Kevin Curtain records the perfect weekend at Wakefield Park
Yamaha Racing with Ipone’s Kevin Curtain wound back the clock to record a remarkable day of domination at round four of the Australian FX Superbike Championship at Wakefield Park over the weekend.
Curtain competing in the two headline divisions, the FX Superbike Championship on his Yamaha R1 and also the FX600cc class on his R6, rode like a man possessed to take the win and increase his lead in both championships.
He took an amazing six wins from six starts across the two classes and along with that came the lap record at the Wakefield Park. His lap on the thundering R1 was the fastest anyone had ever gone around the circuit on two wheels and was the icing on the cake for Curtain and his Yamaha Race Team.
“It was a day that everything just worked out right,” Curtain said after his six race win for the day. “ I felt good on the bike all weekend and the conditions were good for going fast. Combine that with the bikes in perfect shape and it was a great weekend for me and the team.”
The day wasn’t as good for team mate Rick Olson. Competing against Curtain in the FX Superbike Championship, Olson started the day well taking second place in the opening leg behind Curtain but things unravelled in race two when he fell whilst challenging for second place. In the midst of arguing over second place with Matthew Walters, Walters bobbled and Olson had no option but to become entangled with Walters. With nowhere to go, Olson hit the pavement and was unable to finish the race.
Fortunately, the team and Olson were able to regroup for the final race where he returned to the lead pack and slotted into second place for the race. His 2-DNF – 2 results, saw Olson take fourth for the round but maintain his second place in the championship.
“The weekend was pretty good apart from that second race. When Matt made a mistake, I clipped him and we both went down. There was nothing either of us could do and as frustrating as it is, that’s just racing sometimes.”
“But the team were great and we were able to get back in the game for the final race and gain some more points,” Olson signs off.
Team Owner John Redding was on hand to watch his team on a day to remember.
“Kevin was just amazing to watch today,” Redding states. “He looked in total control from the moment he hit the track on Saturday and it was a weekend where everything clicked. His lap record is impressive and a nice reward for everyone in the team as it also takes a good bike to generate that kind of speed.”
“Rick was just unlucky. He was doing everything right and in the process of putting together a good weekend before the crash. But, I’m happy that he was able to rebound well in the final race and get a good result.”
With four rounds in the record books, the Yamaha Racing with Ipone team are in control of the points but with two rounds still to come, there is a lot of racing to be done. Round five of the series heads for Winton Raceway in Victoria before the grand finale at Eastern Creek in Sydney.
Round Four Results – Wakefield Park – FX Superbike Championship
1st Kevin Curtain – 75
2nd Chris Trounson – 54
3rd Dustin Goldsmith – 52
4th Rick Olson – 44
FX600cc
1st Kevin Curtain – 75
2nd Mike Jones – 60
3rd Michael Blair – 56
Championship Standings – After Round Four
FX Superbike Championship
1st Kevin Curtain – 289
2nd Rick Olson – 221
3rd Matthew Walters – 181
FX600cc
1st Kevin Curtain – 288
2nd Sean Condon – 218
3rd Mike Jones – 201
