MCNEWS.COM.AU - The ultimate in motorcycle news 2005 Australian Superbike Championship - Round Four - Mallala
Team Report - Kawasaki
June 5th, 2005

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Just a week after the third round in Western Australia, the Kawasaki Racing Team entered the fray at Mallala with high expectations. Previous testing at Mallala achieved great results, with riders Jamie Stauffer (Ninja ZX-10R Superbike) and Josh Waters (Ninja ZX-6RR Supersport bike) lapping at a highly competitive pace throughout the test.

Superbike
Jamie Stauffer enjoyed running at the front of the pack throughout the practice and qualifying sessions, until Honda’s Adam Fergusson managed to snatch pole in the dying minutes of the second qualifier.

“I felt a bit robbed after Krusty grabbed pole as I’ve been fastest all the way so far. So I went out again and got it back,” said the hard riding man from Kurri Kurri. “Krusty then stuck another soft tyre in and managed to steal it again, but I’m not that bothered as I know we’re fast enough to run at the front and our race set up is consistent for full race distance.”

Jamie’s words proved prophetic, at least for the majority of the first race. “I got out in front and pulled a gap, I was comfortable and holding the gap. Then, with about four laps to go, the bike dropped out of gear as I tipped into Turn One and I sailed straight off the track. Fortunately I managed to stay upright… that’s a pretty fast place to go dirt-tracking… but you’re not allowed to get back on the track there, you have to go through pit lane. So I did, and came back out in third, managed to grab second and that’s where I finished. I’d have loved to win that one, but luck seems to be against us at the moment.”

Again, prophetic words. The second race was run in two parts after the first leg was red-flagged because of debris on the track. Jamie was in second at the time. After pulling into the pits and waiting for the restart, the big Ninja’s radiator sprung a leak – it had been holed by flying debris. After a frantic rush to put the tyres from the bike onto the spare, Jamie eventually re-gridded for leg two. “I got a good start,” said Jamie, “but the back end came round on me in Turn Three – the spare’s set up a little differently. I ran off again and rejoined dead last. I rode as hard as I could and got back up to eighth on the track, which gave me seventh on combined times. Not the best result, but at least there’s a few points for seventh!”
Supersport

Josh Waters qualified his ZX-6RR in third place but after this initial success had a weekend he’d rather put behind him. “I eventually managed to get a good feeling for the bike in the last ten minutes of qualifying,” said the teenager. “Fortunately, that was good enough to get third on the grid which isn’t where I want to be, but it’ll have to do, and it was on my spare bike. So I used the spare in the first race – after a good start I started having trouble with the gearshift and I couldn’t stay with the leaders and had to settle for fifth. So in the second race I used my number one bike and something went wrong with it… I got black flagged. We’ve got plenty of time now until Winton, so I’m sure the team will fix the little problems we’ve got. I’m obviously disappointed with this weekend because I’ve gone back to fourth in the championship but that makes me even more determined to turn things around.”

Team Co-ordinator Scott Breedin was visibly disappointed but reflective about the results. “We had a few issues with the 600 today which is a pity as Josh is riding well. So we’ve got some work to do when we get back to the workshop, but even so we know how good the bike is, so I feel sure we’ll get back on track with its development. Jamie’s results today don’t reflect how competitive he is on the ZX-10R… a holed radiator is just bad luck! Jamie’s still third in the championship and we’re making the other teams take notice. We’ll be in good shape for Winton.”

 
 

2005 Australian Superbike Championship
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