Gilesy confirms form with top time at Qld Test while Mad Eyes tests Kwaka
By, KW
Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Shawn Giles topped the timesheet at the ASC factory teams two-day test session at Queensland Raceway on Monday, June 30 and Tuesday July 1, giving the 38-year-old’s quest for a fourth Australian Superbike title a confidence boost with the Queensland double-header round just one week away (July 10-13).
Giles quickest lap of 1:09.15 was just 0.005sec outside Jamie Stauffer’s Superbike lap record of 1:09.145, set at 2007’s ASC round at the Ipswich circuit.
The three-time Australian Superbike Champion rider was 0.20sec clear of Teknic Honda rider Jason O’Halloran, with championship leader Glenn Allerton just five hundredths further back. Less than one second covered the top nine riders, with the top six split by just half a second.
Making a ‘surprise’ appearance at the test session was two-times Australian Superbike Champion Marty ‘Mad Eyes’ Craggill, the Victorian riding the Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-10R of Shannon Johnson. Also testing for Kawasaki was Nick Henderson, the latter riding the KRT ZX-10R and ZX-6R of Scott Charlton.
While Johnson remains on the injured list, Charlton is expected to make his return to the track at Queensland’s upcoming double-header round. Charlton has been out of action with hand injuries received in a jet-ski training accident, while Johnson injured in his shoulder when run off the road while training on his pushbike.
Kawasaki is expected to make a decision within the next few days on whether Charlton will ride in both classes at Queensland, and whether Craggill and Henderson will both be called up to fill in for Johnson and Charlton should the latter only ride in one class.
“I’m keen to ride,” said Craggill, whose 2008 ride in the AMA Superbike Championship on a Ducati 1098R failed to get off the ground. “I guess I’ve always been linked with Kawasaki following those titles, so it would be great to renew the association.
“I’m a bit frustrated with my times, but the guys have been working really hard to get the bike set up for me. We’re heading in the right direction.”
Teknic Honda duo O’Halloran and Allerton spent most of the test session working on chassis balance on their CBR1000RRs.
“I’m trying to improve drive off the turns,” said Allerton. “This track has you hard on the brakes, then hard on the gas, so we’re working on minimising the pitching movement as you go from brakes to throttle.”
The Yamaha Racing Team had new 2008 bikes for brothers Jamie and Dan Stauffer, which they tested alongside their proven 2007 bikes. Two-times champ Jamie spent most of the two-day test session aboard his YZF-R1 Superbike, doing just a handful of laps on his Supersport YZF-R6.
“My shoulder’s still a bit sore after my Winton crash,” said Stauffer. “It’s been okay at these tests, but two days of racing in both classes will be a test for it.”
Two riders tasted the tarmac during the two-day test session, although both escaped serious injury. Privateer Zac Davies, who only attended Day Two of the test, low-sided at the final corner (Turn Six) when he lost the front of his Yamaha YZF-R1.
Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Robbie Bugden was less fortunate, his GSX-R1000 barrel-rolling after a seemingly harmless low-side when it hit the ripple-strip on the exit of Turn Five. Such was the impact, Bugden’s bike broke the swingarm and ripped it from the chassis as it cart-wheeled through the infield. Rubbing salt into the wound, the bike was a brand new one in preparation for the Queenslander’s home round!
In the Supersport category Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Josh Waters was the man to beat on his Dunlop-equipped GSX-R600 with a string of laps in the 1:11.70 bracket, finishing two tenths up on Pirelli-shod Teknic Honda CBR600RR rider Wayne Maxwell.
| SUPERBIKE 1 Shawn Giles Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:09.15 2 Jason O’Halloran Honda CBR1000RR 1:09.35 3 Glenn Allerton Honda CBR1000RR 1:09.40 4 Craig Coxhell Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:09.48 5 Jamie Stauffer Yamaha YZF-R1 1:09.50 6 Kevin Curtain MV Agusta 312R 1:09.60 7 Dan Stauffer Yamaha YZF-R1 1:09.70 8 Robbie Bugden Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:09.72 9 Jon Cartwright Yamaha YZF-R1 1:10.10 10 Marty Craggill Kawasaki ZX-10R 1:12.50 11 Trent Gibson Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:13.20 12 Nick Henderson Kawasaki ZX-10R 1:13.50 Superbike lap record: Jamie Stauffer 1:09.145 (2007) |
SUPERSPORT 1 Josh Waters Suzuki GSX-R600 1:11.70 2 Wayne Maxwell Honda CBR600RR 1:11.90 3 Jeremy Crowe Yamaha YZF-R6 1:11.96 4 Judd Greedy Suzuki GSX-R600 1:11.98 5 Jamie Stauffer Yamaha YZF-R6 1:12.00 6 Ben Attard Yamaha YZF-R6 1:12.10 7 Chris Quinn Yamaha YZF-R6 1:12.80 8 Ian Andrews Suzuki GSX-R600 1:13.20 9 Nick Henderson Kawasaki ZX-6R 1:13.50 10 Cameron Keevers Yamaha YZF-R6 1:13.55 11 Shaun Geronimi Kawasaki ZX-6R 1:13.70 12 Anthony Quinn Yamaha YZF-R6 1:13.90 Supersport lap record: Jason O’Halloran 1:11.642 (2007) |
