9th Sunday, Mar 2008

The first 600 race was a great race, but sadly had a sad ending to it.

Both Dennis and James were in the lead bunch, when they caught up to lapped traffic, some how 2 lapped riders came together and had a terrible crash sadly killing both riders...........this was on the final lap, 3rd to last corner.

The 600 riders had a meeting after this happen and decided not to run the 2nd race. So, this meant Dennis secured 1st place overall and James secure 2nd place. A sad finish to a great championship this year, but well done to these 2 riders, on a great result.

The 1st Superbike race was a close fought affair, with both Andrew Stroud, Robbie and Gareth Jones finishing within 0.069 of each other and Craig Shirriffs 0.8 behind these 3. A great race. We were hoping Robbie could secure all 10 wins, but, Andrew Stroud stopped this happening........!!!

Race 2 was another closly fought race. With the lead changing a number of times. Ray Clee got a flyer of a start and lead the first lap, soon, both Robbie and Gareth got past, then Craig. Gareth lead a number of laps, but with 2 to go, Robbie got past and it was a race to the wire. With Robbie getting across the line 0.023 ahead of Gareth and Craig coming home 3rd 0.199 behind.

So, Robbie secured the TT title, along with a new lap record of 56.280...........Also the GP Title and the New Zealand Superbike Title, for the 2nd time.

A great seaon for Triple R Superbike..................1st in Superbikes and 1st and 2nd in the 600's. What more can you ask for.

I would like to thank my crew, for doing an fantastic job this season. All the hard work has paid off. Now we plan for next season........!!!

I would also like to thank Suzuki New Zealand, Dunlop, for great support. Along with Sportzone Suzuki, RK Chains, Silkolene Oil. Having their assistence made my job alot easier. Ray Clee again provided us with fantastic engines, Rob Taylor also sorted out our Ohlins suspension. All these things pointed us in the right direction for the titles .

And last, but by no means least............Pitlane, and Don and the lads in this shop here in Christchurch. Who have been a great help all season, thanks.

Also, Robbie has asked me to help him in the Australian Superbike Championship this year as well. So, I will be working under Phil Tainton, this is just a fill in position, because Phil is looking for a full timer doing this. But, untill then, I will be helping out. Which I am very much looking forward too.  

8th Saturday, Mar 2008 

All 3 riders now had their bikes pretty well sorted. In the 600's, even though James was suffering with a lack of power, he still secured pole position with a time of 59.618. So, this was James's first pole of the year and he was riding very quick and smooth. Dennis qualified in 4th spot, which still had him on the front row, so he was pleasd with that.

Robbie securd 2nd on the grid, with Andrew Stroud securing pole. The top 5 were with in half a second of each other, with Craig Shiriffs sitting .8 behind Andrew. Robbies time was a 56.539........with Andrew on a 56.528

7th Friday, Mar 2008

Testing on Friday was hard for everyone, as the track was a lot bumpier than last year. So it took a while to get the suspension sorted. James actually had his sorted out the earliest and was on at the top of the leader board, where he was to stay all weekend.

Robbie was on the pace by his 2nd practise, but still took a few changes to get the bike to his liking.  This is the fastest track in New Zealand, where the superbikes will get close to 300kph and the 600's will do around the 270 mark. Both Dennis's and Robbies bikes were at the top of their classes hp stakes, with Dennis (125hp DIN) been able to sit right on the Yamaha's R6 of Midge Smart.

But,  James's bike was down on peak power compared to Dennis's, (5hp down....!!!) but did have more torque low down, so was able to drive harder out of the corners.

23rd Sunday, Feb 2008

600 Race 1..........Both Dennis and James got a great start and were soon pulling a gap on the rest of the field, but with Midge Smart on a Yamaha just managing to tag on the back of them and pulling himself in to join hem. Midges 55kg weight been a big advantage against Dennis (63kg) an more so James (73kg)......with Midge really been abe to fire out of the corners.

Midge soon managed to pass James, but with 3 laps to go, Dennis tangled with a back marker (lack of a waving Blue flag did not help...!!!) going into the left hander at Castrol and down Dennis went. He soon remounted and was going again, but by that stage, a large part of the field had passed him, but he managed to bring his bike home and secure some valuable points in 11th place.

The same thing just about happened to James on the same corner a lop latter. James had pulled Midge back in and again, a lack of a Blue Flag waving properly, had James just about colliding with another back maker (I was "slightly" frustrated at this stage......!!!!....) This caused James to lose touch with Midge, but, James still came home 2nd, which was great.

Superbike Race 1.......Robbie got a great start and lead into the 1st corner and was soon on his way. Andrew Stroud (Suzuki) soon joined Robbi and pushed him hard, and passed Robbie on lap , but Robbie soon passed Andrew again on lap 9 and held Andrew off to take the win by 0.611.

Race 2 600.........This was a frustrating race for everyone. Both Dennis and James got off to a great start again, along with Midge again taging along. Midge soon had the lead, but on lap 10, after Dennis had taken the #1 spot, a rider went down and they red flagged the race...........Why........I don't know, as the bike was on the grass on the inside of the track,and the rider was up and away from danger.........so very frustrating.

The restart had Dennis back in 2nd (taking the results back a lap) and James 3rd........James had done the fastest lap, with a 1:09.261.........the restart got under way, with James getting a great start and lading for 6 laps, but both Dennis and Midge getting past. Sadly Dennis didn't see the white flag or his lap board, so left his run for the lead too late. So 1st place went to Midge on the Yamaha, 2nd Denns and 3rd James.

But, still a good points lead for Dennis and James, so that is good.

Superbikes Race 2.........Robbie lead again from start to finish, but for the 1st half of the race, he was pushed very hard by both Gareth Jones and Andrew Stroud.......they were all over each other. Then, Robbie was abe to gai a small gap, which he then turned into a 5 second lead, it stayed this way to the end. So, another great weekend for Robbie, ho has now secured the New Zealand Superbike Title, with still 1 round to go.

So we are all very happy. And hopefully will also secure the 600 title at the final round of the Chamionship next weekend.

23rd Saturday, Feb 2008

Qualifying again went well for Robbie, with him posting a #1 time of 1:05.480.......in 2nd plac was Andrew Stroud (Suzuki) with a 1:05.783.....In fact there were another 4 iders within a second of Robbies time, so the race was going to be tight.

Both Dennis and James qualified on the front row again. With Dennis doing a 1:09.268 for #1 postion and James doing a 1:09.554 to secure the #2 postion on the front row. Midge Smart was 3rd with a 1:09.733 

22rd Friday, Feb 2008

With the weather here a little unpredictable, we wanted to get up to speed straight away. The only major change to all 3 bikes, was to go back down a spring on the rear, to the same springs we had used at Ruapuna and Levels race tracks.

Both James and Dennis were soon on the pace, with James leading the lap times with a 1:09.566.........Dennis a 1:09.708 with Midge Smart (Yamaha) doing a 1:09.981.

Robbie Bugden on the Superbike was soon up to pace as well; 1:05.530....which was a lap record breaking time. The bike was very settled, apart from under hard braking, the rear is moving about. We feel this is more of a engine braking software issue, but because it is not a major problem and we don't have a lot of time, we have not really pushed for a fix for this problem. Maybe we will for Pukekohe.

Practise #2 went well for Dennis James and Robbie

27th Sunday, Jan 2008

1st 600 Race

The start did not go quite to plan for Dennis, with a flagie still on the track right in front of Dennis when the lights went off (not the flagies fault).....So, James lead the pack into the first corner.

James then proceeded to pull a good lead on the pack, but once Dennis got things together, he slowly pulled James back in and they crossed the line with James just 0.199 behind Dennis.

A great race by the 2 Triple R 600 riders. Both extending their points over the rest of the 600 field.

Robbies 1st race in SBK's was quite close, with Gareth Jones on the Bernard Yamaha really getting up to speed, he pushed Robbie the whole way, but, with the times they were doing, I knew Robbie would be able to keep in front.

Robbie won with a new lap record 57.604, Jones was 2nd with a gap of 0.188........so a close race.

600 Race 2

Dennis again did a fantastic job of winning another race, after setting a lap record in the 1st race (59.949).......he was hoping to drop this time even lower, but, the track seemed to lose some grip during the day, so this was not to be the case.

Dennis won by 0.434 in front of Dave Sadowski (from the USA), on a Bernard Yamaha, while James came home 3rd, with a quicker best lap than Dave (1.00:111).....but finding it hard to get past after not getting the greatest start, plus with less tyre grip. Still a great weekend for both Dennis and James, both moving even firther ahead in the points.

Race 2 Superbikes.

Robbies 2nd race also suffered from a lack of grip, which was a shame, because we felt that Robbie could crack a 55 if the conditions were right, but sadly, this was not the case.

After a close battle with Gareth Jones (Bernard Yamaha), Andrew Stroud (Brother Suzuki) and Craig Shirriffs (Suzuki), Robbie was able to pull a gap on these riders and hold it there, so he came home 1st with a gap of 3.477.......quite comfortable.

So, another great weekend for Triple R Superbike, Suzuki and Dunlop, to still be leading the points table, which is great.

Well done to all the riders, it makes my job so much easier..........and pleasing.

26th Saturday, Jan 2008

I am late again with the update......just seem to run out of time.

Robbie Qualified 1st with a 57.647...........when Robbie pushed harder than this (which he could), we found that the bike need more time to set the suspension up for quicker times that would get Robbie to 56's........but we didn't have the time for this, and felt we would be fine with this set up for times in the high 57's.

Dennis qualified on the 600 with a 1.00:550........James was 2nd with a 1.00:788......so it was great to have both bikes on the front row 1st and 2nd.

25th Friday, Jan 2008

3rd round is now on and we are down at the most southern race track in the world; Teretonga.

The weather is normally a problem at this track, with cold rain coming along with very little warning, at any time. And yes, we did get some!

Practice on Friday went well for all 3 riders, all 3 being at the top of the timing sheets. Rear tyres at this track get a hard time, we had a few small issues at the begining of practise, but soon had them sorted.

Saturday morning broke and the sun was out, and stayed out all day.......which was a first for us, in about 7 years.

For the final qualifing, both Dennis and Robbie went under the lap record, with Robbie on the Superbike posting a 57.67 and Dennis on the 600 1:00.55.........both securing pole. James also went very well, with his knee having an easier time at thei track. James posted the 2nd best time, of 1:00.79......so also right on the pace.

Both Robbie, Dennis and James are well on the pace and have a good .4 sec per lap on the rest of the field. So, we are hoping we can turn that into good race times for Sunday.........time will tell......!!!!!!!! 

News: 20th Sunday, January 2008

Well these 2 races were close.

In the 1st race for Superbikes, the top five were only seperated by 1.5 sec at the finish..........with Robbie taking the win.

The 2nd race again was close, but with Robbie pulling over 1 sec gap on the rest of the field, he was well in control. Then a yellow flag slowed him, letting the others close up. So the last 5 odd laps were a mad dash. Stroud had a go on the final lap, to pass Robbie under brakes.......which we knew he would try. They had a coming together, but Robbie was able to keep it together and get back into the lead and take the win by a couple of hundreths of a sec..........slightly close again.

Dennis on the 600 was in complete control all weekend, he did not secure pole, but was able to put alot race pace laps in, which set him up ready for the race, and he lead from the front on both races, securing 2 wins.

James secured 3rd on the grid, but was again having major problem with his knee. This cost him in race 1, with James coming home 4th, a swollen knee and having to be lifted off the bike. Come race 2, James was determined to push his knee harder, this he did and in race secured 3rd.

Overall it was another great weekend for Triple R Superbike, the points for everyone look great, but there is still plenty to do.

News: 19th Saturday January 2008

Well, I have not updated this page for quite a while....so here goes.

We are now into the 2008 New Zealand Superbike Championship, and we have already completed round 1 and are this weekend into round 2.

Last weekend went great for the team, with both Dennis Charlotte and Robbie Bugden winning their races, Dennis the 600's and Robbie the Superbikes, this was at Ruapuna Raceway, Christchurch.

Dennis set a new lap record, but, because of an accident on about the 4th lap, where the red flag was put out, the result for that half of the race went back one lap, there by removing Dennis's lap record.........!!

Robbie also set a new lap record, once in the 1st race, then also again in the 2nd. The 2nd race of both the 600's and Superbike was also the New Zealand GP, so both Robbie and Dennis are now the New Zealand GP Champions.

James Smith also rode excellent in both races, but has had major problems with his left knee, having just had it operated on and getting it taken out of its cast only 2 weeks ago. So half way during both 15 lap races (1.35.00 laps), James's knee swells up and is difficult to bend. By the end of each race, poor James has to actually be lifted off the bike. Even though this happend, James still came home 3rd in both races.

All 3 Suzuki's performed well, along with the Dunlop race tyres, we could not have asked for better weekend.

We are now further down south this weekend; Levels Raceway (Timaru), racing at the 2nd round of the Championship. It is Saturday and we have just finished qualifying, Robbie has secured pole for the Superbikes, with a new lap record of 1.04.87 and both Dennis and James are on the front row in the 600's; 2nd and 3rd (1:07.1 & 1:07.3) 

It will be tough tomorrow, with Levels been a tough track to pass on if the other rider doesn't want you to get past. Again the Dunlops have been fantastic, and do seem to have the edge on the other brands of tyres, especially when the track temps get over 45 degrees C.

We are using the Dunlop 7483's on the rear of the 600's and SBK, and on the SBK and Dennis's 600, we are using the 6136 and James is using the 6178 front. All three riders have also tried the 7511 rear, but, so far, with track temps ranging from 25-50 degrees, the 7483 has proven to be the tyre of choice.

So, we will see how tomorrow goes, untill then.....  

2006/07 New Zealand National Superbike Championship News:
I have yet to go to Teretonga and have a full weekend of racing and not have it rain....!!!! With this track at the bottom of New Zealand, and nothing really between it and the Antarctica, the weather here can be challenging.
Well, with Ray braking his arm in Australia, while he was racing in the Aussie Superbike Championship, this put us back months, as Ray is the engine builder and suspension builder. >> Read More

Triple R Superbike, would like to thank Brendon Marshall, for his fantastic service to the Team and also wish him all the best with his next venture. Brendon is taking his family to America, to race there in 2007. We are hoping that we will be able to get over to America and support him during the year.

Welcome to James Smith from everyone at Triple R Superbike Team! James will be riding the GSXR600 K6.
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