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With six victories from six races, Shaun Harris recorded a perfect performance at the second round of the New Zealand championships at Ruapuna, Christchurch, today.
The New Plymouth rider known in the motorcycle workld as \"Gremlin\" took the lead in the Superbike class of the Motorcycle Trader championships, maintained his perfect score in Formula Two, and closed to within one point of the lead in 600cc Sports Production.
Harris, who is in his mid-30s and is probably the oldest of the leading riders, beat racers of the calibre of Tony Rees and Andrew Stroud fair and square on his new Suzuki GSX-R1000 to move ahead of Rees in the Superbike championship.
His races followed a pattern: he got a rocket start, opened a big gap by pushing hard on the opening lap before his tyres were fully warmed up, and then controlled the race to win by a safe margin.
\"I like to be out in front by myself, so I\'m racing the track and not other riders,\" Harris said. \"I watch my pit signals so I know how big the gap is, and concentrate on going just fast enough to win.\"
Reigning champion Dean Fulton of Mt Maunganui was out for the day after he crashed his Kawasaki ZX-7RR hard in heat one and hurt his hand. Rees lost some points when his Yamaha R1 stopped with a small problem in that race, but was able to come back when it was stopped because of Fulton\'s crash and run over two legs.
Christchurch-based international Andrew Stroud won both the Open Sports Production races on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, and rode the same bike to a second and third in the Superbike races. Aucklander Dave Cole looked like causing a big upset when he forced his Ducati 996 through to the lead, but he crashed shortly afterwards.
Fellow Suzuki rider Brian Bernard of Wanganui was second in both the production races, ahead of Rees on his other R1. Rees was philosophical about his unusual lack of victories: \"It hasn\'t been a good day, but you get that,\" he said.
Harris was totally dominant in Formula Two and 600cc Sports Production on his Suzuki GSX-R600, but there were some fierce battles and crashes behind him.
Christchurch rider Hayden Bool finished a fine second in the first F2 heat, but crashed his Yamaha TZ250 heavily in race two. Dennis Charlett of Palmerston North leads F2 on his Suzuki GSX-R600 after posting a second and a third, while Corey Oxenham of Mt Maunganui raced a similar bike to two hard-fought second placings in 600cc Sports Production.
Jason Easton of Foxton again pulled off a double in the 125cc GP class with his Honda RS125, and on the same bike shared victories in F3 with former champion Andy Bolwell of Oamaru, riding a Kawasaki ZXR400.
Colin Buckley and Darren Abrahams were unchallenged in the Sidecars after reigning champions Aaron Lovell and Philip Duthie ran into brake problems with their machine.
The series concludes with two rounds in the North Island in April.
Motorcycle Trader New Zealand road-racing championships, round two, Ruapuna (Christchurch)
Superbike Race one, leg one: Shaun Harris (New Plymouth) Suzuki GSX-R1000,
1; Andrew Stroud (Christchurch) Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2; Dean Fulton (Mt
Maunganui) Kawasaki ZX-9R, 3.
Race one, leg two: Tony Rees (Kawerau) Yamaha
R1, 1; Stroud 2; Harris 3. Harris won overall.
Race two: Harris 1; Rees 2; Stroud 3. Points: Harris 86.5; Rees 77.5;
Stroud 62; Dean Fulton (Mt Maunganui) Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 42.
Formula Two Race one: Harris, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1; Hayden Bool
(Christchurch) Yamaha TZ250, 2; Dennis Charlett (Palmerston North) Suzuki
GSX-R600, 3.
Race two: Harris 1; Charlett 2; Brendon Gare (Timaru) Suzuki GSX-R600, 3.
Points: Charlett 76; Harris 75; Gare 50; Paul Gee (Auckland) Yamaha R6, 42.
Formula Three Race one: Jason Easton (Foxton) Honda RS125, 1; Brent Symes
(Hastings) Honde RS125, 2; Andy Bolwell (Oamaru) Kawasaki ZXR400, 3.
Race two: Bolwell 1; Easton 2; Symes 3. Points: Bolwell 91; Easton 78;
Symes 58; Neil Smith (Blenheim) Yamaha FZR400, 47.
Open Sports Production Race one: Stroud, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1; Brian
Bernard (Wanganui) Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2; Rees, Yamaha R1, 3.
Race two: Stroud 1; Bernard 2; Rees 3. Points: Stroud 90, Rees 82; Bernard
62; Dave Cole (Auckland) Ducati 996, 45.
600cc Sports Production Race one: Harris, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1; Corey
Oxenham (Mt Maunganui) Suzuki GSX-R600, 2; Charlett, Suzuki GSX-R600, 3.
Race two: Harris 1; Oxenham 2; Charlett 3. Points: Harris 100; Oxenham 73;
Charlett 61; Troy O\'Donoghue (Palmerston North) Kawasaki ZX-6R, 51.
125cc GP Race one: Easton, Honda RS125, 1; Symes, Honda RS125, 2; Bruce
Godfrey (Napier) Honda RS125, 3.
Race two: Easton 1; Symes 2; Godfrey 3. Points: Easton 100; Symes 80;
Godfrey 61; Glen Hayward (Christchurch) Honda RS125, 47.
Sidecars Race one: Colin Buckley (Auckland)/Darren Abrahams (Gisborne)
Yamaha 1000, 1; Aaron Lovell/Philip Duthie (Rotorua) Suzuki 1100, 2; Spike
Taylor/Dennis Simonsen (Masterton) Spiker 1100, 3.
Race two: Buckley/Abrahams 1; Lovell/Duthie 2; Taylor /Simonsen 3. Points:
Buckley/Abrahams 95; Lovell/Duthie 85; Taylor/Simonsen 56; Bill Newton/Paul
Newton (Christchurch) Suzuki 1100, 54.
