    |
 |
|
|
|
Photo - Andrew Stroud, the current champion is 36 points adrift, in sixth place after a disastrous showing at Ruapuna.
Photo courtesy of Andy McGechan:
Email Andy: He may have a photo of you in his extensive files?
The cream of New Zealand’s road racers have moved to the deep south and round two of the Motorcycle Trader & News NZ Road Race Championships at Teretonga Raceway, just outside Invercargill this weekend.
Unfortunately the bad weather which hampered round one last weekend at Ruapuna Park seems to have moved south with the circus. Although some riders may be praying for rain, the inconsistent weather doesn’t benefit anyone.
Isle of Man TT winner, Bruce Anstey, home for the summer, is proving that coming straight out of a Northern hemisphere racing season, is a marked advantage over riders who haven’t raced in months.
Anstey (Suzuki) leads the Suzuki Superbike Championship by 9 points from Auckland’s Ray Clee on another Suzuki with Whakatane’s Tony Rees (Yamaha) a further 7 points back in third.
Current Champion Andrew Stroud (Suzuki) is 36 points adrift in sixth place after a disastrous showing at Ruapuna.
Any of the top riders could win on the day, so Anstey will be watching, Rees, Stroud and Clee very closely, not to mention the Honda pairing of Hamilton’s Jared Love and Tauranga’s Dean Fulton.
Like the Superbikes the SsangYong NZ 600 Sports Production class is wide open. Last weekend we saw three different winners, leaving New Plymouth’s Shaun Harris (Suzuki) and Hamilton’s Andrew Stroud (Suzuki) joint leaders on the points table, with Timaru’s Johnny Hepburn (Kawasaki) just four points behind in third. This class also has a great depth of talent with the top three being chased by the likes of 2002 Champion Palmerston North’s Craig Shirriffs and young guns Hayden Fitzgerald (New Plymouth), Karl Morgan (Auckland) and local boy Dominic Jones all on Suzukis.
Other classes to be contested are 125cc Grand Prix, 250cc Grand Prix, Formula Three and Sidecars.
Everyone will be hoping for clear weather or at least consistent weather. With the fields entered the racing will be fantastic what ever happens.
Prepared by Motorsport Network Ltd.
