Auckland’s Jaden Hassan is right on target to claim the New Zealand 600cc supersport title when the five-round national motorcycling series wraps up at Taupo this weekend.

A pair of third placings at the penultimate round at Hampton Downs, near Huntly, last weekend has lifted the young Yamaha ace to within just 16 points of catching Canterbury’s championship leader John Ross (Repsol Suzuki).

While Westmere’s Hassan pocketed 32 points from his day’s work at a rain-drenched Hampton Downs last weekend, Christchurch’s Ross battled to fifth and ninth placings, good enough for 18 points on the day.

This meant Hassan had chewed 14 points out of his Canterbury rival’s advantage.

With a 16-point gap, Ross is possibly still the favourite to take the title this coming weekend but, as last weekend’s drama-filled day of racing demonstrated, anything can happen in this most unforgiving branch of motor-racing.

Hassan and Ross head to Taupo’s Centennial Motorsport Park equally determined to claim the crown left vacant by Christchurch’s Dennis Charlett, the 2012 champion instead focussing on the superbike class this season.

Hassan has had a difficult time of it this season with the early rounds of the championship not going his way.

Hassan had taken his Homebuyers Reports Yamaha R6 to finish the day first equal overall, level with Ross, at round one of the series, on the outskirts of Christchurch, at the beginning of January.

Hassan then experienced a massive set-back at round two near Timaru, suffering a crash during the weekend’s preliminary qualifying session that would most likely have spelled the end of the title campaign for any lesser rider.

He braved the pain to nurse his way to an unaccustomed 12th in the first of two 600cc Supersport races the following day and then, sadly, withdrew before the start of the day’s second race.

That 12th placing and subsequent no-show meant he slipped from first equal to a distant and disappointing fourth in the championship rankings.

But the teenager is made of stern stuff and he declared himself ready to go when he showed up at round three at Teretonga, near Invercargill, just a week later, with his broken left wrist securely braced.

Remarkably, he qualified his Yamaha fastest, then he again weathered the pain to battle his way to third and second in the two races. Ross won both races and extended his championship lead but at least Hassan was back in the hunt and he had done well enough to elevate himself from fourth to second on the points table.

“As it stands now, I need to win at Taupo to have any chance of taking the title … but the chance is there,” said the 18-year-old Hassan.

“Josh Ross can afford to finish behind me in both races and he’ll still win the title, but if another rider gets in between us, then it’s in my favour.

“I’ll be going hard at Taupo and hoping for the best, just like I did at Hampton Downs.”

Third in the 600cc supersport standings is Rangiora’s Jake Lewis (Bob McCleary Yamaha R6), just 13 points behind Hassan, with fourth-ranked rider Rhys Holmes (John Tuhoe Yamaha R6), of Katikati, another 14 points further back.

Fifth in the 600cc standings is one of the previous round’s biggest movers, Christchurch rider Seth Devereux (Spectro BikesportNZ.com Kawasaki ZX6). Devereux is just seven points behind Holmes.

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