Australian Superbike 2008 - Round Three - Round Four / Five

Australian Superbike 2008 - Round Five - Queensland Raceway
By KW

Reigning Australian champion Jamie Stauffer took the overall honours at round five of the Australian Superbike Championship at Queensland Raceway this afternoon, but it was Teknic Honda rider Glenn Allerton who extended his points lead in the seven-round series courtesy of a thrilling 0.195sec victory in the second of the day’s two 16-lap races.

Stauffer’s points haul of 45 from today’s two races gave him the round win over Allerton’s 43, and moved the Yamaha factory rider to second in the championship standings with 187 points to Allerton’s 193.

Stauffer won the opening 16-lap race by 0.823sec from his Yamaha Racing Team teammate and brother Dan with Allerton third, but the two-time champion had to settle for second in race two when Allerton pulled off an audacious last-lap pass to claim victory – and retain the championship lead.

“I went into the meeting leading the championship, and I wasn’t about to give it up without a fight,” said 27-year-old Allerton.

“I knew I had to pull off a clean pass, but it was close – real close. I was side by side with Jamie through Turns Four and Five on that last lap, but I wasn’t going to back off – and neither did he.”

Stauffer jumped from third to second in the championship, leap-frogging his brother who retired from race two with brake problems on his Yamaha YZF-R1.

“I knew Glenn was sitting there, but I couldn’t shake him,” said Jamie Stauffer. “I saw his wheel come up alongside, but there was nothing I could do. Normally you can’t fit two bikes through those turns side by side – it was close racing. You can’t win them all.”

Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Craig Coxhell finished third overall for the round, finishing just 0.181sec adrift of Stauffer in race two after earlier finishing fourth in race one.

Coxhell too had his chances to win the final race, drawing alongside both Stauffer and Allerton at 270km/h as the trio entered the braking zone for Turn Three.

“I got to the lead but just went a little too deep into the turn under brakes, and they came back past me,” said Coxhell. “It was hard but fair racing, and nobody was giving an inch.”

Coxhell’s Suzuki teammate Shawn Giles saw his chances of adding a fourth Australian Superbike Championship to his CV evaporate in a spectacular crash on Saturday.

Giles, who went into the Queensland event just three points off the championship lead, was unable to avoid the cart-wheeling bike of his Team Joe Rocket Suzuki teammate Robbie Bugden. With no time to react, Giles rode straight into Bugden’s motorcycle at full throttle. After being treated at the scene, Giles was transferred to hospital with shoulder and ankle injuries.

The Team Suzuki rider had earlier qualified on pole position with the fastest ever lap of the 3.12km Ipswich circuit by a motorcycle, his pole time of 1:08.647 time an impressive 2.3563sec quicker than Garth Tander’s V8 Supercar lap record.

Dan Stauffer had earlier won Saturday's round four of the championship at Queensland's double-header round from his younger brother, the Yamaha teammates sharing a win and a second apiece in Saturday's two Superbike races with Allerton third. But his non-finish in Sunday's final race dropped the 31-year-old from second to third in the championship standings.

With two rounds remaining, Allerton leads on 193pts from Jamie Stauffer 187, Dan Stauffer 166 and Coxhell 160.

Jamie Stauffer made it a clean sweep for the Yamaha Racing Team when he added to his overall Superbike victory with the round win in the Australian Supersport Championship, the 28-year-old increasing his lead in the championship to 28pts over Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Josh Waters (221 to 193). Teknic Honda rider Wayne Maxwell lies third in the Supersport championship on 164pts.