Australia’s Robbie Bugden sealed a thrilling victory in the 2007 New Zealand Superbike Championship at Pukekohe Raceway on Sunday, the first Australian rider to secure the crown. Winning the first race of the final round, Bugden needed to finish the last race of the season ahead of main title challenger, New Zealand’s Andrew Stroud, to seal the series win.
In a dramatic turn of events, Bugden was leading the final leg when he and fellow Australian Scott Charlton touched wheels which ran Bugden off the circuit. Miraculously Bugden remained upright and rejoined the track in front of New Zealand’s Suzuki hero Stroud where he remained to the chequered flag, registered a new lap record of 56.698 seconds around the 2.8km Pukekohe circuit.
Piloting his GSX-R1000 Superbike to an historic victory, the laconic Queenslander was delighted with his triumph. “This is fantastic - it was a really tough day and I feel like I’ve aged about two years across the weekend, but it was well worth it, ” Robbie Bugden said.
“I had a strong finish to the 2006 season with Team Yoshimura Suzuki and the momentum carried through into the NZ series. I really appreciate Suzuki New Zealand’s invitation to race in the series and all the support they gave me. “Suzuki is so dominant in New Zealand road racing; GSX-R1000’s filled three of the top five places in this year’s Superbike championship. ” The Aussie racer is looking to continue his winning ways back on home soil as he resumes his charge in the Australian Superbike competition in the double-header rounds two and three at Winton Raceway, Victoria this weekend.
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