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2005 Australian Superbike
Championship - Round One - Phillip Island Team Report - Yamaha April 4th, 2005
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2005 Australian Superbike
Championship - Round One - Phillip Island Team Report - Yamaha April 4th, 2005
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| The first round of the 2005
YMF Loans Australian Superbike Championship provided plenty of
positive results for the Yamaha Motor Team that was held
alongside the 2005 Yamaha World Superbike Championship conducted
at Phillip Island on April 1-3 . After one round of the seven round series, Yamaha Racing Team Superbike riders Daniel Stauffer and Shannon Johnson are in third and fifth positions respectively so sit in an excellent position for championship honours with the second round at Sydney’s Eastern Creek circuit at the end of April. While victory eluded the team there were encouraging signs that 2005 should reflect the successful efforts of previous years as the team was forced to use last year’s still potent YZF-R1 Superbikes. This naturally placed the team at a disadvantage to the other teams as they all competed with their newly developed ‘05 model bikes. Additionally, the third and final Superbike race was abandoned after severe weather conditions forced the re-arrangement of the program to allow commitments for the international television broadcast “I’m more than happy with the way the weekend went,” Daniel explained. “We have had limited time to test and we knew that using last year’s bikes would put us at a disadvantage “Being in third spot after the weekend is excellent for me plus I was happy with my riding in both races. In the first trace I made a shocking start but fought back to finish fourth overtaking three riders on the final lap so that is very encouraging for me. Shannon is equally enthused with his position after his two, solid sixth-place finishes. “I’m like any racer and am only really happy when I’m winning but we knew it was going to be hard this weekend. By the next round we will be a lot better prepared as we have testing and development to carry out on the new bikes so I know we will be in a lot stronger position come Eastern Creek and the rest of the series.” The Supersport category also provided the team with an impressive foundation to build on with Robbie Baird finishing third and fifth in the races. Baird was on the all new Yamaha YZF-R6 but there has been very little development work completed on the bike and also has had limited testing time to become accustomed to the new bike after returning to the Yamaha family after a few years away. “It’s great to be back on the R6 and I’ve proved how good it is straight out of the box as I was able to lead the best riders in Australia for a few laps in one of the races even though it is pretty well a standard bike. Like Dan and Shannon I cant wait to get more testing on the bike plus I know that when Kev Marshall works his magic the new YZF-R6 is going to be one awesome machine.” Yamaha Racing Team Manager, John Redding was impressed with his riders and the results of the weekend saying, “it’s no use trying to win the championship in the first round. There are many races to do plus we have more testing and development to complete of the new machines. “We know that we have an excellent base to work with as the new YZF-R1 and R6 are such a complete package as they are in standard trim. Once we get all our parts and can develop the individual items plus carry out the testing required, it adds up to a very promising year. I have no doubt that in a few more weeks we will be winning races in both classes.” 2005 YMF Loans Australian Superbike Championship points score after one (of seven) rounds: 1 J Brookes (Hon) 45pts; 2 S Giles (Suz) 43; 3 Daniel Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team YZF-R1) 36; 4 S Charlton (Suz) 32; 5 Shannon Johnson (Yamaha Racing Team YZF-R1) 30 The next round of the 2005 YMF Loans Australian Superbike Championship will be held at Eastern Creek (NSW) April 29 – May 1 The Yamaha Racing Team would like to thank its sponsors; Yamaha Motor Australia, YRD, GYT-R, Dunlop, Yamalube, Aluma-Lite, Goodridge Brake Lines and Pads, DID Chains and NGK Spark Plugs. |
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