Motor Sport
The Altherm JCR Yamaha road racing teams performed stunningly at the country’s southernmost track to cover all spots on their class and overall New Zealand Superbike (NZSBK) Championship podiums.
Racing in uncharacteristically sunny weather at Teretonga Park, the three riders Alastair Hoogenboezem (Superbike), Jake Lewis (Supersport 600) and Cormac Buchanan (Supersport 600 and 300) clocked up race wins, lap records and multiple podiums over the weekend.
Doing double class duty on his home track, Invercargill’s Cormac Buchanan had arguably his best performance in the NZSBK to date. Over qualifying and racing in the Supersport 600 and Supersport 300 classes he notched up two pole positions, five race wins, and two lap records.
His most notable achievements were the two 600 race wins and smashing this category’s record by a second in just his fourth race weekend on the Yamaha YZF-R6, which he only rode for the first time nine weeks ago.
“It was very close to the perfect weekend. I didn’t expect to be as fast as I was on the 600 but I’ll take it any day,” Buchanan says.
He retained his unbeaten streak in the Supersport 300 category after three rounds but it was the bigger capacity class where he really shone.
“I got the 600 bike buttoned down quickly and got my confidence up fast to be on the lap record pace at the end of the first day.”
Race 1 saw that set-up pay off and Buchanan headed the field home to take his first Supersport 600 win and record a 59.260sec fastest lap, breaking Shane Richardson’s lap record in the process.
The second race played out in a similar fashion, with another win and Buchanan whittling down the lap record again to 58.777secs. It was also a second consecutive Altherm Yamaha Racing Development Team (YRDT) 1 – 2, with Jake Lewis finishing runner up both times.
“The last 600 race didn’t go to plan as the chain snapped off when I was leading, resulting in a DNF. It was really frustrating as I was leading the race by 5secs and looking on course to go 6 for 6 in the wins,” Buchanan says.
He channelled that disappointment into his third Supersport 300 race – winning it by a huge 11.159secs and breaking the lap record.
“To be the first-ever 600 to go under a 59sec lap around Teretonga is pretty cool. Going into the weekend to get anywhere near a 59 seemed impossible. When I got to the low 59s early on, I knew I had more in the tank and could push for a 58. The suspension from Robert Taylor was working like a dream and we were able to do 58s this weekend,” Buchanan says.
He credited his YRDT teammate Lewis for their positive working relationship and was pleased they could achieve the pair of 1-2 results. They are close to achieving the same positions in the championship overall, with Lewis leading on 137 points and Buchanan currently in third on 116 points.
The Altherm Yamaha Racing Team’s Superbike rider Alastair Hoogenboezem also had a positive weekend, starting out with finding “our little gremlin that was hindering us in the NZGP race at Ruapuna,” he says.
After making a big geometry change in Saturday’s qualifying, he was in P2 going into the first race and finished in that same position.
“In Sunday’s second race I got a better start and was in second behind Zac Fuller. Mitch [Rees] got past and was pulling a gap when the race was red flagged from a crash. I got a good restart, and quickly passed Zac to lead for four to five laps, then Mitch came past. I made a move on the last lap at turn 2. It stuck and I managed to get my first win for the season which was great and nice to give something back to the team after all their hard work this season.”
The third race saw Rees pull a gap that Hoogenboezem couldn’t close and he finished behind him to take runner up for the weekend and retain that position in the championship.
“It was a good weekend points wise. We are doing all we can and it feels better managing a win. We have an eight week break now before the fifth round at Hampton Downs, with a test day at Taupo in between.”
“Big thanks to the team and well done to the Altherm Yamaha Racing Development Team, with Jake taking the win for the weekend and Cormac showing some domination in the 300 and the 600 classes,” Auckland-based Hoogenboezem wraps up.
Lewis describes the three days of constant sunshine as a “wicked weekend down in Invercargill.” He felt comfortable straight away on his Yamaha YZF-R6, qualifying in P2 behind Buchanan.
“Race 1, I had a really cool battle with Rogan [Chandler] going backwards and forwards all race swapping positions. I managed to hold him off and come home across the line second. It was Cormac’s first win and another Yamaha 1-2, so that was a fantastic result to start the weekend,” Rangiora’s Lewis says.
He changed a couple more things on the bike with the team and went into Sunday hoping to improve on Saturday.
“I went the fastest I’ve been around Teretonga on the 600 so I was super happy with that. I managed to beat Rogan to the line again after a 15-lap race-long battle, bagging another podium and another 1-2 for the team.”
Lewis got the holeshot and led the field into turn one in the third race, with Buchanan passing him on the second lap before being forced to pull out a few laps later with a mechanical issue.
“I jumped into the lead on about lap five and just stuck my head down and kept pushing for the remaining 10 laps and kept building a gap on the rest of the field. I was stoked to come away with my second win of the season. It brought my tally to three podiums, including a win and grabbing the overall for the weekend. I also took the championship lead, so it was a pretty fantastic weekend for me.”
Lewis thanked the whole Altherm JCR Yamaha team for providing great bikes and preparation. “I’m looking forward to heading north and carrying on this form, to see what we can do for the last two rounds,” he wraps up.
Yamaha Motor New Zealand’s Motorsport Manager Josh Coppins congratulated the Altherm JCR Yamaha road racing teams on their impressive results.
“It was gratifying to see Al, Jake and Cormac all do extremely well at Teretonga. I also want to mention the number of Yamahas on the NZSBK podiums across each of the four classes. I believe out of the 12 riders on the podiums, 9 are on Yamahas, which is great to see,” he says.
NZSBK Round Four Results:
Superbike
1st Mitch Rees – 71
2nd Alastair Hoogenboezem (YZF-R1) – 65
3rd Dave Sharp – 42
Supersport 600
1st Jake Lewis (YZF-R6) – 65
2nd Rogan Chandler – 52
3rd Cormac Buchanan (YZF-R6) – 51
Supersport 300
1st Cormac Buchanan (YZF-R3) – 76
2nd Jesse Stroud (YZF-R3) – 60
3rd Dennis Charlett (YZF-R3) – 45
Supersport 150
1st Nixon Frost (YZF-R15) – 71
2nd Hunter Charlett (YZF-R15) – 65
3rd Lucas Guthrie (YZF-R15) – 48
NZSBK Championship Standing (R2, R3 & R4 Combined):
Superbike
1st Mitch Rees – 205
2nd Alastair Hoogenboezem (YZF-R1) – 154
3rd Dave Sharp – 117
Supersport 600
1st Jake Lewis (YZF-R6) – 137
2nd Rogan Chandler – 135
3rd Cormac Buchanan (YZF-R6) – 116
Supersport 300
1st Cormac Buchanan (YZF-R3) – 228
2nd Jesse Stroud (YZF-R3) – 180
3rd Dennis Charlett (YZF-R3) – 126
Supersport 150
1st Hunter Charlett (YZF-R15) – 193
2nd Nixon Frost (YZF-R15) – 172
3rd Lucas Guthrie (YZF-R15) – 127
2022/23 Altherm Yamaha Road Racing Team Rider Line-up:
Superbike – Alastair Hoogenboezem #43
Altherm Yamaha Road Racing Development Team Rider Line-up:
Supersport 600 – Jake Lewis #29 and Cormac Buchanan #14
Supersport 300 – Cormac Buchanan #28