Stauffer the target as Superbikes return to Queensland Raceway An extended break has QBE Australian Superbike Championship contenders hungrier than ever for race wins ahead of this weekend’s sixth round of the series at Queensland Raceway. Contesting their second consecutive round at the technical Ipswich circuit, riders and teams are already dialed into its demands and are hoping to halt the dominance of Team Honda’s Jamie Stauffer who clean swept qualifying and racing here in June. Stauffer’s return to the winner’s circle was an important confidence booster for the rider and his team, but he knows that his rivals will have been working hard to bridge the gap. “If we can pick up where we left off last round then we’re looking good, but I know there are other guys out there that want to get a win in the books,” said Stauffer. “I’m going there to win races and I need to be scoring as many points as I can each time out. “You can never really predict the conditions and pace at Queensland Raceway until you’ve actually ridden it. “The track can vary from morning to afternoon and the grip levels will almost certainly be different each time out given the amount of car racing across the weekend.” The round 5 result elevated the New South Welshman to second in the points chase behind Procon Maxima BMW’s Glenn Allerton, who still has a tidy lead. 56 points separates Allerton from Stauffer, and although he will leave Queensland Raceway ahead regardless of results there are a maximum of 51 points on offer the BMW rider is reluctant to let down his guard. A recent trip overseas saw Allerton chance a ride in the British Superbike Championship Evo class, an opportunity he feels has provided him with even more setup direction despite the technical differences between the domestic championships. “It was great to be able to step in and ride in the Evo class at Brands Hatch, the BSB is very competitive and I feel like I learnt a lot from the experience,” said Allerton. “A podium result was there but my bike ran out of fuel on the last lap which was disappointing, but I’ve taken lots of positives from it. “We didn’t get to test at Queensland Raceway prior to this round but I know the team has been working extra hard in the break. “We’ve found a bit more power and are ready to try a few knew settings knowing that we already have a great setup and we can really only improve.” Consistent results have kept Aprilia rider Ben Attard and Suzuki rider Troy Herfoss locked together in third on the points ladder. Attard and his i-Style The Natural Aprilia Racing team have been somewhat of a surprise package in 2011, and the Brisbane-based rider has shown he will be a factor right until the final race. A recent operation to combat severe arm pump has the RSV-4 pilot positive about the upcoming weekend. “I was able to get in an have an operation after the last round to try and reduce the arm pump I was suffering, my arms feel a lot stronger now and I’m confident I’ll be able to hang on to the bike for the full race distance,” said Attard. “We’ve been working on a few new parts for the bike and the test showed they are taking us in the right direction. “Jamie (Stauffer) is the target for the whole field at the moment. He’s got the bike dialled for this circuit and it’s up to us to work hard and close the gap.” Wayne Maxwell is hopeful of notching up his first win of the season this weekend and knows he will need to improve on last round’s performance where he finished a point shy of the podium. Challenging him will be the likes of World Superbike star and Suzuka 8 Hour runner-up Josh Waters and former ASBK champion Craig Coxhell, so it will be no easy ask. The 2+4 events feature a combined grid of Superbike and Prostock racers, and the separate Prostock Challenge will continue to intensify. Queenslander Linden Magee has an 8-point advantage over Ryan Yanko and John Phelan, though a strong challenge will likely come from previous round winner Brodie Waters and the standalone Prostock championship leader Cru Halliday. Riders will have 20 minutes on Friday morning to find a suitable setup ahead of Friday afternoon’s Qualifying 1 and Saturday morning’s Qualifying 2. The top 8 times in Qualifying will advance to QBE Superpole to determine the front row of the grid for Saturday and Sunday’s 20-minute races. Like ASBK on facebook, follow ASBK on twitter or visit www.asbk.com.au to keep up with news and results or join in the new Live Blog feature running during qualifying and races. QBE Australian Superbike Championship Points 1. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW), 226″ 2. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW), 170″ 3. Ben ATTARD (QLD), 160″ 4. Troy HERFOSS (VIC), 160″ 5. Craig COXHELL (VIC), 151 6. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC), 136 7. Joshua WATERS (VIC), 124 8. Cole ODENDAAL (QLD), 123″ 9. Robert BUGDEN (QLD), 116 10. Ben HENRY (QLD), 98 Visit www.computime.com.au for full results and points listing. Round 6 of 8, Queensland Raceway, QLD August 19-21, 2011 Qualifying Format: Superbike/Prostock: 2 x 20 min qualifying, top 8 qualifiers to Superpole” Race Format: Superbike/Prostock: 2 x 20-minute races (points awarded to both classes) Previous winners (round 5): Superbike Jamie Stauffer, Team Honda CBR1000RR Prostock Pat Medcalf, Yamaha Racing Team YZF-R1 Lap record: Superbike Jamie Stauffer (1:09.125s) Prostock Craig Coxhell (1:11.225s) Circuit length: 3.12km More, from a press release Team Honda Racing: Returning to Qld Raceway for Round 6 Round 6 of the Australian Superbike Championship sees Team Honda Racing back in the sunshine state at Queensland Raceway this weekend 19th 21st August competing alongside the V8 Supercars once more. An extremely successful event in June saw Team Honda Racing climb to 2nd in the championship after #27 Jamie Stauffer became unstoppable and not only broke his own lap record for the circuit, but also took Superpole and 2 race wins. A clean sweep for Stauffer. The Honda’s returned home 2nd (Stauffer) and 6th (Maxwell) on the championship points tally after Round 5. What appeared to be a break in the schedule between ASBK events turned out to be an extremely busy period for Team Honda Racing. A stopover at The Farm on the return from QR Round 5 was a terrific opportunity for the team to give their sponsors and their guests Hot Laps at the beautiful private property. With over 40 guests each day, including Honda, Doric Products, Bank of Queensland, AWS and PHG everyone left with a new-found respect for what motorcycle racers do and a huge smile. The busy schedule continued with the Honda riders teaming up to race as an all-Australian team in the Suzuka 8 Hour race in July. Jamie and Wayne did their base team proud as they raced for the Dream RT Sakurai Honda Team on just 1 bike. Although they did not finish the gruelling 8 Hour race due to mechanical trouble at the end of the 6th hour, the pair held a consistent 4th on the timesheets amongst some experienced 3 rider teams. Finally, keeping the momentum going for Team Honda Racing Wayne Maxwell joined guests from team sponsor Oleon Speciality Oils and Lubricants at Sandown Raceway for more 2-Seater action. Adding a different element to the HART Ride Day, the team provided thrills for pillions and spectators alike. One very lucky HART competition winner, Ali was given the ride of his life joining the team for Hot Laps and he couldn’t stop smiling. The Team Honda Racing Honda CBR1000RR’s were given no respite in July with testing at Qld Raceway taking place, the team are eager to maintain the momentum going into Round 6. Team Principle, Paul Free is pleased with the progress made during testing. Free: the test at QR was a really important one for the team, we really needed to refine the settings and learn a bit more about our CBR1000’s and try to improve what was already a race winning package. As always when you try different settings etc and put those changes to the track a good team will always come away with a much greater understanding of what the bike requires to go forward. Overall it was extremely positive test for Wayne and Jamie and I am sure what we learnt will show up in our results at this next event when we put it on the line again. I must say a big thanks to the guys at Doric products for helping us make the test at QR happen. The first Practice and Qualifying session for the Australian Superbikes at Round 6 will take place on Friday 19th August.