Team Suzuki Press Office – March 10.
Scott Moir: Suzuki GSX-R1000 – 1-1-2
Daniel Mettam: Suzuki GSX-R1000 – 2-2-3
Richie Dibben: Suzuki GSX-R600 – 2-2-2
Suzuki’s Scott Moir is on track and on target to claim his first New Zealand Superbike national Championship crown aboard his GSX-R1000 following the weekend’s third round of the series with fellow Suzuki rider Daniel Mettam just behind.
The 35-year-old arrived at Hampton Downs at the weekend for the third round of five in the 2020 New Zealand Superbike Championships in fifth overall in the series standings, a demoralising 68 points off the lead after tough races at rounds one and two of the series in the South Island in January.
But this quickly became a distant memory when he dominated the premier Superbikes class at the North Waikato circuit on Saturday and Sunday, taking his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to leap from fifth to second in the standings.
Moir qualified fastest – a feat worth a bonus point – and then won the first two of the weekend’s three Superbike races.
He was pipped at the post in the third and final race, where Alastair Hoogenboezem snatched the win on the finish line, but Moir was still extremely satisfied with his 1-1-2 score-card for the weekend.
Moir rediscovered the style that garnered him successive Formula One titles in the pre-nationals Suzuki Series (in 2017 and 2018), the same sort of form that had also helped take him to the overall runner-up spot in the premier Superbike class in last season’s nationals.
Now that he is back in the position that matches the No.2 on his distinctive blue and white Suzuki GSX-R1000, a reinvigorated Moir is determined to push on at the two rounds that remain to lift the title.
He is just three points behind series leader Hoogenboezem and he moves on now to two of his favourite circuits, Manfeild, and then his home track at Taupo, in a positive mood.
“I’d like to say you can’t get much better than the weekend I’ve had, but you can; three wins would have been nice! I was on track for a win in that last race but my tyres were wearing out and I made a couple of mistakes. I think the other riders got faster as the weekend wore on and perhaps they were learning my lines too, but overall, I have gone from fifth to second in the championship chase. I’ve got my mojo back.”
Defending Superbike Champion Daniel Mettam (Suzuki GSX-R1000) started the weekend ranked sixth overall after the first two rounds of the series, but he finished second overall in the class at Hampton Downs with a 2-2-3 score-card and he is now up to fifth in the series standings.
Meanwhile, in the Supersport 600 class, Richie Dibben (Suzuki GSX-R600) finished runner-up in each of his three races at Hampton Downs and he extended his advantage at the top of the standings. Dibben is a massive 60 points clear of his nearest challenger, Upper Hutt’s Rogan Chandler.
Nathan Jane continued his advance towards the 650 Pro Twins title, extending his lead to 36 points over fellow Suzuki ace and defending champion Ben Rosendaal, from Whangamata as Tyrone Kuipers is now 44 points clear of Rolleston’s Sam Guthrie in the New Zealand GIXXER Cup class.
Round four will be at Circuit Chris Amon, Manfeild, on the outskirts of Feilding on March 28-29th, with the fifth and final round set for Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park near Taupo on April 4-5th.
