Photo: James Smith leads Nick ColeIt was a weekend that had everything! That was Triple R Volvo Group Superbike Team rider Robbie Bugden’s take on round three of the Castrol Power1 New Zealand Superbike Championship, held at Teretonga Park Raceway in Invercargill on the 21st and 22nd January.
After finding a good setup on Friday, Bugden crashed heavily during his first flying lap of the second practice session on Saturday. “I grabbed a big handful of brake coming into turn two, locked the front and jumped off [the bike] in a big way, and put it straight into the fence.”
Despite bruising and an injury to his shoulder, Bugden joined teammate James Smith (both on Suzuki GSX-R1000’s) for qualifying later that afternoon, albeit on Ray Clee’s bike after Ray had set his own Qualifying time. Unfortunately rain started to fall midway through the session and both riders missed the chance to set fast laps on a dry track, Smith qualifying seventh and Bugden eighth.
Race one on Sunday morning saw defending Champion Andrew Stroud jump into the lead, pursued relentlessly by Ryan Hampton until Hampton crashed at the elbow on lap four. This caused the race to be halted, with grid positions for the restart and half-points calculated from the end of the previous lap.
This worked in the team’s favour as James could now start from fourth on the grid and Bugden sixth. Unfortunately, season-long episodes of bad luck continued for Smith, who broke a gearshift linkage on lap two and had to pull out of the race. Things were looking up for Bugden however, who quickly fought his way up into the lead and won the race despite challenges from BMW rider Sloan Frost and a passing shower late in the race that bunched up the leaders while they adjusted to the change in grip.
The track was still wet after a downpour on Sunday afternoon, meaning riders had a difficult choice to make when fitting tyres before the second Superbike race. James Smith chose hard compound wet tyres, and things were looking good for the Christchurch rider with a leap into second place on the first lap. However the tyres took a long time to scrub in, and he eventually finished in fourth after being passed by eventual winner Nick Cole and John Ross. Bugden finished seventh, feeling sore and stiff on the bike after his crash on Saturday.
Smith has worn more than his fair share of setbacks this season, but remains confident that he’s fast and deserving of a spot on the podium. “I’ve no doubt that I’d be top three if it wasn’t for the way things have been. Speed hasn’t been a problem; it’s just little things happening, and it’s such a short championship that you can’t afford any of that stuff. You’ve just got to put it in the past and move on.”
With the three-rounds-in-a-row South Island leg of the Championship over, teams will take a break before heading for rounds four and five at Hampton Downs and Taupo in mid March. Weather is likely to be more predictable there, and we hope that all riders can enjoy a more settled finish to the season after the dramas that have unfolded over the last three rounds.
Bugden: “It’s been a crazy three weeks to be honest...it’s been nuts. [But] we’ve still got a strong points lead in the Championship; I’m still relatively in one piece, so a couple of weeks off now [before the Australian Superbike Championship gets underway in February] and I’ll get myself back to 100% and look forward to the next couple of rounds.”
Results:
Qualifying:
1st Sloan Frost (Wellington, BMW S1000RR) 0:58.595
2nd John Ross (Christchurch, BMW S1000RR) 0:58.815
3rd Nick Cole (Hamilton. Kawasaki ZX-10R) 0:59.011
7th James Smith (Christchurch, Suzuki GSX-R1000) 0:59.418
9th Robbie Bugden (Brisbane, Suzuki GSX-R1000) 0:59.734
Race one (red flagged on lap five, half points awarded):
1st Andrew Stroud (Hamilton, Suzuki GSX-R1000)
2nd Ryan Hampton (Christchurch, Honda CBR1000RR)
3rd John Ross
5th James Smith
7th Robbie Bugden
Race one restarted (11 laps, half points awarded):
1st Robbie Bugden
2nd Sloan Frost
3rd Nick Cole
DNF James Smith
Race two (15 laps):
1st Nick Cole
2nd Sloan Frost
3rd Ray Clee (Auckland, Suzuki GSX-R1000)
4th James Smith
8th Robbie Bugden
Championship standings:
1st Robbie Bugden 112.5
2nd Sloan Frost 77.5
3rd John Ross 75.5
7th James Smith 55
