Aaron Slight
Aaron Tony Slight , MNZM (born January 19, 1966 in Masterton , New Zealand ) is a retired New Zealand motorcycle racer .
At the age of twelve, Aaron Slight competed in motocross races . From 1984 he took part in road races. After his first victories and the championship title in the New Zealand 250 cc championship on a Yamaha , Aaron Slight switched to professional racing in 1988. In 1989 he was Rob Phillis' teammate in the Australian Superbike Championship, which he finished third. This year, Slight also drove his first wildcard in the Superbike World Championship while running in his home country and was able to climb to the podium in second place in the first race. In 1990 he spent most of his time in rehabilitation after injuring his right hand in an accident on the racetrack in Sugo, Japan .
In 1992, Aaron Slight won his first World Superbike victory on the Albacete track in Spain . In 1993 he rode with Scott Russell in the official Kawasaki factory team (Muzzy Kawasaki Team). With Russell, Slight also won the Suzuka 8-hour race that year . He was able to repeat this success in the following two years on a Honda . So Slight is so far the only driver who has won this race three times in a row with different team partners.
From 1994 Aaron Slight started on a Honda for the official Castrol Honda factory team . In the following years he took top places in the overall standings, but without ever being able to win the world championship. In 1998 he was only 5.5 points short of Carl Fogarty . This year Slight drove for the first time with his favorite car number 111 . While on the Castrol Honda team, Aaron Slight had famous teammates such as Carl Fogarty (1996), John Kocinski (1997) and Colin Edwards (1998-2000).
The year 2000 did not start well. A month after his 34th birthday, he collapsed during the pre-season test for the Superbike World Championship in Phillip Island . At the hospital, a life-threatening blood clot was found on the back of his brain that could be removed. The doctors gave no guarantee that he would ever recover completely and compete in motorcycle races. Nevertheless, he was back on the racetrack twelve weeks after his brain surgery. He missed three race weekends and finished eighth overall this year. At the end of the season, Slight was finally retired from Castrol Honda .
From 2001 he drove in various automobile racing series such as the British Touring Car Championship , the Stock Car Speed Association (ASCAR) and the British GT Championship . In 2001 he published his autobiography.
Sporting successes
| year | successes |
|---|---|
| 1984 | |
| 1987 |
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| 1989 |
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| 1990 |
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| 1991 |
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| 1992 |
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| 1993 |
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| 1994 |
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| 1995 |
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| 1996 |
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| 1997 |
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| 1998 |
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| 1999 |
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| 2000 |
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Web links
- Aaron Slight on the official website of the Superbike and Supersport World Championship
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Slight, Aaron |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Slight, Aaron Tony |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | New Zealand motorcycle racer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 19, 1966 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Master tone |