Riders braved cold, windy and occasional wet conditions during the second round of the Putoline Series held at Taupo Motorsport Park on Sunday September 10.
Words: Steve Parker
Only three races were run under actual rain, although all classes dealt with a varying wet to dry track surface which challenged riders, and the air temperature never rose above 8 degrees.
Race one of the Putoline Senior class was held on an almost dry track. Jared Love (Honda CBR600) shot straight into the lead during his comeback ride, ahead of Nick Kampenhout (Husqvarna) and Nathan Jane on his Barnes & Jenkins GSXR600. Loose bodywork forced Love to retire, while Jane forced his Suzuki into the lead from Kampenhout to take the opening premier class victory. Wellington’s Ian Reed rounded out the podium.
Race two was very wet. Nick Kampenhout got the holeshot but Nathan Jane soon took the lead with a great display of precision wet riding. Kampenhout held second to the line, while Love came from the back of the grid for third. The last race of the day had a depleted field on a very wet track which saw Jane make three wins from as many starts. Adrian Clare (Yamaha R1) picked up second place, with Grant Erskine (CBR600) rounding out the podium.
The Bridgestone Intermediate class kicked off in wet conditions. Liam Underwood rode to a clear win over Jordan Burley and Michael Patchett. Race two saw a patchy wet track, Liam again showing great skills taking win number two over Jordan Burley with Nick Kampenhout rounding out the podium. Race three was back on a very wet surface. Jordan Burley shot out to an early lead, hotly pursued by Kampenhout and Underwood. Underwood fought his way into the lead on the penultimate lap but slipped off unharmed at turn 4, leaving the win to Burley over Nick Kampenhout and Michael Patchett.
Nick Burke put on a dominant display on his Carl Cox Motorsport Hyosung X4r in the Shoei Junior category by taking three wins on the day.
Hayden Lockhart (Yamaha R3) and Timothy Gray (Yamaha R3) followed across the line in race one, Phillip Lowe (Kawasaki EX250) and Lockhart completed the race two podium while the race three placings were filled by Lockhart and Gray during very wet conditions.
Matt Eggleton took his KiwiSpannz Yamaha FZR1000 to victory in the first NV Motorcycles Senior Post Classic race over similarly mounted SJ Cavell and Mark Hatton.
Kerry Chapman showed the crowd how to ride a small bike in very trying conditions in the under 600cc Junior division, run concurrently, after winning a good battle with Dave Lewis (Honda Hamilton CBR600) and Nigel Lennox (High Rope Access ZXR400), all three were covered by half a second.
Race two was staged in very wet conditions which brought out a superb display of wet weather riding by SJ Cavell, who took line honours from the fighting pair of Juniors Chapman and Lewis. Hatton was caught out with the wrong tyre choice, but bravely splashed around on slicks to pick up valuable series points, while Matt Eggleton regretted his tyre choice which left him in the gravel trap and out of the race on the warm up lap.
The final Post Classic race was also on a very wet surface, enabling SJ Cavell to continue his masterclass in wet racing, taking the overall again from Eggleton, Chapman and Lewis.
Casey Bullock (Warden Consulting KYM450) dominated the Boyd Motorcycles Supermoto
class with three wins. The first on a very wet surface, from Glenn Eggleton (KiwiSpanzz RMZ450) and Tony Hirini. Race two was held in slightly better conditions which saw Luke Cabrol (Arbcon RZ450F) and Glenn Eggleton follow Casey across the line.
Race three saw another shuffle, with Luke Cabrol and Mark Oliver following Casey home.
Hamilton Motorcycle Club rider Andy Harper (Aprilia RSV1000) hogged the top spot of the CTAS Live Clubman sponsored rostrum with three wins, with David Hamilton (KTM690) and Steve Manning (Honda CBR600) sharing second and third placings.
Supermoto competitor Mike Kyle won the Whites Powersports spot prize of a superb pair of Gaerne racing boots. Appreciation is given to Hamilton Motorcycle Club marshals and officials who had to stay out in trying weather conditions all day.
The final round of the 2017 HMCC Putoline Series will be staged at Taupo on October 15.
