Dibben's chance to shine
NEW GROUND: Whanganui racer (and former WHS student) Richie Dibben (119) will be in unchartered territory without his own trusty bike for round two of the FIM Asia Supermoto Championship in Indonesia this weekend.
Whanganui racer Richie Dibben has a real show of climbing up the leaderboard in the FIM Asia Supermoto Championship when round two kicks off in Malang, Indonesia this weekend.
Dibben was a late replacement for current New Zealand Suzuki Series motard champion Duncan Hart who broke a collarbone a week before round one in Newcastle, Australia last month.
The two-time Suzuki Series champion had a rocky start to the championship in Newcastle finishing 14th after two days of racing.
Dibben had never raced in Australia before, nor had he competed on the sealed and unsealed track that made up the tight Newcastle circuit.
However, he came to grips with the street and carpark combination to qualify second fastest for the first of the two-race series.
He finished third, but not without copping a fair bit of argy-bargy from the Australians.
One rider in particular hunted him down.
Three laps in a row the Aussie rider tried to take him out and finally did. They both crashed and Dibben got back up to finish third.
A protest was lodged and Dibben was penalised me 10 seconds, which was a big penalty for such a small, tight track. It put him back to seventh on the grid for day two.
In that race he was again taken out by another Aussie.
He managed to get back on again and was close up behind one of the British riders. Unfortunately, the Brit was having engine problems and his bike cut out leaving Dibben nowhere to go but straight into him. His bike was damaged ending his race.
Dibben has been invited back to round two in Malang and thanks to generous sponsorship from a range of Whanganui companies and individuals he, his dad Chris and mechanic brother Mike flew out yesterday.
"I get given a bike to race, but I'm taking my own wheels and tyres," Dibben said yesterday.
"It's not ideal and Mike and I won't have much practice time to set the loan bike up to suit. All we can do is make it as comfortable as possible for me."
With 25 points up for grabs for a win, Dibben has a real show of bridging the gap on the leaderboard.
Australians Luke George (50 points) and Michael Kirkness (42pts) are not competing this weekend making the job even easier.
"To be fair I should really have finished in the top five at least in Newcastle and I'm reasonably confident I can do okay in Indonesia this weekend with a clear run."
The event is a first for Indonesia and will be held at the Kanjuruhan Football Stadium where a 1.25km track has been set up. One kilometre of the track is sealed, while 250m is off road with seven tight hairpins.
Close, tight racing holds no fears for Dibben.
Supporters have come out of the woodwork to ensure the affable racer has his best shot at the championship that moves on to the Philippines and the final round in Malaysia later this year.
"I'm taking each round as they come, but without the support of my sponsors I simply couldn't do it," Dibben said.
"Michelle and Richard Nessling at Wanganui Toyota are my major sponsor and they have been fantastic supporters of many local sports. Others include JB Williams the Jewellers, Swarts Tyres, Dowman Diggers Ant Rountree and Terry Price at Restorations Limited who gave Mike the time off to be mechanic. Ama Electrical, Wilson Woods and Fordell Diary Farms also chipped in."
Dibben is also a mechanic and his bosses at Keown Honda also gave him time off the compete this weekend
By Iain Hyndman
Wanganui Chronicle