 |
2006 Australian Superbike
Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Four - Queensland Raceway July 9th, 2006 |
 |
|
|
2006 Australian Superbike
Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Four - Queensland Raceway July 9th, 2006 |
|
|
Team Report - Team Yamaha
|
| The Yamaha Racing Team has
recorded another strong showing of results at this weekend’s
round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Ipswich,
extending its dominance across the premier categories. While overall Superbike honours eluded the team, an unmistakable ‘blue streak’ was unchallenged for every podium position in the Supersport ranks. Dual championship leader Jamie Stauffer had entered the round with a question mark over his health, with a dilapidating case of the winter ‘flu threatening to cut short his impressive run of result. A typically resilient Stauffer was able to bounce back and keep focused on the larger championship goals and it paid off, taking 2nd overall in Superbike and winning Supersport. The YZF-R1 and YZF-R6 shone as standout models across both classes, delivering the factory team riders a number of podiums and keeping Yamaha atop both championship ladders. The champion manufacturer has held the Superbike and Supersport series leads since the first round and looks set to maintain the impressive run at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains in two months time. Yamaha Racing Team
Superbike A poorly Stauffer could well have been confined to the sidelines due to the extent of his sickness but forged on with great success. He found an extra few tenths in yesterday’s qualifying session to claim the extra championship point for pole, and the all important first grid position ahead of today’s two 16 lap races. He fought a gallant battle in race one, eventually finishing second to Russell Holland, but race two would prove to be the most crucial and indeed the most exciting race of the entire season thus far. Stauffer bolted from the line and led for the majority of the race, before eventually falling into the clutches of a fast-finishing Holland, who pipped him at the chequered flag by the tiniest of margins. “Well what can you say, it was there for the taking but I just couldn’t get past in the last dying stages,” said Stauffer. “In that situation you either choose to make the move or you consolidate and think of the points, but with the round win depending on that move then you have to take it.” “The racing has taken so much out of me this weekend, I am absolutely exhausted at this point and just have nothing left,” said a deflated Stauffer. Dan Stauffer maintained his consistent form and kept his championship campaign on track today with a top 6 finish for the round. He holds down a very solid 3rd position in the highly-competitive championship, ensuring Yamaha remains the premier Superbike machine. Stauffer admitted to wanting more from the round but was pleased to build on his championship score. “I was fairly confident coming into this one that we had found ‘the’ setup for Queensland Raceway after testing here pretty recently,” said Stauffer. “It’s been a tough race meet but all in all it was a pretty good finish.” “I think a podium is definitely possible at the next round in Tasmania, not many guys have raced here before so it’s a bit of an even playing field.” “We’ve got a test penciled in at the track prior to the round so hopefully we make some good developments ahead of the round.” Yamaha Racing Team
Supersport Jamie Stauffer, Mark Aitchison and Jason O’Halloran shared the spoils from the round, with each rider benefiting at one time or other from some difficult on-track situations. Stauffer claimed the overall round victory with the win in race one, while Aitchison and O’Halloran experienced their own personal successes also. Young gun O’Halloran was on top of his game from the outset, taking provisional top spots across every practice and qualifying session. The polesitter looked set to continue this run of results before another coming together with teammate Aitchison while the pairing held down the top two spots at the start of race one. O’Halloran was not seriously injured in the clash but was unable to contest the race restart, as he was ruled to have caused the red flag. He bounced back brilliantly in race two, taking an emphatic win from teammate Aitchison in the last few corners of the race. “This result feels really good, we’ve been strong all weekend here and were all ready for the racing after taking out top spots on Friday and Saturday,” said O’Halloran. “It was very unfortunate to have the crash at the start of race 1, but we regrouped well.It has shown Yamaha is the bike to be on this year, as well as Dunlop tyres, they obviously work perfectly together.” “I knew I was strong at the last corner, and I knew I could brake deeper in there and I really had to go for it and it paid off, it was a great race and result I’ll remember forever.” To finally match and beat Jamie in a race is a real thrill!” Mark Aitchison rode an extremely reliable race for the Yamaha Racing Team, taking two impressive second place finishes and just missing out on the overall round victory. Fortunately he was able to re-mount his bike and contest the start of the red-flagged opening race and kept himself in contention for the weekend. Aitchison has now closed to within 10 points of second position in the championship chase, sitting handily placed in 4th. He was pleased with the round result but believed there was the potential to go one better. “It was a good race, what can I say, I lost. Second is better than a DNF though, I took the lead early but couldn’t hold him (O’Halloran) off,” said Aitchison. “It was all working pretty well but he managed to slip inside at the last turn. These things happen and we have Tasmania to go one better.” “It was a good all round result for the team though.” Another very strong showing from satellite rider Shaun Geronimi has affirmed the YZF-R6 as the premier Supersport machine in the category. Geronimi maintains his impressive 2nd placing in the fight for title honours with 3 rounds remaining. |
|
|
|
2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Four - Queensland Raceway |
