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It may have been the final round, but it created several firsts along the way!
Certainly an Australasian first, and possibly a world first, Suzuki\'s new grunt machine, the 1300cc Hayabusa (the name of a peregrine falcon native to Japan which also speeds at 300 kph) won it\'s first Open Sport Production race at the final round of the 1999 Suzuki Road Race Series.
Another first was the appearance of two Italian made Aprilia motorcycles. In the Streetstock 150 Class, a new Aprilia RS125 won three out of three races on it\'s first outing, with Tauranga\'s veteran Robbie Dean on board. Then Robbie climbed aboard yet another new to New Zealand bike the Aprilia RSV Mille 1000cc in the Open Sport Production class sizing up the opposition with a demo bike, to get more serious later on in the Battle of the Streets races. Nevertheless, he scored 8th and 9th in two races.
Then to top off the firsts, the enitre Suzuki Road Race Team for the coming summer season debuted on new bikes and livery. The team comprises Brian Bernard, John Hepburn from Timaru riding a Hayabusa, Jared Love from Hamilton on a GSXR750, and Andrew Bretherton, New Plymouth, and Craig Shirriffs, Feilding on GSXR600s.
It was Brian Bernard from Wanganui who set the pace alight with the Hayabusa first. After securing both the Suzuki Open Sport Production and the RK chains A grade series classes with his tried and trusted Suzuki TLR1000, he climbed aboard the fire breathing 1300cc Hayabusa to win the 2nd and 3rd Open Sports Production races from fellow teamster Jared Love riding a fuel injected Suzuki GSXR750 - both times after a brute force struggle for supremacy by both the Wanganui and Hamilton riders.
Race 1 of the 600cc Sports Production class saw Palmerston North\'s Warren Turner (Yamaha R1) win and consolidate his series first placing, but then on came Clee and the Castrol Honda. In scintillating form after a spell in Australia, Kumeu\'s Ray Clee showed a clean set of Michelins to the rest of the field with his Castrol Honda CBR600. Then climbing onto his Castrol Honda CBR900 Fireblade to win the first, then third places in the other two RK chains A grade races, to be bested by just one point by Jared Love overall on the day. Bernard had already clinched the series A title.
Tony Bond from Napier needed every trick in the book to win overall the Shoei Helmets B grade with his Buell S1 Lightning. Without a wet track on which he revels, Tony placed only 12th in the first two races, badly needing points in the final race to clinch the series win. Hanging it all out the monster Buell was in danger of being beaten by Newlands Jarrod Wintle (Honda NSR250), who was scoring consistent podium places. It came down to the last race. Bond and the Buell placed 6th in the final to clinch the series clas win by just 3 points from Wintle. On the day however, it was local Palmerston North boy John McKeagg surprising everyone with 3 wins on his rarely raced Honda VTR1000.
With more than 195 riders at the final, the series hosted 879 riders! Another first?
More information available from
Tim Gibbes, Box 1132, Palmerston North
Phone & Fax (06) 353 0750. Mobile (025) 422 662.
E-mail : timgibbes@clear.net.nz
