From a press release issued by Radar’s Team Yamaha:

2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State
Event 4, Queensland Raceway, Queensland
Race report

CURTAIN ON THE BOIL AT QUEENSLAND RACEWAY

Three times Formula Xtreme champion Kevin Curtain proved to be the man to beat at the fourth round of the 2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State held at Queensland Raceway on June 29 & 30.

The Radar’s Team Yamaha rider was on a mission in both the Formula Xtreme and Supersport classes, taking out three race wins in Formula Xtreme and two in Supersport.

His pace in each class was such that he left the circuit with new lap records in each class. More importantly it moved the Newcastle rider to the top of the points table in each category. With a total of 316 points, Curtain now leads teammate and defending champion Robbie Baird by 46 points with two rounds (eight races) remaining.

Curtain took victory in races one, two and four, but was given a 20-second penalty for jumping the start in race three, which dropped him back to tenth overall, even though he was the first rider past the chequered flag.

“It was definitely a great result out there today,” said Curtain. “The Dunlop tyres were just perfect out there, with the front being especially good. I’m just feeling so good at the moment. Having a good crew around you such as the Radar’s Team Yamaha boys is a great advantage. We have a very good understanding at the moment which makes it a lot better when you are trying to relate information to them about the bike and that it gets changed to how you really want it. With the exception of the jump start problem in race three, the Yamaha YZF R1 was just perfect out there today.”

After qualifying second fastest to Curtain in Formula Xtreme, Baird’s day got off to a poor start when he crashed during the morning warm up session and injured his right wrist. The resulting damage to his number one bike meant that he had to revert to the team’s spare bike until his was repaired. The Queenslander finished the day with a sixth, fifth, crash, sixth from the four 8-lap races. The race three crash occurred at turn three on the final lap of the race as he outbraked Josh Brookes with the two making contact and going down.

“We came here with a lot of good intentions, but left with very little to show for it,” said Baird. “Qualifying was good, but the crash during the warm up definitely ruled us out of contention today. My wrist is very sore and it was affecting how hard I could get onto the front brakes. I lost a few points to Kevin today, but there is still time to get ground back on him.”

The weekend proved to be a equally frustrating for Craig Coxhell on the third Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF R1, but the Victorian teenager was rewarded for his perseverance with a win in the third Formula Xtreme race. The victory came alongside a ninth in race one, sixth in race two and a fifth in the final.

“The win was definitely the highlight of what was a very frustrating weekend for me,” said Coxhell. “Our problems started in qualifying when we lost a lot of time when my number one bike developed an engine problem and I had to switch to the spare. This meant that we were basically chasing a suitable suspension set up for the rest of the weekend and we were even trying things right through to the last race. It’s been hard, but I really do need to thank the guys in the team for putting in such a strong effort to get me out there for each race.”

Curtain was in the thick of the action in the Supersport class and was a standout in today’s two 6-lap sprints aboard his Yamaha YZF R6. His two wins today plus his second and third from yesterday have him holding a commanding lead in the Supersport series with a total of 345 points, well clear of Jamie Stauffer (Bio Magnetics Sport Yamaha) who has 222.

“Every day that we’ve been here we have been able to make progress,” said Curtain. “I have been getting more confident with the bike and the circuit all weekend. On Friday the bike felt terrible across the bumps, especially at turns one and two, but today it’s that good that I can’t even feel them. The speed of the new YZF R6 showed as I was able to break the Supersport lap record on four separate occasions today. That just about says it all.”

The 2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State heads to Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway for round five of the series on August 17 & 18.

2002 Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State – RESULTS

FORMULA XTREME

Race 1 / 8 laps
1. Kevin CURTAIN / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:35.5970 mins

2. Daniel STAUFFER / Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:38.3723

3. Josh BROOKES / Team Honda / Honda CBR954RR, 9:43.8351

4. Jamie STAUFFER / Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:44.2834

5. Craig McMARTIN / Ducati 996R, 9:46.1549

6. Robbie BAIRD / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:47.1998

7. Robert BUGDEN / Gold Coast Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000, 9:47.3282

8. Tony REES / Bikebiz Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1,
9:48.1537

9. Craig COXHELL / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:48.5664

10. Kurt PERCY / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:51.8512

Fastest Lap: Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) 1:10.9020 on lap 3


Race 2 / 8 laps
1. Kevin CURTAIN / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:32.8835 mins

2. Daniel STAUFFER / Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha / Yamaha YZF-R1, 9:35.8490

3. Josh BROOKES / Team Honda / Honda CBR954RR, 9:39.6901

4. Jamie STAUFFER / Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:39.7475

5. Robbie BAIRD / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:39.9914

6. Craig COXHELL / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:43.4795

7. Robert BUGDEN / Gold Coast Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 9:47.2910

8. Kurt PERCY / Yamaha YZF R1 9:48.6227

9. Nicholas BARTON (Frankston Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:49.8999

10. Steven CUTTING / Suzuki GSX-R1000 9:57.5947

Fastest Lap: Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) 1:10.4643 on lap 4 (New Lap Record)


Race 3 / 8 laps
1. Craig COXHELL / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:42.4323

2. Robert BUGDEN / Gold Coast Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 9:45.5230

3. Jamie STAUFFER / Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:45.6517

4. Nicholas BARTON (Frankston Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:46.7490

5. Tony REES / Bikebiz Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1
9:47.4576

6. Jay TAYLOR / Redwing Honda / Honda CBR954RR
9:53.5343

7. Steven CUTTING / Suzuki GSX-R1000 9:54.9425

8. Kurt PERCY / Yamaha YZF R1 9:55.1701

9. Roland KRUCK / Doin Bikes / Yamaha YZF R1
9:55.5729

10. Kevin CURTAIN / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:56.3943

Fastest Lap: Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) 1:10.8694 on lap 3


Race 4 / 8 laps
1. Kevin CURTAIN / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:34.5489

2. Daniel STAUFFER / Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:37.3172

3. Josh BROOKES / Team Honda / Honda CBR954RR
9:39.0616

4. Jamie STAUFFER / Bio Magnetic Sport Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:39.1601

5. Craig COXHELL / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:41.2147

5. Robbie BAIRD / Radar’s Team Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:43.4763

7. Robert BUGDEN / Gold Coast Suzuki / Suzuki GSX-R1000 9:44.5907

8. Kurt PERCY / Yamaha YZF R1 9:44.8372

5. Tony REES / Bikebiz Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1
9:46.5388

10. Nicholas BARTON (Frankston Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R1 9:48.8396
Fastest Lap: Kevin Curtain (Yamaha) 1:10.6815 on lap 4


Yamaha Formula Xtreme, points after 4 of 6 rounds (Provisional)

1, K Curtain 316; 3. R Baird 290; 3, J Stauffer 198; 4, C Coxhell 190; 5, D Stauffer 189;
6, J Brookes 163; 7. T Rees 124; 8. R Bugden 101; 9. C McMartin 82; 10. N Henderson 67.