Under darkening skies, both the title favourites for this season’s New Zealand Superbike Championship crown crashed out of the last race of the day at Hampton Downs on Sunday.

Thankfully, neither bike No.1 rider Robbie Bugden nor bike No.56 rider Craig Shirriffs were injured and their title hopes escaped virtually unscathed too.

Positioned first and second respectively in the title chase, Bugden arrived at the north Waikato circuit with a healthy 24-point lead over fellow Suzuki star Shirriffs and, even after this incident, they remain No.1 and No.2, with Bugden’s advantage merely trimmed to 21 points.

© Photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com