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Dennis Charlett was the big winner at the first round of the 2001 Suzuki Series at Taupo, even though he was riding a small bike. The Palmerston North rider was rapt with his Suzuki GSX-R600 -- a standard production bike - after he won all three A Grade (open racing) races and two of the three Sports Production heats.
\"It\'s like a Grand Prix bike with lights on,\" Charlett said after the nimble little bike proved the ideal weapon for the tight, twisty circuit.
He probably would have made it a clean sweep for the day, but crashed in the first Sports Production race when he hit a patch of oil at the hairpin. Charlett, a former 125cc national champion, joined the top echelon of New Zealand racers this summer when he finished second in the national championships in the highly competitive Formula Two and 600cc Sports Production classes.
At Taupo he won most of his starts but if he was beaten away from the start line he was able to pass other riders on both the inside and the outside at the tricky sweeping corner leading onto the main straight.
Tauranga veteran Robbie Dean won the first Sports Production race on his Aprilia RSV1000 V-twin, while his son James was the top rider in B Grade with an Aprilia RS250. Both also suffered crashes during the day, but emerged unscathed.
The six-round Suzuki Series is New Zealand\'s richest, with a total of $20,000 in prizemoney. Each year it grows in size and importance, attracting many of the leading riders as well as newcomers and emerging talent.
On Sunday at Taupo, on a cloudy but reasonably warm day, 121 riders took part including 13-year-old Andrew Graham, under a new policy allowing young riders to compete in the 150cc Streetstock class. Racing officials believe it is essential to develop young talent if New Zealand is to produce another Aaron Slight or Simon Crafar.
Glenn Williams, normally a front-runner in 600cc Sports Production, turned up with a Yamaha 400 for a change and won the Formula Three Plus class.
