- Challenging windy conditions set the stage for an exciting Round One at Hampton Downs.
- Big rider moves and stacked fields delivered thrilling racing across Senior, Intermediate, and Junior classes.
- Carl Cox Motorsport Cup enters its 15th year with strong competition in Ninja, Hyosung, and Ladies Cup categories.
Changeable conditions, dominated by a stiff breeze, marked the opening Round of the Suzuki – Auckland Motorcycle Club Series for 2025-26.
There was little moisture, but the wind blew all day, only abating during the final couple of races, which made for challenging conditions for both competitors and event volunteers.
And it wasn’t just the weather that was blowing people away at Hampton Downs, as the large number of off-season rider movements generated a wave of interest across many classes, and opened opportunities for some entertaining battles to come this Series.
Senior – It was Dave Sharp (CBR1000RR-R) and Luca Durning (S1000RR) who set the pace in Formula Auckland.
There was a lot of interest in the SuperSport 600 class as D6M debuted a trio of new RC8 KTM’s for Logan Rowell, Hamish Simpson, and Cameron Leslie.
It was Jesse Stroud (ZX6) and Haydn Fordyce (R6) who dominated the day, however, but with Tyler King (MV) and Mark Halls (R6) also in the mix, this will be a class to watch this season.
And great to see class regular Ian Reed – all the way from Wellington on his beautiful S1000RR – leaving with the points lead in Formula Auckland B (1:09s)
The Intermediate class had a huge field, fueled by the great work the ProTwin 650 class is doing with their category, and their North Island Cup Series across the VMCC and AMCC Series.
Also in the intermediate field were the Super Twins, Superlite, and F3, including the 800cc 4-stroke twins. With some Post Classic flavour in there as well, there was plenty of action for everyone.
Tyler King (R7), Azlan Blackwell (SV 650) and Cameron Leslie (R7) shared the spoils in ProTwin 650, but with 20+ ProTwins on track, there were battles everywhere.
Whilst Zak Fuller had a productive debut on the CBR650 Honda in Super Twin.
Among the many other areas of interest, it was great to see Ray Clee doing double duty; complementing his usual Formula Auckland duties on the GSX-R1000 with a run on a GSX-8R.
In Junior – Nixon Frost (R3) commanded SS300, while Alyssa Boyd (Hyosung) holds a narrow 2-point advantage over Nick Trigger (Hyosung) in ProLite 250, with Samuel Chave (R15) leading SS150.
Phillip Law and Angus Ravenwood on their BMW-powered rig had the measure of the sidecar field after spending most of the day battling Barry Smith and Vaughan Maine (LCR Kawasaki).
And Year 15 of Carl Cox Motorsport Cup competition kicked off under the considered tutelage of Ken Dobson, with the field now weighted in favour of the Ninjas by a small margin.
Tim Gray came away the early Ninja Cup points leader after four entertaining battles.
Joe Stroud lost his points from Race Four following a medical check infringement from a prior race, so now has a 50-point deficit to pull back – but there is a lot to play out for the Ninjas.
Experienced veteran Scott Findlay heads the Hyosung Cup from young speedster Cadel Finlay, while Alyssa Boyd capped a fine day by heading the Ladies Cup points.
So as challenging as the weather was, it was a mighty start to the new Club Series, and the Club looks forward to welcoming everyone to Round Two on 19 October.
Report: Philip Kavermann
Points after Round 1
Senior – Formula Auckland
95 Dave Sharp
81 Luca Durning
52 Ray Clee
Senior – Formula Auckland B (1:09s)
95 Ian Reed
81 John Webster
65 Andrew Boldero
Senior – Supersport 600
95 Jesse Stroud
81 Haydn Fordyce
52 Cameron Leslie
Senior – Clubmans
100 Chet Greatorex
80 Mario Castellon
Sidercars
95 Phillip Law / Angus Ravenwood
68 Ian Burke / George Vennell
65 Barry Smith / Vaughan Maine
CCMC – Ninja Cup
263 Timothy Gray
213 Joe Stroud
202 Justin Reid
CCMC – Hyosung Cup
303 Scott Findlay
270 Cadel Finlay
222 Troy Fowles
CCMC – Women’s Cup
201 Alyssa Boyd
148 Megan Kemp
58 Vicky King
Intermediate – Pro Twin 650
79 Tyler King
77 Azlan Blackwell
65 Cameron Leslie
Intermediate – Super Twin
100 Nixon Frost
80 Karl Kampenhout
Intermediate – Superlite / F3 / 800cc 4 Stroke Twins
95 Zak Fuller
85 Jesse Stroud
61 Ray Clee
Intermediate – Post Classic
45 Hadleigh Thomson
45 Brett Butler
Junior – Supersport 300
100 Nixon Frost
60 Alvin Wu
56 Lucas Hyslop
Junior – ProLite 250
77 Alyssa Boyd
75 Nick Trigger
62 Amar Rajeev
Junior – Supersport 150
95 Samuel Chave
84 Troy Stephens
48 Isabelle Smith
The 2025-2026 Suzuki – Auckland Motorcycle Club Series is organised and promoted by the Auckland Motorcycle Club, who acknowledge all their valuable partners and sponsors:
Suzuki NZ, Level LTD, MX Timing, Carl Cox Motorsport Cup, BRMDYNO Paeroa, Darbi, Darkart Motorsport, Eurobike, Forbes & Davies, M&M Engineering, Motomail, Motul, Mr Motorcycles, MTF – Wairau Valley, Whites Powersports,
Calendar – 2025-26 Suzuki – Auckland Motorcycle Club Series:
Rd 1 14 September, 2025 National Circuit
Rd 2 19 October, 2025 National Circuit
Rd 3 16 November, 2025 National Circuit
For further details head to: www.amcc.org.nz
