Hometown Hero Turns Up The Heat The weather was blistering and so was the action at Christchurch’s Ruapuna Park on Sunday as the New Zealand Superbike Championships kicked off with a summer scorcher. When the high-octane motorcycle engines were finally shut off late on Sunday afternoon it was home town hero Dennis Charlett who stood proudest in the pits, the 43-year-old father-of-four and grandfather-of-one emerging as joint points leader in the 600cc supersports class and also as the winner of the New Zealand 600cc Grand Prix title. Charlett seems on the right track to successfully defend his 2011 600cc supersports title thanks to his solid 2-1 results in his two races on Sunday although he’ll have to be at his best over the four rounds that follow as fellow Canterbury man John Ross, on an identical Suzuki GSX-R600 bike, actually shares his points lead. Ross finished 1-2 in the 600cc supersport class on Sunday. Both Charlett and Ross therefore finished the day with identical points, Charlett earning the psychological advantage only, given the nod as the day’s overall winner on the count-back rule, Charlett beating Ross to the chequered flag in the all-important second 600cc race. The final run to the flag in that second race was the stuff of legends, Charlett actually trailing Ross by more than a bike length as the Suzuki pair entered the final straight for the last time. “I just went into that last corner very deep and very hard and got some amazing drive out of the last corner,” said Charlett, who slingshot past Ross right on the line. Ross was stunned. “I knew he would be coming hard. I thought I had him but then saw a flash beside me on the line and he had snatched the win from me,” said the 30-year-old Ross. The premier superbike class was something of a lottery with two races in that class becoming three as a succession of crashes forced the organisers to have two bites at race two. Race one was a start-to-finish win for Australian three-time former New Zealand superbike champion Robbie Bugden (riding for the Christchurch-based Triple R Suzuki team), with another Australian, Dan Stauffer, finishing second and dual-class rider Ross taking third spot. Defending superbike champion Andrew Stroud (David Reid Homes Waikato Suzuki GSX-R1000), of Hamilton, was forced to settle for fourth place as he battled to find power with contaminated fuel starving his bike’s engine. Race two had to be run in two stanzas after two riders crashed just three laps into it, leaving debris strewn across the track. Bugden had been leading the way at that point and a reinvigorated Stroud was nowhere to be seen, as he had earlier crashed out while challenging Bugden for the lead. However, with race two having a second stage, Stroud was able to rejoin the party, although rules dictated the 43-year-old and his hastily-repaired machine would have to start off the back of the grid. In an amazing display of raw speed and courage, Stroud rocketed through from last place on the grid to snatch the lead on the opening lap. Stroud came under pressure from Stauffer but held on for the win while it was Bugden’s turn for disaster, his bike failing to last the distance as his engine overheated. When the final calculations were done, it was Stauffer who won the day outright and also took the GP crown for the superbike class, although it’s still early days and round two of the series at Timaru’s Levels Raceway next weekend may give a truer indication of where the superbike title ends up. After Timaru, the championship heads to Teretonga Park, Invercargill, on January 22, then heads north to Hampton Downs, near Huntly, on March 18 and, finally, wraps up at Taupo on March 25.