Focus on a Strong Season Opener for Team Honda Racing 4th April 2013 – The scene is set at Symmons Plains Raceway for the opening points battle of the Australian Superbike Championship this weekend, 5th – 7th April, to be held in conjunction with the V8 Supercars Tasmania Microsoft Office 365. Team Honda Racing enters the preliminary round of the domestic championship with fresh commitment and vigor after competing in the World Superbike Championship as Wildcard entries at Phillip Island in February. The Honda team made the decision to enter both their riders as wildcards in separate categories at the World Superbike event; Jamie Stauffer in World Superbikes and Josh Hook in World Supersport. The preparation was immense and the event an extremely valuable experience for riders and team alike. Stauffer and Hook both pushed to their limit and beyond on the world stage and represented the Honda brand and Team Honda Racing sponsors with terrific dedication. Taking all they learned from competing at the top level, Team Honda Racing then shifted their focus to the 2013 ASBK Championship. The team changed the bike set up of the Honda CBR1000RR’s back to Australian regulation and headed to Tasmania in March to test on Dunlop tyres in readiness for this weekend’s event. #27 Jamie Stauffer is feeling confident in the lead-in to the event, saying “I feel I’m starting this season in a very good position. The team is stronger now than ever and we have a race-winning motorcycle. The World Superbike event was a great learning curve and has set me up well going into the 2013 race season. The test in March gave us a chance to fine tune the bike set-up for the Dunlop tyres and the Symmons Plains circuit and I am looking forward to getting down there and getting the 2013 season started.” #34 Josh Hook is also looking forward to starting the season as he moves from the 600 Supersport category to the Superbikes alongside Stauffer. “The test went really well for me in Tasmania. I’m really excited to be competing in the premier category this year and the experience I had at the World Superbike event was so valuable. The CBR1000RR feels good, I’m really happy with the set-up going into Symmons Plains. It is going to be a huge year.” Team Honda Racing will be out on track at Symmons Plains Raceway tomorrow for practice with Qualifying 1 in the afternoon.