Read this press release carefully and the story becomes clear (this is also known as skillfully putting the best possible face on what results the team did get):
“Radar’s Team Yamaha – Media information 3 June 2001
“For immediate release
“2001 Shell Australian Superbike & Supersport Championships Round 2, Winton Raceway, Victoria Race report
“WINTON RACE VICTORY FOR BAIRD AND YAMAHA YZF-R6
“Queenslander Robbie Baird celebrated his debut in the 2001 Shell Advance Australian Supersport Championship by finishing with a third and first from today’s two Supersport races at round two of the championship held at the Winton Raceway in central Victoria. The overall round win went to Brendan Clarke who took a win and a second, to add his point winning pole position during qualifying. Clarke edged out Baird who finished the day second overall. He now lies fifth overall in the championship with 41 points, trailing current leader Josh Brookes who has a total of 80 points.
“As opposed to recent race meetings around Australia, Winton stayed dry for the complete weekend, offering the riders ample opportunity to get their bikes dialed in and provide spectators with some close hard fought action. The opening 14-lap Supersport race was no exception with five riders, including Baird, fighting it out over second place as they chased race leader Clarke. At race end Baird crossed the line less than two tenths of a second behind Scott Charlton to finish third.
“Race two saw Baird mixing it with the lead group once again and he was able to take full advantage when Clarke and Charlton tangled and ran wide allowing the Yamaha rider through. He then chased down race leader Daniel Stauffer and passed him to lead the final eight laps of the race, finishing 6.547 seconds clear of Clarke at the flag, with points leader Josh Brookes third.
“‘After missing the opening round in Perth, I really did need a win to gain as many points as possible and try and pull back the leaders and that’s what we did,’ said Baird. ‘Things went well all weekend. We qualified well and had a good run in both races. The second race was pretty close, but I was able to take advantage of the others battling away with each other and was able to pull away. The Yamaha R6 proved that it is still the bike to beat and the Dunlops worked well to give us a great package.’
“While Baird was dicing for podium placings in the Supersport class, the Radar’s Team Yamaha pair of Jamie Stauffer and Craig Coxhell were battling it out in three fiercely contested Superbike races. Defending champion Shawn Giles (Suzuki) made it a clean sweep for the weekend, taking pole, three wins and a new Pro-Superbike lap record. Stauffer finished the day fourth overall after finishing with a second, fourth and sixth, while Coxhell was fifth overall, with two fifths and a third. Coxhell currently lies third in the championship points table with 75, behind leader Giles (129) and Bikebiz Yamaha rider Damien Cudlin (88).
“‘The results may have not been exactly what I wanted, but I was able to score a good amount of points that keep us well in the championship hunt,’ said Coxhell. ‘Shawn (Giles) rode extremely well here and it came down to a battle between the rest of us. My biggest problem all weekend was that I was getting arm pump in my right arm. It plagued me during qualifying and in the latter stages of the races. I’m not sure what has brought it on, but there are a few heavy braking points around the track which may have caused it. It was frustrating as I was able to run with the pace in the early laps, but then faded. The results did get better as the day went on and it was great to grab third in the final race.’
“‘Things were looking good for a podium result until the last race,’ said Stauffer. ‘I was in line to finish second overall, but the sixth place finish in the final race spoiled any chances of that. The Yamaha R1 ran well all weekend, but I was having trouble with wheelspin and that in turn was shortening the life of the tyres in each race. There are a few things that we are still working on to get the set up right to suit my style and we’re getting closer to that. Each race was pretty tight and it really depended as to how good a run you were lucky enough to get.’
“With the team not making the trip across to Wanneroo for the opening round of the championship, team manager Dave `Radar’ Cullen was more than pleased with the results they were able to score in what was their debut in this years Championship. ‘I’m very happy with the result in the Supersport race with the win by Robbie showing that the Yamaha R1 is still the benchmark in the class,’ said Radar. ‘Both Craig and Jamie rode well in the Superbike class and came home with some very competitive results. Each of them had their problems, but I was happy with the teams performance overall.’
“Results follow.. Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship Round 2, Winton Raceway, Victoria, June 2-3
“Qualifying Rider Bike Time 1. Shawn GILES Team Suzuki Suzuki GSXR1000 1:24.785
2. Alex GOBERT Red Wing Honda CBR 929 1:24.993
3. Wayne MAXWELL Team Kawasaki ZX9R 1:25.562
4. Tony REES Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1 1:25.681
5. Damien CUDLIN Bikebiz Yamaha YZF-R1 1:25.683
6. Craig COXHELL Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 1:25.686
7. Craig McMARTIN Ducati 996 SPS 1:25.921
8. James STAUFFER Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 1:26.264
9. Jay NORMOYLE Lightpath Suzuki GSXR1000 1:26.387
10. Alistair MAXWELL Suzuki GSXR1000 1:26.548
Lap Record Shawn Giles (Suzuki) 1:23.73 (07/05/00 – Superbike)
Race 1 / 14 Laps Rider Bike Time / Gap :
1. Shawn GILES Suzuki GSXR 1000 20:03.287
2. James STAUFFER Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 +8.107
3. Alex GOBERT Honda CBR 929 +8.597
4. Damian CUDLIN Yamaha yzf-R1 +9.922
5. Craig COXHELL Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 +10.411
6. Jay NORMOYLE Suzuki GSXR 1000 +20.777
7. David SIMPSON Suzuki GSXR 1000 +24.638
8. Stephen TOZER Yamaha YZF-R1 +25.913
9. David EMMERSON Honda CBR 929 +29.683
10. Alistair MAXWELL Suzuki GSXR 1000 +35.531
Fastest Lap: Alex Gobert 1:24.975 on lap 4
Race 2 / 14 Laps Rider Bike Time / Gap:
1. Shawn GILES Suzuki GSXR 1000 20:01.583
2. Damian CUDLIN Yamaha YZF-R1 +6.183 secs
3. Alex GOBERT Honda CBR 929 +7.547
4. Jamie STAUFFER Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 +7.661
5. Craig COXHELL Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 +7.872
6. David EMMERSON Honda CBR 929 +19.251
7. Jay NORMOYLE Suzuki GSXR 1000 +20.242
8. Tony REES Yamaha YZF-R1 +21.530
9. David SIMPSON Suzuki GSXR 1000 +24.168
10. Alistair MAXWELL Suzuki GSXR 1000 +25.383
Fastest Lap: Shawn Giles 1:24.853 (New Pro-Superbike lap record)
Race 3 / 14 Laps Rider Bike Time / Gap:
1. Shawn GILES Suzuki GSXR 1000 20:07.701
2. Alex GOBERT Honda CBR 929 +4.351 secs
3. Craig COXHELL Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 +5.480
4. Damien CUDLIN Yamaha YZF-R1 +7.743 5 Tony REES Yamaha YZF-R1 +7.983
5. Jamie STAUFFER Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 +8.772
6. Stephen TOZER Yamaha YZF-R1 +16.444
7. David SIMPSON Suzuki GSXR 1000 +18.318
8. David EMMERSON Honda CBR 929 +20.638
9. Jay NORMOYLE Suzuki GSXR 1000 +25.639
Fastest Lap: Shawn Giles 1:25.309 on lap 4
2001 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship (points after 2 0f 5 rounds):
1. S Giles 129; 2. D Cudlin 88; 3. C Coxhell 75; 4. T Rees 55; 5. A Gobert 52; 6. S Adams 47; 7. D Simpson 46; 8. J Stauffer 43; 9. J Normoyle 37; 10. S Fisher 33.
Shell Advance Australian Supersport Championship Round 2, Winton Raceway, Victoria, June 2-3
Qualifying Rider Bike Time 1. Brendan CLARKE Suzuki GSXR 600 1:26.876
2. Robbie BAIRD Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R6 1:27.232
3. Scott CHARLTON Suzuki GSXR 600 1:27.309
4. Daniel STAUFFER Suzuki GSXR 600 1:27.432
5. Rory ROCK Honda CBR 600 1:27.889
6. Josh BROOKES Suzuki GSXR 600 1:27.923
7. Nicholas BARTON Honda CBR 600 1:27.985
8. Jason KAIN Yamaha YZF-R6 1:28.068
9. Rodney TAPLIN Suzuki GSXR 600 1:28.418
10. Greg MOSS Honda CBR 600 1:28.601
11. Lap Record: Adam Fergusson (Honda) 1:25.68 (07/05/00)
Race 1 / 14 Laps Rider Bike Time/Gap
1. Brendan CLARKE Suzuki GSXR 600 20:26.618
2. Scott CHARLTON Suzuki GSXR 600 +5.135
3. Robbie BAIRD Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R6 +5.317
4. Josh BROOKES Suzuki GSXR 600 +8.959
5. Daniel STAUFFER Suzuki GSXR 600 +9.001
6. Rodney TAPLIN Suzuki GSXR 600 +9.907
7. Jason KAIN Yamaha YZF-R6 +12.941
8. Nicholas BARTON Honda CBR 600 +16.065
9. Rory ROCK Honda CBR 600 +20.494
10. Greg MOSS Honda CBR 600 +21.436
Fastest Lap: Brendan Clarke 1:26.966 on lap 9
Race 2 / 14 Laps Rider Bike Time / Gap
1. Robbie BAIRD Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R6 20:30.682
2. Brendan CLARKE Suzuki GSXR 600 +6.547
3. Josh BROOKES Suzuki GSXR 600 +7.913
4. Daniel STAUFFER Suzuki GSXR 600 +10.541
5. Jason KAIN Yamaha YZF-R6 +19.695
6. Deon COOTE Yamaha YZF-R6 +19.947
7. Greg MOSS Honda CBR 600 +20.682
8. Jay TAYLOR Kawasaki ZX6R +20.977
9. Michael BRENTON Yamaha YZF-R6 +29.563
10. Rory ROCK Honda CBR 600 +32.943
Fastest Lap: Nicholas Barton 1:27.087 on lap 6
2001 Shell Advance Australian Supersport Championship (points after 2 0f 5 rounds) 1. J Brookes 80; 2. B Clarke 67; 3. D Stauffer 56; 4. S Charlton 51; 5. R Baird 41; 6. G Moss 31; 7. J Kain 27; 8. M Brenton 27; 9. D Coote 26; 10. J Taylor 24.
2001 Shell Australian Superbike & Supersport Championships: 5-6 May Wanneroo (WA) 2-3 June Winton (Vic) 30 June – 1 July Queensland Raceway (Q’ld) 28-29 July Mallala (SA) 25-26 August Oran Park (NSW) “