud of you all and look forward to the future.
CRG for life.🟠⚫️

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Another podium for CRG NZ VMR driver Dayton Emmett.
A mega weekend with a P2 in EBOP on Saturday and today a P3 at Kartsport BOP for the first Round of club points. Driver is getting better and faster every time he hits the track, kart is on rails and Mum Stacey Emmett and Dad Jordan Emmett are smiling. Great job guys keep up the good work.

Congratulations to team CRG's Dayton Emmett, running in the VMR class in his CRG Black Mirror, great day in EBOP, 2 race wins, fastest lap in heat 3 and 2nd overall for the day. Great gains, fun times Stacey Emmett Jordan Emmett.