2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan)

Report (Coastline BMW)

Team Coastline BMW rider Stuart Fripp’s adaptation to the exotic BMW K 1200 R is beginning to produce high quality results. The Wollongong rider secured his best race finish for the series to date at the third round of the Australian NakedBike Championship held at South Australia’s Mallala Motor Sports Park on June 3-4.

A fighting second place in the second of the three scheduled races for the class is Fripp’s best result since joining Team Coastline BMW. Along with two further fourth place finishes, he has now moved to third overall in the riders’ championship.

In the Manufacturers’ title, BMW is running a strong third.

Fripp set fifth fastest during qualifying, finishing a solid fourth in the opening 7-lap race. He backed that up with a fast-improving second in race two, consolidating his position with fourth in the third and final race.

“The BMW K 1200 R suited the circuit much better than we expected and to come away with a best race result, plus moving to third overall in the series, is a great testament to the potential of the bike,” said Fripp.

“With a little testing before the coming round in Queensland we are hopeful of closing the gap even further to the leaders. Queensland Raceway should allow us to utilise the BMW’s immense top speed to better advantage.

“This weekend did prove to be challenging, not only with getting the bike set up, but also with changing weather conditions. A damp track for qualifying on Saturday was followed by low track temperatures on Sunday morning, which meant that you had to ride to the limits of the track. We did that and came away with the results.

“Again, the exposure the team has attracted both on and off the track has been amazing. So many spectators have stopped off at our pit garage asking about the BMW K 1200 R as well as the team. This is great for BMW and the series in general.”

While Fripp enjoyed a trio of strong results, teammate Graeme Wilshaw was left sidelined from the action after a nasty fall in the opening race left the Sydney rider with a heavily bruised and swollen right knee.

After qualifying on the front row of the grid with the fourth fastest time, Wilshaw was engaged in a lively battle with his teammate in the opening race before it came to an abrupt end with less than two laps remaining as he lost the front end under heavy braking at the Northern Hairpin. His resulting injuries forced him to withdraw from the remaining two races of the weekend.

“It’s a major disappointment to have fallen in that race,” said Wilshaw.

“It was a very similar fall to the one that I had a week earlier in Perth.

“Stuart rode extremely well this weekend. He has been doing a great job, keeping the team in the points,” Wilshaw said.

Despite being unable to ride on Sunday, Wilshaw did manage to keep busy, joining the on-course commentary team. His many years of racing experience proved to be invaluable as he provided the large crowd with a rider’s insight in to the weekend’s action.

“I enjoyed it, but not as much as racing,” Wilshaw said. “It did give me the chance to tell the spectators a bit about Team Coastline BMW.”

The next round of the championship takes place at Queensland Raceway on July 8-9.