2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan)

Report (Ssangyong / Aircom System Sidecar Team)

SsangYong / Aircom Systems Sidecar Team pairing Adam Treasure & Lionel Cornwell continue to lead the Aircom Systems Australian Sidecar Championship after the completion of the third round of the series held at Mallala Motor Sports Park in South Australia over the weekend, June 3-4.

With a weekend that saw the pair score two seconds and a third from three starts, they continue to sit at the top of the championship with a total of 188-points, two clear of round winners Shane Soutar / Jeff Rowe (186) who scored two wins and a second. There was further good news for the SsangYong / Aircom Systems Team as Stacey Sellar & Darren Abrahams closed to within 18-points of the championship lead courtesy of a third, fourth and a break through season win in the third and final race.

The lead trio were in the thick of the action all weekend, putting on a masterful display of sidecar racing, which kicked off in qualifying when Soutar posted a time of 1:14.943, 0.109 of a second quicker than Treasure (1:15.052) to grab pole position for the event. In his first visit to Mallala in ten years, Sellar was fourth fastest with a 1:16.230.

Races one and three were particularly close with Treasure / Cornwell shadowing Soutar / Rowe across the line by 0.331 of a second, before the final 7-lap race saw Sellar score his first race win since the Queensland round last year, with a margin of 0.871 of a second splitting the trio.

The race speed of the SsangYong / Aircom Systems LCR Suzuki’s was evident as Treasure set the fastest lap in the opening race with a 1:14.192, while Sellar was the fastest in race three with a 1:14.395 late on Sunday afternoon.

Adam Treasure / Lionel Cornwell (#38)
“We had three solid race results and maintained our lead in the championship, but I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t come away with the win in the final race after leading it for so long,” said Treasure. “With the championship having back-to-back rounds over the past two weeks it has allowed us to spend a lot of time on the bike which has given the team a greater understanding of how to set up for the individual circuits. Shane (Soutar) in particular has a lot of experience with the chassis and appears able to get it sorted earlier on in the weekend than we can. But that aside, the team has worked well again and given us a bike that has been fast and consistent. We’ve still got our nose in front of the championship and with two rounds remaining we will be working hard to ensure we stay in that position.”

Stacey Sellar / Darren Abrahams (#37)
“It is a huge positive for us to leave here with a race win in the last,” said Sellar. “The team is getting to grips with setting up the bike, but unfortunately it’s just taking us that little bit longer to do than the other teams, but we’re aware of that and will continue to address it. Come Sunday though we have the bike handling and running well, but some of our rivals have that slight edge on us. We know that we have a very good package as our lap times in each of the races showed that we were right on the pace. As the weekend progresses, we keep building the pace. Our eagerness to mix it with Adam (Treasure) and Shane (Soutar) caught us out in the second race when I tried to get on the gas as hard as I could and spun it on the opening lap, but we came back well from that. The last race was just one I wanted to win. We worked hard all weekend and felt we could do it. It was a close race and after a great battle with Adam and Shane we got home with the win. A great result for the team and a fantastic confidence boost for us.”

Brett Gilbert – Team Manager
“The SsangYong / Aircom Systems Sidecar Team have had another great weekend and I am extremely pleased for all concerned,” said Gilbert. “We still hold the championship lead with Adam and Lionel, with Stacey and Darren third, just 18-points further back, so it’s nice and close. Adam and Lionel were solid again all weekend. They kept it together well with two seconds before being pipped on the line by Shane (Soutar) for second in the last. It was nice for Stacey and Darren to come through in the last for the race win. They’ve been around the fringes of the lead pair and finally showed they can get it together and match them. The racing this weekend has been fast and clean which is a credit to them all and we hope that they gave the fans a lot to cheer about.”

The Aircom Systems Australian Sidecar Championship takes a lengthy break from competition before returning for the final two rounds at Winton Raceway (October 21-22) and Eastern Creek (November 18-19).

Point Score after 3 of 5 rounds
1. Treasure / Cornwell (188); 2. Soutar / Rowe (186); 3. Sellar / Abrahams (170); 4. Bruce / Leak (130); 5. Alton / Patterson (113); 6. Grubb / Gorski (107); 7. D Chivas / W Grubb (87); 8. D Walker / N Walker (82; 9. R Taylor / D Napier (46); 10. James / James (43).

2006 Aircom Systems Australian Sidecar Championship, calendar
Rd 1 – Eastern Creek, NSW (April 8-9)
Rd 2 – Barbagallo Raceway, WA (May 27-28)
Rd 3 – Mallala Motor Sports Park, SA (June 3-4)
Rd 4 – Winton Raceway, Vic (October 21-22)
Rd 5 – Eastern Creek Raceway, NSW (November 18-19)