Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden sealed third place in the 2006 Australian Superbike Championship and led the charge in Suzuki’s Manufacturer’s Championship victory at Eastern Creek Raceway on Sunday. Bugden and his team mate Shawn Giles wrapped up the 2006 season on a high note with both riders on the podium for the round, placing third and second respectively. In the overall championship standings, Suzuki starred with four riders in the top ten for the season with Bugden in third, Andrew Stroud close behind in fourth, Giles in ninth and Shannon Etheridge rounding out 10th place. The weekend began strongly for the Yoshimura Suzuki pair with Bugden and Giles both qualifying on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s two 13-lap races. Race one saw Giles positioned strongly in second place with Bugden on the attack and moving from fourth up into third spot aboard his GSX-R1000 Superbike until lap eight when an incident involving Wayne Maxwell brought out the red flags to stop the race. Resuming the first race battle with a five-lap sprint race, Giles made a rare jump start error and was issued a 10-second time penalty. Bugden continued his positive run and launched himself ahead of Giles and the Suzuki team mates enjoyed a good close duel until Giles eventually slipped by Bugden to see the pair cross the finish line in second and third places. However, Giles’ penalty dropped him back down the timesheets to third place and elevated Bugden to second. In scintillating form in race two, Giles took the lead from the race start and stretched a significant race lead on the opening lap, commanding the race lead until lap five when he was passed by Jamie Stauffer. Giles then maintained pace with the new champion and preserved second place to the finish line. Bugden was again on a mission and after prevailing in a fierce fight with Shannon Johnson, the Suzuki rider was impressive as he diced with the three-time Australian Champion. The Suzuki duo greeted the chequered flag line astern with Giles nudging out Bugden to maintain second for the race and the round overall. Bugden brought his Yoshimura Suzuki home in third place behind Giles in second with both riders scoring 38 points each for the round, with the latter awarded second spot overall for the meeting by virtue of his higher placing in the final race. Team Yoshimura Suzuki now turns its attentions to reclaiming the Australian Superbike Championship with preparations already underway for the 2007 championship assault. Phil Tainton Team Manager: “Congratulations to Jamie Stauffer on his championship win, today. “Robbie has had a great finish to the season and the team offers him big congratulations for his efforts. “To exit the season with a 2-3 finish today and Robbie third in the championship was a rewarding end to what has been a very tough year. Robbie Budgen: “The Team Yoshimura Suzuki is performing perfectly; the bike is doing everything I ask of it and the Dunlops are working brilliantly. “We’ve had a strong run in the closing rounds and I have to thank Phil and the entire Team Yoshimura Suzuki crew for providing such a fantastic race bike for me. “This has been an incredible learning year for me and a fantastic opportunity to race the factory Suzuki; to cap it off with third in the championship is a great finish to an amazing season.” Shawn Giles: “Full credit to Yamaha and Jamie for taking out the title and congratulations to Robbie for grabbing third in the championship. “I’ve had the most difficult season of my career this year and missed more rounds than ever before, but coming back and still placing inside the top 10 is testimony to the quality of the Suzuki product and how well Phil prepares the bikes. “I can’t say enough about the performance of the tyres and the bike this weekend. “After being off the bike for such a long time you lose a lot of race fitness and it’s tough to go back out and be competitive, so for me it’s great to end this year with a good result.” Superbike Overall Results – Round 7: 1 Jamie Stauffer, 2 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 4 Bryan Staring, 5 Russell Holland, 6 Shannon Johnson, 7 Andrew Stroud (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 8 Glenn Allerton, 9 Trent Gibson, 10 Brenden Gurowski Final Superbike Championship Points: 1 Jamie Stauffer 320, 2 Russell Holland 264, 3 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 204.5, 4 Andrew Stroud (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 201, 5 Scott Charlton 157.5, 6 Shannon Johnson 155.5, 7 Daniel Stauffer 150, 8 Wayne Maxwell 134, 9 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 130, 10 Shannon Etheridge (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 124.5. SUZUKI WINS AUSTRALIAN SUPERSTOCK TITLE: Suzuki rider Ian Andrews sealed victory in the 2006 Australian Superstock Cup in the final round at Eastern Creek on 19 November. The Kessner Suzuki privateer produced a string of dominant performances throughout the season, placing him in a strong position heading into the final round. Andrews had a difficult weekend for the final round including a crash in race one, but his points buffer was sufficient for the South Australian rider to clinch the title with a comfortable margin over second place, despite finishing 12th on the day. Beginning the season on a 2004-model Suzuki, Andrews stepped up mid-season to the 2006 version GSX-R600 with technical support from Team Yoshimura Suzuki. Capping off a stellar season, the talented young pilot was also awarded the Kirk McCarthy Memorial Award in recognition of his exceptional talent. Winning both the Superstock Cup and the Kirk McCarthy Memorial Award, Andrews’ achievements are the springboard to launch him into the Australian Supersport Championship aboard a new 2007-model GSX-R600. 2006 Australian Superstock Cup Championship Standings: 1 Ian Andrews (Suzuki GSX-R600) 418, 2 Chris Trounsen 406, 3 Josh Houwen 342, 4 Anthony Quinn 339, 5 Danny Higgins 280, 6 Scott Yates 239, 7 Bradd McConnell 213, 8 Anton Kokshoorn 211, 9 Darren Sciberras 193, 10 Tim Cowie 185. SUZUKI CAPTURES FORMULA XTREME CUP Suzuki Newcastle’s Michael Fraser capped off a dominant season to seal victory in the 2006 Formula Xtreme Cup at Eastern Creek Raceway (NSW) on Sunday. Making his national-level racing debut this year, 29-year-old Fraser quickly asserted himself as a series contender and ultimately claimed five of seven round wins, including the Eastern Creek finale. Fraser entered the closing round with a 33.5-point advantage and stretched the margin with pole position and three straight race wins to 69.5 points, wrapping up his sensational season with a supremely dominant performance which netted his first Australian championship. Michael Fraser: “This has been an awesome year for me”¦ the Suzuki GSX-R1000 has been faultless all season. “I’ve only ever raced at a couple of local club-level events before this year, so to have taken out a national title in my first attempt is a huge achievement. “I also have to thank Suzuki and especially Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Phil Tainton who’s given me a lot of technical support throughout the season and that has been invaluable.” 2006 Australian Formula Xtreme Cup Championship Standings: 1 Michael Fraser (GSX-R1000) 406.5, 2 Cameron Barnes 337, 3 Craig Domaschenz 313, 4 James Van Rooyen 266.5, 5 Shayne Whiteley 172, 6 Chris Trounson 135, 7 Chris Panayi 133.5, 8 Chris Williams 118, 9 Richard Parry 113.5, 10 Peter Grasser 112.