Stroud grabs narrow lead at ManfeildIn a restarted first heat Red Devil Racing’s Nick Cole rode a well timed wet race to steal the lead on the final lap from Aucklander Ray Clee (RCM Suzuki GSXR1000) to secure his first premier class victory, and the first major NZ win for the latest model Kawasaki ZX-R1000. Andrew Stroud (David Reid Homes Suzuki GSXR1000) was lucky to complete the podium and add vital points in his quest for a fourth Suzuki Tri-Series title.
Edabock BMW S1000RR rider Sloan Frost took the holeshot and left the experienced pack in his wake, until slowing on lap two with a handling issue allowing Stroud to take the lead as Clee, Taupo’s Scott Moir (Honda CBR1000RR) and Cole closed up. Clee relegated New Zealand’s most successful Superbike racer to second mid-race and pulled away from Stroud, who encountered another set of problems on top of racing a high-powered Superbike around a rain-soaked track in gusting wind!
The defending Suzuki Tri-Series champion was lucky to avoid a black flag as the race wound down after a couple of low tensile aftermarket engine cover bolts broke, allowing oil to splash onto Stroud’s foot, fairing and rear tyre during the closing laps.
Clee looked to have the race sewn up but nobody told Cole, of Hamilton, who rode smoothly to save his ‘wet’ tyres on the slightly drying track which allowed him to close on Clee and secure the win.
Completing the top six positions were Honda’s Hayden Fitzgerald (Hawera), BMW’s Rhys Holmes (Katikati) , who had a successful day in three classes until crashing in the final 600 Supers leg, and Moir.
Stroud came out fighting in a dry race two as the Hamiltonian made a fast start for the holeshot into turn one to lead SBK rookie Moir and Clee from the hungry pack. Clee jumped into the lead, however it was Stroud’s race as he made amends for race one and pulled a gap on the rest of the fighting field.
Perhaps Stroud was overconfident of the win or merely complacent after 12 laps, because second placed Clee quickly reeled him in after a rare Stroud mistake to position himself behind Stroud’s rear wheel at the final turn. Clee made sure he got a better drive out of the corner and came alongside Stroud to threaten for the win as the Suzuki pair crossed the line, but it wasn’t quite enough for the day’s most consistent Superbike rider who lost the race by half a bike length.
Craig Shirriffs (Feilding) came through to finish third on his Shirriffs Installation Suzuki GSXR1000. Frost put the heat on Cole for fourth position, who had to settle for fifth, with Holmes further back in sixth.
Defending
champion Stroud leads the Suzuki Tri-Series by just eight points from a
consistent Ray Clee, with Nick Cole holding third five points behind.
 Happy F1 Superbike race winner Nick Cole at Manfeild
Andrew Stroud wants title number four
The
$30,000 prizemoney battle continues at Wanganui on Boxing Day where
anything can happen on the famous Cemetery Circuit. In the F1 Superbike
class Stroud has to deal with the added challenge of Australian Daniel
Stauffer who won two of three races for Bernard Racing and Yamaha last
year on his street circuit debut, including the prestigious Robert
Holden Memorial. F1 Superbikes: Race 1: Nick Cole (Hamilton, Kawasaki ZX10R), 1; Ray Clee (Kumeu, Suzuki GSXR 1000), 2; Andrew Stroud (Hamilton, Suzuki GSXR1000), 3; Hayden Fitzgerald (Hawera, Honda CBR1000RR), 4; Rhys Holmes (Katikati, Yamaha R1),5; Scott Moir (Taupo, Honda CBR1000), 6. Race 2: Stroud, 1; Clee, 2; Craig Shirriffs (Feilding, Suzuki GSXR1000), 3; Sloan Frost (Wellington, BMWS1000RR), 4; Cole, 5; Holmes, 6. Series points after Round 2: Andrew Stroud, 87; Ray Clee, 79; Nick Cole 74; Hayden Fitzgerald, 54; Sloan Frost, 52; Craig Shirriffs, 44. F2 600 Supers: Compared to round one at Hampton Downs a week earlier, it was role reversal in the popular class as 21 year old Wellingtonian Glen Skachill (Museum Hotel Suzuki GSXR600) held off race-long advances by 17 year old Yamaha R6 racer Jaden Hassan (Auckland) to cross the line in that order ahead of Christchurch Suzuki rider Dennis Charlett, 43, on each occasion during both thrilling races. Aucklander Karl Morgan (Suzuki) and Australian Josh McGrath (Yamaha) placed fourth and fifth in race one while 15 year old McGrath was fourth in race two, with Rhys Holmes fifth on a Yamaha R6. Hassan and Skachill are tied on 95 points with two races remaining at Wanganui on December 26.  600 Supers winner Glen Skachill corners his Suzuki at ManfeildRace 1: Glen Skachill (Wellington, Suzuki GSXR600), 1; Jaden Hassan (Auckland, Yamaha R6), 2; Dennis Charlett (Christchurch, Suzuki GSXR600), 3; Karl Morgan (Auckland, Suzuki GSXR600), 4; Josh McGrath (Australia, Yamaha R6), 5; Rhys Holmes (Katikati, Yamaha R6), 6. Race 2: Skachill, 1; Hassan, 2; Charlett, 3; McGrath, 4; Holmes, 5; Jamie Galway (Masterton Triumph Daytona 675), 6. Series points after Round 2: Jaden Hassan, 95; Glen Skachill, 95; Dennis Charlett, 80; Karl Morgan, 68; Josh McGrath, 66; Rhys Holmes, 60. Post Classic: In the class Glen Williams of Palmerston North enjoyed success in both heats on his Bimota YB8 1000 to lead the series from Eddie Kattenburg by 14 points, with Sean Donnelly eight points adrift. Race 1: Glen Williams (Palmerston North, Bimota YB8 1000), 1; Eddie Kattenberg (Hawkes Bay, Yamaha FZR1000), 2; Sean Donnelly, (Paraparaumu, Kawasaki GPZ1100), 3; Steve Bridge (Ngaruawahia Norton SBR750), 4; Paul Wootton (Waikanae, Suzuki GSXR1100), 5; Patric Nassbaum (Kerikeri, Kawasaki ZX10), 6. Race 2: Williams, 1; Kattenberg, 2; Donnelly, 3; Wootton, 4; Bridge, 5; Nassbaum, 6. Series points after Round 2; Glen Williams, 102; Eddie Kattenberg, 88; Sean Donnelly, 80; Steve Bridge, 70; Patrick Nassbaum, 62; Webster, 42.
F3 Sportbike: Some
of the best racing of the day was in the class between
Glen Williams, Terry Fitzgerald and Scott Moir, each posting a race win
but the order was always in doubt until they took the chequered flag.
Scott Moir threatened both riders throughout each race on his motocross
powered road race machine, earning second in the opening F3 Sportbike
leg and third in race two. Adam
Unsworth/Stu Dawe of Wanganui were never seriously threatened on their
superior Windle Honda sidecar to make it four wins from as many starts
in the series. The Chris Lawrance/Steve Bryan (Auckland) and Peter
Goodwin/Dion Weedon (Paihia) combinations filled the podium in each leg. Race 1: Glen Williams (Palmerston North, Suzuki SVR650), 1; Scott Moir (Taupo, Honda RSV450), 2; Terry Fitzgerald (New Plymouth, Suzuki SV650), 1; Jason Nairn (New Plymouth, Suzuki SV650), 4; Chris Osborne (Feilding, Ozzy 450R), 5; Gareth Easter (Wellington, Suzuki GSR450) 6. Race 2: Fitzgerald, 1; Williams, 2; Moir, 3; Nairn, 4; Orwin, 5; Osborne, 6. Series points after Round 2: Glen Williams 96; Terry Fitzgerald 87; Jason Nairn 68; Scott Moir, 67; Dean Bentley (Lower Hutt, Suzuki SV650), 60; Daniel Mettam 55.
450 Moto: The category was a thriller in each of their heats, after race one was restarted following a heavy crash by a rider. A blanket could have covered the leading bunch which generally consisted of Richard Dibben, Jayden Carrick (both Wanganui) and Toby Summers (Auckland), with Dibben taking victory in each leg from Summers and Carrick. Scott Birch (Rotorua), Casey Bullock (Taupo), Glen Haden (Wanganui), and Duncan Hart (Tauranga) were never far from the fray. Summers leads the series from Haden heading into the final round at Wanganui by 15 points. Race 1A (3 laps): Richard Dibben (Wanganui, Honda CRF450), 1; Toby Summers (Auckland, Yamaha YZF450), 2; Glenn Haden (Wanganui, Honda CRF450), 3; Scott Birch (Rotorua, Aprilia SXV450), 4; Casey Bullock (Taupo, KTM 450SXF), 5; Duncan Hart (Tauranga, Husqvarna 450RR), 6 . Race 1B (8 laps): Dibben, 1; Summers, 2; Jayden Carrick (Wanganui, Suzuki RMZ450), 3; Haden, 4; Birch, 5; Bullock, 6 Race 2: Dibben, 1; Carrick, 2; Summers, 3; Haden, 4; Bullock, 5; Steven Croad, 6. Series
points after Round 2: Toby Summers, 94; Glenn Haden, 79; Richard
Dibben, 77; Jayden Carrick, 74; Casey Bullock, 63; Duncan Hart, 57. Ultra Lites: Manfeild was the final round for the Ultra Lites series, with the overall title going to Sarah Rosacker of Marton, who held off a good late challenge from Graeme Billington with two Manfeild wins. Race 1: Graeme Billington (Mt Maunganui, Honda CBR250RR), 1; Sarah Rosacker (Marton, Honda CBR250RR), 2; Sam Croft (Paraparaumu, Kawasaki Ninja 250R), 3; Tyler Lincoln (Havelock North, Kawasaki KR150), 4; Aaron Hassan (Auckland, Kawasaki EX250), 5; Alex Hockly, 6. Race 2: Billington,1; Rosacker, 2; Croft, 3; Lincoln, 4; Hassan, 5; Jacob Stroud (Hamilton, 150), 6. Final
Points for Title: Sarah Rosacker, 86; Graeme Billington, 80, Sam
Croft, 74; Aaron Hassan, 62; Jacob Stroud, 53; Aaron Carr, 52.
BEARS Race 1: Rhys Holmes (Katikati, BMW S1000RR), 1; Jamie Galway (Masterton, Triumph Daytona 675), 2; Duncan Coutts (Whangarei, Aprilia RSVR1000), 3; Brent Nelson (Napier, Aprilia RSV4 1000), 4; Darren Love (Australia, Ducati 1198); Matt Meads (Hawera, Ducati 1098), 6. Race 2: Holmes, 1; Galway, 2; Coutts, 3; Nelson, 4; Steve Bridge (Ngaruawahia, Ducati F1 750), 5; Meads, 6. Series
points after Round 2: Rhys Holmes, 98; Jamie Galway, 78; Duncan Coutts,
74; Matt Meads, 51; Brent Nelson, 50; Travis Moan (Auckland BMW
S1000RR), 48; John Oliver (Hawera, Aprilia 550), 48. F1 Sidecars: Race 1: Adam Unsworth/Stu Dawe (Wanganui, Windle F1 1000), 1; Chris Lawrance/Steve Bryan (Auckland, Yamaha R1), 2; Peter Goodwin/Dion Weedon (Paihia, Windle LCR 1000), 3; Des James/Warren Miller (Auckland, Suzuki Applecross), 4; Darren Pate/Karl Verdellen (Katikati, ZX10), 5; Tracey Anderson/Jo Mickleson) Tauranga, Yamaha 600), 6. Race 2: Unsworth/Dawe, 1; Lawrance/Bryan, 2; Goodwin/Weedon, 3; James/Miller, 4; Pate/Verdellen, 5; Anderson/Mickleson, 6. Series points after Round 2: Adam Unsworth/Stu Dawe, 102; Des James/Warren Miller, 76; Darren Pate/Karl Verdellen, 70; Tracey Anderson/Jo Mickleson, 66; Corey Winter/Tim Shepherd (Wanganui, Honda BR 1000), 58. Copy and photos courtesy of Terry Stevenson. |
