From a press release:

Up and Down Weekend for American Road Racer John Pearson at Queensland Round of Australian Superbike Series.

American Road Racer John Pearson competed in the Pro-Twins category at Round 6 of the Australian Superbike Championship Series held at Queensland Raceway, 13-15 August, 2004.

Competing on a Honda RC-51 owned by Trevor Rogers of Doin’ Bikes Motorcycle Shop in Lansvale, New South Wales, Pearson qualified on the second row after only three practice sessions on a bike and a racetrack that were completely new to him.

“It was a last minute ride we put together, so it was a bit of a rush to get everything ready. It was really interesting, I haven’t ever ridden a RC-51 before, and the last time I was on a V-twin was a Suzuki TL-1000R street bike, about 4 years ago!” Pearson said.

The three-race format saw Pearson running in fifth place in race one before fading to seventh on the last lap after suffering from arm pump. He rebounded to finish a strong fifth in race two, and was running a solid fifth again in race three before catching a false neutral and running off the track on the last lap heading into turn one. The bike stalled and could not be restarted, resulting in a DNF.

“The bike was pretty good. It was fast, but we didn’t have time to get the right springs in the forks and rear shock, so the set-up was a little off. I thought I could get a top five finish, and that’s what I would have had if not for the DNF in the last race. I want to thank Trevor at Doin’ Bikes for the ride, and Marcelo from Xsportz.com for his support during the round.” Pearson said. “My accomplishments this past weekend were sadly overshadowed by the loss of fellow racer Kirk McCarthy, and I send my condolences to his family and friends.” John added.

John, a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, is currently living and working in Sydney, Australia as a part of a military exchange program.