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Photo - The Honda Team, fueling up and swapping riders:
Courtesy Terry Stevenson:
JaredLove.com: - Press Release:
There was action aplenty during the Motorcycle Distributors 300 Endurance race at Pukekohe Park Raceway on Sunday. Castrol Honda rider Dean Fulton qualified the Jared Love/Dean Fulton shared CBR1000RR Fireblade in third place on the grid, behind pole sitter Andrew Stroud (Suzuki), and Tony Rees (Yamaha). Race day Sunday brought heavy rain then intermittent showers. Fortunately the track dried just prior to the start, allowing the lead teams to fit slick tyres front and rear.
Stroud led from the front following a Le Mans start, but not for long. Hard charging Castrol Honda rider Jared Love also made a good start and set a hectic pace to close down and pass the race leader by the fifth lap. Tony Rees wasn’t far behind. The high speed freight train began passing each other often three times per lap, with Stroud baulked twice in as many laps at Castrol as he tried to pass slower riders – each time allowing Love to attack and re-take the lead. The battle up front continued with each rider leading at some point until Stroud pulled a slight gap, which he narrowly held with riding partner Ray Clee until race end.
The drama behind continued as Love brought the Castrol Honda in for refueling at the 30 minute mark, with Fulton taking charge. The lead swayed briefly between teams as each rider pitted for gas, with Stroud, Rees and Fulton the race order until a rejuvenated Love took over again and closed the Castrol Honda to within 13 seconds of the leaders, setting a new track record of 55.8 seconds, before pitting for a final burst by Fulton with a fresh Michelin rear.
While the new tyre was being fitted and the tank refilled, the Pace car came onto the track due to a crashed rider. But while leaving the Pit Lane exit, Fulton passed Rees without knowing the circuit was under a yellow flag – and suffered a 20 second penalty. Light rain during the final stages of the race left the circuit slippery. Fulton was on the charge and closing until he ran off the track with three laps to go, due to dirt left on the track from a fallen rider. The bike fell over in the soft dirt, forcing Fulton to pit for re-scrutineering where Love completed the final two laps to secure third position.
After the race Love said, “The result wasn’t what we wanted as we had a realistic chance of winning. We had a real good effort from our team and the bike went really well. We definitely had more power at the top end. We had the proper Superbike, they (Stroud/Clee) had a road bike here which has had no development, and the same with Tony Rees – it’s a credit to them. We tried some new Michelin’s today and boy were they wicked! With some good development and continual testing our team with be a dominant factor next year.”
(When Jared Love was asked about their bad luck - he quipped "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I Liked that.)
Fulton said, “Jared and I had a pretty good innings. The bike went fine. We didn’t quite get our suspension how we wanted it for these conditions, as people would have seen a bit of a wobble down some of the straights. We just hung in there and rode around it. I feel a bit robbed at the moment as they pinged me on a 20 second penalty for passing Tony leaving Pit Lane. I didn’t realise it, and still don’t believe there is not a yellow flag in Pit Lane.”
NZ Endurance title and Superbike results;
Stroud/Clee (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 119 laps:
Rees (Yamaha R1), 119 laps:
Love/Fulton (Honda CBR1000RR), 118 laps.
600cc Sports Production class;
Craig Shirriffs/Karl Morgan (Suzuki GSX-R600), 115 laps:
Dominic Jones (GSX-R600), 114 laps:
Derek McAdam/Troy Odonoghue (Kawasaki ZX-6RR), 114 laps.
Full Results
