Chandler's "small hiccup" on way to big prize

Rogan Chandler called it "a small hiccup" but coming after a hugely successful opening two rounds in the South Island, he knew his New Zealand Superbike Championship dreams were under serious threat.

That third round race one blip at Hampton Downs left the M1 Motorsport BMW rider level on points with Luca Durning, but actually second in the class going into the final round at Taupo.

The opening two rounds had produced some of the closest and most hard-fought superbike racing in years. The level playing field the Bridgestone official tyre offered meant most race positions were in doubt to the chequered flag. Suddenly, up to four, even five, riders were toughing it out for the win.

The record crowds drawn to Ruapuna and Hampton Downs were loving it.

After enjoying his best ever foray into the South Island, where he won four races, including the NZ GP title, and heading north with a 19 points advantage, Chandler was now in an uncomfortable place.

Chandler's fifth place hiccup and Durning's three wins amid more close quarters action at Hampton Downs meant the superbike title chase was very much alive heading to Taupo.

"Coming to the weekend with the points tied wasn’t quite what I had in mind," Chandler recalled. "I felt fairly good coming into it as we’ve had some good pace here in the past, but I knew things had to go well every race and there wasn’t much room for error."

Chandler's weekend was near faultless, from nailing an all important one point for pole position to winning the first two races "where it mattered". At one stage it seemed the championship would go down to the final race, but when Durning and Australian Max Stauffer came together and crashed out in race two the title was Chandler's.

"With the most overall wins, most race wins and both the TT and GP wins, we definitely showed we had the goods at each track and our setup was dialled from the beginning of the season." Chandler was full of praise for runner-up Durning, in his rookie season on The Dentists BMW – "for pushing us all the way" – and third-placed Al Hoogenboezem and the KMD Yamaha team. As well as thanking his sponsors and supporters he had special praise for the M1 Motorsport team – "they put so much effort into making the bike competitive but also making sure we had a bit of fun at the same time".

The Supersport class was no less exciting and the end of defending champion Jake Lewis' 18-race winning streak showed there is a whole new generation of young racers ready to replace the newly retired KMD Yamaha rider on the top step of the podium.

Lewis bowed out of championship racing as a popular and gracious champion. Six national championships and multiple GP and TT titles are a mark of his talent. 

While the records suggest Lewis, with an eight out of 12 win record this season was dominant, the reality was much closer.

Young guns Elevate Racing Yamaha rider Haydn Fordyce, KMD Yamaha teammate Jesse Stroud and Double 6 Motorsport KTM's Cameron Leslie all put pressure on Lewis through the four rounds.

Fordyce, who finished runner-up, Stroud and Leslie all claimed a win, but old hand Ashton Hughes slipped into third overall.

Much was expected of the newly introduced Sportbike class – and it didn't disappoint.

The fight for the title went down to the final race of the year where Blue Wing Honda's Zak Fuller pipped AVANZ Aprilia's Tyler King to the title by just one point.

Late season form after a slow-starting South Island campaign suggests Nixon Frost (TSS Motorcycles Suzuki) will be a contender next year, and it is hoped stalwart Luke Ryder (TR20 Aprilia) will have a change of mind and return to the fray.

While the Protwin class was without its two dominant racers from last year – titleholder Avalon Lewis and runner up Billee Fuller, the boys ensured an all-in battle for honours.

Lewis entered one round – Teretonga – but an injury sustained in a high-speed Saturday crash kept her out of further NZ racing and has delayed her start in the Women's World Championship in Europe.

Fuller has elected to take a year out after a tough European debut last year and ticking off a few bucket list items, including the Tongereo Crossing.

The wily veteran Dennis Charlett (MotoMechanix Yamaha) took few prisoners on his way to the title, but was very aware of just what a threat a fully fit Cameron Leslie (Yamaha) could have posed.

Rookie and most travelled rider, Invercargill's Marcus Thompson (Top Cars Yamaha) took a well deserved fourth in the championship, behind Azlan Blackwell (ProMetals Yamaha) and Leslie.

Maybe it will become known as the Charlett class, as someone has joked. Father Dennis previously did well against the young 'uns, but son Hunter (Optima Chartered Accountants Yamaha) has taken dominance in the Supersport 300 category to a new level.

Oh, and in the Supersport 150 class, too. 

Showing all the benefits of racing in Australia, the 15-year-old Christchurch schoolboy posted 23 race wins this year on his way to winning both championships. Then throw in two NZ GPs, two Aaron Slight Trophies and two NZ TTs for a unique double "triple crown" of round by round feature race wins.

Alvin Wu (Elevate Racing Yamaha), Harriet Grace (Helicraft Racing Yamaha) Diego Petrucci (Evolve Moto Training Yamaha), Chris Reynolds (Affordable Storage Yamaha), Jakob Henderson (Race Supplies Yamaha) and Joe Stroud (Kawasaki) all posted podiums during the season before Wu and Grace emerged second and third overall.

150 racers Ryder Chamberlain and Billy Macrae tried hard all year to rein in Charlett and Macrae's race win and Chamberlain's two lap records suggest more to come next season.

Worrying for dad, Hunter is stepping out of the 150 class next year to focus on a Supersport 300 and . . . Protwin campaign.

Not that the R15 Yamaha will gather dust. Hunter's younger sister Emma will make her national championship debut.

Sidecar racing just got better and better – and closer and, well, too close at one point – as the season progressed.

It also highlighted the tight, sharing family nature of the category.

Barry Smith seemed to carry more passengers than a Saturday night Uber, while Burt Wolland could be forgiven for forgetting just whose outfit he was piloting.

Fittingly, the title was decided at the final race.

The final win of the season went to Carl Cox Motorsport's Barry Smith and Louise Blythe (Dave Smith, Vaughan Maine), but third place behind Phil Law and Angus Ravenwood (Phil Law Panelbeating) was enough to give father and son Spike and Bubba Taylor (Aotea Electrical Wairarapa) the championship.

All told, four different combinations stood on the top podium step.

And for those keen to experience life in a sidecar, the New Zealand Sidecar Racing Association is holding a have a go day at Manfeild on May 31.

Finally, one of the new initiatives this season was the Superbike and Supersport Trophy classes, aimed at track day riders wanting to experience being part of the national championship show, but sharing the track with riders of a similar calibre.

Queenstown's Mark Tylden was a lonely entry in the South Island rounds, but he ventured north to do battle at Hampton Downs and Taupo.

Nathan Kent took the Superbike Trophy honours from Abbin Abraham and Tylden, while Scott McQueen bagged the Supersport crown from Jordan Hill and Mark Halls.