2005 Australian Superbike Championship - Round Four

It was clear from the moment practice started at last weekend’s Mallala round of the Australian Superbike Championships that Adam ‘Krusty’ Fergusson was in form and feeling at one with both of his Joe Rocket Honda CBR’s.

Any bike set-up problems the Team might have contended with at the three previous rounds were clearly solved as Fergusson’s smooth-as-silk style came to the fore on the tight, hard braking circuit in South Australia.

After snagging pole position in both the 600cc and 1000cc classes, Krusty proceeded to win three out of the four races in which he competed, taking away the overall round win in Supersport and the second podium spot after two event filled and somewhat controversial Superbike races.

It was an extraordinary weekend from the brazen man from Melton as he very nearly cleaned up with 100% of the points, save for a first corner mishap in Superbike race one that marred his otherwise perfect score.

Krusty’s chief technician, Luke Spence, explained how everything gelled for the weekend for the first time since the 2005 season started.

“Mallala is a hard track on tyres and brakes but after a few rounds where we struggled with set up, we now have everything working really well, especially on the CBR600RR.”

“The set up on Krusty’s bikes are getting such that it is easier and easier for him to ride at a faster pace,” he noted. “This is obviously what we’ll keep aiming for in the remaining rounds.”

For the Joe Rocket Team as a whole, the weekend proved to be a winner with team mate Josh Brookes also taking his place on the podium in each class (2nd in Supersport, 3rd in Superbike), helping him to maintain his top spot in the hotly contested 600cc which he now leads by 16 points.

Josh’s weekend was not devoid of difficulties however. After straining his forearm at Barbagallo the weekend prior, Brookes struggled somewhat with discomfort, particularly under hard braking. This coupled with race time fatigue created an atypical frustration for the 22 year old fitness freak. Working through the pain, Josh was still able to qualify and compete skillfully each time he took to the tarmac.

“I was just getting more tired than usual about half way through each race,” Josh said. “And I haven’t been able to muscle the bike around as much as I’d like today. I did manage to pick up championship points though and that’s what counts.”

On the junior side, Rocket Racing’s Jason O’Halloran once again rode steadily, finishing 7th overall for the day, and although somewhat perturbed that he couldn’t muster a quicker pace, the 17 year old rider continues to display the makings of a future champion.

“My new mechanic Ben (Turner) and I are getting along great and we have been working on trying to find a good set up all weekend. It just didn’t quite get there so we’ll keep trying and hopefully get it right for Winton,” Jason said.

Race Action – Superbike

Under perfect climatic conditions, the crowd was treated to a display of on-the-edge racing that continues to show why this country is still a breeding ground for world class talent.

With qualifying times being only a hundredth of a second apart, the grid line up for the big class was a nose to tail pipe affair from the first green light. Fergusson, along with Shawn Giles, Jamie Stauffer and Josh Brookes kept on each other without remorse with the lead position chopping and changing continually for a variety of unforeseen reasons.

In race one, Krusty got away behind the two rivals, taking second position under braking early on and setting a new lap record of 1:06.9 in the process. Brookes settled into fourth and got down to the business of closing the gap.

Down the back side esses of the dusty circuit, Adam forged ahead to the front momentarily until an unusual mistake from the master at the Southern Loop relegated him back to second. Just as he was looking to pounce once again, the rules of the game kicked in hard as Adam went wide on turn one, and had to run back through the pits before rejoining the pack. (The Motorcycling Australia rule which does not allow riders to go straight back on to the track if they run wide on turn one, would be a hard pill to swallow for more than one rider on the day.)

Fergusson found himself back in 8th spot and needing to make up as much ground as possible. He put his head down and moved up two places past Redwing Honda’s Anthony Gobert as well as Robert Bugden within a few laps however he had to settle for 6th, a frustrating finish for a man on a mission. Team mate Brooks meanwhile maintained his third place for the remainder of the 19 lapper.

“When you run off the track and have to go through the pits, it is definitely not a good thing,” Krusty said with a grimace. “At the speeds we are doing here, it is easy to come in to that corner too hot but you can be assured it won’t happen again today.”

It certainly was not an issue again as Fergusson went out for race two with some added fire in his belly. After getting away into 2nd and then dicing aggressively with Stauffer, he secured the front position just prior to an unusual red flag call being made due to debris on the track.

Giles, who had retired due to mechanical failure on the previous lap was allowed to join the restart, and after a short break, the top runners went back out to the start grid in the positions they were in when the race was called.

Adam thus restarted from pole position, while Josh restarted from fourth and the field took off once again for another 11 laps with the race to be decided on combined times. This time out, Krusty grabbed the lead early on with Brookesy slotting into 3rd and the two claimed those positions for the race - a 2nd and 3rd place podium finish for the round.

Josh is currently in second place in the championship on 166 points, just five shy of Giles whilst Adam maintains the fourth spot on142 points.

“With three rounds to go, the Championship is still clearly wide open,“ Adam noted. “Josh and all the other guys at the top are tough to beat. For me personally, things are starting to come together and the next round at Winton is one of my favourite tracks so I think we can only keep improving from here on in.”

Race Action – Supersport

There is no rest for the wicked in the Joe Rocket Honda camp with it being the only factory team to have the same two riders contest both classes. The pace does not seem to worry either Brookes or Fergusson however as both went out and put on an extremely dominant showing in the challenge of the 600’s.

Qualifying times between Fergusson on pole and the final contender in the 30 plus field of riders varied by only three seconds so the racing was set to be fast and heated. At the end of the day, Krusty’s maturity and comfort with the 2.6 kilometre track paid dividends as he took away both race day wins.

Brookes, who has dominated the class to date, was not far off his team mate’s pace and found himself chasing his fellow Honda rider each time out. Josh Waters and Mark Aitchison also provided the early competition for Krusty and Brookes who got away in race one in the top positions.

The men on their dynamite red machines were clearly in control, however, with Adam getting a four second plus lead over his team mate by the half way mark. However a slight error on JB’s part at the northern hairpin left him open to a take over by Aitchison with only three laps to go. Josh found himself having to play catch up as he started to fatigue and he finished third; clearly not overly satisfied with the result.

“I’m never comfortable when I’m in second and I’m not all that happy with the way I’ve been riding this weekend,” he said.

Krusty on the other hand was chuffed at taking the holeshot, particularly after some of the dramas he has undergone with starts over the past few rounds.

“After last week, I’d forgotten what its like to get the holeshot,” he mused. “I just went out to get the lead and create a gap so it all came together.”

Adam was able to do the same again in race two after slipping by Brookes on the first lap. Both riders broke away to the tune of around three seconds with Krusty clearly in control and destined to take away another race win for the day, securing his round win and closing the gap on his team mate’s series lead.

“I know JB has not been his usual self on braking today. Otherwise I think it would have been a much closer battle in Supersport,” he said.

Adam also made a special mention of the Honda RACESAFE Team for helping him out earlier in the day with treatment of arm pump. “That helped a lot so a big thank you to those guys. They are doing a great service to all of us riders.”

Team Manager Paul Free was clearly happy to see his rider take the spoils.
“Adam has had to deal with some frustrations of late so we are all really pleased he has been able to get out and show just how dominant he can be.”

“We have six weeks now before the next round to do some further development and testing so I am confident we will be highly competitive at Winton.”