Summers Off To A Flying Start
There is perhaps nothing more exciting than watching a
high-powered dirt bike in a full-lock slide on a tarseal
circuit.
Add a few undulations and put 25 riders out there together on
the track and you have the recipe for high-octane excitement that
simply can't be matched.
And top Kiwi in this special hybrid code of motorcycle
road-racing is Auckland's Toby Summers, convincing winner of both
Super Moto 450 races at Saturday's opening round of the Tri Series
at Hampton Downs, near Huntly. Round two is at Manfeild this
weekend and the third and final round is set for the public streets
of Wanganui on Boxing Day.
The 38-year-old Manukau plumber took his 2011-model Yamaha
YZ450F to back-to-back wins on the rolling Hampton Downs circuit,
despite the fact he "wasn't pushing the bike too hard in the
corners" and was riding conservatively.
"That was in the first race anyway. Then I gave myself a bit of
a talking-to, pulled my finger out and went harder," he smiled.
He won his first race by a wafer-thin 0.057-second margin from
Wanganui's Jayden Carrick but stretched out to a more comfortable
win in the next race, finishing 2.15s ahead of another Wanganui
rider, Glenn Haden.
"It's hard to go fast, too, when you're in front because you're
not getting a slipstream from other riders. I actually prefer to
follow someone.
"It's a good start to the Tri Series, though. Fastest qualifier
and then two wins from two starts ... you can't do much better than
that.
"I know the racing will be a lot closer at Manfeild this weekend
and at round three on the streets of Wanganui. Those are much
slower track, so it will be tighter."
Summers is supported by Yamaha New Zealand, Bike Torque in
Taumarunui and R&R Powersports.
Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com