Everything clicked for Auckland’s Karl Morgan at the 20th annual Battle of the Streets race meeting in Paeroa on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Ray Clee Motorsports Team rider qualified his Colemans Suzuki GSX-R600 in second position for the day’s formula two races and then stepped it up to promptly run away to convincing wins in both outings.

The 600cc bike riders had to line up alongside the 1000cc  superbikes and, although they were scored separately, it still meant Morgan had his work cut out trying to match the bigger bikes, particularly on the long main straight, actually State Highway 2 for the other 364 days of the year.

The public street race is a torrid test of man and machine at the best of time but Morgan was up to the task on Sunday.

“It was good fun. I actually thought it would be worse than it was because, within four or five laps, I was starting to come up on lapped riders. It was tough trying to squeeze past and also trying to pass the 1000cc bikes too.

“It was important to get a good jump out of the hairpin (entering onto the main straight) and then just go hard.

“To tell the truth, I was only racing at about 90% because I didn’t want to throw it all away on the Paeroa streets when I’ve still got the national championship series to complete yet.

“The superbike champs haven’t been going too well for me because I haven’t been able to get my tyres to last and then I tossed the bike away in the atrocious conditions at round two in Invercargill too.

“But I’m looking forward to the last two rounds of the nationals (at Hampton Downs on March 27 and at Manfeild on April 3). My race wins at Paeroa have certainly given my confidence a big boost.”

Meanwhile, it was an impressive Suzuki 1-2-3-4-5 at the top of the formula three class at Paeroa on Sunday.

New Plymouth’s Terry Fitzgerald (Suzuki SV650) and Palmerston North’s Glen Williams (Suzuki SV650) shared race wins and finished the day equal on points, although Fitzgerald got the nod to win overall on a count-back, while, also riding SV650 model Suzuki bikes, Kumeu’s Nick Southerwood, Lower Hutt’s Dean Bentley and Manukau’s Jason McCamish finished third, fourth and fifth overall respectively.

© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

The super motard class was a crowd favourite at Paeroa, and riders reacted to the fan encouragement by sliding into corners at mind-blowing speeds.