Team Honda Racing 2nd and 4th in 2011 Australian Superbike Championship 22 November 2011 The battle is over for another season of the Australian Superbike Championship and Team Honda Racing takes 2nd and 4th in the Championship for 2011. The series finale held over the weekend was nothing if not dramatic for the factory Honda team with #47 Wayne Maxwell lucky to walk away from a high-speed crash at turn 12 of the Phillip Island circuit in practice on Friday, only to go on and win the 1st race of the event. The drama not over, #27 Jamie Stauffer posted a DNF in Race 1 due to a stomach-churning crash of his own mid-way through the race when he sustained multiple burns to his neck from his own tyre after being violently flicked from the bike. True to his racer’s spirit, the CBR1000RR rider got back on the bike to try to finish the race, but returned to the pits before the chequered flag when he realised he and his machine were in need of some medical and mechanical attention. The resilience and determination of a Superbike racer shone through in Stauffer when he gingerly donned his leathers for the final time this season in Race 2 to finish the job he began and secure 2nd place in the Championship. The wind gusting over his burns did not slow the Newcastle rider and he held on in Race 2 to finish 3rd behind team mate Wayne Maxwell in 2nd and Waters in 1st place. Maxwell raced strongly in the 2nd race with a never say die determination and took 2nd place behind Josh Waters to be pipped at the post for another round win this season. Taking 2nd overall for the weekend, Maxwell finishes the year in 4th place in the championship. Maxwell: “We have had a fairly mixed year this year and with a run of bad luck early in the season we had a lot of work to make up the points. The team have worked really hard and we did manage to come back solidly which is a credit to the team. I took 5 Superpole wins this season and only just missed my 6th here at the last round. The team have also taken 3 Round wins, my own being at Qld Raceway for Round 6. I would like to thank Team Honda Racing for their hard work and dedication particularly my crew chief Shaun Clarke who always puts in 110%. Thanks also to our team sponsors who have shown fantastic support for us this year. Honda Australia of course, Doric Products, AWS Vantage, Oleon Oils, BOQ Honda Finance and all the team partners that bring the team together. I would like to personally thank Milspec for their support as a personal sponsor; it is fantastic to have them onboard.” Stauffer: “The final round was a hard one really in that we were looking to secure 2nd in championship and I crashed in 1st race. I lost a lot of points then and the gap for 2nd closed right up. The 2nd race went well although I was injured we pulled through and got 3rd in the race which was enough to take 2nd in the championship. Overall the year was a tough year after some issues at the start of the season, but we got going mid-way through year and Wayne and I were up there every race from there on in. The team worked really hard to bring us back into the mix and we were able to finish strongly with a place in the championship overall.” Team Honda Racing have seen all the highs and lows of racing during the 2011 season of the Australian Superbike Championship and have displayed an unwavering determination and passion in their craft to finish the season with a strength that most definitely indicates their intentions for the new year. Team Principle Paul Free: “When we reformed a Honda team at the beginning of the year in Team Honda Racing we knew we would be strong on the CBR1000RR. With Jamie and Wayne as pilots I knew we had a good package. We did encounter some issues in the first part of the season, but full credit goes to the team and the riders for turning it all around and bringing the Honda to the front on many occasions throughout the season. With many race wins, Superpoles, overall round wins and to finish up 2nd and 4th in the championship I believe we have shown that our focus and determination is solid and I am extremely excited about what 2012 race season holds for Team Honda Racing. On behalf of the team I would like to thank Honda for their invaluable support throughout the season. We are looking forward to getting started on the new model CBR1000RR and unleashing its potential on the race track. I would also like to thank Doric Products, AWS Vantage, Oleon Oils, BOQ Honda Finance, Western Freight Management, HART, NGK and all the sponsors without whom we could not go racing. It is fantastic to see the level of support we have from our team sponsors and to see them at the events, really getting behind the team is greatly appreciated. Our corporate days both at ASBK events and our own are always a great success and a lot of fun and we look forward to expanding this program in 2012. Thank you to Shaun Clarke who works tirelessly week in and week out with me at Motologic and whose dedication to the Race Team as a crew chief is unrivalled. Thanks to everyone at Team Honda Racing for a huge effort this year and I look forward to a successful season in 2012.” More, from a press release issued by TwoThree Public Relations: Halliday clinches Australian Prostock Championship with Phillip Island podium YRD/Carbon Imports & Accessories Yamaha’s Cru Halliday clinched the 2011 Australian Prostock Championship with third place overall at Phillip Island’s season finale in Victoria on 18-20 November. The talented 23-year-old raced to his second national road racing championship in as many years, adding the Prostock title to the C&D Superstock 1000 title he took out 12 months ago. After lapping fastest in Friday’s free practice, Halliday’s hopes of victory to round out the season were reduced when mixed weather conditions greeted riders on Saturday morning. A wet qualifying session saw Halliday an uncustomary 11th on the grid, however he improved to place seventh in the challenging conditions during Saturday afternoon’s first race. Sunday morning’s second race was a dry affair and it was Halliday who impressed, working his way through the field from the third row of the grid in nine laps to take victory by 2.787 seconds. The third and final race of the weekend saw Halliday again rally to the front while setting his fastest laps of the weekend, resulting in a second place finish behind factory Yamaha rider Pat Medcalf. Halliday finished third overall for the weekend, tied on points with Medcalf in second, and just one point from taking the overall victory. He was proud to win the championship in what was his maiden year racing in the A&B-grade ranks. “The whole weekend for me was about wrapping up the championship, so I didn’t want to do anything silly in the wet conditions on Saturday,” Halliday explained. “I was trying to stay positive throughout the weekend even though I had a difficult race on Saturday, but that race was still enough for me to wrap it up. “That allowed me to focus on Sunday’s races without the pressure of a championship, and I was happy with how we went in both of them. To win the season in the A&B class means a lot to me, especially since it’s back-to-back with my C&D title from last year. The team is really happy and I couldn’t have done it without them.” Halliday is supported by Calypso Travel Systems, YRD Yamaha, GYTR, Berik Leathers, Shark Helmets, Bel-Ray Oils, Capit Tyre Warmers, MWR Air filters, bike-photos.com, Carbon Imports, G.M.D Computrack and Go Boating. 2011 Australian Prostock Championship Round Four Phillip Island, VIC Round Results: 1. Linden MAGEE 60 2. Pat MEDCALF 59 3. Cru HALLIDAY (YRD/Carbon Imports & Accessories Yamaha) 59 4. Matthew WALTERS 59 5. Chas HERN 45 Championship Standings (after 4 of 4 rounds): 1. Cru HALLIDAY (YRD/Carbon Imports & Accessories Yamaha) 266 2. Linden MAGEE 203 3. John ROSS 175 4. Matthew WALTERS 172 5. Ben NICOLSON 156 More, from a press release issued by Gobert Motorsports: Top privateer Gobert takes third in Australian Supersport Championship Gobert Motorsports/CycleOnline.com.au Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert has secured third in the Australian Supersport Championship for season 2011, also winning the coveted Privateer Cup title. A seventh place finish in the final round of the year at Phillip Island in Victoria over the weekend of 18-20 November was enough to seal the results for Gobert aboard the YZF-R6. Phillip Island was a mixed weekend for the former AMA Superstock Champion, qualifying eighth in mixed conditions on Saturday before racing to fourth in the opening 12-lap race on Sunday. The second race was more frustrating for Gobert after getting caught up with a competitor’s mistake early in the race, however he was able to bounce back to ninth by the race’s conclusion. Those finishes resulted in third place for the 2011 title chase behind factory riders Kevin Curtain and Brodie Waters, handing Gobert the title of Privateer Cup Champion this season. “We started this season off with a win at the opening round, which was good, so considering all the ups and downs of the year, to finish on the podium overall was really good,” Gobert reflected. “It’s also good to finish as top privateer and I’m honoured to be awarded with the Judd Greedy Trophy for 2011. “The weekend didn’t exactly go to plan, but it was good to finish where we did since we had a coming together in the second race. I knew I needed to get good points to put myself in a strong position for the series, so I fought all the way and it worked out for me. “I really need to thank Yamaha Motor Australia, YRD, Graves Motorsports, Vern Graham Yamaha, Hotbodies, Galfer, Dynojet, Shock Treatment, Alpinestars and Bell Helmets. We also had Good Head Beer come in at the final round, so thanks to everybody for their support.” Gobert also welcomed on the new sponsorship of Good Head Beer for the weekend, an Australian-made beer that is a supporter of action sports and motorcycle racing. 2011 Australian Supersport Championship Round Five Phillip Island, VIC Supersport Round Results: 1. Brodie WATERS 46 2. Glenn SCOTT 45 3. Rick OLSON 33 4. Kevin CURTAIN 32 5. Paul YOUNG 32 6. Mitchell CARR 29 7. Aaron GOBERT (Gobert Motorsports/CycleOnline.com.au Yamaha) 29 8. Michael JONES 26 9. Ryan TAYLOR 24 10. Chris QUINN 20 Final Supersport Championship Results: 1. Kevin CURTAIN 187 2. Brodie WATERS 180 3. Aaron GOBERT (Gobert Motorsports/CycleOnline.com.au Yamaha) 160 4. Rick OLSON 158 5. Mitchell CARR 149 6. Christan CASELLA 148 7. Glenn SCOTT 120 8. Nicholas WATERS 113 9. Chris QUINN 105 10. Andy LAWSON 93 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Josh and Brodie Waters captured a double victory for Team Suzuki in the Superbike and Supersport categories at the weekend’s final round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island in Victoria. Former series champion Josh Waters raced to the overall victory in the premier Superbike ranks aboard the Phil Tainton Racing-prepared GSX-R1000. The 24-year-old finished with 2-1 results in the pair of 12-lap races; however it was the point for winning Superpole qualifying on Saturday that clinched him the overall: Waters and Wayne Maxwell had a tight tussle in the first race on Sunday, with Maxwell gaining the win by just 0.087-of-a-second in a photo-finish, before Waters bounced back with a comfortable 3.478-second victory in the second outing. “It was a great weekend and I was able to post the fastest times on both Friday and Saturday,” Waters reflected. “In the first race on Sunday I led up until three turns to go, but Maxwell is really strong around there and he outsmarted me for the win. In the second race I knew I had to break them at the start and I was able to do that. I ran a lot-faster pace and got the job done, so that was a great way to finish off the year for myself and Team Suzuki.” Despite contesting a limited schedule in Australia during 2011, Waters rounded out the championship in fifth position overall after winning four races and two rounds for the year. Herfoss scored his second podium in a row with third position overall; the 2010 national Supersport title winner taking out a pair of fourth places for the weekend. The result sealed Herfoss a commendable third in the title chase after a superb rookie Superbike season. “Mixed weather conditions made it tough, but I’m happy to finish on the podium for the round and more importantly for the championship,” 24-year-old Herfoss said. “I accomplished my goal of finishing every race this year and I really wasn’t sure I could finish in the top three, to be honest. I’m really happy and I have to say thanks to the team and Suzuki!” Queenslander Robbie Bugden, three-times New Zealand Superbike Champion, finished fifth overall with 5-6 finishes for the Team Mack Trucks Suzuki satellite squad, resulting in a seventh place finish overall in the Australian Superbike Championship. “The race weekend went pretty good even though we experienced mixed conditions during the weekend,” Budgen said. “I had some really good races with Troy and Glenn Allerton, so fifth overall was a fair result. I’m looking forward to having a good go next year but will head back to New Zealand to contest the Superbike Championship first.” Team Suzuki Supersport contender Brodie Waters narrowly missed out on the Australian championship with the GSX-R600, finishing second for the season after claiming the overall round victory at Phillip Island. Waters, 18, also won the round thanks to scoring pole position; that additional point handing him the overall after taking 1-2 finishes in a pair of breathtaking 12-lap Supersport affairs. “The weekend started off strong when I was quickest in free practice and then I scored pole position in qualifying,” Waters said. “I had good pace in both races, put my head down from the start; and pushed as hard as I could. Congratulations to Kevin Curtain for winning the championship and I’m happy that I could come back strong with a win in the last round.” Team Suzuki manager Phil Tainton congratulated the entire team on their results, proud to finish the season on a high note with wins in both classes. He was also pleased to see both Herfoss and Brodie Waters in the top-three of their respective classes for the year. “Josh was impressive again after we initially had some trouble finding a good setting with the rear shock, but once we had that sorted for Sunday he proved what he could do with a great win in race two,” Tainton said. “For Troy to finish third overall at the final round and in his rookie year overall, that’s pretty good going and again shows just how talented he is considering the little experience he has in road racing. “We went into the final round of the Supersport series 21 points off the series lead, but after Brodie won the first race – and we realised he had closed the gap to nine points – it was really exciting. It wasn’t to be, but that was the best I have seen him ride and we are extremely happy with him.” The team will now begin making preparations for the upcoming Phillip Island 8-Hour Australian Endurance Championship where Team Suzuki will contest both the Superbike and Supersport categories on December 2-4th. 2011 Australian Superbike Championship Round Eight – Phillip Island, Victoria: Superbike Round Results: 1. Joshua WATERS (Team Suzuki) 46 2. Wayne MAXWELL 45 3. Troy HERFOSS (Team Suzuki) 34 4. Glenn ALLERTON 34 5. Robert BUGDEN (Team Mack Trucks Suzuki) 31 6. Craig COXHELL 29 7. Ben HENRY (Suzuki) 25 8. Chris TROUNSON 25 9. Trent GIBSON 22 10. Ralph MAMMOLITI 20 Final Superbike Championship Standings: 1. Glenn ALLERTON 327 2. Jamie STAUFFER 259 3. Troy HERFOSS (Team Suzuki) 257 4. Wayne MAXWELL 255 5. Joshua WATERS (Team Suzuki) 243 6. Craig COXHELL 242 7. Robert BUGDEN (Team Mack Trucks Suzuki) 210 8. Ben ATTARD 196 9. Ben HENRY (Suzuki) 176 10. Cole ODENDAAL 123 Supersport Round Results: 1. Brodie WATERS (Team Suzuki) 46 2. Glenn SCOTT 45 3. Rick OLSON 33 4. Kevin CURTAIN 32 5. Paul YOUNG 32 6. Mitchell CARR 29 7. Aaron GOBERT 29 8. Michael JONES 26 9. Ryan TAYLOR 24 10. Chris QUINN 20 Final Supersport Championship Results: 1. Kevin CURTAIN 187 2. Brodie WATERS (Team Suzuki) 180 3. Aaron GOBERT 160 4. Rick OLSON 158 5. Mitchell CARR 149 6. Christan CASELLA 148 7. Glenn SCOTT 120 8. Nicholas WATERS (Suzuki) 113 9. Chris QUINN 105 10. Andy LAWSON 93 More, from a press release issued by John McGuinness’ publicist: Disappointment at Macau for McGuinness and SMT Honda John McGuinness and the SMT Honda team were left to rue what might have been at Sunday’s Macau Grand Prix when the Morecambe rider finished in sixth place in the shortened ten-lap race. Having qualified in second around the 3.8-mile Guia circuit, McGuinness was hoping to challenge for the race win on the Roadhouse-liveried Honda but tyre problems saw him slip gradually through the pack and he had to accept sixth place, some 14 seconds adrift of race winner Michael Rutter. It was a problematical week at the Chinese colony with unseasonal weather conditions seeing heavy rain, which resulted in numerous delays to the schedule. The action got underway with free practice on Thursday morning and a solid session saw John ease his way back in around the demanding armco-lined venue with the sixth fastest time but the rain then began to fall and the afternoon’s opening qualifying session was then cancelled with Friday following a similar pattern. That meant that qualifying was pushed back to Saturday and limited to a single one-hour session. With track conditions far from ideal, John utilised all his experience of Macau to post the second fastest lap with a time of 2m26.951s although he was plagued by traffic during the session and wasn’t able to get as close to pole man Rutter as he would have liked. Nevertheless, both he and the team were feeling confident going into the race, which was pushed back a day to Sunday and cut from 15 laps to 10. Despite oil and sand on a number of the fast corners, due to a car incident, the race went ahead and a good start saw John in third place as the pack headed through the 170mph Mandarin Corner. A smart overtaking manoeuvre on Rutter at the following Lisboa Bend enabled him to move up to second but that was as good as it got and, pushed back to fourth by the end of the second lap, he was already experiencing a lack of grip, something that worsened as the race wore on. Indeed, he slipped back into the clutches of Jeremy Toye and Gary Johnson and could only watch as they swept by although he did hold on to sixth place at the chequered flag. Speaking later,a disappointed John said; “It hasn’t been the easiest of weeks for anyone and although I was 2nd on the grid, it wasn’t as quick as I would have liked due the traffic and the fact that each time I got close, Michael went quicker. Everyone was in the same boat and the lack of track time meant we struggled a bit for set-up although I was happy with what I was running and we felt confident of challenging for a podium, at least.” “The first couple of laps of the race went well and, with a good start, I was hanging right in there with the front pack. I did what I wanted by getting past Michael early on but, unfortunately, I was running into tyre problems as early as the second lap. I’d slipped back to fourth by then and simply couldn’t run the pace of the front three so much so that Toye and Johnson were soon right on my tail. I was powerless to do anything when they came by and after qualifying second, sixth place isn’t what me, nor the team, came here for. It’s really disappointing to be honest and I don’t seem to be having much luck round here at the moment but it’s a finish and we’ll have to come back stronger next year.” Team boss Robin Croft added; “It was a long week and one of those meetings where you didn’t really know if, or when, you’d be out on the track, but John did a great job in qualifying and we did 18 laps with a race tyre in that session and morning warm-up so felt confident we had a good set-up going into the race. The pile-up in the car race put everyone on edge but the guys decided to race although John’s race was over almost before it had begun. The tyre was just spinning up and he had no grip so 6th was a disappointing outcome for all of us as we’d all hoped for a spot on the rostrum. Still, it was an enjoyable trip and there’s always next year!” John now heads to the NEC, Birmingham for the Motorcycle Live show with an announcement of his 2012 plans expected shortly. More, from a press release issued by BMW Team Motorrad: BMW and Team Motorrad makes history with the treble podium on Jerez in CEV 22/11/2011 – Historical treble podium at Jerez with BMW in the category of Stock Extreme of CEV for the team of Madrid Motorrad, with Forés, Del Amor and López. Fantastic end of Spanish Championship for Team Motorrad, which obtains a historical complete podium in the category of Stock Extreme with the BMW S1000RR. Also we have never seen in any roadracing championship in the world three BMW riders get the best positions in a race. The wet race suffered the first red flag of the season after the crash of two riders in the starting grid and Motorrad riders at the head of the first lap had to return to box to realize the second exit with the race shortened to 9 laps. Xavi Forés made a good start and was placed second in the first corner behind Kyle Smith and in front of his partners of BMW Javier del Amor and Alberto López that were setting off from the first line of the grid. In the second lap, Forés got the leadership, and shortly after Del Amor and Berto also advanced to Kyle, being the three Motorrad riders of BMW in the head of the race. From this moment Forés and Del Amor were the leadership of the race, going so far as to be in hands of that of San Sadurní a few turns. The Kyle´s fall after Berto passed him and got distance at 4 laps remaining, encouraging the three positions of the podium for Team Motorrad with Forés, the champion of the category 2010, winning and repeating the victory of last year in the circuit of Jerez de la Frontera, Del Amor in second place obtaining the sufficient points to get the third classified of the championship and Berto Lopez third, with the most worked race of the year, the reward for the good job in all the season. The BMW S1000RR riders went in group until last lap getting more than 12 seconds from the fourth rider until the finish line in Jerez getting a historic treble for the Madrid team in the category of Stock Extreme. The victory of Forés supposes the extra one of motivation after the 2011 season, where it has taken big experience in world championship circuits and has been the only rider who has realized races in the Moto2 Championship, World Superbikes ( with Team BMW Motorrad Italia), European Championship ( getting third position) and CEV in the same year. Javier del Amor has closed also this 2011 season with the last raised target to obtain the third position of the general standings and to finish in the podium this year, also in his favorite circuit. The Cantabrian Lopez also obtain his reward after two years of great background on the BMW S1000RR, getting to leader some races, achieve the front row and go up into well-deserved podium who has worked with the team Motorrad. Juan Manuel Ruiz, the invited rider, after winning the BMW S1000RR cup, has had bad luck in the race due to the impacted in the second lap with the motorbike of another rider who has fallen down. The team of Madrid Motorrad begins to think already about the season 2012 where it will return again for another title to loins of the flaming BMW S1000RR.