It was a drama-filled day of racing at the penultimate round of this season’s New Zealand Superbike Championships at Hampton Downs on Sunday and the series points have been given a huge shake-up.

Defending national superbike champion Robbie Bugden arrived at the north Waikato circuit with a healthy 24-point lead over fellow Suzuki star Craig Shirriffs, but both championship contenders crashed spectacularly in the same bend — one after the other in tandem fashion (main photo above) — during the second of two superbike races on Sunday.

Instead of sharing the day’s podium as they had done at the previous three rounds of the series, both Australian rider Bugden and Feilding’s Shirriffs ended their afternoon sitting just metres apart on a grassy embankment, their wrecked bikes perched nearby, the two friends and rivals forced to watch the race being completed without them.

But while the series’ two leading superbike riders fell, a third Suzuki rider rose to take their place, Christchurch’s Dennis Charlett (pictured below) taking his Underground Brown Suzuki GSX-R1000 to victory in that fateful race and claiming the New Zealand TT title in the process.

Despite their misfortune, Bugden and Shirriffs remain first and second in the superbike championship chase, albeit with Charlett now in strike range as the series heads to the fifth and final round at Taupo next weekend.

Bugden and Shirriffs also had a difficult time of it in the day’s first superbike class race, Bugden struggling to an unaccustomed 10th place and Shirriffs finishing just three places ahead of him in seventh spot.

Charlett finished third in the day’s first superbike class race, behind Hamilton’s Nick Cole (Kawasaki) and New Plymouth’s Hayden Fitzgerald (Suzuki), but, added to his race two victory, he has rocketed up to within just seven points of Shirriffs in the hunt for the superbike crown.

The three Suzuki men head to Taupo with everything to ride for, although Bugden remains title favourite with a 21-point advantage over Shirriffs and a 28-point gap back to Charlett.

“I had a great day today,” confirmed the 44-year-old Charlett afterwards.

“I’ll just go to Taupo now and see how in pans out. I’ll just turn up and ride, ignore everyone else, and whatever may be, may be.

“Winning the TT race today was simply awesome. I’ve won the TT title in the 125cc class and won it three times in the 600cc class, but this was my first superbike TT trophy and it felt like when I won my first, it was that amazing.

“I’m loving this GSX-R1000,” said Charlett, who won the national 600cc supersport title last season on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

“It’s such a great bike. It has rejuvenated me.”

So it will be a fresh and confident Charlett who lines up at Taupo next weekend, a podium finish almost certain and a top-two finish a very real possibility, perhaps even the title win.

If momentum means anything then Charlett will certainly be the man to watch.

Meanwhile, Suzuki riders also dominated four other classes on Sunday, with Te Awamutu’s David Hall (Suzuki GSX-R600) winning the 600 supersport class, Palmerston North’s Glen Williams (Suzuki SV650) winning the superlites clas, Pakuranga’s Jason McCamish (Suzuki SV50) winning the Pro Twins class and Australian Cameron Donald (McIntosh Suzuki 1150) winning the post classics seniors grade.

Australian visitor Luke Burgess (Kawasaki) conquered the 250 Production class with a hat-trick of wins and Christchurch’s Scout Fletcher (Honda) finished top of the 125GP class. Hamilton pair Aaron Lovell and Dennis Simonsen (Yamaha) combined to win the sidecars class on Sunday.

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

Leading results from the fourth round of five in the 2013 New Zealand Superbike Championships at Hampton Downs:

Superbikes –

Race one: Nick Cole (Hamilton) Kawasaki 1; Hayden Fitzgerald (New Plymouth) Suzuki 2; Dennis Charlett (Christchurch) Suzuki 3; Sloan Frost (Wellington) BMW 4; Scott Moir (Taupo) Suzuki 5.

Race two, New Zealand TT (Tourist Trophy): Charlett 1; Frost 2; Fitzgerald 3; Tony Rees (Whakatane) Honda 4; Karl Morgan (Auckland) Suzuki 5.

Championship points: Robbie Bugden (Australia, Suzuki) 151, Craig Shirriffs (Feilding, Suzuki) 130, Charlett 123, Frost 101, Cole 100.

600cc Supersport –

Race one: David Hall (Te Awamutu) Suzuki 1; David Manuell (Auckland) Suzuki 2; Jaden Hassan (Auckland) Yamaha 3; Jake Lewis (Christchurch) Yamaha 4; John Ross (Christchurch) Suzuki 5.

Race two, TT: Seth Devereux (Christchurch) Kawasaki 1; Hall 2; Hassan 3; Daniel Mettam (Glen Eden) Honda 4; Alastair Hoogenboezem (Christchurch) Suzuki 5.

Points: Ross 133, Hassan 117, Lewis 104, Rhys Holmes (Katikati, Yamaha) 90, Devereux 83.

Superlites –

Race one: Glen Williams (Palmerston North) Suzuki SV650, 1; Gavin Veltmeyer (New Windsor) Suzuki SV650, 2; Richard Newbery (Balclutha) Kawasaki 450, 3. Race two: Williams 1; Veltmeyer 2; Nigel Lennox (Auckland) Suzuki SV650, 3. Race three, TT: Williams 1; Veltmeyer 2; Geoff Batt (Auckland) 3.

Points: Newbery 251, Veltmeyer 187.5, Glenn Agate (Oamaru, Kawasaki ZXR400) 139.

Pro Twins –

Race one: Nathan Diprose (Huia) Suzuki SV650, 1; Jason McCamish (Auckland) Suzuki SV650, 2; Dean Bentley (Lower Hutt) Suzuki SV650, 3. Race two: McCamish 1; Bentley 2; Hamish Murphy (Dannevirke) Suzuki SV650, 3. Race three, TT: McCamish 1; Nick Southerwood (Kumeu) Suzuki SV650, 2; Diprose 3.

Points: Murphy 218, Bentley 199, Southerwood 192.

125 GP –

Race one: Troy Guenther (Australia) Honda 1; Matt Hoogenboezem (Christchurch) Honda 2; Scout Fletcher (Christchurch) Honda 3. Race two: Fletcher 1; James Jarman (Whangarei) Honda 2; Aaron Hassan (Auckland) Honda 3. Race three, TT: Fletcher 1; Guenther 2; Jarman 3.

Points: Guenther 266.5, Fletcher 199.5, Scott Kinder (Geraldine, Honda) 166.

250 Production –

Race one: Luke Burgess (Australia) Kawasaki 1; Royd Walker-Holt (Auckland) Kawasaki 2; Sam Davison (Christchurch) Kawasaki 3. Race two: Burgess 1; Walker-Holt 2; Richard Willetts (Timaru) Kawasaki 3. Race three, TT: Burgess 1; Walker-Holt 2; Darcy Prendergast (Ashburton) Kawasaki 3.

Points: Burgess275, Willetts 144, Bailie Perriton (Ashburton) Kawasaki 134.

Sidecars –

Race one: Aaron Lovell-Dennis Simonsen (Hamilton LCR 1000, 1; Chris Lawrance-Richie Lawrance (Auckland Yamaha 1000, 2; Barry Smith (Te Puke)-Robbie Shorter (Welcome Bay) SSR Carbon 1000, 3. Race two: Lovell-Simonsen 1; Adam Unsworth-Stu Dawe (Auckland) Windle 1000, 2; Grant Waters (Timaru)-Matt Gibbs (Christchurch) Windle 1000, 3. Race three, TT: Spike Taylor (Masterton)-Astrid Hartnell (Wanganui) LCR 1000, 1; Lovell-Simonsen 2; Unsworth-Dawe 3.

Points: Taylor-Hartnell 179.5, Waters-Gibbs 141, Peter Goodwin (Bay of Islands)-Darren Prentis (Auckland) 101.