Andrew Stroud (born 31 December 1967) is a retired

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

racer.Motorcycling New Zealand, Riders Profile: Andrew Stroud (retrieved 19 August 2010)

Early and personal life

Stroud lived in Howick, Auckland and educated at St Peter's College and Macleans College. He went on to study engineering (for a 3-year period) at Auckland Technical Institute (NZCE Mechanical) before heading to the US to embark on a full-time racing career in 1988. His height is 185 cm and his weight is generally 74 kg. He resides in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's fou ...

. Since marrying Karyn in 1997 they have had 10 children together (Jacob, Caleb, Maddy, Jesse, Isabella, Macallum, Joseph, Lucia, Amea and Elsie).

Career highlights

Stroud started racing in 1986 and won his first championship in 1988 in the NZ 250 Production class. He then raced at Bathurst where he finished 2nd (behind

Mick Doohan Michael Sydney Doohan (born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Biography Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Doohan attended ...

) in the 1988 Arai 500 km Superbike race. In 1988, Stroud raced in the US Endurance series and partnered

Graeme Crosby Graeme Crosby (born 4 July 1955) is a former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. A versatile rider, Crosby was equally capable on either four stroke Superbike racers or two stroke Grand Prix racers. He is the only p ...

in the

Suzuka 8 Hours The is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. The race runs for eight hours consecutively and entrants are composed of two or more riders who alternate during pitstops. History The race began in 1978 as a ...

in Japan. For the next ten years he competed internationally against the world's best, riding for various

Superbike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

and

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

teams. Stroud first rode the New Zealand-built

Britten V1000 The Britten V1000 is a handbuilt race motorcycle designed and built by John Britten and a group of friends in Christchurch, New Zealand during the early 1990s. The bike went on to win the Battle of the Twins in Daytona International Speedway's ...

Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Da ...

in 1992. During the epic battle with the leading factory Ducati Superbike Stroud came within 0.1 sec of the outright lap record before an electrical problem stopped the bike with a couple of laps remaining. However, he won both races at Daytona in 1994 on the Britten bike while setting the fastest top speed recorded by any motorcycle at Daytona (189 mph or 305 km/h). One of the few people to have had the privilege of racing one of

John Britten John Kenton Britten (1 August 1950 – 5 September 1995) was a New Zealand mechanical engineer who designed a world-record-setting motorcycle with innovative features and materials. Biography John Britten was born to Bruce and Ruvae Britten in C ...

's superbikes, Stroud won the Battle-of-the-Twins at Daytona on Britten superbikes in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. In 1995, Stroud won the inaugural World B.E.A.R.S Series (British European American Racing Series, now part of AHMRA) on a Britten bike, three weeks before his friend, John Britten, died. Also in 1995 and on a Britten, Stroud won the European Pro-Twins at

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

. Soon after he put a Kawasaki Superbike on position for the World Endurance Championship round at the same track. In 1997 he won the American AMA formula Xtreme Championship. Stroud competed in 41 World Superbike races, 20 FIM 500 GP races, 4

races, 1

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

race and 3 24hours World endurance races. Stroud won 9 New Zealand superbike national championships. His first championship was in 1991. He repeated this in 1995 and 1999 (riding a Britten V1000) and, riding a

Suzuki GSX-R1000 The Suzuki GSX-R1000 is a supersport motorcycle made by Suzuki. It was introduced in 2001 to replace the GSX-R1100 and is powered by a liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder, four-stroke engine although originally from 2001 to 2004. History 2 ...

(latterly the GSXR1000K9), in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2011. In 2011 Stroud became national champion for the last time. Stroud announced his retirement from motorcycle racing in August 2013. Stroud helps manage two of his sons Jacob and Jesse in their racing endeavours. His oldest son Jacob won his first of three national titles in 2016. Younger brother Jesse won his first National (Gixxer cup) championship in 2019.Andy McGechan, "Kiwi Icons Reunite for Mike Pero Motofest", ''Bikerider magazine''
(Retrieved 15 March 2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroud, Andrew 1967 births Sportspeople from Auckland People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland Living people New Zealand motorcycle racers Isle of Man TT riders 500cc World Championship riders Superbike World Championship riders