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Motorcycle racer Shaun Harris enjoyed the best day of his long career at the opening round of the New Zealand championships at Teretonga, Invercargill, today.
The New Plymouth rider, nicknamed \"Gremlin\" because of his resemblance to a TV character of that name, scored four wins and a third from five completed races, and is thought to have scored the world\'s first race victory for Suzuki\'s brand-new GSX-R1000.
Harris completed the day in style by beating favourite Tony Rees in the second Superbike race. \"When you\'ve beaten Tony fair and square you know you\'ve done good,\" he said.
\"I\'m so happy -- this is the best day\'s racing of my life,\" Harris, who is in his mid-30s, said.
On his other bike, a Suzuki GSX-R600, he won both 600cc Sports Production races and one Formula Two heat, having to pull out of the other F2 event because rapidly changing weather left him with the wrong front tyre for the conditions.
Rees acknowledged that Harris had earned his victory in the second superbike race, but was happy enough with his own score of three wins and one second placing on his pair of Yamaha R1s. The Kawerau rider finished the day leading the two big-bike classes of the Motorcycle Trader series, Superbike and Open Sports Production.
Reigning Superbike champion Dean Fulton of Mt Maunganui posted a second and third in his class, riding a Kawasaki ZX-9R.
International rider Andrew Stroud of Christchurch was also armed with a new Suzuki GSX-R1000 and scored two seconds in Open Sports Production, pressing Rees hard at times. He rode the same bike, in standard form, to fourth in both the Superbike races.
Like all the other riders, Stroud said he was troubled by the very strong winds, which wrecked some tents in the pits. \"I had to back off on the straight sometimes because the front wheel was coming off the ground and getting blown sideways,\" he said.
Brad Selfe of Oamaru gave the new fuel-injected Honda CBR600 its world debut win in the first F2 race, but a crash in the second race put him out for the rest of the day.
Andy Bolwell of Oamaru won both the F3 races on his Kawasaki ZXR400, and Jason Easton of Foxton also pulled off a double in the 125cc GP heats with his Honda RS125. In Sidecars, reigning champions Aaron Lovell and Philip Duthie beat Colin Buckley and Darren Abraham in heat one but the positions were reversed in heat two.
The second meeting in the four-round series will be at Ruapuna next weekend.
Motorcycle Trader New Zealand road-racing championships, round one, Teretonga (Invercargill)
Superbike
Race one: Tony Rees (Kawerau) Yamaha R1, 1; Dean Fulton (Mt Maunganui)
Kawasaki ZX-9R, 2; Shaun Harris (New Plymouth) Suzuki GSX-R1000, 3; Andrew
Stroud (Christchurch) Suzuki GSX-R1000, 4; Ray Clee (Auckland) Suzuki
GSX-R1000, 5.
Race two: Harris 1; Rees 2; Fulton 3; Stroud 4; Clee 5. Points: Rees 45;
Harris 41; Fulton 36; Stroud 26; Clee 22.
Formula Two
Race one: Brad Selfe (Oamaru) Honda CBR600, 1; Dennis Charlett (Palmerston
North) Suzuki GSX-R600, 2; Mark Whyte ((Waikato) Suzxuki GSX-R600, 3.
Race two: Harris, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1; Charlett 2; Troy O\'Donoghue
(Palmerston North) Kawasaki ZX-6R, 3. Points: Charlett 40; Selfe and Harris
both 25; Whyte and Paul Gee (Auckland) Yamaha R6 both 24.
Formula Three
Race one: Andy Bolwell (Oamaru) Kawasaki ZXR400, 1; Aaron Baines
(Christchurch) Yamaha FZR400, 2; Mike Edwards (Taupo) Kawasaki ZXR400, 3.
Race two: Bolwell 1; Jason Easton (Foxton) Honda RS125, 2; Neil Smith
(Blenheim) Yamaha FZR400, 3. Points: Bolwell 50; Easton 33; Edwards 29;
Smith 25.
Open Sports Production
Race one: Rees, Yamaha R1, 1; Stroud, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2; Dave Cole
(Auckland) Ducati 996, 3.
Race two: Rees 1; Stroud 2; Cole 3. Points: Rees 50; Stroud 40; Cole 32.
600cc Sports Production
Race one: Harris, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1; Selfe, Honda CBR600, 2; Charlett,
Suzuki GSX-R600, 3.
Race two: Harris 1; Corey Oxenham (Mt Maunganui) Suzuki GSX-R600, 2;
O\'Donoghue, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 3. Points: Harris 50; Oxenham 33; Charlett 29;
O\'Donoghue 25.
125cc GP
Race one: Easton, Honda RS125, 1; Brent Symes (Hastings) Honda RS125, 2;
Steve Groome (Christchurch) Honda RS125, 3.
Race two: Easton 1; Symes 2; Bruce Godfrey (Napier) Honda RS125, 3. Points:
Easton 50; Symes 40; Godfrey 29.
Sidecars
Race one: Aaron Lovell/Philip Duthie (Rotorua) Suzuki 1100, 1; Colin
Buckley (Auckland)/Darren Abrahams (Gisborne) Yamaha 1000, 2; WH Newton/PW
Newton (Christchurch) Suzuki 1100, 3.
Race two: Buckley/Abrahams 1; Lovell/Duthie 2; Newton/Newton 3. Points:
Lovell/Duthie and Buckley/Abrahams both 45; Newton/Newton 32.
