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Castrol Honda has picked up its first national title of the summer with talented Oamaru rider Brad Selfe winning Ruapuna\'s 600 Roadbike Grand Prix.
Selfe, 25, rode his Castrol Honda CBR600 production machine superbly in difficult conditions at Ruapuna Park, Christchurch, to pick up his first New Zealand title.
\"It was a day of firsts,\" he said after the championship event. \"My first national title, my first roadbike race win and my first crash of the season,\" the latter aluding to his slide from the CBR while leading the day\'s final Formula Two race.
Selfe was unhurt and retains second place in the F2 championship, for race machines, despite his off. His provisional 105 points holds him ahead of teammate Shaun Harris (New Plymouth) who has 100 as they head for two further rounds in the North Island.
Selfe managed second in the first F2 event today, Harris adding a third in leg two after the disappointment of crashing in the wet while leading leg one, remounting for fifth.
But it was the 600 roadbikes which set the track abuzz with close racing as windy conditions and rain showers challenged riders to choose between wet and dry-weather tyres.
Selfe followed his GP win in leg one with a close second in the later outing, to finish the day in second place on the ladder. Harris, with sixth and fifth placings at Ruapuna, is third overall.
Aucklander Glen Jeffery maintains a provisional fourth in the F2 championship on his Castrol Honda RS250 racebike after fourth and sixth placings at Ruapuna.
Christchurch\'s Hayden Bool and Aucklander Ray Clee filled minor placings in the 600 Roadbike events, Bool riding with a dislocated wrist after a heavy crash at Timaru last week.
Clee ran the big Castrol Honda CBR900 superbike to fourth and fifth placings in the open class.
The championship continues at Pukekohe on 4-5 December, concluding at Manfeild the following weekend.
