Jamie Stauffer
From dirt track to the Superbike double
From the archives – originally published in September 2020.
Winning an Australian Superbike Championship takes some doing. Jamie Stauffer won the Superbike and Supersport titles in the same season, defended his Superbike crown the following year and came within one race of repeating the double.
That was only part of the story. Before the Yamaha glory days came dozens of dirt track titles, a phone call from Peter Goddard and a move into road racing that eventually took him to Daytona and a factory-supported Yoshimura Suzuki ride.
By the time of this 2020 interview, Stauffer had found another challenge: standing in pit lane while his son Max went racing. For a bloke who had spent much of his life doing the riding, watching could be harder.
The Kurri Kurri connection
Kurri Kurri has a remarkable motorcycle racing pedigree. Stauffer shared that background with Casey Stoner and Chad Reed, while the wider Hunter region has been home to talents including Toby Price, Jason Doyle, Broc Parkes, Kevin Curtain, Craig Anderson, Rohan Tungate and Phil Lovett.
For Stauffer, those early dirt track meetings brought together a group of youngsters who pushed one another long before their names became familiar around the world.
Jamie Stauffer
“It’s funny because when I look back at Kurri Kurri dirt track and the riders, the names I rode against at the time weren’t names and now they are people who have done really good stuff in all different disciplines across the world and we rode together and made each other better.”
His first motorcycle arrived when he was four. By 2020, bikes filled his working days at DoctorMak Engines in Maitland, his weekends at the track and plenty of the hours in between.
Jamie Stauffer
“It’s a way of life for me.
“I’ve got a little bit of property where I live and we’ve got a track in the back yard and even if I’m not riding or at a race track with Max, I’m prepping this track so others can ride or I’m at a dirt track or at Christmas at a speedway track and helping people in the pits.
“I’m a motorcycle racing fan in general, but if I’m not around motorbikes, I’m bored to be honest.”
A phone call that changed his career
Between 1991 and 1999, Stauffer amassed 49 state and 16 national dirt track titles. The speed was already there, but road racing was unfamiliar territory until former Australian Superbike Champion Peter Goddard picked up the phone.
Jamie Stauffer
“In 1996 Peter Goddard rang and said we, my brother and I, should get into road racing and he gave us contacts to get some Suzuki RGV 250s and we said alright we will give it a go and see what happens.
“I never knew anything about road racing at the time.
“My brother went full road racing earlier than me as I was doing a bit of speedway and dirt track.
“It came to a point where I said I better do one.”
Once he committed, the results followed. In 2000, Stauffer won the Australian Aprilia Challenge and shared victory in the Two Wheels Six Hour with Warwick Nowland and Mark Willis. An Aprilia Challenge win at Daytona added an international result to his growing résumé.
Daytona, a damaged R6 and a Yoshimura opportunity
His American adventure began with a friend, a pair of Yamaha R6s and a plan to drive from San Diego to Daytona. A road accident almost derailed the trip before it had started.
Jamie Stauffer
“It’s quite a funny story. I went over there, picked up a couple of bikes and went from San Diego to Daytona.
“But the day before leaving, we were getting the bikes tuned, and on the way back, a car ran up the back of me in the truck I was driving.
“It hit me pretty hard and it broke bits of stuff off the brand new bike. So, we were a couple of days late leaving because we were fixing the bike.
“We finished 7th there but 10 of us went across the line side by side and I got the track record there and was lucky enough to get a call up from Yoshimura Suzuki who put me on the 600 over there for the rest of the year.”
That seventh place came in the 2003 AMA 600 Supersport race at Daytona. Yoshimura Suzuki signed him to race its GSX-R600 for the remainder of the season.
2006: The year everything clicked
The defining season of Stauffer’s Australian road racing career came in 2006. On Yamaha machinery, he won both the Australian Superbike and Supersport Championships, mastering the demands of racing two classes against some of the country’s best.
Jamie Stauffer
“2006 was a great year. I had had a few good years before that and a lot of good races and came close to some titles.
“When I signed with Yamaha everything just clicked. I was riding at my best. The bikes were good. The team was good and the first meeting I won all six races, scored two lap records and a pole.
“It was one of those times when you feel that confident that you jell with the bike that well and the team everything just fell into place. It was special.”
Jamie Stauffer
“We had a really great time with Yamaha to be honest, the racing was so good, and the competition was tough.
“Over history there was always someone to step up and raise the bar that everyone had to catch up to, and I was lucky enough that, that was me.
“We had a great run and at the end of the day it made everyone else a better rider as they wanted to win and beat me.”
Stauffer retained the Superbike crown in 2007 and almost repeated the double. A crash at Turn Nine at Eastern Creek, now Sydney Motorsport Park, in the final Supersport race left him second in that championship, which went to Yamaha team-mate Jason O’Halloran.
He claimed another Australian Supersport title in 2008, also finishing runner-up in Superbike. Across those three seasons, Stauffer collected four national championships and two second places in the premier production-based classes.
His recollection of qualifying at Eastern Creek offered a measure of just how competitive the 600s were.
Jamie Stauffer
“Back then if you could win a 600 Supersport race, you were pretty confident you could win a Superbike race as well.
“I remember in 2006 or 2007 qualifying in the first round at Eastern Creek and I put it on pole in Superbikes and my qualifying time on a 600 would have put me second place on the superbike.”
Sideways on a stock R1
This Yamaha advert captures some of the bike control behind those results.
I was there at Phillip Island when the on-track footage in this video was filmed. Jamie was asked to go out and pull a few slides, so he jumped on a stock R1 and had the thing completely sideways everywhere, right from the off.
A Ducati comeback in 2019
Stauffer’s last full ASBK season before this interview had been in 2016. Three years later, good friend Craig McMartin gave him the opportunity to contest the final two rounds of the 2019 championship on the Ducati that Wayne Maxwell would take to victory at the opening round of 2020.
Bike problems hampered his Phillip Island outing, but fifth and sixth in the Sydney Motorsport Park races showed he could still mix it with the front runners. The greater difficulty was trying to race while also preparing Max’s machinery.
Jamie Stauffer
“I don’t think anyone forgets how to ride but I struggled all weekend looking after Max’s bikes as well.
“I qualified way back but went out and I did really well over race distance.
“During qualifying I’d come in to make changes to my bike and I was there with the helmet on changing Max’s wheels. It was a hard weekend, too hard to ride and look after Max at the same time.
“The Ducati V4R is pretty damn good, easily the fastest bike I’ve ridden.”
Racer, mechanic and dad
There was still speed in Stauffer’s own riding, but combining his comeback with the roles of mechanic, crew chief and father proved too much. Max’s racing took priority.
Jamie Stauffer
“I had my time and I realised it was time to give Max a go.
“I feel if I wanted to, I would have to get a lot fitter so I could go out and be competitive in Superbikes, but I love helping my young guy out and making him a better rider.”
At the time of the interview, Max had progressed from the Supersport 300 ranks to Australian Supersport. Jamie was learning how different a race weekend could feel from the other side of the garage.
Jamie Stauffer
“It’s totally different being on this side of the pit garage, being the crew chief and trying to work out what the rider is trying to interpret is a different thing, but quite fun.”
Understanding the bike was one thing. Watching his son race brought a different sort of pressure.
Jamie Stauffer
“It’s actually terrible, it is worse than being on the bike.
“It’s nerve racking to be honest and it’s with you the whole time he is out there, but it’s what he wants to do, so I help him.
“The moment he crosses the line you catch your breath and it’s all good.
“He’s definitely got a lot of talent. He is a better rider than I was at the same age.
“If he keeps progressing and learning I think he can move forward, and he seems to be doing all the right things.
“When he first started racing and even though I had a fair bit of experience, every time I would tell him something he would ignore it, but now he has realised pretty quickly that I do know what I’m talking about and now takes it all in and listens and learns.
“Each time he gets on the bike now he’s doing better and getting faster.”
Passing on the experience
The disruption of the 2020 season had complicated Max’s move to a 600. Jamie’s hopes were straightforward: keep learning, start winning and see where the next opportunity led.
Jamie Stauffer
“COVID has changed it a bit this year. Originally, I wanted him to be winning races by the end of the year, I still want that.
“He has only had one race this year on the 600 so we will see how he goes and whether in the future he goes to Superbike here or overseas.”
The connection with Yamaha remained strong, even after Jamie’s own career had taken him to rival manufacturers.
Jamie Stauffer
“On a Yamaha I won the Superbike Championship and I think it would good if Max could be the next person on a Yamaha to do that or a double on Yamaha.
“Yamaha have been fantastic and have helped us a lot.
“We all get along great and I’ve always had a good relationship with those guys, even when I went to Ducati and Honda.”
ASBK through a champion’s eyes
Looking at the paddock in 2020, Stauffer could see how far the championship’s presentation had come since his first outings on an RGV250. Finding more money to support the racing remained a familiar challenge.
Jamie Stauffer
“I think now it’s more professional, the teams are making the bikes and pit areas more presentable and ASBK is doing a really good job with the series.
“When I started, we turned up with RGV white gel coated fairings and now all the bikes and teams look presentable and everyone has stepped it up.
“It would be good to see some more money in the paddock with more sponsorship available.”
He also enjoyed seeing former rivals Wayne Maxwell and Troy Herfoss remain at the front. Asked for his pick for the pandemic-disrupted 2020 championship, he backed Maxwell while keeping a close eye on Herfoss and the new Honda.
Jamie Stauffer
“It’s good to see guys like Wayne Maxwell still competitive, you need old people out there on track as well as young people.
“It’s good to see Wayne and Troy Herfoss there and going so good, shows you don’t need to be young if you still got and want it.
“If there was no stoppage this year, I would have said Wayne for sure and I think he still has got a pretty high chance of winning, I’d put my money on him.
“But Troy has a new Honda and it will be interesting to see how fast he is on that, as he was definitely not on the best bike out there.
“Troy is always strong competitor anytime he’s on the track and he is still winning races, so will be interesting to see how he goes.”
The bike he kept
Stauffer raced machinery from Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha. Asked in 2020 to choose a favourite, he went straight back to the R1SP from his double championship season.
Jamie Stauffer
“The Yamaha 2006 R1SP is definitely my favourite, it was a pretty special bike to ride and I’ve still got that bike, it’s the only one I have really.”
Jamie Stauffer – selected career highlights
| Year | Achievement |
|---|---|
| 1991–1999 | 49 state and 16 national dirt track titles |
| 2000 | Australian Aprilia Challenge winner; Two Wheels Six Hour winner with Warwick Nowland and Mark Willis |
| 2003 | Seventh in AMA 600 Supersport at Daytona; joined Yoshimura Suzuki for the remainder of the season |
| 2005 | Third in the Australian Superbike Championship |
| 2006 | Australian Superbike and Supersport Champion |
| 2007 | Australian Superbike Champion; second in Supersport; ninth in the Suzuka 8 Hour with Norick Abe |
| 2008 | Australian Supersport Champion; second in Superbike |
| 2009 | Second in the Australian Supersport Championship |
| 2010 | Fifth in the Australian Superbike Championship |
| 2011 | Second in the Australian Superbike Championship |
| 2012 | Third in the Australian Superbike Championship |
| 2013 | Fourth in the Australian Superbike Championship |
| 2016 | Eighth in the Australian Superbike Championship |
| 2019 | ASBK return with Ducati at the final two rounds; fifth and sixth in the Sydney Motorsport Park races |
