Parker performs strongly at home
Timaru’s Harry Parker was successful in the second round of the New Zealand Superbike Championship in Timaru over the weekend finishing first overall and bumping himself into second place in the series.
Parker, 18, in his second year of racing, finished second in his first race on Saturday but came back to win both his races yesterday.
Racing in the Supersport 300cc class, he was the fastest qualifier at Levels Raceway on Saturday and at Ruapuna, near Christchurch, last weekend.
Speaking to Stuff on Sunday, Parker said he was ‘‘over the moon’’ with how the weekend went.
Parker cited a second place finish on Saturday due to wet track conditions.
‘‘The weather was just a little bit better today [Sunday] and there was heaps of grip on the track. So that played its part.’’
Parker crashed while leading at Ruapuna and was forced to play catch-up in the points.
Palmerston North’s Jacob Stroud, who has revealed himself as a likely title contender in 300 class, pipped Parker for first on Saturday but came second behind Parker in both races yesterday.
Parker’s results in Timaru mean he sits second overall on 72 points, but Stroud remains well clear at the top on 90.
‘‘We’ll just see what pans out,’’ Parker said.
In the sidecars class, Andy Scrivener and Tina McKeown took out both race one and two.
Other classes which raced during the weekend included the 250 Production, 650 Pro Twins, 125 GP, and GIXXER Cup. At a glance
Parker’s Timaru results: Qualifying – 1st, 1:18.243; Race 1 – 2nd, 1:12.584; Race 2 – 1st, 1:12.336; Race 3 – 1st, 1:12.285.