A high speed high-side from his Ducati 748R on the fastest corner of the circuit put Martin out of race one while he was in third place and pressuring the lead pairing of Robbie Baird (Yamaha) and Adam Fergusson (Honda). He escaped serious injury and the team were able to complete the repairs to the bike in readiness for race two.

The second race was shaping up to be a carbon copy of race one as Martin was once again in the lead group. After being as high as third place on the track, his bike began to experience a problem with its clutch (which was later found to be related to the earlier race one crash) and was eventually forced to retire from the race.

Baird came away from Queensland with two race wins, while championship leader Fergusson finished with a second and third. Kawasaki's Chad Turnball secured a third and a second on the day.

As a result of the weekend's results, Martin has now slipped to fifth place in the championship with 51 points and trails points leader Adam Fergusson by 37 points. This weekend's results has not deminished Martin's desire to clinch the championship, as there are still eight races to run.

"It definitely wasn't the result we wanted when we arrived here," said Martin. "I gave myself a very good chance f winning here as I know the team has worked extremely hard and has found some extra horsepower in the engine. The worst part about it is that we all worked so hard this weekend and to come away with no points is very difficult."

"On a positive note, I cannot say enough for the performance of the new Ducati 748R. On Friday we had a problem with our number one engine and were forced to use a brand new stock engine on Saturday and Sunday. To be able to qualify third fastest and run with the leaders in both races with a bike that was primarily Showroom condition is a credit to the bike itself."

"It is going to be hard for the rest of the championship. But the bottom line is that I basically have to go out there and win races if I want to give the team and myself a chance. I know the bike can do it, so I just have to keep my end of the bargain."

The Queensland weekend was one of the most difficult that the team has been involved with in recent seasons, but has not deterred team manager Shaun Sutcliffe.

"It wasn't the worst racing weekend I've ever had - but it wasn't far from it," Sutcliffe said. "We do have a lot of work to do with the bike to have it 100% for the next round at Eastern Creek on August 27. We know that the bike is more than capable of being at the front of the Supersport class, but we have to work harder on our consistency. I am sure that Steve will be hard to beat at the remainder of the circuits that take in the championship."

2000 Shell Australian Supersport Championship
Round 3, Queensland Raceway, Q'ld
Date:  June 3 - 4
Track length:  3.10 km
Supersport lap record: Andrew Pitt (1:13.6000)

Qualifying - Top 10
1. Robbie Baird Yamaha 1:13.6148 mins
2. Adam Fergusson Honda 1:13.7047
3. Steve Martin Ducati Dealer Team 748R 1:13.8306
4. Kim Ashkanazi Kawasaki 1:14.0581
5. Chad Turnball Kawasaki 1:14.1082
6. Kurt Percy Yamaha 1:14.5024
7. Alex Gobert Honda 1:14.6074
8. Craig McMartin Ducati 748R 1:14.6228
9. Jamie Stauffer Yamaha 1:14.6932
10. Jason Kain Kawasaki 1:14.8093

Results (Top 10)

Race 1  (12 Laps )
1. Robbie Baird Yamaha 14:57.3833 mins
2. Adam Fergusson Honda 14:57.6043
5. Chad Turnball Kawasaki 14:59.1967
9. Jamie Stauffer Yamaha 14:59.6301
6. Kurt Percy Yamaha 15:01.4224
7. Alex Gobert Honda 15:02.4467
4. Kim Ashkanazi Kawasaki 15:10.6446
8. Kevin Curtain Yamaha 15:10.7453
9. Scott Charlton Suzuki 15:14.5328
10. Jon Hafey Yamaha 15:14.6239
DNF. Steve Martin Ducati Dealer Team 748R
Fastest lap: Steve Martin   1:13.9360  on lap 7

Race 2 (11 Laps)
1. Robbie Baird Yamaha 13:49.1406 mins
2. Chad Turnball Kawasaki 13:49.2164
3. Adam Fergusson Honda 13:50.2480
4. Kevin Curtain Yamaha 13:50.6152
5. Alex Gobert Honda 13:55.7946
6. Scott Charlton Suzuki 13:55.9377
7. Jon Hafey Yamaha 13:56.5286
8. Brendon Oxford Yamaha 13:58.4213
9. Luke Phillips Honda 13:58.6152
10. Steven Cutting Honda 14:00.5502
DNF. Steve Martin Ducati Dealer Team 748R
Fastest lap: Adam Fergusson  1:14.1388  on lap 11

Championship points after 3 of 7 rounds:
1. Adam Fergusson 88 pts
2. Robbie Baird 84
3. Kevin Curtain 62
4. Chad Turnball 52
5. Steve Martin 51
6. Jason Kain 42
7. Alex Gobert 41
8. Kim Ashkanazi 40
9. Jamie Stauffer 37
10. Daniel Stauffer 36

Next round - Rd 4, Eastern Creek, NSW - August 26 - 27