It’s the nature of high-speed, high-risk, high-excitement motorcycle racing that luck will sometimes play a big part and Wainuiomata’s Shane Richardson is more aware of that than most competitors.

The Kawasaki ace was cruelly robbed of what had seemed a certain Formula Two class victory at the pre-season Suzuki Tri Series when, with one hand firmly on the trophy, he crashed spectacularly at the final round, on the public streets of Whanganui on Boxing Day.

But the 20-year-old apprentice joiner is now learning to take the good with the bad.

Richardson (Kawasaki ZX6R) was seemingly unstoppable on the public streets of Paeroa at Sunday’s 25th annual Battle of the Streets race meeting, the sister event to Whanganui’s annual post-Christmas Cemetery Circuit affair.

Richardson impressively won both F2 races on Sunday, each time finishing ahead of Whakatane’s Damon Rees, with Taumarunui’s Jette Josiah completing the podium.

Luck played a small part in Richardson’s class win, as he revealed an after-market kill-switch on the handlebars unhooked just as he crossed the finish line in race one. He eventually rolled to a stop, but if that had happened a lap earlier it would have been a non-finish for him.

Then, in the all-capacities King of the Streets feature race, Richardson managed fourth overall, the best-performed 600cc bike rider, finishing that 10-lapper behind 1000cc superbike riders Tony Rees (Whakatane), Scott Moir (Taupo) and Toby Summers (Manukau).

“This is the same bike I have been racing at the New Zealand Superbike Championships and pretty much straight out of the crate, but we installed stiffer front springs for the street racing,” he explained.

“I actually got bad starts all day and had to make my passing moves quickly, before the leaders got away. In the second race my start was pretty average again, but I managed to get up the inside of Damon (Rees) heading into turn one … it’s about 300 metres or so from the starting grid to turn one (along the main street of Paeroa, State Highway 2) and a lot can happen before you get to turn one,” he smiled.

“Once I was in the lead I didn’t want to push too much harder. Sure, I went fast, but not to breaking point.”

Richardson now switches his focus back to the superbike nationals, with the fourth and final round set for Hampton Downs in two weeks’ time.

“I’m currently only third overall in the 600 supersport class and a long way behind the leaders, but that’s not too bad considering I’ve blown up two motors and had a DNF when I popped a 10-cent fuse.

“I still have massive potential to be on the box (podium) though and so that’s the aim.”

Other class winners at Paeroa on Sunday were Whakatane’s Tony Rees (King of the Streets feature race winner); Taupo’s Scott Moir (Formula One); Auckland’s Gavin Veltmeyer (Formula Three); Taupo’s Scott Moir (Supermotard); Auckland’s Mark Wigley (Pre-89 Post Classics); Auckland’s Mark Robinson (Pre-82 Post Classics); Sanson’s Mark Perry (Bears, non-Japanese bikes); Auckland’s Mark Halls (Senior Classics); Auckland’s Brendon Honey (Junior Classics); Auckland’s Adam Unsworth and Stu Dawes (Sidecars); Pahiatua’s John Blaymires and Charles Hill (Post Classic Sidecars).

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

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