2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan)

Report (Suzuki)

Three-time Australian Superbike Champion, Shawn Giles has been admitted to hospital following a serious crash in race two of the Australian Superbike Championship at Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo (WA).

Awaiting x-ray results, Giles has sustained injuries to both ankles, the severity of which are yet undetermined.

Achieving victory in race one, the Team Yoshimura Suzuki rider was in stunning form and looked set repeat his 2005 dominance of Barbagallo and again use the West Australian round to springboard himself firmly into the championship hunt.

Giles was clearly dominating proceedings in the second 20-lap contest when a lapped rider crashed directly in front of him.

With nowhere to go, the GSX-R1000 hit the oil that was left on the track and spat Giles off the circuit feet first into the sand trap.

With the race red-flagged after Giles' incident, his Suzuki team-mate, Robbie Bugden stepped up to the mark on the re-start to eventually cross the finish line in third place, scoring sixth spot on merged results from part one and two of the second race.

Due to a second stoppage in race two, the event was declared without being completed and the riders were awarded half points, which was a minor blessing for Giles.

Despite scoring no points from the second race, Giles still finished the weekend in fourth place and holds fourth overall in the championship.

Bugden notched up seventh and sixth places respectively for race one and two and now sits inside the championship top ten.

Team Yoshimura Suzuki will cross the Nullarbor for next week's Superbike clash at South Australia's Mallala Raceway for the round three of the 2006 Australian Superbike Championship on 2 - 4 June.

Robbie Bugden -
"In hindsight I was probably overly cautious in race one when it started to spit with rain - I certainly had the pace to run with the leaders, but they cleared out when I slowed a little.

"Crossing the line in third place for the second part of race two was a great boost for me and the team.

"Even though the outcomes here weren't as great as they could have been, there are a lot of positives to be gained from this weekend. the GSX-R1000 is performing beautifully, I'm getting more accustomed to it.

"I've moved up into the top ten this weekend, so I'm pleased to have made progress.

"I can draw a lot of confidence from being able to run at the front of the field, so I'm really looking forward to racing in South Australia next week. hopefully Shawn will be fit to race there, too."

Phil Tainton - Team Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager
"It was a very big crash for Shawn and at this stage my first concern is making sure he is alright.

"Shawn's in good spirits and talking about racing next week at Mallala, but we haven't yet found out if his ankles are just badly bruised and swollen, or if they are broken.

"When we have more information, we will make a decision about next weekend.

"If Shawn gets the go ahead to ride next week he won't be in form, but if he's up to it, we'll let him go out and try to collect some points.

"It's terribly disappointing - the GSX-R looked perfect, the Dunlops were perfect, Shawn was riding superbly, the racing was fierce and there was a big crowd. everything we want from a race weekend and it all turned around in an instant.

"Shawn was riding so well today, I'm confident that he would have won the second race and the round if he had not been caught up in that accident.

"On a positive note, Robbie has done a great job today and we believe that he will be able to step up at Mallala."