FITNESS KEY TO TT RACE THIS WEEKEND

Sunday’s gruelling Tourist Trophy superbike race at Hampton Downs could be decided by rider fitness as much as speed, top riders say.

The feature race at the penultimate round of the Castrol Power1 New Zealand Superbike Championships is raced over 20 laps on a track that makes the riders work very hard.

“There’s a lot of hard braking and it’s quite hard on tyres, that track,” nine-times New Zealand Superbike champion Andrew Stroud of Hamilton said.

Australian Robbie Bugden leads the series with Stroud an unaccustomed fifth after some misfortunes in the first three rounds. Both ride Suzukis.

“Robbie’s done the world superbike round at Phillip Island [near Melbourne] and he’s won his class in a triathlon so he’s obviously fit enough,” Stroud said.

Second-placed Sloan Frost, who trains every day, is pleased the TT race is so long.

“I’ve definitely got the fitness for that, and my Pirelli tyres will last the distance,” the Wellington BMW racer said. He was also feeling positive because he had improved the bike’s suspension since the last round.

Hamilton’s Nick Cole won the last race in the series at Teretonga -- his debut victory at championship level -- and is feeling positive as he prepares to race his Kawasaki on his home track.

“We’ve had a pretty good run the last few times we’ve been there,” Cole said. “We’ve got the bike definitely going a lot better; we’ve got a better setup than last time. I think we’ve got more speed.”

Cole also trains hard, often on a mountain-bike. . “You have to or you just get left behind,” he said.

Cole stands fourth in the series but effectively third as Christchurch rider John Ross, who is third in Superbikes and second in 600cc Supersport, is out with a broken wrist incurred in a crash at a non-championship meeting.

This season has been the closest for years and other strong contenders include Suzuki’s Craig Shirriffs (Feilding), Ray Clee (Kumeu) and James Smith (Christchurch) and the Honda trio of Hayden Fitzgerald (New Plymouth), Ryan Hampton (Christchurch) and Scott Moir (Taupo).

Ross’s withdrawal leaves reigning Supersport champion Dennis Charlett (Christchurch) with a good lead on his Suzuki but he will have to fight with Wellington Suzuki rider Glen Skachill and fast Auckland teenager Jaden Hassan who is returning to the fray on his Yamaha after a break enforced by injury.

Other championship classes are 600cc Superstock, Superlite (formerly F3), 650 Pro Twins, 125cc GP and Prolite 250. The final race in each class counts as the TT for that category.

COOPER CONFIDENT AHEAD OF TAUPO MX FINAL

Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Defending national MX1 motocross champion Cody Cooper has probably already resigned himself to the fact he’ll be handing over his No.1 plate to rival Ben Townley this weekend, but that doesn’t mean he’ll vacate the throne without a fight.

This season’s New Zealand Motocross Championships have been a torrid affair with no quarter expected or granted by any of the title hopefuls in the MX1 (open class), MX2 (250cc) or 125cc categories and, even further down the fields, the racing has been very fierce.

Former world champion Townley has been the most dominant of any of the riders – winning all but one MX1 race in the series thus far – and it really is just a matter of him staying upright and out of trouble at the fourth and final round at Taupo this weekend for him to secure the coveted MX1 crown.

Cooper took the main prize last season but currently finds himself a distant third in the title chase after three rounds, although he enjoys racing on the sand and pumice of Taupo’s Digger McEwen Motocross Park and believes he could spring a surprise or two on Sunday.

“Ben has been riding awesomely this season and he’s hard to keep up with, let alone beat,” said the 28-year-old Cooper.

“But I usually go well at Taupo ... I like the soil there and my bike is going great ... so anything is possible.”

The man most likely to topple Townley is another Kiwi international, Motueka’s Josh Coppins, but he’ll need to win all three MX1 races on Sunday and hope that Townley strikes a few big problems if he is to bridge the gap.

The battle for 125cc honours also looks safe to predict with Amberley’s Micah McGoldrick a solid 29 points ahead of his main rival, Rotorua’s Cameron Vaughan.

With 25 points on offer for a win, McGoldrick has an entire race up his sleeve as he lines up for Sunday’s final three races in the class.

Tauranga’s Logan Blackburn is third in the standings after three rounds, but an equally distant 28 points behind Vaughan.

The MX2 (250cc) class has been the most volatile this season and there is virtually nothing to separate the two key title contenders.

Defending MX2 champion Darryll King, of Hamilton, has a one-point advantage over arch rival Scotty Columb, of Queenstown, but his lead is tenuous and fireworks are certainly promised in the battle between these two men on Sunday.

Third in the rankings is Tauranga’s Peter Broxholme, but he is a distant 42 points behind Columb.

SPEEDSCAN HYOSUNG CUP SUCCESS

By MICHAEL ESDAILE

For a start-up racing series, the numbers say it all: over five rounds (10 races) of the Speedscan Hyosung GT250R Cup, a total of 32 riders fronted, 28 of them scored series points and there were four different race winners.

But there is one outstanding statistic: one rider won seven of the 10 races to clinch the series by a healthy 59 points. That was the margin by which Daniel Mettam clinched the 2011-2012 Speedscan Hyosung GT250R Cup.

Earlier in 2011 Mettam raced a Kawasaki 250 Ninja in the Junior Cup series alongside selected European rounds of the Superbike World Chamionship and was by no means disgraced in that arena, scoring a best result of second at Assen and fourth overall in the series.

Mettam also holds the 125 GP lap records at Pukekohe, Hampton Downs and Taupo but clearly the switch to heavier, slower production 250cc four-strokes was no impediment and he set about setting lap records at both Hampton Downs and Pukekohe in the Speedscan Hyosung GT250R Cup.

Series runner-up was Craig Stephens who proved he did not need a fuel-injected bike to be successful in the Hyosung Cup series, winning the second race of the series on a carburettored GT250R. However, by series end, it was clear the new Delphi-injected GT250s had a definite performance edge over the older bikes.

Third place went to Nathaneal Diprose, who won the eighth race in the series and just edged out Hyosung New Zealand’s fast-talking, fast-riding Sales Manager Fergus Maynes, 106 points to 101.

At the end of the series, most of the competitors, as well as all the series co-sponsors, turned up for the prizegiving at Hyosung New Zealand headquarters in Auckland’s Barry’s Point Road.

Hyosung New Zealand Managing Director Ken Dobson was delighted with the support the series had achieved in its first year and is looking forward to bigger and better things for the 2012-2013 series.

“We were well supported with sponsors who liked our philosophy and wanted to be involved,” Dobson says.

“Credit for the naming sponsor Speedscan goes to Phil London also the man behind Wil Sports Management. Phil’s son Connor London was one of the big improvers during the Cup. No less appreciation goes to our other sponsors MTF, Road Guide, Screaming Demon, Leatt, Barnes Jenkins Insurance, Bike Lift and Kolorinn Kustoms. California Superbike School also contributed by offering discounted track days for the Cup riders to get time at Hampton Downs,” he added.

“Overall this has been a tremendous success and I want to thank all who contributed to making it so. I am pleased to announce the continued support of Speedscan and Wil Sports Management (Phil London), MTF, Screaming Demon, Barnes Jenkins Insurance and Hyosung Motorcycles for the 2012/13 Cup. We will work to refine this Championship over the winter and make subtle changes that will ensure it just gets better,” Dobson concluded.

Stay tuned for further announcements.

To keep up with developments, click on: http://www.hyosung.co.nz/racing.php

FOURTH HONDA FACTORY IN INDONESIA

If anyone in the motorcycle industry was in any doubt where the growth in motorcycle sales is, the following announcement should leave them in no doubt. It is the Asian market that is still growing while the 'developed' countries launguish as Baby Boomers age and fewer are able to ride.

On March 13 Honda announced its joint venture company in Indonesia would be building a fourth motorcycle plant, with a production capacity of 1,100,000 scooter units per annum.

The JV is Astra Honda Motor, and with the new plant, Honda production in Indonesia will grow to 5.3 million units a year.

It should be noted that total (all four brands) motorcycle production in Japan is barely 600,000 units a year these days.

The new Astra Honda Motor plant, at Bukit Indah Industrial Park about 70 kilometres east of central of Jakarta, is planned to start production in the autumn of 2013.

The motorcycle market of Indonesia is the world's third largest next to China and India, and expanding demand is expected on the back of the steady economic progress in recent years.

The total market of motorcycle in 2011 reached 8.01 million units, an increase of 109 per cent compared with 2010.

The total Indonesian market is expected to grow to 8.7 million units in 2012 and AHJ is planning to sell around 4.8 million units, up from 4.27 million units in 2011.

PROLIFIC AUTHOR DIES

His name will be known to thousands of readers of various motorcycle books. The news is that Mick Walker has died in England after a battle with cancer.
Details at: http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news--general-news/mick-walker-passes-away/20274.html