Success at the World Superbike Event for Team Honda Racing 26th February 2012 Team Honda Racing begins the 2012 Season of the ASBK Championship leading the 600 Supersport Championship and 3rd in the Superbike Championship. At his 1st ASBK race event on a 600 Supersport machine, #34 Josh Hook won overall in the category and leads the Supersport Championship going into the next round. A very impressive result for the NSW rider who rode consistently throughout the weekend, winning Race 1 by just .006 sec and coming 3rd in Race 2 which was unfortunately red flagged on the 4th lap. His efforts over the weekend have shown that he will be one to watch this season. Hook: “This has been a great weekend for me, obviously winning overall for Round 1 is awesome and to do it at the World Superbike Event is definitely a highlight. The team has been really supportive all weekend and I already feel comfortable on the CBR600RR. I did my first Superpole yesterday too which although I didn’t get the Superpole point it was good to get that first one out of the way. I’m really looking forward to the next event with Team Honda Racing.” Round 1 was a successful one for the Superbikes this weekend with #27 Jamie Stauffer going into the next round of the Superbike Championship at Hidden Valley in 3rd in the championship and #47 Wayne Maxwell taking the race win in Race 2 this afternoon in a spectacular effort. Consistently strong lap times in qualifying and strong Superpole laps from both riders, placed #47 Wayne in P2 and #27 Jamie on P3 on the grid for today’s races. The results of the weekend do, however, reflect the up and down nature of motorcycle racing when in Race 1 today a hole in the radiator caused Maxwell to retire early from the race, Stauffer finishing 4th. Race 2 saw the Honda CBR1000RR’s at the front of the field for much of the race and with a fierce determination to turn his weekend around, Maxwell raced to a very convincing victory. It was Stauffer who took the lead on lap 5 and held it until lap 8 when Maxwell passed him and did not look back. Maxwell won Race 2, Stauffer finished 3rd and recorded the fastest lap of the race on lap 2, a 1:33.804 sec. Maxwell: “What a weekend of highs and lows! When we thought we were good to go this weekend for the races, something out of our control turned things around dramatically in Race 1 and I could not finish the race. Full credit to the team to get things back under control and give me a bike to be able to bounce back and show our 2012 championship intentions with a race win.” Stauffer: “Round 1 for the season and we come away in a really positive position going into Round 2 at Hidden Valley. We were fast in practice and qualifying and although I’m never happy unless I’m winning races, to be 3rd in the championship at this point is fine.” Team Principle Paul Free views the opening round of the ASBK as a strong one for Team Honda Racing. Free: “Once again, racing threw everything at us. Wayne looked so strong in the opening Superbike race only to be taken out of the race by a simple problem. Full credit to him to bounce right back and win Race 2. Jamie was strong all weekend and achieved some solid results. He will definitely be a championship contender. Josh was brilliant on the 600. For Honda to be able to re-enter the 600 Supersport Championship so strongly is full credit to rider and machine. We have a very strong package in Josh and the CBR600RR. The whole team worked really well together this weekend with some new staff onboard and I know we will have an extremely strong season.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters claimed victory in the opening round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island in Victoria at the weekend. Run alongside the World Superbike Championship round, Waters was relentless in his pursuit for victory, claiming Pole Position and one-two finishes on to seal the overall. Waters topped Saturday’s Superpole session to take first on the grid with a 1:33.438sec lap around the scenic 4.5-kilometre ocean side circuit, setting himself up for a successful race day. The first 14-lap race on Sunday morning saw the former Champion dominate from the outset aboard the brand new 2012-model GSX-R1000, winning by a comfortable 7.424sec margin with the fastest lap of the race at 1:33.925 seconds. Race two saw Waters finish a close second, just 0.499 seconds behind Wayne Maxwell. With his results, Waters claimed the overall on 46 points to lead the Australian Superbike Championship. “The first race was great as I was able to get a good start and break away,” said 2009 ASBK Champion Waters. “I was really happy with that and the 2012 model GSX-R1000 was faultless. In race two the heat was extreme. I tried and couldn’t quite get away, so I let the guys past and then near the end of the race I tried again. I got caught up a little bit and couldn’t quite get it done. “It was a great way to start the Championship and get the ball rolling with the overall victory. The bike was really good – similar in a lot of ways to the old bike – but the engine is just really strong and I have a lot of confidence in the handling already. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into Darwin.” Team Volvo Group Suzuki satellite rider Robert Bugden finished a strong fourth overall with five-four finishes, with fellow Queenslander and Team Suzuki newcomer Ben Attard directly behind him in fifth for the weekend. Attard took a hard-fought third in race one before crossing the line eighth in the second race after experiencing tyre degradation. “It was nice to get a podium in my first Superbike race for Suzuki, but also disappointing to experience the problem in the final race because I felt like we could have challenged for a third or fourth place,” the experienced Queenslander said. “We’ve done a bit of testing, but in race conditions I felt like my feeling for the bike improved. I’m really looking forward to Darwin now and am confident that the 2012-model GSX-R1000 will be even stronger with extra development before that event.” Team Suzuki Supersport contender Brodie Waters commenced his 2012 campaign on the podium with third overall aboard the GSX-R600. Waters finished third in race one and fourth in the shortened second outing, which awarded half points due to the minimal amount of laps completed. “It wasn’t the way that we wanted to start the year, just because we struggled with the race set-up and didn’t quite get to the level we needed to for the win,” said Waters. “We’ll work on that for the next round and hopefully be able to push for the win. Consistency will be a vital factor this year though, which is something that I learnt last year. You need to stay on and get points when you can, because third place is definitely better than nothing at all when it comes to scoring points for the Championship.” Team Suzuki manager Phil Tainton said that the weekend’s results were a strong base to build from for the season ahead, looking forward to further developing the 2012 GSX-R1000 for upcoming rounds. “Josh was great as always and adapted really quickly to the 2012 GSX-R1000, plus I’m really happy with the way Ben is riding, so it was impressive to see him in the top three during that first race,” Tainton said. “We’re up a little bit in horsepower with the new bike, which is a great benefit at Phillip Island. It’s very similar to the previous model bike; however the refinements are clear improvements and we have more to come from Japan as development continues. Brodie scored good points, but was struggling with grip in the heat. The GSX-R600 is fast, but we’re working on improving edge grip. It’s all going well and Brodie is riding well, but we didn’t quite get it good enough for Brodie to win this weekend.” Sadly, 17-year-old Queensland rider Oscar McIntyre was involved in a fatal incident during the first Supersport/ Superstock race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon. Team Suzuki expresses its condolences to the family and friends of Oscar. The Australian Superbike Championship will continue at Hidden Valley in the Northern Territory on April 20-22nd for round two of the seven-round 2012 season. Superbike Round Results and Championship Standings: 1. Joshua WATERS (Team Suzuki) 46 2. Glenn ALLERTON 36 3. Jamie STAUFFER 35 4. Robert BUGDEN (Team Volvo Group Suzuki) 33 5. Ben ATTARD (Team Suzuki) 31 6. Ben HENRY (Suzuki) 29 7. Chris TROUNSON 26 8. Wayne MAXWELL 25 9. Scott CHARLTON (Suzuki) 15 Supersport Round Results and Championship Standings: 1. Josh HOOK 34 2. Mitchell CARR 33.5 3. Brodie WATERS (Team Suzuki) 26.5 4. Chris QUINN 24.5 5. Glenn SCOTT 24 6. Levi DAY (Suzuki) 22 7. Ryan TAYLOR 20.5 8. Adam SENIOR 18.5 9. Darren SCIBERRAS 18 10. Christan CASELLA 15