Kiwis Top Leader Boards at New Zealand Superbike Champs A lovely sunny day greeted the riders in Christchurch for qualifying at round three of the Castrol Power 1 New Zealand Superbike Championships today. Temperatures sawed as high 35 degrees, which made things more difficult for the riders. Kiwi veteran Hamilton’s Andrew Stroud took pole position on his Suzuki in the Superbike class. The 41 year-old father of seven was just 0.022 secs ahead of 21-year-old Australian Gareth Jones (Yamaha) with fellow Queenslander Robbie Bugden (Suzuki) another 0.249 seconds back in third In the second half of the Trans-Tasman battle, Christchurch’s James Smith (Suzuki) took pole in the 600 Sports Production class from Jones (Yamaha) by 0.607 seconds, with Pukekohe’s Sam Smith third fastest on another Yamaha.. Sunday will see two races for all classes and the racing promises to be fantastic. The second series of races tomorrow will also be the New Zealand Motorcycle Grand Prixs. Provisional Results Round Three Castrol Power1 Superbike Championships Ruapuna Raceway, Christchurch. 24 January 2009. NZ Superbikes: Qualifying: 1, Andrew Stroud (Hamilton) Suzuki, 1:30..470 secs; 2, Gareth Jones (Australia) Yamaha, 1:30.492 secs; 3, Robbie Bugden (Australia) Suzuki, 1:30.719 secs; 4, Ray Clee (Auckland)Suzuki 1:32.312 secs; 5, Craig Shirriffs (Feilding) Honda, 1:32.928 secs. 600 Sports Production: Qualifying: 1,James smith (Christchurch) Suzuki, 1:32.688 secs; 2, Gareth Jones (Australia) Yamaha, 1:33.295 secs; 3, Sam Smith (Pukekohe) Yamaha, 1:33.791 secs; 4, Dennis Charlett (Christchurch) Suzuki 1:34.093 secs; 5, Jay Lawrence (Wellington) Yamaha 1:34.192 secs. Formula Three: Race One: 1, Glen Williams (Palmerston North) Suzuki; 2, Terry Fitzgerald (New Plymouth) Suzuki; 3, Eric de Boer (Westport) Kawasaki. Pro-Twins: Race One: 1, Sam Love (Tauranga) Suzuki; 2, Patrick Jones (Christchurch) Suzuki; 3, Geoff Booth (Dannevirke) Suzuki. 125cc Grand Prix: Race One: 1, Kenneth Jones (Hamilton) Yamaha; 2, Tim McArthur (Dunedin) Honda; 3, Jaden Hassan (Auckland) Yamaha. Sidecars: Race One: 1, Steve Bron/Dennis Simonsen (Wanganui) LCR Suzuki; 2, Chris & Ritchie Lawrance (Auckland) Anderson Yamaha; 3, Stacey Sellar/ Louise Blythe (Australia) LCR Suzuki.