Jarvie fifth in New Zealand action

By John Hopkins

New Zealand native John Jarvie, who starred in Suzuki SV650 Cup racing while in Canada last year, scored a best finish of fifth in a BEARS Sound of Thunder event back home last weekend.

Jarvie placed fifth in Lightweight aboard a 500cc Ducati and took 16th in F2 on a 750 Ducati after running as high as ninth. Additionally he managed 19th on a 650 Husaberg and had four "did not ranks", meaning he placed lower than 20th in the results.

"I'm pretty stoked with my results as there was at least 40 in every class," Jarvie said in an email. "Motorsport is New Zealand's second most viewed sport and the competition shows this, as those that beat me weren't even riders that compete nationally."

Jarvie placed second behind Cody Matechuk in the Canadian national Suzuki SV650 Cup standings in 2008 after leading most of the season. He also took a close second in the RACE SuperSeries SV Cup rankings. He returned to New Zealand late last year.

"Since I've been back I've been doing tons of riding and training," he added in his email. "New Zealand's a great place to be if you enjoy riding a bike due to the fantastic roads, trails and tracks so easily available. I feel like I'm much fitter and faster than what I was competing in Canada last year. So I'm looking forward to returning to race Canada for sure."