It will take more than a little, slow-speed crash to derail Suzuki star Robbie Bugden but he now has fellow Suzuki man Andrew Stroud closing in for the kill.
But defending champion Bugden has seen his championship lead sliced back to just 15 points after a drama-filled weekend at the Ruapuna circuit.
Defending champion Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000) won the day’s first superbike race, just ahead of Stroud, but he then finished an unaccustomed fifth in the second outing after spilling his bike at the hairpin.
Stroud, meanwhile, finished runner-up in the second race too, this time behind another visiting Australian, Yamaha rider Gareth Jones.
“I was leading that second race when Gareth went past me with about three laps to go,” said Stroud.
“That’s when Robbie crashed, trying hard to not let Gareth get away from him. That left me to chase Gareth and, although I had the pace, the race was over before I knew it.
“I made a last-ditch bid to get by him and we were side-by-side over the finish line but Gareth got the win. It was a bit frustrating,” Stroud admitted.
With just the two North Island rounds -- only four superbike races -- to go now to complete the series, Bugden remains in command, but he knows can’t afford too many more mistakes.
And the No.1 and No.2-ranked Suzuki heroes will have to keep an eye over their shoulders too with Jones also in touch.
Jones won the day at Ruapuna, finishing third and first in the two superbike races and he is now just five points behind Stroud in the standings.
However, though stuck in an unappetising Aussie sandwich, Stroud only has winning on his mind.
"I probably need to win races if I want to win the title this year," said the 41-year-old Stroud, a seven-time former
“I felt good today, although I nearly fell off in the first race. I had passed Robbie for the lead near the end of the race but then the front end of my bike tucked in. I managed to stay on and I don’t know how, but Robbie took the lead back. I set the fastest time I’ve ever done around Ruapuna too, so I was certainly going quick.”
Though he twice finished runner-up, Stroud now holds the superbike lap record at Ruapuna, a blistering 1 minute 30.077 seconds.
Stroud is throwing everything at Bugden in his bid to wrest back the crown he last held in 2006 but, the sad fact is, even with his incredible pace, it may not be enough for him to stop the title from again heading off-shore.
The 28-year-old Bugden also won the glamour superbike class title here in 2007 and 2008 and he's determined to make it three in a row.
Meanwhile,
Smith has finished runner-up in each of the six 600cc sports production class races thus far and been very close to snatching a win from his Australian rival, but he is now 30 points behind Jones and he desperately needs to win.
Also making life uncomfortable for Smith is a resurgent Dennis Charlett, the defending champion from
Suzuki’s Charlett crashed out of the second race at the series opener at Invercargill but he is fast making up lost ground and he is now up to third in the standings.
Meanwhile, in two of the other categories, Suzuki men also hold the upper hand.
Palmerston North's Glen Williams (Suzuki SV650) holds a solid 72-point lead in the formula three class over Taranaki’s Terry Fitzgerald (Suzuki) and Tauranga's Sam Love (Suzuki SV650) continues to lead the pro twins class, now 38 points ahead of Dannevirke's Geoff Booth (Suzuki).
The championship now heads north to Manfeild, near Palmerston North, in just over a fortnight (on February 15), before wrapping up at Pukekohe on March 8.
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