2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan)

Report (Ssangyong / Aircom System Sidecar Team)

Perfect autumn weather greeted those competing in the opening round of the YMF Loans Australian Superbike Championship at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway with the event proving to be an auspicious one for the new-look SsangYong / Aircom Systems Sidecar Team.

The two-outfit team emerged victorious with Adam Treasure / Lionel Cornwell taking an emphatic round win, while teammates Stacey Sellar / Kerry McLeod completed the podium with a third place finish aboard the second of the exotic team LCR Suzuki’s.

Having qualified second fastest during official qualifying, Treasure & Cornwell continued to work with the set up of their LCR Suzuki and were rewarded with victory in races one and three along with a third in race two. The speed of their outfit was also highlighted as they earned the fastest lap time over the weekend’s races with a 1-min 40.225-sec recorded on the fourth lap of the first six-lap race.

The pair head the points table with 68, four clear of the second placed pairing of Shane Soutar / Jeff Rowe, who took pole position and finished with a second – win – third scorecard.

The points leader was happy with not only his results, but how the team performed as a whole. “We ran with the Aircom Systems team last year, but formed an even closer bond under the SsangYong banner to make it more professional and further boost the image of the class which it has.”

“Taking the title is our goal, but we know that we need to have a strong mix of wins and consistent results to achieve that. This weekend has been an example of that and it worked out well for all of us.”

“We made good steps forward on Friday and Saturday, but a lower track temperature on Sunday made it difficult to replicate those times. We were very happy to get under the old lap record mark set by an Australian around here so that gave us some satisfaction and confidence that we are heading in the right direction.”

Sellar & McLeod are well in the hunt for the title sitting just ten points adrift of their teammates having completed an equally successful weekend.

The pair who rode the LCR to victory in last year’s championship by former World Champion Briton Steve Abbott, made significant improvements over the weekend as they came to grips with the tremendous potential of their outfit.

Third place during qualifying was followed by a third and then two seconds, with the final result coming after a frantic final race, which saw them and their teammates swapping the race lead on a number of occasions putting on a great show for the fans.

Their improvements were also highlighted with their fastest race time being over two seconds quicker than their qualifying time posting a best of 1:41.499.

Sellar was elated with his results especially as he is coming off a three-year break from the sport. “This will be my first full series back since 2002 and I’m loving it at the moment. We had a great series over in New Zealand during summer and came away with the title, so it’s our goal to add the Australian title to that.”

We’ve made a lot of improvements with the outfit as our lap times show. The times that Steve Abbott set here last year have really given everyone something to chase. Anywhere within two seconds of their times is going to be very credible for any of us.”

“Coming here we just wanted to be consistent and score points in each race. We did that and are just ten points away from Adam (Treasure) so we are in with a hunt. We had some great dices this weekend, so that has inspired a lot of people on both sides of the fence. There is a lot of respect out their between the riders at the moment so I would expect the lap times to drop as the year progresses.”

Team principal Brett Gilbert was overjoyed with the results earned by his team. “Last year was fantastic for us when we brought out former World Sidecar Champion Steve Abbott to raise the profile of sidecar racing here in Australia. His attendance last year gained the desired outcome with increased exposure for the class.”

“This year I aim to use our local talent and promote the sport with them and after today’s effort it has shown that we have made the right decision.”

“It was a fantastic result not only for the riders, but also our major sponsors SsangYong who have joined us for the season. Not only were they out front, but the racing was close with plenty of clean passing which made for great spectator value.”

“The pace our team has run at this weekend has been a direct result of having Steve Abbott race with us last year. He brought his world championship experience with him and not only educated our riders, but more importantly was able to pass a lot of information on to our technicians. That has helped our team move forward and in turn has flowed down through the ranks and lifted the efforts of the entire field.”

“We must thank Ssangyong for coming on board this year and Castrol for their continued support in 2006. Both companies supported Stacey and Kerry when they competed in the 2005 / 2006 New Zealand Championships and have continued their support for this years YMFASC series.”

AMCN ‘Best Presented’ Award - Capping off a fine weekend, the SsangYong / Aircom Systems team were presented with the award for ‘Best Presented’ bike for the round. Australian Motor Cycle News makes an award available at each round of the series and for the first time in many years the award has been presented to a sidecar team. Another sign of the team’s professional approach to the championship.