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A blotted copy book and drama from a wet-dry circuit, headlined the penultimate round of the seven round Suzuki Road Race Series at Taupo today, Sunday, August 27th.
Brian Bernard, until this event had won every race in the Pirelli Open Sports Production races, but a drying track with wet & dry patches, caught him & several other riders in the first race. For the first time in the series the Wanganui racer had not made a perfect score in this class, not very gracefully “unloading”.
And the pain kept on coming when he was only 4th & 2nd in the next two races in the class, as well as having to sit out the very next race on the Red Baron Motorcycles race programme, the Shoei Helmets A Grade.
In the meantime Mt. Wellington’s Lance Lowe had a field day, taking up the perfect score in the Open Sport Production races on his Ridgleys Motorcycles Suzuki GSR750, narrowing Bernard’s lead to just 44 points, and a theoretical chance of taking the class win overall from Bernard.
The high drama didn’t stop here either. In the first Shoei Helmets A grade race, no fewer than three riders slid to the ground, caused by partially wet & dry patches on the Taupo circuit soaked by overnight rain. Glen Williams (Kawasaki ZX6R) from Auckland capitalized on this opportunity and won two of the three A grade races, but fell in the 3rd race, when Bernard had “regained his breath” to win again, but hounded all the way by Hutt Valley’s Craig Gollop (Suzuki GSR750).
The buzz continued with the popular Streetstock 150 class. Class leader in the series Derek McAdam (Wellington) had changed from a KR150 to a KRR150 Kawasaki, a slightly upmarket version.
But, Craig Shirriffs from Feilding showed that not only brother Kris could win these races, but so could he. Craig, riding the same Bill Ware Suzuki RG150 as Kris had previously, won all three of the races, the first two by less than a second, & the third after a technical check revealed the Honda NSRR150 of Daniel Jansen, which crossed the line first, had no air filter element, against the rules in this class. However, McAdam still leads the class overall from Auckland’s Graeme Parr (Kawasaki KR150) & Tauranga’s Grant Waddicor (Suzuki RG150).
By now the circuit had dried completely & sun came out, enabling the B, C & D classes to gather more momentum. Te Kuiti’s Danny McIndoe riding his Suzuki GSXR1100, faltered in the first race for only a 6th, while “well over 50” Jim Fulton (Kawasaki ZXR400) flew away in the lead, followed by a ninth & a second.
McIndoe however, regained his footing to win the 2nd & 3rd races, and now leads this Kiwi Rider/Bike Mart class by 50 points.
Always the Motorcycle Trader & News supported C Grade races find a different winner and different challenger. This time, Brent Symes for Hawkes Bay rolled out on a Honda Motocross bike, to win all three races, with newcomer Bjorn Taylor (Mt. Maunganui) & his Honda VTR1000 scoring a fourth & two second places. But steadily piling on points throughout the series, Jeff Croot from Wanganui (Honda VFR400) comfortably leads the class, by scoring 2nd, 3rd & 5th places today.
One of the seven lady riders in the series, Palmerston North’s Sally Steadman, riding a Nelson Bays Honda RS125, won the Shaft Motorcycles D Grade race, by just one point from newcomer Palmerston North’s Joshua Sage (Honda NSR250). The ever increasing influx of new riders into the 2000 Suzuki Road Race Series has created this new class, and with 202 riders on the track today, it provides the ideal spring board into road racing.
With the points difference now narrowed to just 2 points, the Honda supported Formula 3 Plus class aspirants from Tauranga, Glen Tanner (Honda VFR400) & Bill van den Hoven (Yamaha FZR400) wished the other challengers would go away. Dean Fulton returned to the series on his father’s Kawasaki ZXR400, winning all three races, while Wanganui’s Craig Scott riding a Kawasaki KX500 motocross bike was second in the first race, fifth in the second, before crying enough. However, each time Van den Hoven beat Tanner by just one place, narrowing the gap to be fought out yet again at the final round at Manfeild on Sunday Sept 24th.
The combined 125GP & 250 Production class saw Brent Symes & his Whitaker Honda RS125 win all 3 races from Aucklander Dave Manuell, (Suzuki RGV250), but it’s still Palmerston North’s Regaan Griffith’s who leads the class by 37 points from Symes, Dean Russo (Upper Hutt) still clinging to 3rd place on his Suzuki RGV250.
Roll on the final at Manfeild on Sunday Sept. 24th, when every class could still see a leader change.
The 2000 Suzuki Road Race Series is proudly supported by – Yamaha, Shaft Motorcycles, Blue Wing Honda, Kiwi Rider, Suzuki, Red Baron Motorcycles, Aprilia Motorcycles, Bike Mart, Kawasaki, Motorcycle Trader & News, RK Chain, Shoei Helmets, & Pirelli, the best Sports production tyre.
