Paeroa 2011

Paeroa Battle of the Streets, Paeroa Feb 20, 2011

Words by: KC Bernard

Photos by: Dallas Alexander

Paeroa Battle of the Streets

There were a few of the top name riders that missed Paeroa this year, but it didn’t make for less exciting racing and a days’ racing that ran like clock-work! As usual, the weather gods came thru and the day was hot and sunny. Another new track for Dan Stauffer to learn, and again, it didn’t take long to sort it out.

The practices are always short and sharp, so there isn’t much time to sort out gearing and suspension etc. With Brians’ Paeroa experiences (previous lap record holder), the on-hand suspension expertise of Kerry Dukie of Dukic Performance and some nice sticky Pirelli tyres, Dan had all the help he needed. After qualifying on the front row, a few very minor changes were made to the stock suspension on the Yamaha R1 and everything was ready for the coming races.

Race 1 was the first of two Formula Paeroa races. Dan didn’t get the best of starts but that just seemed to drive him harder to get to the front. Playing catch up, he took second place on lap 4 and by lap 6 was in the lead and went on to win by 0.3 seconds. On his way to winning the race, Dan set the fastest lap of the race with a 45.53 second lap.

The next race was the “King of the Streets” and Dan was in pole position, having set the fastest lap in the previous race. From here, Dan went on to lead 9 out of the 10 laps finishing 1st with a winning margin of 1.08 second and again setting the fastest time with a 45.02 second lap.

The bike and tyres were perfect so no changes were made for the final race of the day. This was the second of the two Formula Paeroa races and Dan got a pretty good start, running in 3rd for the first few laps. By lap 4, Dan had moved into second and by lap 7 was in the lead and getting away from the field. He went on to take his third victory of the day winning by 1.1 seconds, further lowering his best lap time to 44.91 seconds.

This ended a perfect day for the Team, with 3 wins from 3 starts after some great battles with fellow Yamaha man (and previous multiple King of the Streets winner) Tony Rees, Hayden Fitzgerald and Sloan Frost. The Team left Paeroa wondering how fast Dan could have gone if he had been there before as every time he went out he just got faster and faster!!

Preparations are under way now for the last two rounds of the National Champs at Hampton Downs, March 26/27, then the following weekend for the final at Manfield April 2/3. The Team have now turned the tables on the bad run that was had in the south island and now the winning ways can continue.

Stay tuned for more!!!

A big thanks to all our team sponsors and supporters. We look forward to the up-coming National Championship events – come along and see the show!

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