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2005 Australian Superbike
Championship - Round Three - Wanneroo Raceway Team Report - Yamaha May 30th, 2005
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2005 Australian Superbike
Championship - Round Three - Wanneroo Raceway Team Report - Yamaha May 30th, 2005
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| The third round of the 2005
YMF Loan Australian Superbike Championship at Barbagallo Raceway
in Western Australia on Sunday May 29 was a day that touched
both ends of the emotional scale for the Yamaha Race Team. Shannon Johnson claimed an excellent second overall on the day to rejuvenate his season to boost his title chances but, his team mate Daniel Stauffer - who was lying second in the championship chase – fared much worse after a serious accident will see him recuperating for some time. “I’m really happy that I finally got a decent result not only for myself but the entire team,” Shannon explained afterwards, “but it’s been a big shock when we found out about Daniel. It’s not good when it happens to anyone let alone a team mate like Daniel. Something like that puts it all in perspective. The team has been working extremely hard since the last round at Eastern Creek and everything we have been talking about is starting to come together.” Shannon has been threatening to gain an impressive result from the season’s beginning and demonstrated that after just two outings on the new ’05 model Yamaha YZF-R1, he will be lurking in the winner’s circle for the remainder of the year and laid to rest may who doubted his place in the team. In the opening 20-lap Superbike race Shannon missed out on third place by just 0.099 sec after the derby had to be run in two parts after the accident to Daniel necessitated the red flag to be brought out to halt the race so he could be attended to. The second race was a much different and confidence inspiring occasion as Shannon led the field for over half the race distance, embroiled in a titanic duel with three times Australian Superbike champion, Shawn Giles, but a simple mistake (a missed gear change) negated Johnson’s reign at the front. “It’s great to be back at the front where I know I belong and where the bike should be as well. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season, as I can see the results only getting better but I’m not even thinking about the championship at the moment, I’m just taking it race by race.” It’s a different story for Daniel, however, with a long road to recovery. After being admitted to hospital for observation, tests revealed that he has cracked three vertebrae in his spine, suffered a broken wrist as well as concussion plus other minor injuries. At this early stage it’s not known how long he will be out of action. Also, in the Superbike class Queenslander, Robert Bugden, took out the AMCN Privateer Cup aboard his Star Yamaha YZF-R1 to claim the silverware with a pair of top 10 finishes. In the Supersport class, Yamaha Racing Team’s, Robbie Baird, qualified well on the front row in fourth position and battled for the lead in both 20-lap races as well as having the bonus of setting the fastest lap of the second race on the 19th lap. |
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