| Stop Press! » | Visitor's Bits » | MyLaps results » | Actrix Vic RR Series '10 | Road Racing 2010/11 » | Those were the days! » | Cemetery Circuit, 2009 & Tri Series | MX / SX » |
|
 | Rider reports
Hello everyone, from Rob, father of Jake Lewis in the VB Racing Team. It's been great news that S i m o n f r o m D a r b i Accessories has come on board with some great help offered, Bill and Ann again from Budget Motorcycle Spares also have confirmed to continue the great help they've been giving Jake right from the start. Bob McCleary of Bob McCleary Yamaha in Rangiora have also indicated support of young Jake in his up coming season also which is really fantastic from all these business's in such hard economic time's, thanks. As Jake has said he also has finally had his cast removed from his wrist, he has been to a number of great sport's med people for help with muscular massage and sport's physio, Brad at QEII Sport's Med has been great organising a soft sport's cast and brace for when Jake is riding in the next few months, the break seemed to heel really well, as the likes of Tim McArthur said to Jake this break to the wrist can be a really uncomfortable break but it has seemed to nit really well by the x-rays. Some really exciting times ahead for Jake with a few rides in Australia planned before the summer series and of course the big news of being accepted to try out to qualify for the 2011 Road to Redbull Rookies Cup, Jake is really excited about this and the opportunity has been given, he has been following the Redbull Rookies this season closely and has been receiving some really good in depth e-mail from each race from Peter Clifford which is great. He contacted Michaela from Redbull Rookies to find out if they new yet which track they will test on but she said they don't choose the track until closer to the end of the year, he is so anxious to know what track or tracks they may go to. Well between now and then Jake will be getting as much riding in and plenty of training in to, to be as competitive as he can with the other 50 odd youngsters from all over the globe that have been chosen too. Well until we find out some more info on the season ahead, I hope this finds eve-ryone well. As soon as we have some more information and up-dates on the Redbull Rookies Cup selection I will keep you up to date through these great newsletters Maarty for-wards to you all. Rob Castrol Honda Colours Fly High Honda Racing’s Road Race Team finished their For the first two rounds at Ruapuna and Teretonga Feilding’s Craig Shirriffs had been riding his Honda CBR1000RR in plain white livery and there was considerable discussion about what to call it, after Shirriffs received is new nickname “Windy” after being blown from the track by a wind gust during the “Burt Munro” event in November. Meanwhile New Plymouth’s Hayden Fitzgerald had his CBR1000RR in the traditional “Castrol Green, Red and White” The Team had had limited success with Shirriffs having problems with his helmet visor during round one and was forced to ride his second bike at round two after his number one bike developed an electrical fault. While Fitzgerald continued with the set up of his freshly engined machine. However Round three was the turning point for the team, with Shirriffs machine now in “Castrol” colours the team set about topping the qualifying charts, breaking lap records and running hard and fast with the leaders. In race one Shirriffs, after an average start, fought back to ran with the two Suzukis of series leaders Australian Robbie Bugden and “I am more than happy with third at that sort pace,” said Shirriffs after the race. Race two saw a similar pace, with Shirriffs right behind Stroud and Bugden, until the encountered some back markers. Unfortunately the leaders got through and Shirriffs had to wait. Leaving him to settle for another third, with Fitzgerald in forth. The team is now keen to return home to the North Island and their home track of Manfeild for round four at the end of February (27/28). In the meantime they will return to the streets for the Paeroa “Battle of the Streets’ on February 21st Current Points Standing for The Castrol Power 1 Superbike Championship After three of five rounds Andrew Stroud 128 Robbie Bugden 115 James Smith 86 Craig Shirriffs 77 Hayden Fitzgerald 64 Prepared by Motorsport Network Ltd For more information contact Jim Tuckerman Ph 021 725 614
Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team Robbie Budgen Fires Opening Superbike Salvo
Defending NZ Superbike champion Robbie Budgen fired the opening salvo during the first round of the 2010 Castrol Power 1 Superbike championship, at Ruapuna. Budgen fought his way to the front after a low twelfth-place qualifying spot to win the rain affected Superbike race, held in difficult conditions.
Andrew Stroud led into turn one but was quickly overtaken by a fast starting Sloan Frost, closely followed by Bugden’s team-mate James Smith. All riding Suzukis. As the race wore on Stroud dropped back to fourth while Budgen made his charge with Smith and Frost in tow, which formed the basis for the three-way battle for victory. Riding on his home track, Smith’s second placing to Bugden handed the Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team a well deserved one-two finish, with supported rider Frost completing the Suzuki dominated podium. A dry race two turned out very different after Robbie Bugden crashed on the first lap. A broken handlebar forced the Australian out of the race in a sport where the stakes are so high that one small mistake - even a tiny slip, may cause a high speed crash. Stroud stretched his lead as Frost went by Ray Clee for second, while Smith held a safe fourth. They crossed the line in that order in front of a large crowd. Team manager Peter ‘Red’ Fenton says, “Another half a lap in the last race and Ray Clee and James (Smith) would have got Sloan, but James is happy with fourth as that puts him third overall for the weekend, and second overall in the 600 class.” “We didn’t quite get the fairytale start but overall, we are happy. Robbie isn’t injured, the bikes OK, and Robbie always goes very strong at Teretonga – I think he’s won every race he’s entered there. We’ll just make sure we pull no punches down at Teretonga.” The 600 Supersport category was dominated by Hamilton’s Nick Cole, who notched up two wins for Kawasaki, including the coveted NZ 600 Supersport Grand Prix. James Smith and his Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team GSXR600 briefly lead the opening race and was never far from the front, taking second in both races. John Ross and Jamie Galway placed third in each race. Glen Williams won two F3 races while Terry Fitzgerald won the F3 Grand Prix. Other winners included Alistair Hoozenboezem taking all three heats in the 125 class, and the Steve Bron/Dennis Simonsen pairing winning all three sidecar races. Stroud leads the NZ Superbike championship as the teams head to Teretonga Park at Invercargill for round two this weekend. Results from Powerbuilt Tools Raceway, Ruapuna
Superbikes race 1: 1, Robbie Budgen (Brisbane, Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki GSXR1000); 2, James Smith (Christchurch, Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki GSXR600); 3, Sloan Frost (Cambridge, Suzuki GSXR1000); 4, Andrew Stroud (Hamilton, Suzuki GSXR1000); 5, Ryan Hampton (Christchurch, Honda CBR1000RR). Race 2, New Zealand Superbike Grand Prix: 1, Stroud; 2, Frost; 3, Ray Clee (Auckland, Suzuki GSXR1000); 4, Smith; 5, Hayden Fitzgerald (New Plymouth, Honda CBR1000RR). Superbike Series points; Andrew Stroud, 38; Sloan Frost,36; James Smith, 33; Ray Clee, 26; Robbie Budgen, 25. 600 Supersport, Race 1: 1, Nick Cole (Hamilton, Kawasaki ZX-600RR; 2, James Smith (Christchurch, Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki GSXR600); 3, Jamie Galway (Masterton, Honda CBR600RR); 4, John Ross (Yamaha R6); 5, Karl Morgan (Auckland, Suzuki GSXR600). Race 2, New Zealand 600 Supersport Grand Prix: 1, Cole; 2, Smith; 3, Ross; 4, Galway; 5, Jay Lawrence (Wellington, Yamaha R6). 600 Supersport Series points; Nick Cole, 50; James Smith, 40; John Ross, 29; Jamie Galway, 29; Karl Morgan, 21. 2010 Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike Championship schedule; Rnd 2: Teretonga Park, January 23-24 Rnd 3: Timaru International Motor Raceway, Levels, January 30-31 Rnd 4: Manfeild, February 27-28 Rnd 5: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, March 27-28 Words by Terry Stevenson Photos: James Smith, second on his Suzuki GSXR600 Robbie Bugden and James Smith with the Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team Credit: Andrew Bright, Championship Digital Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Australian Wants Fourth New Zealand Superbike Title
Robbie Bugden may be the defending NZ Superbike champion however he’s not resting on his laurels for a successful defence of his Superbike crown. Budgen will be riding the new Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team GSXR1000 in the five round title chase, starting at Ruapuna this weekend. Although an Australian, Bugden has won the last three NZ Superbike titles in a row, no small feat against New Zealand’s fastest riders aboard 200hp race bikes. But, retaining the Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike title won’t be easy. Fellow Suzuki rider Andrew Stroud may be Bugden’s greatest challenger, again, although Hondas Craig Shirriffs and Hayden Fitzgerald have displayed good form during the recent Suzuki International Tri-Series, won by Stroud. GSXR1000 mounted Ray Clee can never be discounted in any race. Team manager Peter ‘Red’ Fenton is confident of success at Ruapuna, “The tests we’ve done so far have been very encouraging, and Robbie has just done the Australian Superbike championship. He’s been over twice in the last month, that went well because we’d been working with the K9 model GSXR1000 in Australia.” Suzuki rider Sloan Frost is the name many people will be watching this season, including the Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team, who are assisting the promising Hamilton racer this season. Fenton’s Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team is the most successful motorcycle race team in recent history, notching up no less than four major NZ championships using Dunlop tyres over the past three years. Fenton also manages Bugden’s Australian-based Joe Rocket Suzuki satellite team, completing the 2009 Australian Superbike season in fifth position. Having the right backing can be as important to a teams success as having the fastest rider. Their effort on both sides of the Tasman this year will be boosted considerably with new support from Mack Trucks. James Smith returns for his fourth season with the Triple R Mack Truck Suzuki Superbike Team. The Christchurch rider will be busy - Smith has elected to race in the big-bore Superbike class on a Suzuki GSXR1000, and in the ultra-competitive 600 Supersport class aboard the latest Suzuki GSXR600. Smith has recorded excellent pre-season results during his first rides on a Superbike, and the team is expecting consistent results from the 29 year old. In the 600 Supersport category Smith is aiming to go one better this year than his runner-up positions from the previous two seasons, and with 2009 champ Gareth Jones absent from the series, Smith must be title favourite. Regarding the championship Fenton says, “Our aim this year is to win both classes. Because our series is so short a small mishap can really cost us - a bit of good luck goes a long way in our championship I believe, and sometimes you make your own good luck. But I know that Andrew (Stroud), Craig (Shirriffs), Hayden (Fitzgerald), and you can never write off Ray Clee, Sloan (Frost) will be on the pace too, all those guys will be competitive. “With a bit of luck on our side and with Robbie and James’ natural talent, we should win.” 2010 Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike Championship schedule; Rnd 1: Powerbuilt Tools Raceway, Ruapuna, January 16-17 Rnd 2: Teretonga Park, January 23-24 Rnd 3: Timaru International Motor Raceway, Levels, January 30-31 Rnd 4: Manfeild, February 27-28 Rnd 5: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, March 27-28 Words by Terry Stevenson
|
