Round 3 Race Report

Race day: Nov 5, 2023

ROUND 3 – CLUB CIRCUIT

What a great days racing! Always fun at the Club Circuit, low cost and lost of quick fire races. After the fog burned off the day was warm and sunny with track temps in the mid 40’s. We had 24 Hyosung’s and 20 Ninja 400’s entered with the option to cross enter into Prolites for the Hyosungs and Open Ninja for the 400’s.

Quali

Hyosung qualy was tight with the exception of Oli who has owned this class this season so far and put his Elan Insurance Brokers GT250R on pole by 0.927 over Benny Cook. Great to see new Cup racer James Murdie in P3, a returning Scotty Findlay in P4, new Cup racer Mike McKain P5 and newcomer and last round podium rider Elijah Daken P6.

The Ninja grid was led by Tyler King riding the Passmasters NZ SS300 spec Ninja 400. Tyler went under Chris Smiths lap record to grab pole over Billee, then Sean White and Michael Robinson. Tim Gray from New Plymouth took P5 and Andrew Bolero just 0.2 behind in P6.

Race 1

Hyosung Race 1 was red flagged when Shaun Parker went down fortunately without injury. The restart had Oli leading Benny away and this pair put some distance back to James Murdie who was battling with Elijah, Esmond and Scott. Chris Nobbs, rode Ben Mayos bike to a fine 10th place whilst Mike McKain and Rico Belcourt DNF’d without injury.

The first Ninja Cup race was eventful with Billee and Tyler going at it hammer and tongs. Some amazing passing and racing skills shown by these two talented young riders. Then it happened. Bill’s went down on lap 9 going into turn 3 as Tyler saw a gap on the inside. The pace they were setting was over a second under the lap record with Billee grabbing it with a scintillating 38.714 before her off. Bill’s was unhurt although a bit stiff and sore today. Tyler went on for the win from Michael Robinson, Tim Gray, Andrew Bolero with his best finish in 4th and a cameo Ninja ride by Benny Cook saw him in 5th. We also lost our hard charging Blair Skelton to a crash on turn 3 which unfortunately resulted in a collarbone injury and sidelined Blair for the day, but being the Cup Team Player he is and also a tough bastard he stayed around to support his Team and enjoy a beer and sausage.

Race 2

Race 2 was the Le Mans start for the Hyosungs and was something of an Oli benefit race after he steamed away to win by 10 seconds. Benny was second and not 100 % after playing with matches on Saturday night, but that’s another story. James Murdie again came home P3 and battled again with Scotty, Mike, Elijah and Esmond.

The Ninja Le Mans race was a cracker and some impressive lap times set by the top 3 riders. Billee couldn’t light the fire in her Grazie Vale Ninja 400 and got away well down the field from her P2 grid but the ride through the pack was impressive to second place with many 39 second laps on the way. Tyler led every lap and looked good also banging out consistent 39’s. But the fastest lap went to Michael Robinson showing plenty of speed with a 39.527. A new rider who is gradually building his skills and speed is Jayme Martin from Rotorua. Jayme came home in 10th place after a great battle with Cup Cop Andy Ansell. Great to see the speed being found by Megan Kemp and Heidi Trigger also. So good to see the girls scrapping it out with the guys.

With Benny Cook retiring for the day it was up to Scotty Findlay, James, Esmond and Elijah to try and stop Oli from heading off into the distance in Race 3. They gave it a good shot but were not able to reign him in recording a 9.6 second win from Scotty, James, Elijah and Esmond. Great fight between the dad and son Team of Troy and Riley Fowles for 8th and 9th. Troy pulled rank on his son by just 0.6. Another close battle group was Hads Thomson, Corey Pook and Cadel Finlay for 11th- 13th.

Race 3

Race 3 for the Ninjas was a depleted field with 5 riders not lining up for various reasons. Billee got another super good launch off the line and led every lap from Tyler although there was plenty of passing between the two throughout the race. A really good comparison between Grazie Vale on stock suspension and full power and Tylers SS300 spec Ninja with YSS and 1 x restrictor. Extremely even over a full lap. Bill’s grabbed the win by 0.988 posting a best lap of 39.184 on the way. Michael Robinson went P3 from Nathan Finlay in a close tussle with Sean White and Tim Gray.

No change for the top step in the last Hyosung Cup race. Oli in his own world of fast laps winning by 9.994 over Elijah, James, Scotty, Esmond and Mike McKain. Bretty Butler again got the better of ole mate Hads by 0.08 for 8th and that was in a great battle group of 4 riders with Rico Belcourt and Jarrod Thompson. Biggest improver in this race was Troy Fowles gaining 7 places to finish 13th!

Race 4

Ninja race 4 was another cracker between Billee and Tyler. These two going at it hard out and swapping the lead many times but Bill’s had her move sussed out to lead over the finish line each lap. They put on a great display of smooth, fast and full attack racing with Tyler tagging the back wheel of Billee in the last turn at one time. It was that close. With both these super talents running in the 38’s they finished 8 seconds ahead of Michael Robinson in 3rd. Tim Gray banked more solid points in 4th 1 second ahead of Sean White. The top 5 riders all going under the previous lap record.

That was a wrap for the day so we got stuck into the refreshments and Barby beautifully cooked by Tracy. Always a good time to chat about the on-track adventures and recap some of the best Cup racing. I think it was a very successful meeting on the Club circuit, well run again by the AMCC Team. Thanks so much to all the flaggy’s and volunteers on the day. We want to send our best wishes to injured Cup racers Blair and Benny. Hope they are back for the next round in 2 weeks time.

Thank you to all our Cup Super Sponsor Partners for your most valued support and a special thanks to Tracy for everything you help me with on race days.