YAMAHA RACING SHARES SPOILS IN AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP AT SYMMONS PLAINS Jamie Stauffer has led the Yamaha charge at this weekend’s round of the YMF Loan Australian Superbike Championship at Symmons Plains, taking two from two wins aboard his R1 Superbike. Yamaha emerged from the weekend as the standout manufacturer, taking pole position and every win in both premier Superbike and Supersport classes. The R1 and R6 machines shone at the front of the field from the outset of the event, and coupled with Dunlop tyres proved impossible to beat. As a result, the champion manufacturer extends both championship leads with just two rounds remaining. Winton will follow in five weeks time with the final round to be contested at Eastern Creek. A massive crowd was on hand to witness the team’s dominant display and the riders did not disappoint, grabbing every available race win. Yamaha Racing Team Superbike: Jamie Stauffer has extended his YMF Loan Australian Superbike Championship lead at Symmons Plains today, winning both Superbike races comfortably aboard the dominant Yamaha YZF-R1. With pole position under his belt, Stauffer was determined to take a round back after being beaten to the flag at the previous two outings and he did just that, adding a perfect 51 points to his score. He now leads the premier class by 18 points with just two rounds remaining. Stauffer hit the ground running on Friday, buoyed by a successful test the week previously, and made his intentions clear early. His times continued to tumble and by Saturday afternoon he looked unbeatable, further asserting his authority by waiting until the final moments to strike and record the day’s quickest time, collecting another pole position. The only challenge during today’s shortened pair of 17-lap races came encouragingly from his brother and Yamaha Racing Team teammate Dan Stauffer, who also enjoyed a good run to finish on the podium. “I got past Dan early on and I knew Russell would be coming hard and Dan pushing very hard so I just put my head down and went for it,” said Stauffer. “I can’t say enough about this bike or the Dunlops, I don’t think there was too many people holding the throttle open on that right hand sweeper like I was and the bike just wouldn’t budge, it’s a great result for both Yamaha and Dunlop.” “Dan’s back to his old self, he’s a hard person to pass when he’s at the front and he’s going very well at the moment, hopefully we can keep it up and keep the two Yamaha’s up there in front.” Daniel Stauffer’s performance was his best of the year, with the likeable rider enjoying increased confidence as a result of finally finding a perfect setup on his YZF-R1. Stauffer kept his brother honest at the top, with the two often trading quick places and engaging in a competitive duel at the beginning of race 2 which Dan took the lead of early. He retains third place in the championship, with consistency being one of his greatest strengths. “I probably didn’t make the best tyre choice this round, I had a good tussle with Russell, but slammed into the back of him when he pulled neutral and bent the brake lever, it was a bit tough for a few laps but the bike eventually came good,” said Stauffer. “The Yamaha R1 has just worked perfectly this weekend with the Dunlop tyres for us, I’m very happy to be up on the podium again.” “Confidence is everything around a place like this, especially when you’re doing 270km/h around that sweeper and holding the throttle wide open, the bike gets better every time we go out.” Yamaha Racing Team Supersport: The Yamaha Racing Team’s Supersport trio has kept its record run of class race victories alive, with Jason O’Halloran and Mark Aitchison sharing race wins at today’s fifth round of the YMF Loan Australian Supersport Championship at Tasmania’s Symmons Plains. It was a dominant weekend for Yamaha all-round, with Sydney Mesh & Steel Yamaha privateer Jeremy Crowe taking the overall victory ahead of runaway points leader Jamie Stauffer. A last lap duel between race 2 leaders Mark Aitchison and Jason O’Halloran ended disappointingly, with both riders tumbling from their bikes with just a corner remaining. A red flag saw the race declared with results taken from the previous lap, handing Jason O’Halloran his second race win for the season. It came with mixed emotions from O’Halloran, who, after recording pole position the day before, looked set to take the win in race 1 before a flat tyre ended his charge. Aitchison inherited the lead and powered to his first 2006 win. Consistent performances handed Jeremy Crowe the eventual round victory, and Jamie Stauffer, despite admitting that he struggled for handling, brought home another Supersport podium. Stauffer still sits well clear of the competition on 232 points, and despite not scoring points in a race each, Aitchison and O’Halloran move to 3rd and 4th respectively. O’Halloran said he was disappointed not to have been able to record his first round victory for the team, but was encouraged by the clear pace the YZF-R6 was showing. “It’s a real shame to have finished the weekend in the way we did, we were both heading for great results but these things happen in racing on the upside my R6 was fastest all weekend, and two race wins were definitely on the cards,” said O’Halloran. “I have found a really good setup on the Yamaha and the Dunlops are working perfectly beneath me, I’m looking forward to Winton now and I really want to string together the two race wins.” Aitchison took the victory in race 1 after O’Halloran retired to the pits, and was leading race 2 before the coming-together with his teammate. The win was his first of the season and he was relieved to finally convert the pace he has shown throughout the season to a victory. “I’m a little bit sore this afternoon, I took a fairly hard hit in falling from the bike in the second race and it is disappointing that I wasn’t able to back up my race 1 win with another,” said Aitchison. “On the other hand, it is fantastic to win a race, it is extremely competitive at the front of the field between the Yamaha R6 riders and great to break through.” “I’m making good progress with the bike and hoping to be up there on the podium at Winton at the next round.” Shaun Geronimi’s weekend took a turn for the worst after he crashed out of race 1, sustaining serious injuries and relinquishing his second place in the championship. The Sydney Mesh and Steel Yamaha privateer had been on the pace all day before his incident, and his teammate’s round win was the only positive to emerge from his weekend. YMF Loan Australian Superbike Championship, Symmons Plains Round Results 1 Jamie STAUFFER, Yamaha (NSW) 51 2 Russell HOLLAND, Honda (NSW) 40 3 Daniel STAUFFER, Yamaha (NSW) 36 4 Scott CHARLTON, Yamaha (VIC) 33 5 Andrew STROUD, Suzuki (NZ) 30 6 Robert BUGDEN, Suzuki (QLD) 30 7 Shannon JOHNSON, Kawasaki (VIC) 26 8 Shannon ETHERIDGE, Suzuki (NSW) 23 9 Ashley ROE, Honda (VIC) 23 10 Trent GIBSON, Suzuki (VIC) 20 YMF Loan Australian Supersport Championship, Symmons Plains Round Results 1 Jeremy CROWE, Yamaha (NSW) 37 2 Jamie STAUFFER, Yamaha (NSW) 36 3 Bryan STARING, Honda (WA) 36 4 Joshua WATERS, Kawasaki (VIC) 32 5 Glenn ALLERTON, Honda (NSW) 31 6 Jason O’HALLORAN, Yamaha (NSW) 26 7 Scott CAMPBELL, Honda (TAS) 25 8 Brendan CLARKE, Yamaha (QLD) 25 9 Mark AITCHISON, Yamaha (NSW) 25 10 Sam SMITH, Yamaha (NZ) 24 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone Motorsport: MALAYSIAN GP – BRIDGESTONE POST-RACE DEBRIEF Q+A with Hiroshi Yamada Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Racing An eventful Malaysian Grand Prix weekend resulted in a second consecutive podium finish for Bridgestone-shod Ducati rider Loris Capirossi after his dominant win in Brno back in August. In Sepang on Sunday, he encountered stiff opposition from his compatriot Valentino Rossi, with whom he battled head-to-head in a thrilling race from which it was the reigning world champion Rossi who emerged victorious on the final lap. All three Bridgestone teams performed strongly over the weekend, dealing with an unusual array of Malaysian weather along the way”¦ Mr. Yamada, how pleased were you with the performance of the Bridgestone tyres over the Sepang weekend? “It certainly wasn’t a straight-forward weekend with the interference of the tropical rainstorm on Saturday afternoon, but from our performance in race trim, throughout the free practice sessions and in the race itself, we certainly acquitted ourselves well. I was pleased with the performance of our range of tyres, as well as with the professional work of the team in difficult conditions, especially on Saturday.” What was Bridgestone’s reaction to the grid being formed by the combined free practice results? “We found ourselves in a rather strange situation because although the rain had stopped with sufficient time to hold qualifying, there was simply too much standing water on the track. In these circumstances, we rely on race direction to make the most informed decision and safety is always the most important factor.” Was Bridgestone disappointed not to challenge for pole position? “I think in a normal situation we could have seen a more Bridgestone-led grid, as our tyres suit the Sepang circuit, so we probably missed out on challenging for pole position. Having said that, with the torrential conditions we had, we took consolation from the fact that at least all three of our teams had presence within the top ten of the grid and, more importantly, looked good in race set-up.” Did any riders try the qualifying tyre in Saturday morning free practice? “The only two riders to attempt a run with qualifying tyres in the morning session were Randy and Loris, although neither used the softest compound available, as we had intended to use those in the afternoon. We took a harder qualifier in the morning simply to set their bikes up for the qualifying session, rather than going for outright lap-times.” Were there any concerns with any of the riders in race trim? “From the first session on Friday morning, we could see that our tyres were competitive. Loris’s best lap in race trim was quicker than his pole position time from 2005 and John, Sete and Shinya were all inside the top ten of the day. We evaluated a range of tyres including the race tyre from Brno which proved equally quick around Sepang. All in all, we had a lot of good options and Saturday morning was used to put our preferred tyres through the required longevity tests to gauge their behaviour over race distance. Loris’s thirteen lap run was consistently in the mid-high 2m02s, while Sete and John also put in some good lap times. Then the rain started”¦” Was the free practice performance replicated in the race? “There were no real surprises with the performance of the tyres in the race, although the track temperatures were slightly higher than at any point over the weekend. We noticed some rear wear in the closing stages of the race, which prevented Loris from really making his final assault on Valentino stick in the last lap. Nevertheless, the race pace was similar to that of practice and Bridgestone riders were able to set the quickest, as well as third and fourth quickest laps of the race (Loris, Sete and John respectively). All in all, a fitting result? “I think the end result was a fitting reflection of our performance in Sepang. The win would have been nice, but it was a fantastic race and I am proud that Bridgestone could contribute to such an exciting show.” More, from a press release issued by LOC Endurance: LOC ENDURANCE WINS MEDIUMWEIGHT SUPERSTOCK NIGHT RACE AT NELSON LEDGES, FINISHED 5TH OVERALL Garrettsville, Ohio L.O.C. Endurance took the Mediumweight Superstock victory at the annual WERA night race this past weekend at Nelson Ledges Road Coarse in Ohio. The 8-hour event is the longest of the year and ran from 3:30 in the afternoon until 11:30 at night. L.O.C. completed 388 laps nearly 800 miles many of them after nightfall. With Dan Carr out for the weekend, substitute rider Bill Stranahan joined Jimmy Vanderhaar and Joe Hayes again and the team also added a fourth rider, Jeff Agnes. With only 2 rounds remaining, the Bridgestone/WERA National Endurance Series Mediumweight Superstock Championship battle is shaping up to be one of the closest and most exciting of the year. 3 teams are currently fighting for the series victory. This weekend’s victory puts the L.O.C within 1 point of championship points leader Dalke Motorsports who lead the series 822 to 821. Each team, however, is allowed one throw-away round and this adjustment moves Team Velocity Racing II into the first position (762 points), followed by L.O.C. (751 points) and then Dalke (744 points).