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2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Seven - Eastern Creek, NSW - November 17/18/19 |
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2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Seven - Eastern Creek, NSW - November 17/18/19 |
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Team Report - Coastline BMW
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| Team Coastline BMW
celebrated its debut season competing in the Australian
NakedBike Championships with a well earned second place
finish in the manufacturers’ title chase at the final round
at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway on Sunday November 19. It has been a season of vastly improving performances by the BMW team as it competed against a number of well established teams, and it has been one where it has also drawn considerable attention from the growing number of spectators at each of the seven rounds of the championship. Paving the way for this success has been the trio of riders who have competed strongly aboard the BMW K 1200 R PowerCup racer. Former Australian Superbike and World 500cc GP competitor Mark Willis along with Stuart Fripp and Graeme Wilshaw have campaigned strongly with the team all season. The weekend’s final round saw the team work its way through a number of issues, with one being the availability of suitable tyres for the hot conditions. A late shipment meant the team used a softer compound tyre than normal, which in the hot conditions, proved difficult. Despite this, Willis earned two solid third place finishes in the NakedBike class, along with a trio of thirds in the Pro Twins Championship class where the team competes in the BEARS F1 category. “First of all I’d like to say a big thank you to the Coastline BMW Team for asking me to be involved this year, I’ve had an absolute ball,” said Willis, who finished ninth overall in the championship. “Since joining the team at the Queensland round, we’ve made a host of improvements with the BMW K 1200 R and I’m glad to be a part of the project. “We’ve made good improvements in recent rounds and arrived here hopeful of getting even closer to the leaders, but for various reasons it became a lot more difficult than expected. “We were very happy with the top end of the bike, which was very strong around Eastern Creek. “I’m very happy to leave here having done a 1:38.4 as it highlights the improvements made to the bike since the start of the season.” Teammate Fripp arrived at the final round feeling the ill effects of a virus picked up in the preceding week and given his physical condition rode well to consolidate his fourth place overall in the NakedBike Championship courtesy of a fifth, fourth and sixth place finishes. “It’s been a difficult weekend for me personally as I picked up a virus this week and it has zapped me of energy over the weekend, especially as it’s been so hot I was getting rather fatigued in the closing laps of each race,” said Fripp. “We also find it tough to find the right set up for the bike this weekend, with a fair bit of chatter to start with, but we worked through that and were much closer at the end. “Overall I’m very happy with how we have progressed this weekend, finishing each of the races and adding to the points tally for both the riders and manufacturers titles. “As a team we have made great steps forward over the season and have gained by some of the changes made to the bikes by our crew chief Chris Dowd. “As for the season, it’s been a fantastic opportunity for me to be involved with the Coastline BMW Team this year and I must thank them personally for their support. “I’ve been a privateer for many years so to be part of their team has been great and I hope that it will continue into the future.” The General Manager of BMW Motorrad Australia, Cameron Cuthill said he was very pleased with the results for the season’s racing. “Our results this season underline the strength of the BMW K 1200 R out-of-the-box. “We are delighted that our three riders have done so well: through a combination of their talent, experience and determination and the performance of the BMW K 1200 R. “My thanks to the riders and the team that supported them, as well as to the large numbers of race fans who have expressed interest in the K 1200 R.” |
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2006 Australian Superbike
Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Seven (Final) |
