ASBK 2011 – Round Seven – Symmons Plains
– Stauffer steers clear of drama in Tassie Superbike opener
Team Honda’s Jamie Stauffer won a dramatic opening clash at Symmons Plains in the opening race of round 7 of the QBE Australian Superbike Championships today.
From fifth on the grid, the only man still able to challenge Glenn Allerton in the title hunt did his chances no harm as chaos erupted just after mid-race distance.
Leading from the start, Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters had amassed a handy buffer approaching lap 11 before a mechanical issue saw him slow on the front straight.
Polesitter Wayne Maxwell swept into the lead but it fell away beneath him in the space of seconds as he lost the front end of his Team Honda machine entering the challenging hairpin.
Just a lap later, the hard-braking hairpin was the site of a controversial clash between a hard-charging Robbie Bugden and leader Allerton.
Negotiating lap traffic, Bugden nosed his Team Mack Trucks Suzuki up the inside of Allerton before contact was made as both riders wrestled for track space.
The airfence arrested both bikes, while the riders were quick to their feet. The frustration was evident for Allerton, who was able to re-mount his BMW for an eventual finish of 7th.
Stauffer stormed into the distance, while Craig Coxhell on the Demolition Plus GAS Honda continued his solid showing to finish third, pipped in spectacular fashion by Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss who secured second place with a daring last corner move.
Stauffer, who had been frustrated by a mechanical issue in qualifying, was pleased to bounce back and record his fourth win in the space of five races.
“It’s a really positive result after qualifying this morning,” said Stauffer. “I was in a good battle with Glenn for the first half of the race before everything started happening on track.
“Fortunately I avoided the trouble, hard luck to Wayne who was showing great speed.
“It’s great to get another win in the bag for Team Honda.”
Herfoss’ second place finish is a step forward for the Suzuki rider who is not giving up on his goal of second overall in the championship.
“I was pretty lucky to be where I was, the only guy I need to beat to get some points back on second was in front of me!”
“The race was a struggle. Second is good to come away with but it was tough today, we’ll try to make the bike work a bit better to get out of the hairpin because it was a handful.”
Allerton had his season’s share of bad luck bundled into one day, with a mechanical problem in qualifying forcing him to his second bike for the race.
A lack of feel for the clutch saw him lose ground at the start, and the clash with Bugden while leading capped off a frustrating day for the Procon Maxima BMW pilot.
“I probably wasn’t as forceful with the lapped rider as I should have been through the esses and it allowed Robbie to get a good run on me,” said Allerton.
“I’d almost made the apex when the contact happened, and am probably lucky that the bike started straight away.”
Ben Henry was able to record his best finish of the season with a deserved fourth place on his CUBE Racing GSX-R1000.
Team Suzuki’s Prostock talent Brodie Waters finished a commendable sixth outright in the field, riding a consistent race and avoiding trouble.
A 20-minute warm-up will open the on-track action on Sunday before race 2 at 1.10pm.
Symmons Plains Race 1 Results
1. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) / Team Honda Racing
2. Troy HERFOSS (NSW) / Team Suzuki
3. Craig COXHELL (VIC) / GAS Honda
4. Ben HENRY (QLD) / CUBE Racing
5. Robert BUGDEN (QLD) / Team Mack Trucks Suzuki
6. Brodie WATERS (VIC) / Team Suzuki
7. Wayne MAXWELL (NSW) / Team Honda Racing
8. Linden MAGEE (QLD) / Coastline Motorrad Racing
9. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) / Procon Maxima BMW
10. Brett SIMMONDS (TAS) / Remus
