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FORMER World 500 Motocross Champion Shayne King battled it out with some of New Zealand\'s top level road-racers at Taupo last weekend, and came away triumphant in the all-new Bike Mart Supermoto class.
Earlier, King had confessed to \"feeling a little rusty\" in this sort of competition, not having competed on tarmac for several years.
But as one of the coaches in the morning practice sessions, he soon worked out how to deal to the road-racers, at the same time quite generously passing on tips on off-road riding style and race technique to those new to the Supermoto concept – which was most of the 60-strong field.
Staged by enthusiastic advertising man, Todd Sutherland with the backing of used motorcycle market place publication Bike Mart, New Zealand\'s inaugural Supermoto event attracted a broad cross section of road and off-road riders.
Taupo\'s Centennial Park Raceway provided a perfect venue, with dirt sections marked out on the in-field to provide a course that was 70 per cent tarmac and 30 per cent dirt – a sort of motorcycling equivalent of the car world\'s Rally Cross.
King won the first two A-Grade races on his KTM SX520 fitted with road wheels and tyres, but had no answer for a determined Aucklander Stephen Briggs (KTM SX380) in the final race.
Briggs, better known as the rider of Bill Buckley\'s three cylinder two-stroke grand prix BSL500, improved in every outing. He finished third behind King and Simon Turner in the first race, scored the runner-up spot in race two before diving deep into the hairpin at the start of the final race, seizing the lead and racing away to the win.
Another road-racer took third overall on the day and for four times New Zealand Champion Dave Cole, it was a return to his Pahiatua roots. He first tried road-racing on a converted dirt bike before switching to specialist road-racing machines.
But back on a dirt bike, a Yamaha WR426F fitted with road wheels and tyres, Cole started off cautiously in the still damp first race, with a seventh place finish. With his confidence boosted, he then scored 4-3 finishes in the second and third races.
Despite still recovering from a broken wrist sustained six weeks earlier, Simon Turner (Napier) grabbed fourth overall on his Swedish Husaberg FS650, despite sitting out the final race after banging his ankle in the second outing. But his 2-3 placings were enough to keep him ahead of cross-country and enduro ace Mark Whyte\'s Suzuki DR-Z400.
Whyte (Paeroa) missed practice due to work commitments but surprised many with the 399cc Suzuki\'s turn of speed. But for a mis-cue in the second race that saw him finish 13th, he would have been challenging Cole for third overall for the day.
As it was, he pulled off the most impressive passing manoeuvre of the meeting, racing right around the outside of Cole in the final turn of the last race to grab third.
However, his good friend Tony Rees (Kawerau) didn\'t fare as well. After finishing fifth in the first race, Rees crashed his Yamaha YZ426F in the transition from the dirt to the tar in race two. Although he re-mounted, he finished out of the points in 17th place.
The seven times New Zealand champ was battered and bruised, but took his place on the line for the final race anyway. An eighth place finish was enough to lift him to 10th overall for the day.
\"I really enjoyed that, \" a smiling Shayne King said afterwards. \"I hadn\'t raced on tarmac for a while so initially I was a bit slow there, but I started to get the hang of it,\" he added.
He admitted that the Taupo event was a good way to get in some practice in Supermoto competition, as he has his eyes on a place in the World Supermoto Championship when it comes to New Zealand in November.
Briggs too says he is keen on being selected to represent New Zealand for the November event, which is the final round of the World series, hinting that he may consider a switch from his two-stroke KTM 380 to a purpose-built KTM four-stroke.
RESULTS
Bike MART Supermoto
Centennial Park, Taupo
Kiwi Rider - A Grade
1, Shayne King 1-1-2 (KTM SX520) 70 points
2, Stephen Briggs 3-2-1 (KTM SX380) 60
3, Dave Cole 7-4-4 (Yamaha WR426F) 39
4, Simon Turner 2-3-dns (Husaberg FS650) 37
5, Mark Whyte 3-13-3 (Suzuki DR-Z400) 36
6, Kendrick Younger 6-6-5 (Kawasaki KX500) 31
7, Rodney Knapp 8-5-8 (Kawasaki KX500) 28
8, Craig Flood 10-7-10 (Honda XR650) 25
9, Peter Hewer 11-8-9 (Honda XR650) 20
10, Tony Rees 5-17-8 (Yamaha WR426) 19
11, Nigel Healey 12-9-13 (KTM SX520) 14
12, Darrin Wilson 13-15-10 (KTM SX520) 10
13, Brent Neilson 16-11-11 (KTM SX380) 10
14, Jarrod Harris 14-12-15 (Massey 660) 7
15, Trevor Bell 9-dns-17 (Honda CRF450) 7
Bike Mart - B Grade
1, Wayne Jennings 1-1-1 (Yamaha WR426F) 75
2, Campbell McLean 10-2-2 (Honda XR650) 46
3, Brendon Stephenson 3-5-5 (KTM SX520) 39
4, Greg Boyd 4-4-7 (honda XR650) 39
5, Craig Sullivan 19-3-4 (Yamaha WR426F) 32
6, Lloyd McKay 9-6-4 (Honda XR650) 32
7, Daniel Williamson 5-7-8 (Kawasaki KX500) 28
8, Shane Howell 7-8-6 (Husqvarna TC610) 27
9, Brent Symes 2-0-0 (Honda CRF450) 20
10, Darryl Jeffs 12-9-12 (Honda CR480) 15
11, Craig Morrison 6-11-dns (Honda CR250) 15
12, Mark Reynolds 18-10-10 (Yamaha XT500) 12
13, Bruce Morrisey 13-18-7 (KTM 360EXC) 10
14, Richard Grimmett 14-19-11 (Honda XR650) 7
15, Derek McAdam 9-dns-dns (Husqvarna TC610) 7
Tim Gibbes Timing - C Grade
1, Mark Hatton 2-1-1 (Honda XR650) 70
2, Moose Murphy 3-3-2 (Honda XR650) 44
3, Gavin Cameron 4-2-7 (Honda XR650) 44
4, Paul Applesey 5-4-3 (Kawasaki KX500) 43
5, Mark Huston 8-6-5 (KTM 640 LC4) 29
6, Scott Shannon 6-0-4 (Honda XR650) 25
7, Cloud Craig-Smith 1-0-0 (Yamaha WR426F) 25
8, Michael Bond 7-6-0 (Honda XR650) 20
9, Richard Luvsford 0-0-6 (KTM 620) 10
10, Craig Brown 7-0-0 (Husqvarna 500) 7
