Daniel [Mettam] got by me in race three. I came
up fast on a lapper right on the kink in the front
straight and Daniel blew by. Daniel is really good
under brakes and it’s very hard to pass at Paeroa.
“I had a couple of ‘looks’ at him near the end
of the race, but I’d already done the maths
in my head and knew I didn’t need to take
any big risks. Finishing runner-up was still
enough to win the day overall,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was all green out front in the
600cc class at Paeroa. Kawasaki riders Toby
Summers and Shane Richardson shared the wins
in the 600cc Formula Two class, with Manukau’s
Summers declared the overall winner because he
had finished highest in the day’s second of two
F2 races, but, the count-back rule aside, there
was really nothing to separate the two men, both
of them on identical ZX-6R Ninja machines.
Wainuiomata’s Richardson won the first of two
F2 races at Paeroa, crossing the finish line two
seconds ahead of Summers, with Hamilton’s Zurrin
Wiki (Triumph Daytona 675) claiming third spot,
finishing more than six seconds further back.
But then Summers had his revenge, winning
race two by 400ths of a second from
Richardson, with the third-placed rider, Te
Awamutu’s David Hall (Suzuki GSX-R600),
crossing the line five seconds later.
“I’m pretty happy with this bike and I think
we both went close to lap record times at
Paeroa,” said the 45-year-old Summers.
“It is really good to be going that fast and being
close to Shane too. Shane is a great 600cc rider
and so to be able to battle with him is fantastic.
I always have good, close battles with him – I
feel confident when he gets close beside me
on the track because I know he’s not going to
do anything silly and we respect one another.”
Richardson was also satisfied with his
day at Paeroa. “I’m happy with my results
today, alth ough I always want to win,”
said the 22-year-old Richardson.
He shortly heads back to the United States and
he’ll be racing there from March until September.
Moir leads Lawrence
KIWI RIDER 21