Stroud Confident for Sundays Superbike Showdown The battle for the 2012 Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike Championship is far from over. After a brilliant double victory for Suzuki at Hampton Downs last weekend, Andrew Stroud is in a confident mood heading into a final-round Superbike showdown at Taupo on Sunday. “My chances are as good as anybody’s now – it’s a great example of not giving up,” Stroud says. “I’ve found good form now and I’m feeling really confident riding my Suzuki on the limits, and I feel ready to go!” To win a record tenth NZ Superbike title Stroud needs to collect eleven more points than championship leader Robbie Bugden (Australia), who holds a 10.5 point advantage. With 25 points for a win and 20 for second, Stroud needs more than just a pair of wins on his David Reid Homes Waikato GSXR1000, if Bugden finishes second in each heat. Australian Dan Stauffer is making another one-off appearance and may be a factor in deciding which country the championship goes to if he splits the pair of Suzuki racers. The defending NZ Superbike and Suzuki Tri-Series champ understands the situation. “I’ll be trying to win both races to finish in front of Robbie, but we might need someone in between us as well. It’ll be better if we are all in a bunch and I can pull something out at the end and leave Robbie fighting with a few other guys.” Bugden won the NZ Superbike title from 2007 2009, and will be determined as ever, yet he’s not the only rider capable of winning. Sloan Frost (Wellington), Nick Cole (Hamilton) and Scott Moir (Taupo) are amongst a group of very fast Kiwis around the technical Taupo circuit, with Frost holding the current lap record. Not forgetting that Stroud has won the NZ Superbike title on a Pirelli-shod Suzuki the past two years running, so he’s not going to let it cross the Tasman without a fight. “I like it when the pressure is on and I do push it a lot harder when I need to, so I’ll be able to muster something extra if it really came down to it over the last few laps. It’ll be exciting to watch! Stroud slashed 30 points off Bugden’s lead from the last two races, but there’s little doubt this weekend’s final two heats will prove much more challenging if he wants to keep the title in New Zealand. Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike Championship points standings: Robbie Bugden, 132.5; Andrew Stroud (Hamilton, David Reid Homes Waikato Suzuki GSXR1000), 122; Sloan Frost, 97.5; Nick Cole, 91.5; James Smith, 82. 2012 Castrol Power 1 NZ Superbike Championship Schedule: Rnd 5: Taupo Motorsport Park, Taupo, March 24-25