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Dennis Charlett and Ray Clee \"owned the racetrack\" at the second round of the Suzuki Road Race Series at Manfeild on May 13.
The two Suzuki riders lived up to their sponsor\'s motto as they took the top two placing\'s in all three Red Baron Motorcycles A Grade races, Aucklander Clee winning each heat on his GSX-R1000 from Palmerston North\'s Charlett on the smaller GSX-R600. Charlett then rode the same bike to outright victory in all three Sport Production races, beating all the big bikes as well as dominating the 600cc class.
Charlett leads both the Red Baron A Grade and 600cc Pirelli Tyres Sport Production series. Daniel Coughey from Rotorua heads the Open Sport Production class on another Suzuki GSX-R1000.
On a warm, pleasant day in the Manawatu, the series again attracted big fields for the different classes but the new AMB electronic timing system - using transponders on the bikes, - as used in Formula One Car racing - produced quick, accurate results.
Charlett had won all the A Grade by Red Baron Motorcycles races in round one at Taupo, and he gave Clee a hurry-up in the first A Grade heat at Manfeild. But the mighty Suzuki 1000 had too much power on the straights and Charlett had to settle for second with his 600, still ahead of all the other big bikes.
Clee scored clearer victories in the other two races, but Charlett was still well clear of the rest of the opposition. Coughey was third overall for the day, just in front of another of the hot little Suzuki 600s, this one in the hands of New Plymouth rider Andrew Bretherton.
Bretherton (Suzuki GSXR600) also finished second to Charlett in all three 600 Pirelli Sport Production races, with third and fourth overall for the day going to two more Suzuki riders, Dave Manuell of Auckland and Bruce Hansen of Hawera.
Hansen stands second in the series ahead of Manuell, who is riding Clee\'s Suzuki GSXR600. Coughey posted two firsts and a second in the Open Sport Production by Suzuki races, being beaten in the first heat by Waikanae rider Bruce Telford on his Robbie Dean Aprilia RSV1000 V-twin. Telford finished second in the other two heats to keep the Italian challenge alive, while Tauranga veteran Robbie Dean finished third overall for the day on another Robbie Dean Aprilia.
Malcolm Bell of Tauranga headed the Formula 3 Plus by Yamaha class with a win and two seconds on his Ducati 900. Scott Griffiths of Palmerston North won the first and third races on his Kawasaki ZXR400, but stopped with a mechanical problem in heat two.
Nelson rider Daniel Jansen won all three 150cc Streetstock races on his NBR Honda NSR150, (only to excluded from that class with an airfilter infringement) but only after some great battles with other riders including James Dean (Suzuki RG150), Paul Thomas (Kawasaki KRR150) and Craig Sullivan (Kawasaki KR150).
James Dean also borrowed father Robbie\'s Aprilia RSV1000 for the Metzeler Tyres B Grade races -- and won all three. Sam Barling took all three Motorcycle Trader & News C Grade races on a Suzuki GSX-R1100, while the D Grade races were cleaned up by David Hands of Palmerston North, who had never been to a racetrack before, and was riding a Yamaha R1 he had ridden to the circuit.
Results will be posted on the website, www.motorcyclesport.co.nz
