Motourage

Josh Waters

Josh Waters and Ben Attard have been signed to spearhead Team Suzuki’s Australian Superbike Championship  (ASBK) challenge this year aboard the Phil Tainton Racing-prepared 2012 model Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Waters and Attard will make up the team’s two-rider factory squad in the Superbike ranks aboard the highly-anticipated and updated GSX-R1000. After finishing fifth in the ASBK series last year despite contesting a limited schedule due to international commitments, 2009 champion Waters will enter this year’s series as a clear title contender as he competes in the entire series once again.

“Last year was great with the overseas opportunities, but it was difficult without having the carrot of the championship hanging in front of me at the end of the year,” 24-year-old Waters explained. “This year we’ll try hard and hopefully keep the ball rolling from the final three rounds of 2011.

“I’m really looking forward to riding the new 2012 GSX-R1000; having a new bike to race will be great, so it’s an exciting time as we prepare for the year ahead. Training-wise, I’ve been doing a lot of work with my brothers and will be ready for round one next month.”

Attard showed great promise in taking out the Supersport class of the Australian Endurance Championship for Team Suzuki alongside Brodie Waters and Mitchell Carr in December. After finishing eighth in the ASBK series with multiple podiums last year, he’s now been selected to join Team Suzuki on a full time basis.

“I’m excited that this opportunity has finally come because I’ve been working so hard to get it,” Attard, 31, said. “To be in the top team in Australia and riding the best bike out there is exactly where I hoped to be. I’ve been training hard to get my fitness where it should be, so I just can’t wait to get racing. Read more…

Team Suzuki raced to a one/two finish in the 8 Hour Australian Endurance Championship at the Phillip Island Circuit this weekend.

Superbike team riders Josh Waters, Troy Herfoss and Robbie Bugden claimed the outright and class honors aboard the Phil Tainton Racing-prepared GSX-R1000 with a total of 279 laps and 1241 kilometers completed. Coming in five laps behind them and second outright for the event was Suzuki’s Supersport effort of Brodie Waters, Ben Attard and Mitchell Carr aboard the GSX-R600.

Team Suzuki’s assault proved flawless, with both teams taking out their respective category pole positions on Saturday in the Super Qualifying sessions. Josh Waters was top Superbike and outright qualifier with a time of 1:33.164, while younger brother Brodie set the pace for the Supersport class on 1:36.285, which was good enough for fourth outright.

Team Suzuki dominated Sunday’s endurance event from the outset, with Waters leading the field away in the Le Mans-style start, in which riders sprinted to their bikes to begin the race. From there it was a team effort between Waters, Herfoss, Bugden and the pit crew to lead the race’s entirety to the checkered flag.

Waters claimed the fastest lap of the race on lap 154, posting a 1:34.805-second time to confirm both the speed and the reliability of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 in competition trim.

“My teammates were fantastic and we worked really well together,” Waters explained. “Everybody put in 100 percent and it was a great way to wrap up the 2011 season. It was good fun working with the other riders and I was lucky that I had team mates on my side who are fast and consistent. My experience in the Suzuka 8 Hours this year in Japan with Yoshimura Suzuki played a big part in my preparation for the race and I really enjoy endurance racing. It was definitely an advantage for me and I’m proud to win along with Team Suzuki.”

“We had a great weekend and I felt comfortable working alongside both Mitch and Ben on the team,” added Team Suzuki’s Supersport class rider Brodie Waters. “We pushed hard at the start and then settled into a rhythm, which is important in endurance racing. It is a great reward to win the Supersport class for Suzuki and go one/two outright.”

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Team Mack Trucks Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden topped today’s Superbike practice sessions at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains Raceway. The Queenslander led today’s combined QBE Australian Superbike Championship practice sessions, shooting up the timesheets as the clock ticked down during this afternoon’s final 20-minute session.

With the Superbikes book-ending the day’s proceedings, it looked like the early morning mark of Wayne Maxwell may have stood until a barrage of quick laps came in the closing minutes. But, on lap 13 of practice 2, Bugden set an unanswered best of 54.153” on his GSX-R1000, finding more than half a second since the opening session.

It’s a promising start to the penultimate round for Bugden, 29, who is hopeful of improving the pace of his Team Mack Trucks Suzuki even further tomorrow.

“I’m happy with today’s results but I think there’s still lots more to come from the bike,” said Bugden. “It’s a circuit I really like, very technical, and I knew if we chipped away at it this morning we could sharpen the bike up for this afternoon’s session. I’m just looking forward to getting out there and racing. If it’s dry it’s going to be a fierce, close race, the times today tell that story.”

Positions 1-7 on the overall timesheets were separated by just 0.332”, setting up a thrilling qualifying and opening race tomorrow.

Symmons Plains’ quickest-ever Superbike qualifier, Jamie Stauffer, finished second today, and is doing everything he can to stay in the hunt for the 2011 title. The winner of three of the past four Superbike races will need to keep his eye on the prize if he and his factory Team Honda are to hold off Glenn Allerton, who was a comfortable fifth.

“To be honest the pace wasn’t what I thought it would be, it’s slower than I expected and I think there will be a lot more we can do overnight to get a quicker bike for qualifying,” said Stauffer. “If the weather closes in it changes things. It looks like we will spend at least some of our time this weekend riding in the wet, if it has to be in the races then we’d really like to be able to get a setup tomorrow morning during qualifying. We’re going in the right direction and where we need to be at the moment.”

Josh Waters put his Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 into the top 3, edging out Honda’s Wayne Maxwell by just over one-hundredth of a second.

The difference between the times of Craig Coxhell and Troy Herfoss in sixth and seventh illustrated the evenly-matched affair – there was none. Both riders rounded out the day with a best time of 54.48”, unable to be split on the timesheets.

Brodie Waters was the fastest of the Prostock competitors today, lapping his Team Suzuki machine in 55.862 seconds. Again it’s a case of must-win in this class for Waters, with current leader Linden Magee streets ahead on the points table.

The field will contest two 20-minute qualifying sessions tomorrow morning to determine the order for the eight-rider Superpole shootout.

Grid placings will carry over into the opening 16-lap race, to be held at 1:50PM local time.

Combined Practice Results, Symmons Plains:

1. Robert BUGDEN (QLD) / Team Mack Trucks Suzuki, 54.153
2. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) / Team Honda Racing, 54.192
3. Joshua WATERS (VIC) / Team Suzuki, 54.209
4. Wayne MAXWELL (NSW) / Team Honda Racing, 54.222
5. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) / Procon Maxima, 54.336
6. Troy HERFOSS (NSW) / Team Suzuki, 54.485
7. Craig COXHELL (VIC) / GAS Honda / Demolition Plus, 54.485
8. Ben HENRY (QLD) / CUBE Racing / Australian Outdoor Living / Weld West, 55.772
9. Brodie WATERS (VIC) / Team Suzuki, 55.862
10. Linden MAGEE (QLD) / Coastline Motorrad Racing, 55.928

Andrew Stroud won his third successive New Zealand Suzuki International Tri-Series at Wanganui on December 26. The Suzuki GSX-R1000-mounted Stroud didn’t have it all his own way on the famous Cemetery Circuit however as rivals pushed the Hamiltonian in each of the premier F1 Superbike races.
To win the title, Stroud only needed to finish ahead of street circuit rookie – but main rival – Robbie Bugden. Instead, the 42-year-old father of eight went straight to the front in the opening F1 Superbike race to make a statement of intention. Within a few laps however Kawasaki mounted Nick Cole stormed into the lead, which he held for several laps until Stroud made his winning move and went on to take the checkered flag.

An average start left Craig Shirriffs (Suzuki GSX-R1000) to claw his way up to and then past Australian Dan Stauffer, on a Yamaha, to cross the line third and fourth respectively ahead of BMW’s Sloan Frost. Bugden, a three-time NZ Superbike champion, had a slow start but worked his way up to sixth by race end, leaving Stroud with a more comfortable 14-point buffer before the final race.

The second restart of the final leg proved disastrous for Bugden, who was taken out – along with Nick Cole – by another rider at turn one. Bugden suffered a broken right leg (tibia and fibula) which saw an end to his title aspirations, although Cole made the delayed re-start. With the race underway Stroud lead for the first two corners when a brilliant Stauffer took control of the race to win his debut street race, finishing ahead of Stroud and a charging Shirriffs, with Frost and Cole further back.

Stroud’s second place secured his third successive Suzuki Tri-Series title for Suzuki. Consistent riding from Frost earned second place for BMW, with an injured Bugden third, also for Suzuki.

“It’s good to be winning, and the whole family appreciates it as well, cheering me on – they’re my biggest fans,” said Stroud. “In the first race Nick (Cole) had the pressure on the whole time, and the in the second race Dan Stauffer got in front of me early on and pulled a gap straight away. I was pushing reasonably had trying to catch him but it wasn’t happening, so that was it.”

The Robert Holden Memorial feature race was a thriller between Stroud and Stauffer, with the Australian retaking the lead on the last corner to become the first ever Australian to win the prestigious Robert Holden Memorial trophy.

In the F2 600 category Glen Skachill and his Suzuki GSX-R600 remained unbeaten in all six Suzuki Tri-Series races to win that title, ahead of Dennis Charlett and Karl Morgan.

The massive Wanganui crowd weren’t disappointed with Davide ‘Speedy’ Gozzini’s two 450 Supermoto wins. Gozzini was pushed hard by fellow Italian Andrea Occhini and Kiwi Jayden Carrick in each race yet wrapped up his second championship in as many years. Toby Summers was second in the series with Carrick third.

The Steve Bron/Dennis Simonsen pairing scored two good wins aboard their Suzuki LCR1000 sidecar, ahead of the Adam Unsworth/Stu Dawe and Darryl/Scott Dowman combinations. Bron and Simonsen’s victories were enough to win the series title from last year’s winners Unsworth and Dawe. Des James/Jonathan Shaw were third.
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Team Suzuki rider Troy Herfoss has extended his points lead to 31 in the Australian Supersport Championship after two hard-fought races at the penultimate round of the series at Victoria’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this past weekend.

Herfoss, who started from pole position on his Team Suzuki GSX-R600, was engaged in two thrilling 10-lap races with Christan Casella and Suzuki rider Brodie Waters. The 23 year old, who is only in his second full season of Supersport racing after swapping from Supermoto at the end of 2008, went elbow-to-elbow with his two adversaries in each race at a meeting run in conjunction with a round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

The Team Suzuki rider recorded the fastest lap in race one on his way to a 2.340-second victory over Waters, with Casella third. Waters had led the opening two laps, but Herfoss proved too strong in the latter part of the race.

“I had a couple of scary moments in race one when I nearly hit some seagulls, but I wasn’t sure how close Brodie was behind so I didn’t want to back off,” said Herfoss.  “Then when I came around Turn 12 there was a tortoise trying to cross the track. I was pretty glad to see the checkered flag, that’s for sure.”

In race two Herfoss was engaged in another titanic battle with Casella and Waters, with Waters leading the opening four laps, then Casella the next three, before the Team Suzuki rider forced his way to the front for the next two laps. But a minor error at Turn 10 on the final lap saw Herfoss run slightly wide with Casella eventually winning a drag race to the finish line to take a 0.003sec win in a photo-finish. Waters was 0.967seconds back in third.

“I’m disappointed with my small mistake, but happy to have won the round and extended the championship lead,” said Herfoss.

With one round remaining, Herfoss leads the Australian Supersport Championship with 224pts ahead of Casella with 193 and Waters with 179.

In the Australian Superbike Championship Team Suzuki riders Shawn Giles and Robbie Bugden finished fifth and eighth overall after chasing a set-up they were comfortable with on the fast and challenging 4.45km Victorian circuit. The round was won by Wayne Maxwell from current championship leader Bryan Staring.

Giles, a three-time Australian Superbike Champion, finished fourth and seventh in each race after starting from the second row of the grid. The 40-year-old won an engaging battle with Suzuki rider Scott Charlton and Shannon Johnson in race one by just 0.770sec, but was unable to repeat the result in race two after getting away to a bad start.  Giles’ 31-point haul from the two races sees the Team Suzuki rider just 6.5pts off third overall in the championship.

Bugden, a three-time New Zealand Superbike Champion, finished sixth and eighth in the two 10-lap races in his first outing on the Phillip Island circuit in 2010. Bugden missed the opening round of this year’s Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island in February as he was defending his 2009 New Zealand Superbike title.

With one round remaining Bryan Staring leads the series on 211pts from Wayne Maxwell 192.5, Glenn Allerton 149, Scott Charlton (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 143 and Shawn Giles 142.5.

Missing from the grid for Round Six’s two Superbike races was the Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 of reigning Australian champion Josh Waters, the 23-year-old still recovering from an accident in early July in the USA when testing for the US Suzuki Superbike team. Waters is expected to return for the final round in November.

The series now heads to Tasmania’s Symmons Plains Circuit on November 12-14 for the final round, to be run in conjunction with the V8 Supercars.

Phil Tainton – Team Manager:
“Troy’s performance this weekend again showed maturity beyond his years. For someone in just his second full season of road racing his results have been exceptional. Pole position, a win and a second this weekend have put Troy in a strong position for the 2010 Supersport championship as we head to the final round in Tasmania in November.

“It was a challenging weekend finding a set-up for the Superbike guys, especially with the changeable weather conditions. Phillip Island is a circuit that puts big demands on the rear tires of the Superbikes, and the heat generated through the fast corners is the highest we encounter on any circuit.

Troy Herfoss:
“I’m pleased with the overall weekend result and it’s good to win the round, but I’m disappointed with the small mistake I made in race two that cost me the win. It would have been good to win in front of the big Sunday crowd, although I’ve increased my points lead so I am happy with that because our focus is the championship.

“It was a close battle between Brodie (Waters), Christan (Casella) and myself in race two and I was sitting back planning my move. I wanted the win, not just to ride for the points. But I ran wide at Turn 10, and that allowed Christan to close up and then get by. The bike was awesome and the team did a great job. I’m looking forward to Tassie.”

Shawn Giles:
“I was happy with the opening race, and winning the battle for fourth was a good result. Phillip Island is one of my favorite tracks, but it really punishes the tires because of the high speeds. It’s always a balancing act between grip and making the tires last the distance.

“We made some set-up changes for race two and I was confident of getting on the podium. But I got a bad start and got caught up in the pack in the early laps. The team worked non-stop all weekend, and kept making set-up changes until I had the confidence to push harder. I can’t thank them enough. I had one of the fastest bikes through the speed trap at 307km/h.”

Robbie Bugden:
“It was a challenging weekend for me as I haven’t raced at Phillip Island since the final round in November last year, so it was my first time here on the new control tires. Finding a good set-up on such a fast circuit is always a challenge, and losing a session on Friday because of the wet conditions didn’t help. But we made good progress every time we went out on the circuit.

“It’s just a pity the meeting wasn’t starting Sunday afternoon, as I feel I could have challenged for the podium.”

Josh Waters:
“It’s obviously disappointing not to be racing, but it’s important that I’m fully fit before I get back on the bike. Suzuki won’t let me rush my return because they are focused on my long term racing goals.  Team Suzuki and Suzuki Racesafe have been monitoring my progress and making sure I’ve been getting regular medical attention. I expect to be back on the bike for the final round at Symmons Plains in Tasmania.”

Superbike Overall Results – Round 6: 1 Wayne Maxwell; 2 Bryan Staring; 3 Glenn Allerton; 4 Scott Charlton (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 5 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 6 Jamie Stauffer; 7 Shannon Johnson; 8 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 9 Craig McMartin; 10 Cru Halliday.

Superbike Championship Points (after 6 of 7 rounds): 1 Bryan Staring 211pts; 2 Wayne Maxwell 192.5; 3 Glenn Allerton 149; 4 Scott Charlton (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 143; 5 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 142.5; 6 Jamie Stauffer 127; 7 Shannon Johnson 119; 8 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 115; 9 Josh Waters (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 105.5; 10 John Allen 68.5.

Supersport Overall Results – Round 6 : 1 Troy Herfoss (Suzuki GSX-R600); 2 Christan Casella; 3 Brodie Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600); 4 Ben Burke; 5 Aaron Gobert; 6 Michael Jones; 7 Dylan Mavin; 8 Ryan Taylor; 9 Blake Leigh-Smith (Suzuki GSX-R600); 10 Des Darby.

Supersport Championship Points (after 6 of 7 rounds): 1 Troy Herfoss (Suzuki GSX-R600) 224pts; 2 Christan Casella 193; 3 Brodie Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 179; 4 Aaron Gobert 129; 5 Chris Quinn 128; 6 Ben Burke 119; 7 Ryan Taylor 104; 8 Blake Leigh-Smith (Suzuki GSX-R600) 85; 9 Des Darby 85; 10 Sam Heath 80.

After all but counting himself out, Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing pilot Bryan Staring was able to produce a near perfect lap to claim pole position for the fifth round of the Viking Australian Superbike Championship at Queensland Raceway.

Staring struggled in today’s two 30-minute qualifying sessions and was hopeful of simply securing a front-row start. Midway through Motul Superpole, Staring’s split time suggested he had found some extra pace, and it was confirmed as he stopped the clock with a 1:10.379 lap of the 3.12km circuit, the fastest lap of the day.

Wayne Maxwell came agonizingly close to knocking Staring from the top spot, lapping just nine-hundredths of a second slower than his fellow Honda rider. The Demolition Plus GAS Honda pilot claimed provisional pole after a solid showing in this afternoon’s second qualifying session, and was encouraged despite missing out by such a small margin.

KTM Superbike Team rider Shannon Johnson enjoyed a welcome return to form, qualifying his RC8R in third position with a tidy Superpole lap.
“Qualifying has been a dream run in comparison to the last round, last time we were here we only did 3 laps in qualifying – this time I find myself in third,” said Johnson. “It’s the first time all year we’ve made Superpole and we improved a handful of positions on top of qualifying. It’s a huge credit to all involved in the outfit including KTM and ESG (Evolution Sports Group).
After the last round I was really questioning myself but we worked hard, tried a few things at a test which yielded positive result and here we are.
This is the best the bike has felt all year; it feels good in the turns, which was its weak point in the past. Over race distance this will be a strong point, too.
I’ve already exceeded my goal for the weekend and – who knows – we might just be in a position to take a podium which would be amazing.”

The Valvoline-backed entry of Glenn Allerton made it three Honda CBR1000RR racers on the front row, with the 2008 champ recording a 1:11.300.

CJC Racing Superstock entrant Craig Coxhell made it in to Superpole for the second round in a row and showed the might of the 1000cc BMW machine on Queensland Raceway’s two long straights. He was fifth quickest and heads up the second row of the grid, followed by The Natural Aprilia Racing’s Dan Stauffer, Team Mack Trucks Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden and Ducati Motologic’s Jamie Stauffer who made a small mistake on his flying lap.

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Bryan Staring crosses the line at Queensland

Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing’s Bryan Staring has rocketed from third to first in the race for Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship honors with a clean sweep at Queensland Raceway, host of round three. This morning’s race win was a career first for the 23-year-old from the Gold Coast, but he wasn’t content to stop at one, comfortably winning the second 16-lap battle and the round in the process. Staring’s stellar starts were a key contributor; he was away well from second place on the grid and once in the lead looked unstoppable. The results cap off a weekend in which rider and team went from strength to strength.

“It’s been such an unreal weekend, we kept progressing with what we knew and the bike just kept getting better,” said Staring. “I said yesterday that Wayne (Maxwell) had a clean sweep in the first round, Josh (Waters) in the second and felt it might have been my weekend to have a go too. The team deserves this victory as much as me, they put together an awesome bike in the CBR1000RR.This is my local round now so it’s good to share this with my family and friends.”

Staring collects 50 points for the round and dislodges Demolition Plus GAS Honda’s Wayne Maxwell from the top spot after the Victorian endured a frustrating day. Maxwell finished third in both races, unable to convert yesterday’s blistering qualifying pace into a result today. A despondent Maxwell said there was lots of work to be done before the series returned to the circuit in Ipswich for its next point-scoring round.

“We’ve got a lot of work in front of us, today was a constant struggle,” he said. “We were gifted a few places in that second race when a few of the other bikes dropped out, that was the only positive to come from today. Josh (Waters) and Bryan (Staring) raced hard today and are making this a really tough battle, congratulations to both. We’ll go away and regroup. The team is strong and I have to thank them for all their efforts today.”

Though consistent, Waters’ two second-place finishes weren’t enough to hold on to second place in the title race, and the defending champion said the team would most likely revert to the setup which brought them success at Hidden Valley in April.

“We made a few changes to the bike for the second race which helped, but no one was going to beat Bryan (Staring) today,” said Waters. “The bike was great and the team worked as hard as ever but it just wasn’t our day. We come back here in August and we’ll have a much better idea of where to start with setup from the outset. I’m looking forward to improving on today’s result and most importantly, staying in the hunt for the title.”

Two eventful races changed the complexion of the 2010 championship for a number of leading riders. Problems plagued Ducati Motologic Racing’s Jamie Stauffer, with the two-time winner exiting both races early and taking zero points for the round. The outcome is a slide from fourth to eighth on the standings.

Suzuki riders put in a solid performance across the board, claiming positions 4 through 6 for the round. Brisbane-based rider Team Mack Trucks Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden excelled at his home event, and makes good inroads on his 2010 campaign after missing the opening round. Team Suzuki’s Shawn Giles finished fifth followed by Racers Edge Performance Suzuki rider Scott Charlton.

Valvoline Superbike Team rider and 2008 champion Glenn Allerton launched an attack on the leaders in race two before a mishap put him out of the running and made the final few laps a salvage operation for points.

Gold Coast rider Daniel Stauffer put in his best performance of the season on the new factory Aprilia RSV4, finishing seventh for the round.
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Suzuki Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters, multiple Suzuki Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles, multiple Suzuki New Zealand Superbike Champion Robbie Budgen and Suzuki Supersport Rider Troy Herfoss will be available at Springwood Suzuki to meet and sign autographs for fans.

Meet Robbie Budgen and other Suzuki champions at Springwood Suzuki in Underwood, Queensland on June 3

Venue: Springwood Suzuki

Address: 112 Kingston Road, Underwood QLD

Date: Thursday 3 June 2010

Time: 7:00pm to 8:00pm

You can also register to win a Suzuki Superbike two-up Ride with Shawn Giles on Saturday 5 June and general admission passes for Australian Superbike Championship Round 3, taking place in Queensland Raceway for the same weekend.

Stroud can’t afford to relax

by Andy McGechan www.BikesportNZ.com

With just four races to go to decide where the national superbike title heads this season, it is not the time to back off and play it safe.  Quite the contrary, as championship leader Andrew Stroud (Brother Suzuki) would tell you.

Robbie Bugden leads Andrew Stroud and Craig Shirriffs. Photo by Andrew Bright, Championship Digital

The Hamilton rider is just 13 points in front of defending champion Robbie Bugden (Triple R Suzuki) at the top of the superbike standings and he’ll be pushing hard for more wins at the series’ penultimate event, the fourth round of five in this season’s Castrol Power 1 New Zealand Superbike Championships at Manfeild this weekend.
“I’m not far enough in front to be relaxing just yet,” said the 42-year-old Stroud, determined to win back the title he last held in 2006.

Stroud knows Australia’s Budgen is a fierce adversary. The Brisbane rider is used to winning races – having won the New Zealand title for the past three seasons – although he hasn’t had it all his own way in 2010. There are two races for the superbike class at Manfeild on Sunday and a further two at the final round at Hampton Downs, near Meremere, to wrap up the series
“If I finish behind Robbie in these final four races, he’ll be leading the championship at the end … I know I can’t afford to let that happen,” said Stroud.

Meanwhile, Christchurch rider James Smith is on target for double celebration as he sits in a podium position in two classes, third overall in the superbikes class and on the top step in the 600cc Sports Production class. The 30-year-old printer shared the day’s overall honours with Hamilton’s Nick Cole (Kawasaki) at the previous round at Levels Raceway, just outside Timaru, last month and was therefore able to maintain his six-point advantage at the top of the standings. But, like Bugden, Cole is not a rival to be taken lightly. Cole has actually won more races in the 600cc class than Smith. Cole has won four of the six races thus far but a DNF thanks to a broken drive chain at round two has proved very costly in the Waikato man’s drive to nail down his first championship.

Foxton’s Jason Easton (Aprilia Tigcraft) is within just 11 points of defending champion Glen Williams (Suzuki), of Palmerston North, in the Formula Three class, while Dannevirke’s Geoff Booth (Suzuki) continues to lead the 650 Pro Twins class, albeit now by just three points from Christchurch’s James Hoogenboezem. Meanwhile, Hoogenboezem’s bother, Alastair (Honda), is still the man to beat in the 125GP class, a massive 69 points in front of Auckland teenager Jaden Hassan (Yamaha).

In the sidecars class, Wanganui men Stephen Bron and Dennis Simonsen (Suzuki) comfortably lead from Canterbury pair Dave Annan and Warwicks Demmocks (Suzuki).

While we in the U.S. were freezing our dupas off this weekend, they were racing in New Zealand. Round 3 of the New Zealand Superbike Championships were at the Timaru International Motor Raceway on Jan 30 and 31.

Results from selected races are as follows. Stay tuned for more NZSBK race reports

Superbike Race 1:
Andrew Stroud
Robbie Bugden
Craig Shirriffs (New Lap Record 1.03.788)
James Smith
Hayden Fitzgerald

Superbike Race 2:
Robie Bugden
Andrew Stroud
Craig Shirriffs
Hayden Fitzgerald
James Smith

125GP Race 1:
Eric Oliver-Maxwell
Gordon Hastings
Adam McCutcheon
Jaden Hassan
Colin Hastings

125GP Race 2:
Alistair Hoogenboezem
Jared Hassan
Eric Oliver-Maxwell
Avalon Biddle

125GP Race 3:
Eric Oliver-Maxwell
Gordon Hastings
Adam McCutcheon
Jaden Hassan
Colin Hastings
Glen Orwin
Angela Buunk

Sidecar Race 1:
Stephen Bron/ DennisSimosen (New Lap Record 1:11.512)
Dave Annan/ Warwicks Demmocks
Peter Goodwin/ Pion Weedon
Graeme Harris/Colin Grace
Bill Newton/ Paul Bolton
Brent Hall / Phil Tomkins

Sidecar Race 2:
Stephen Bron/ DennisSimosen
Dave Annan/ Warwicks Demmocks
Peter Goodwin/ Pion Weedon
Graeme Harris
Bill Newton/ Paul Bolton
Brent Hall / Phil Tomkins

Sidecar Race 3:
Stephen Bron/ DennisSimosen
Peter Goodwin/ Pion Weedon
Dave Annan/ Warwicks Demmocks
Bill Newton/ Paul Bolton
Brent Hall / Trevor Stokes

600SP Race 1:
Nick Cole (New Lap Record 1.05.320)
James Smith
John Ross
Glen Skachill
Karl Morgan
Dennis Charlett

600SP Race 2:
James Smith
Nick Cole
John Ross
Karl Morgan
Jay Lawrence
Dennis Charlett

Other Timaru lap records set this weekend:
Geoff Booth 650 Pro Twin 1.09.711
Jason Easton F3 1.08.609
Jaden Hassan 125GP 1.09.294

Current Timaru lap records: UPDATED 31/1/2010
Superbike: Andrew Stroud    1.03.598
600SP: Nick Cole                    1.04.809
F3: Jason Easton                    1.08.501
650 Pro-twin: Geoff Booth      1.09.771
125GP: Alastair Hoogenboezem  1.08.396
Sidecar: Steve Bron/Dennis Simonsen 1.11.512
Street Stock:  Johnny Small   1.17.891
Motards: Leighton Selfe  1.12.606
Clubmans: Mark Taylor  1.10.781