I
t was a massive turnaround in fortunes for
Canterbury’s Alastair Hoogenboezem at the
third round of five in this year’s Yamaha-
sponsored New Zealand Superbike Championships
at Hampton Downs, in North Waikato, on March 7-8.
The 27-year-old Christchurch builder crashed
spectacularly in the weekend’s first of three races
in the premier superbike class on the Saturday,
but, uninjured and thanks to a huge overnight
effort from his pit crew, the bike was repaired and
he was ready to race again the following day.
And race he did – despite trepidation following
his horrifying crash just 24 hours earlier,
Hoogenboezem finished third in the first of two
superbike class races on Sunday and then made
his weekend turnaround complete by earning the
coveted New Zealand TT (Tourist Trophy) title
90 KIWI RIDER
when he narrowly won the marathon 12-lapper,
the third and final superbike race of the weekend.
Whakatane’s Damon Rees had topped the
superbike class after rounds one and two in the
South Island, but, because he has since headed
overseas to chase international glory, he was a no-
show at Hampton Downs and he won’t be at the
final two rounds at Manfeild (on March 28-29) or
at Taupo (on April 4-5) either.
Rees’ absence and Hoogenboezem’s strong
showing at Hampton Downs allowed
Hoogenboezem to assume the championship
lead in this class.
He is now three points clear of Taupo’s Scott Moir,
the man who won the weekend overall in the
superbike class, Moir’s 1-1-2 results at Hampton
Downs seeing him scoot from fifth in the