News 19 Mar 2018

Frost seals New Zealand Superbike Championship

Suzuki rider regains premier class title following round four.

Image: Supplied.

Sloan Frost clinched the 2018 New Zealand Superbike Championship aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000 after a calculated performance at the weekend’s fourth and final round at the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park in Taupo.

The 36-year-old had built a commanding lead at the first three rounds, but he was taking nothing for granted. Frost held a 47-point lead over his nearest rival Mitch Rees (Honda) at the start of the weekend.

His safe and sensible approach to racing on Saturday and Sunday saw him qualifying fastest and then finishing fourth, sixth and third in the three Superbike races, allowing him to add to his first Superbike title in 2016.

“It feels like more of an achievement this year than my other win,” Frost said. “I was so nervous. My qualifying times were really good, but as soon as we got to racing proper I was riding tight while the other riders had nothing to lose, so they were pushing hard. There was a lot of pressure coming into this final round. After being so close last year to winning the title and all those emotions were coming back to me.”

Frost clinched the championship by 21 points from final round winner Rees and Suzuki-mounted Daniel Mettam, while Australia’s Robbie Bugden (Yamaha) was 10th after making a guest appearance at the final two rounds. He was fourth at Hampton Downs – including a win in the final race – and P5 in Taupo.

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