Team Suzuki rider Joshua Waters marked his debut in the 2011 Australian Superbike Championship with a new lap record and a race win at the second round of the championship at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains Raceway at the weekend. Waters, who missed the opening round of the national series at Victoria’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 25-27 February due to ‘wildcard’ commitments in the Superbike World Championship, won Sunday’s opening 20-lap race by 0.048sec from Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton. In one of the most exciting Superbike races in the Championship’s 22-year history, just 1.469sec covered the top five riders when the chequered flag was waved to signal the end of race one. Waters, the 2009 Australian Superbike Champion, claimed a new Superbike lap record of 53.475sec on his way to victory on his Team Suzuki GSX-R1000, and then backed up in race two with a hard-fought fourth place, just 0.418sec behind third-placed Jamie Stauffer who in turn was 0.087sec behind second-placed Maxwell. The Team Suzuki rider’s win and fourth placing gave him second overall for the round, one point adrift of round winner and race two victor Allerton. Just outside a podium position in race one was Team Suzuki Superbike rookie Troy Herfoss; the 2010 Australian Supersport Champion finishing a close fourth on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 in what was only his third race on a Superbike. Herfoss backed up in race two with fifth place to consolidate second overall in the Championship standings. Three-times New Zealand Superbike champion Robbie Bugden finished seventh overall after carding sixth and seventh placings on his Team Mack Trucks Suzuki GSX-R1000 as he continues his return to race fitness after fracturing his leg just over two months ago. Under clear blue skies and in near-perfect racing conditions Waters’ Suzuki GSX-R1000 repeatedly hit 270km/h around Symmons Plains’ daunting Turn Five ‘kink’, the fastest corner in Australian motorcycle racing. “They were two great races,” said Waters. “Those boys are riding fantastic. I gave it everything I had, but I just didn’t have it in me in that second race.” After two rounds, Allerton leads the eight-round Australian Superbike Championship on 93 points; 23pts ahead of Team Suzuki’s Herfoss with two-times Australian Superbike Champion Jamie Stauffer third on 66 points. Waters, in his first outing in the 2011 Australian series, now sits 10th on 42pts. In the Australian Supersport Championship, Team Suzuki GSX-R600 rider Brodie Waters moved to within one point of the Championship lead after finishing second overall for the round. Waters (18) won the second of the two 20-lap Supersport races by 0.059sec from race one winner Christan Casella, but had his chance of victory in race one scuppered on the opening lap when a missed gear-change caused a first-lap crash at the Turn Four hairpin. Waters, who collided with his younger brother Nicholas’s Suzuki GSX-R600 in the incident, remounted his damaged bike to gather 12pts for a gritty ninth place. Casella took the overall round win with first and second in the two 20-lap races and leads the Australian Supersport Championship by one point from Waters – 77 to 76 – with Aaron Gobert third on 71pts. The next round of the Viking Group Australian Superbike Championships will be held at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway on April 14-17. Phil Tainton – Team Manager: “It’s been a great weekend for Josh in his return to the ASBK, and for Troy too in only his second race meeting on the Superbike. They were two of the best Superbike races you could ever wish to see – nobody gave an inch, so for Troy to run with those guys in what is only his third full season of road racing is impressive. “It was hard but clean racing between all five riders – Josh, Troy, Glenn Allerton, Wayne Maxwell and Jamie Stauffer. Josh really deserved his race one win – and the lap record capped things off. “Brodie was disappointed with what happened in race one in Supersport, but he bounced back in race two in the best way possible. He rode the spare bike in race two, as the number one bike was damaged in the race one crash. “With three Suzuki GSX-R1000s in the top 10 in Superbike for the round, and four GSX-R1000s in the top 10 in the series points, it’s a good start to the season for the Suzuki riders.” Josh Waters: “That first race win was a big turnaround to how my weekend started. If you’d asked me on Friday if I thought I’d be on the podium I would have said ‘no chance,’ as I was struggling to adapt after racing the weekend before on the World-spec GSX-R1000 Superbike and different tyres. But my team kept working on the bike, and I spent some time talking to Shawn Giles and I was able to get my lap times down. My bike was really strong under brakes. I didn’t quite have enough to run with the leaders in race two but I’m looking forward to the next round in Darwin, as it’s a track I really like.” Troy Herfoss: “I’m happy with the results in the two races and happy with how the weekend went – but I don’t like finishing only 1.3sec behind the race winner and ending up fourth. They were two close races, that is for sure. The bike was great and the team gave me a package that could run with the front guys. I need to get away better from the start and that’s something I’ll be working on. I was probably over-riding a bit in the hairpin, but to be second in the Championship after two rounds is a good start to the season.” Brodie Waters: “The win in race two was a good way to finish the weekend. My plan was to get to the front and do consistent laps, but the pace was pretty hot. I guess I’m fortunate I was able to get some points in the first race. I got a false neutral and just couldn’t stop for the hairpin. My left footpeg got broken when I crashed, so it was hard to ride the bike, especially around the Turn Five sweeper – I had my boot resting on the heel guard. We’re only one point off the Championship lead so I’m looking forward to Hidden Valley.” Robbie Budgen: “They were two tough races and I had some great battles with Ben Attard and Craig Coxhell. My bike had the pace but I was struggling a bit with my injured leg. Given the circumstances, I’m pretty happy with the results. I’ve done five race meetings since I broke my leg on Boxing Day, so I haven’t given it much chance to heal. We’ve got a few weeks now before Darwin, so that’ll help.” Superbike Overall Results: 1 Glenn Allerton; 2 Josh Waters (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 3 Wayne Maxwell; 4 Jamie Stauffer; 5 Troy Herfoss (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 6 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 7 Ben Attard; 8 Kris McLaren; 9 Craig Coxhell; 10 Cole Odendaal. Superbike Championship Points (after 2 of 8 rounds): 1 Glenn Allerton 93pts; 2 Troy Herfoss (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 70; 3 Jamie Stauffer 66; 4 Ben Attard 65; 5 Wayne Maxwell 60; 6 Craig Coxhell 58; 7 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 57; 8 Cole Odendaal 45; 9 Ben Henry (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 45; 10 Josh Waters (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 42. Supersport Overall Results: 1 Christan Casella; 2 Brodie Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600); 3 Rick Olson; 4 Glenn Scott; 5 Mitchell Carr; 6 Aaron Gobert; 7 Chris Quinn; 8 Andy Lawson; 9 Ryan Taylor; 10 Darren Sciberras. Supersport Championship Points (after 2 of 6 rounds): 1 Christan Casella 77pts; 2 Brodie Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 76; 3 Aaron Gobert 71; 4 Mitchell Carr 67; 5 Kevin Curtain 60; 6 Rick Olson 51; 7 Andy Lawson 46; 8 Glenn Scott 44; 9 Chris Quinn 44; 10 Ryan Taylor 40. More, from a press release issued by i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing Team: Consistent second round for the i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing Team at Sunny Symmons Plains The i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing Team continued the strong performance from Phillip Island’s opening round of the Viking Group ASBK after a weekend of superb superbike racing at the tight and technical Symmons Plains layout in Sunny Tasmania over the weekend 4-6 March. Rider, Ben Attard now sits in fourth place in the title chase, one point behind third and only five points shy of second place. The weekend got underway early with a test on the Thursday preceding the event, the team using the day to adapt the Aprilia RSV4 Factory to the tricky Tasmanian circuit. Aprilia’s multi adjustable chassis is now the centre of attention for the team, following the excellent work getting the engine developed to asbk regulations, speed is no longer an issue. A strong qualifying performance saw Ben again qualify for Superpole on Saturday afternoon, maintaining his sixth position in the pressure packed one lap shootout. Race one was classic, held in near perfect conditions on Sunday, every position was a battle . Ben used the speed of the Aprilia RSV4 Factory to get away with the leaders setting his fastest lap of the race on lap five. The top five broke away slightly after half race distance to leave Ben in a hectic group that contained 3 time New Zealand SBK Champ Robbie Bugden and 2003 ASBK Champion Craig Coxhell, a classic pass on the notoriously late braking Bugden late in the race secured sixth place. “We are definitely close to the front, not quite in that fighting pack yet which is where I really want to be but we’re only three or four tenths off which is not much, we just need to find a little more in the chassis, the bike is plenty quick enough and we’ll just keep our concentration on the chassis now” commented Ben following race one. Race two was almost a carbon copy of race one, unfortunately Ben ran off track on lap 9 and then had to regain lost positions on a track that provides limited opportunity. “I ran off in race two, just pushing too hard and tucked the front going into turn two. I ran off track and lost a few positions, we were going good, right on the back of the lead group and that’s when Robbie and Craig got by. I got Craig and then was after Robbie but just ran out of laps, I was lining him up but the chequered flag came out and that was that. It’s frustrating because I don’t think the results look as good as I’d hoped and what we deserve at the moment but I’m sure our time will come” said Ben reflecting on a tough race 2. Team Principal Steve Trinder was full of praise for both Ben and the Aprilia RSV4 following sixth and seventh places in Tasmania. “It’s been a wonderful weekend, although I don’t feel the results show how far we have come. Even though we are running around in sixth, it’s a very tight sixth, we’re talking tenths of a second. I have no doubt right now that it’s not our rider Ben is doing a fantastic job, doing everything we are asking of him -we just need to get that chassis package developed around him and he will be fighting for the lead, I’m very confident about that. The first two rows would have to be one of the strongest fields I’ve ever seen in Australian Superbike racing, they are all current or former champions, there are no slouches out there . To step up from Supersport and superstock to take these guys on is a very big ask. The Aprilia has come forward in leaps and bounds, speed is not an issue we’ve got one of the fastest bikes on track and once we get this chassis to suit him 100% we’ll be in there and fighting for the lead” said a delighted Trinder. Round three of the Viking Group ASBK will be held at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Circuit in the Northern Territory over the weekend 14-17 April. The i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing team’s assault on the 2011 Viking Group ASBK would not be possible without the continued, ongoing support of their sponsors, Motul, RST Leathers, Alpinestars, RK Chain, Goodridge, Sportsbike, Monza Imports & Archers Paint & Panel who have all been long time supporters of the team. 2011 Viking Group asbk Superbike Championship Series Points: 1 G Allerton (BMW) 93, 2 T Herfoss (Suzuki) 70, 3 J Stauffer (Honda) 66, 4 B Attard (i-Style Natural Aprilia) 65, 5 W Maxwell (Honda) 60, 6 C Coxhell (Honda) 58.