First corner action in the Superbikes
be extremely costly – and he
had to settle for fourth overall.
Hoogenboezem had finished
third overall last season.
In the Supersport 600 class,
Canterbury’s Jake Lewis built
on his 31-point advantage over
fellow Christchurch man James
Hoogenboezem at Taupo’s
finale, to wrap up the title with
a race to spare. Lewis finished
with a 1-4-1 score-card at Taupo,
his girlfriend Avalon Biddle
scoring her first 600cc class
win when she ran away with the
weekend’s second 600cc race.
Biddle had also impressed at
the previous round at Hampton
Downs and her performance
in the second half of the series
elevated her to third overall
for the final series standings.
Meanwhile, Huia’s Nathanael
Diprose survived a major scare
after he crashed heavily in the
22 KIWI RIDER
first of three Superlites races
on day one at Taupo. He battled
through the pain barrier to win
his two remaining races the
following day and took his Suzuki
GSX-R450 and wrap up the
Superlites title for 2018, winning
ahead of fellow Suzuki rider
Dennis Charlett, of Christchurch.
In the Supersport 300cc class
there was a change at the top at
Taupo with Christchurch’s multi-
time former national champion
Dennis Charlett (Kawasaki)
edging past early leader Regan
Phibbs (Yamaha), of Tauranga,
to snatch the title away,
while Christchurch’s Andrew
McLaughlin (KTM) also came on
strong at Taupo to move up from
fourth to claim third overall.
Other title winners were:
Hamilton’s Jordan Burley (650
Pro Twins); Christchurch’s
Nick Cain (250cc Production);
Frost and Suzuki took the title
Rodney’s Blayes Heaven
(125GP); Pukekohe’s Thomas
Newton (GIXXER Cup); and
Auckland’s Peter Goodwin and
Kendal Dunlop (Sidecars).