Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Shawn Giles is on target for his fourth Australian Superbike Championship after finishing third overall at the second round of the 2008 Australian Superbike Championship at South Australia’s Mallala Motor Sport Park at the weekend. Giles’ 36pt haul from second and fifth placings in the two races has moved the three-time Australian Superbike Champion to within 4 points of the championship lead, currently held by Mallala round-winner Glenn Allerton. Further success for the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki squad came in the hands of two-time New Zealand Superbike champion Robbie Bugden, whose third placings in the 17-lap and 19-lap races gave the Queenslander second overall for the round and consolidated fourth on the championship points table with two of seven rounds completed. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki Superbike riders, with 2003 Australian champion Craig Coxhell contracting a debilitating stomach bug on Friday that left the Shepparton rider physically drained across the weekend. After securing medical clearance on Sunday morning to contest both races, Coxhell put in two ‘gutsy’ rides to secure 30 valuable points for sixth overall. Giles engaged in a thrilling high-speed duel in the opening 17-lap race with pole-sitter Allerton, defending champion Jamie Stauffer and team mate Bugden, eventually claiming second place, 2.845sec behind Allerton and 0.929sec ahead of Bugden as Stauffer crashed out of the battle with two laps to run. Such was the pace at the head of the field, and on a track surface the top riders described as ‘slippery’, three riders lapped faster than Coxhell’s 2007 Superbike lap record of 1:06.525 for the 2.6km Mallala circuit. The new mark eventually went to Stauffer at 1:06.297 with Giles’ best lap just 0.106sec slower than Stauffer’s new record. In race two Giles got caught in a battle with Daniel Stauffer in the early laps, eventually breaking clear to secure fifth place and 16 valuable points. Bugden’s third behind race winner Allerton and second-placed Jamie Stauffer gave him 36pts for the round, equal with Giles. Bugden claimed the fastest lap of race two, his 1:06.381sec also below Coxhell’s 2007 benchmark time – and just 0.084sec outside Stauffer’s new record. In the second round of the 2008 Australian Supersport Championship, Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Joshua Waters secured second and third placings on his 2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 to move to third on the points chart. After leading the early laps in race one, Waters finished third behind eventual winner Stauffer and Jeremy Crowe, all three riders recording lap times under the previous Supersport lap record for the 2.6km circuit. The new record went to Crowe at 1:07.573, with Waters’ best lap just 0.058sec slower. In the second 19-lap race Waters finished second behind Crowe, the fastest lap of the race going to the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki GSX-R600 rider at 1:07.593sec – just 0.020sec outside Crowe’s new record. The seven-round Australian Superbike Championship now heads to Victoria’s Winton Raceway for round three on 30 May-1 June. Phil Tainton – Team Manager: “It’s been a good weekend for us and I’m happy with the results – and especially with the progress of the 600. All three Superbike riders placed in the top six for the round and Josh finished third overall on what is still a brand new bike. “Mallala was only our second meeting with the new GSX-R600 and there’s more development still to come. Josh is riding well and with a lot of maturity – I feel he and the bike are now ready for the next step. I must thank Dunlop as well for some great tyres; their long term support is much appreciated. “Second and third overall in the Superbikes with Robbie and Shawn was a great result too and Shawn has now moved to within four points of the championship lead. He’s got a real hunger to add a fourth Superbike title to his name and that enthusiasm rubs off on the whole team. “Robbie’s effort was exceptional and shows what can be achieved with a well-run satellite team.” Shawn Giles: “Overall I’m really happy with the results and second on the points table, although race two was a little frustrating. I got caught behind Dan Stauffer and couldn’t find a way past. And when I did, the leaders had got away. “Mallala is quite a challenging layout on a Superbike, and if anything my GSX-R1000 has too much horsepower for such a tight circuit. It’s a nice ‘problem’ to have. I had to learn to manage the power, which I did by using a taller gear. After a couple of disappointing Mallala rounds over the past two years, it’s good to be back on the podium. I really want the title this year – it’s hard to explain how hungry I am to add number four. I’m injury free and fitter than I’ve been for a couple of seasons. The Superbike class is so competitive this year – one of the toughest ever.” Craig Coxhell: “I went into this round confident I could a good haul of points, so I’m disappointed with sixth overall. The team had worked hard to get the set-up of the bike right, and I was confident of some top-three results. “The stomach bug I picked up Friday lunchtime knocked me around a lot more than I thought. I need to give thanks to the Suzuki Racesafe Medical team, which spent a lot of time on Saturday helping me through it. I was totally spent after the first four laps in each race – I just had no energy. Joshua Waters: “Third in the first race was okay for the points, but I was disappointed with the result after leading the early laps. I made a couple of small mistakes, and once I lost those few bike lengths I just couldn’t make it up again. “The team made a couple of set-up changes for race two, and my race time was over two seconds quicker – plus I got fastest lap of the race. I was able to lap consistently quicker, although to miss the lap record by just two hundredths was pretty frustrating. The points are good, and to be third in the championship after two rounds is good too, but I want to win races – not ride for points. I’m looking forward to the next round at Winton, as the new bike has so much potential.” Robbie Budgen: “I’m happy with the results and second overall, and two thirds has kept me in the championship chase. I started the round 17pts off the lead, and now it’s down to 10pts. “I’m a little disappointed with race one. I made a good start, but then I made a few mistakes early on, got frustrated, and dropped to eighth. Once I calmed down I got my rhythm back and then worked my way forward. I had the pace to run with the leaders. Race two was better, and I was in a position to go for the win. My bike really was strong under brakes, but I was lacking a bit of drive off the turns in the closing laps so I couldn’t get close enough to have a go at Jamie Stauffer or Glenn Allerton.” 2008 AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP Superbike Overall Results – Round 2: 1 Glenn Allerton, 2 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 4 Jason O’Halloran, 5 Daniel Stauffer, 6 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 7 Kevin Curtain, 8 Shannon Johnson, 9 Scott Charlton, 10 Zac Davies. Superbike Championship Points (after 2 of 7 rounds): 1 Glenn Allerton 80pts, 2 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 76, 3 Jamie Stauffer 71, 4 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1100) 70, 5 Jason O’Halloran 69, 6 Daniel Stauffer 59, 7 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 58, 8 Kevin Curtain 54, 9 Shannon Johnson 51, 10 Scott Charlton 46. Supersport Overall Results – Round 1: 1 Jeremy Crowe, 2 Jamie Stauffer, 3 Joshua Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600), 4 Wayne Maxwell, 5 Judd Greedy, 6 Ben Attard, 7 Scott Charlton, 8 Mitchell Carr (Suzuki GSX-R600), 9 Grant Hay, 10 Ian Andrews (Suzuki GSX-R600). Supersport Championship Points (after 2 of 7 rounds): 1 Jamie Stauffer 95pts, 2 Jeremy Crowe 83, 3 Joshua Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 72, 4 Judd Greedy 64, 5 Wayne Maxwell 63, 6 Scott Charlton 54, 7 Ben Attard 45, 8 Grant Hay 45, 9 Chris Quinn 43, 10 Bryan Staring 38.