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Shaun Harris crashed out of the lead of the New Zealand Superbike championship at Manfeild today, leaving the title race wide open with one round to go.
Christchurch-based international Andrew Stroud won both the superbike races after tough battles with fellow Suzuki racer Harris and Yamaha\'s Tony Rees.
Harris, from New Plymouth, finished second in race one less than half a second behind Stroud. He led the early part of race two but Stroud passed him on the outside going into the Higgins corner.
Then Rees started forcing his way inside Harris going into the hairpin and next moment Harris was on the ground, sliding towards the outside of the track.
Rees said he didn\'t believe he had touched the Suzuki \"I don\'t ride like that,\" the Kawerau racer said and Harris, after cooling down, declined to offer any criticism.
\"If he did touch me it was genuine mistake, a racing incident. Tony\'s a friend of mine and I know he doesn\'t ride dirty,\" Harris said.
Harris dropped to third in the series behind Rees and Stroud, but still close enough to take the championship if he wins both races at the final round of the Motorcycle Trader series at Pukekohe next weekend. Rees is just 1.5 points in front of Stroud and seven ahead of Harris.
Stroud said the pace had been very hot, and Harris and Rees had pushed him hard all day.
In the Open Sports Production races, Stroud and Rees shared a victory and a second placing each, again riding for Suzuki and Yamaha respectively. The first race saw the lead change three times on the final lap.
Rees said it had been a tough day for him, as the new Suzuki GSX-R1000s had more power and were faster out of the corners.
Harris scored four victories from four races with his other bike, a Suzuki GSX-R600 running in Formula Two and 600cc Sports Production. Second each time was his rapidly improving team-mate, Dennis Charlett of Palmerston North.
\"I\'m happy,\" Harris said at the end of the day. \"Four wins, one second and one non-finish isn\'t bad.\"
New Plymouth veteran Terry Fitzgerald won both Formula Three races convincingly on his Suzuki GSX-R400, and Jason Easton of Foxton also pulled off the double in the 125cc GP class with his Honda RS125.
The Sidecars produced some of the day\'s best racing with the top two crews constantly swapping positions. Champions Aaron Lovell and Phil Duthie of Hamilton had more power, but Aucklander Colin Buckley and his Gisborne passenger Darren Abrahams were better under brakes and through the corners.
Buckley eventually won both races.
Motorcycle Trader New Zealand road-racing championships, round three, Manfeild (Feilding)
Superbike Race one:
Andrew Stroud (Christchurch) Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1;
Shaun Harris (New Plymouth) Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2; Tony Rees (Kawerau) Yamaha R1, 3.
Race two: Stroud 1; Rees 2; Ray Clee (Auckland) Suzuki GSX-R1000, 3. 3.
Points: Rees 113.5; Stroud 112; Harris 106.5; Dean Fulton (Mt Maunganui)
Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 68.
Formula Two Race one:
Harris, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1; Dennis Charlett
(Palmerston North) Suzuki GSX-R600, 2; Andrew Bretherton (New Plymouth)
Suzuki GSX-R600, 3.
Race two: Harris 1; Charlett 2; Bretherton 3.
Points: Harris 125; Charlett
116; Brendon Gare (Oamaru), Paul Gee (Auckland) Yamaha R6, and Graeme Parr
(Auckland) Kawasaki ZX-6R, all 58.
Formula Three Race one:
Terry Fitzgerald (New Plymouth) Suzuki GSX-R400,
1; Steve Bridge (Hamilton) Ducati TT2, 2; Andy Bolwell (Oamaru) Kawasaki
ZXR400, 3.
Race two: Fitzgerald 1; Bolwell 1; Bridge 3.
Points: Bolwell 127; Jason Easton (Foxton) Honda RS125, 104; Brent Symes
(Hastings) Honda RS125, 77; Fitzgerald 73.
Open Sports Production Race one:
Rees, Yamaha R1, 1; Stroud, Suzuki
GSX-R1000, 2; Clee 3.
Race two: Stroud 1; Rees 2; Clee 3.
Points: Stroud 135; Rees 127; Dave Cole (Auckland) Ducati 996, 71.
600cc Sports Production Race one:
Harris, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1; Charlett,
Suzuki GSX-R600, 2; Clee, Suzuki GSX-R600, 3.
Race two: Harris 1; Charlett 2; Clee 3.
Points: Harris 150; Charlett 101;
Corey Oxenham (Mt Maunganui) Suuzki GSX-R600, 99.
125cc GP Race one:
Easton, Honda RS125, 1; Bruce Godfrey (Napier) Honda
RS125, 2; Glenn Hayward (Christchurch) Honda RS125, 3.
Race two: Easton 1; Godfrey2, Hayward 3.
Points: Easton 150; Symes, Honda
RS125, 106; Godfrey 101.
Sidecars Race one:
Colin Buckley (Auckland)/Darren Abrahams (Gisborne)
Yamaha 1000, 1; Aaron Lovell/Philip Duthie (Hamilton) Suzuki 1100, 2; John
Blaymires/Nick Ives (Te Puke) Kawasaki 1000, 3.
Race two: Buckley/Abrahams 1; Lovell/Duthie 2; Blaymires/Ives 3.
Points:
Buckley/Abrahams 145; Lovell/Duthie 125; Spike Taylor/Dennis Simonsen
(Masterton) F17 1100, 82.
