From a press release:

2003 Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series
Event 1, Eastern Creek Raceway, NSW
Event preview

YAMAHA RIDERS COMMENCE THEIR TITLE DEFENCE AT THIS WEEKEND’S FORMULA XTREME OPENER AT EASTERN CREEK

Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway plays host to the opening round of this year’s Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series this weekend, with Yamaha riders Kevin Curtain and Craig Trinder preparing for their title defences.

Both Nikon Yamaha Racing Team riders will be out to retain their respective titles, with Curtain the current Xtreme and FX Supersport champion, while Trinder holds the coveted #1 plate in the exciting NakedBike class.

This weekend the pair will be joined by teammates Daniel Stauffer, competing alongside Curtain in the Xtreme class and Brisbane teenager Brendan Clarke, who will be making his team debut in the FX Supersport class. The team will be armed with the very latest machinery from Yamaha, with the YZF R1 again being the model to beat in Xtreme. The all-new fuel injected YZF R6 looks set to ignite the Supersport category, with the FZ1 in the hands of Trinder being the bike to beat in NakedBike.

As he did last year, Curtain will compete in the premier Xtreme (formerly Formula Xtreme) class, as well as FX Supersport. In recent years, the Newcastle rider has become one of the most prolific title winners having secured four Formula Xtreme crowns, one FX Supersport and a total of four Australian Championships since 1995.

The weekend will mark his debut with the Nikon Yamaha Racing Team, but he will be facing the new season with the same outlook that he had in recent years.

“The late arrival of the bikes has prevented us from doing a lot of testing before the season started, but hopefully we will have done enough to pick up some good results this weekend,” said Curtain. “The first round of any series is always difficult. You never know who is performing well at the moment, but I am confident that we will be up near the front. There are generally a few things that need sorting out and as a result should benefit us for the rest of the year.”

For Stauffer, the round will mark a return to racing as he has now recovered from a hip injury that he suffered last October. He will also be out to improve on his fourth place overall in last years series.

“Unfortunately I missed the test at Willowbank with the team last week, which means that I’ve only had one ride on the bike in the last six months, which is a bit of a problem, but I’m sure it will be OK when we get out there on the weekend,” said Stauffer. “I’ve been working hard during the off season with a lot of swimming and jet skiing. My hip has come along well since I injured it in October, but at this stage all that will fix that will be time on the bike.”

The FX Supersport class could well provide a huge amount of excitement and interest. The addition of a number of new models to the class has been matched with the quality of riders competing in it. One of those riders is Brendan Clarke, who along with teammate and defending champion Curtain, will be hard to beat.

“I rode the new YZF R6 the other day and things went very well,” said Clarke. “It’s a whole new package for me this year, new team, new bike and new tyres. The team has been awesome so far, they are very professional and have produced a very good race bike. The new fuel injected Yamaha YZF R6 feels great, as do the Dunlop tyres that we will be using this year. I’ll be aiming at getting a feel for the bike in the first meeting, find a good set up and see how the weekend pans out.”

As one of the more experienced riders in the team, Craig Trinder tends to be more relaxed, but knows what it will take to win a second NakedBike crown.

“I’m very excited about the year ahead,” said Trinder. “We will be going into the season with a fully developed bike that is putting out more horsepower than what it was last year. It won’t be easy, especially with a few new models from the other manufacturers out there. I’ve been training hard and will be aiming for a second NakedBike title in the Formula Xtreme TT Series.”

Qualifying for this weekend’s opening round will take place on Saturday morning, with the first of the scheduled races set to start at approximately 1:00 p.m. Racing continues on Sunday with 16 races scheduled commencing with warmup at 9:00 a.m.