Round Two/Three Report - Yamaha Racing Team

Double duties at this weekend’s dual-round Winton clash have yielded another string of perfect results for the Yamaha Racing Team, with the reigning champs taking 8 from 8 race wins and further extending their series leads.

With a major haul of points up for grabs the team knew it would be crucial to be on the pace early and did not disappoint, setting the pace across the opening days to secure strong grid placings for Saturday (Round 2) and Sunday (Round 3).

The team was simply dominant aboard both Superbike (YZF-R1) and Supersport (YZF-R6) machines, with all 4 members sharing the spotlight on the podium.

Yamaha Racing Team Superbike

The defending premier class champions have lived up to expectations this weekend at Winton, taking all 4 race wins and enjoying a strong battle at the top of the standings between the brothers Jamie and Dan Stauffer.

Jamie took pole position again and looked good to record another string of wins, but it was Dan who drew first blood on Saturday, crossing the line marginally ahead of his brother.

Jamie fought back in the final race for the day, with the pair exchanging positions to record an equal share of 45 points in the races – Jamie edged ahead by a single point for pole.

The Yamaha Racing Team duo recorded a carbon copy of their results in the Sunday opener, with Jamie finishing just ahead of Dan once again.

The reigning champ won the final race of the weekend, with Dan enjoying a good scrap for position a little further back, narrowly missing out on 3rd place on the podium.

For Jamie, the weekend was close to perfect and he had enjoyed the challenge from his brother.

“The weekend went very well for the team in general, it was great to take 3 Superbike race wins, it boosts me in the championship and Dan’s win further extends his second place which is really encouraging,” said Stauffer.

“We have the YZF-R1 Superbike really dialled in for racing now and it’s a fantastic and competitive package in all areas.”

“We’ve got a 2-day test session ahead of the Mallala round where we will hopefully convert this form to some more great results – I’ll also be looking to perfect the setup of the Supersport machine which I didn’t quite have the handle on this weekend.”

Dan was similarly pleased with his result, saying it was good to take the fight to Jamie and take a race win.

“It’s been an awesome weekend for the team and myself personally, taking a race win and the podiums, and really making the second place in the championship very solid.”

“The bike was the best it has ever been and I’ll be looking to take two from two wins at Mallala once my hand injury is completely recovered.”

“There are still a lot of rounds left in this championship and I feel its my best chance ever to challenge for the title.”

Yamaha Racing Team Supersport

It was a changing of the guard in the Australian Supersport ranks at Winton this weekend, with the Yamaha Racing Team’s young guns taking control.

Jeremy Crowe qualified on pole, but it was Jason O’Halloran who would go on to win – races 1 and 2 on Saturday, and races 1 and 2 on Sunday.

O’Halloran’s clean sweep paid valuable dividends in his championship campaign, adding 100 points to his tally to make him the new leader of the Supersport class on 140 points.

“I knew we’d be strong here after we had a really positive test earlier on and from the moment the bike hit the track it really has been amazing,” said O’Halloran.

“It’s been a great team effort here this weekend, full credit to Marty Dowd and the crew for making this happen.”

Jeremy Crowe backed up his pole position with 3 podiums from 4 races, and was elated to be running well at the front of the pack.

He sits on 108 points, third place in the championship, and will be looking to chase race wins as the team heads to Mallala soon.

“I pushed really hard to stay with Jason today but he is at the top of his game,” explained Crowe.

“I had a goal this weekend to record as many points as possible and that’s exactly what we’ve done, it’s a very promising sign and I’m hoping to give Jason a run for his money at Mallala.”

Jamie Stauffer was uncharacteristically off the pace at Winton aboard his Supersport machine this weekend, but amazingly still managed to record 3 podium placings.

“I’m not too happy in giving up the lead in Supersport, its something we will be working at during the upcoming test day.”

“On the other hand it’s great to have these challenges, it’s extremely competitive in 2007 and its good that both Jason and Jeremy are showing the way.”