KEY POINTS:
Auckland's Sam Smith is going for gold again in 2008, this time on a 1000cc superbike.
The 19-year-old ran away with the 600 sports production class during last season's New Zealand Motorcycle Road-racing Championships, entering the final round with a 32-point advantage over fellow YZFR6 Yamaha rider Scott Charlton and then hammering home his advantage with an unbeaten run that sunny March day at Pukekohe.
The previous month, he had been named New Zealand's Most Promising Road-Race Newcomer, at a glitzy Motorcycling New Zealand awards night in Manukau, and his emphatic first national title win was the icing on the cake in a sparkling 2007 season.
Now the Yamaha ace is building towards another sensational season on tarseal, honing his skills on the much bigger Yamaha YZFR1 superbike.
"I thought I'd like a new challenge," said Smith.
"I'm slowly getting used to the extra power and getting used to riding on slick tyres. The 600cc class uses grooved production tyres. The superbike is a little bit heavier too, so I can't throw it around quite the same as a 600.
"I'm hoping I can match the big boys in this class. I think I have a good shot. They have a lot more experience than me and they're getting faster every year, but I have recently raced a superbike against Craig Shirriffs and our lap times were pretty similar. We were just using the weekend (at Manfeild) as a test weekend.
"I don't know what to expect but, one thing is for sure, this season is going to be really exciting."