Perfect score for Stauffer Perfect conditions at Queensland Raceway complemented a perfect run of results for Team Honda’s Jamie Stauffer who dominated both 17-lap races of round 5 of the QBE Australian Superbike Championship today. Yesterday’s polesitter was eager to convert his grid position to maximum points, an outcome that would re-energise his team which has faced an uncharacteristic struggle in the first half of the season. Stauffer lowered his own lap record this morning to 1:09.125s to take a 2.423s victory over Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters and Procon Maxima BMW’s Glenn Allerton. Another good start this afternoon saw Stauffer win by a similar margin 1.993 seconds separated him from Allerton who held off a charge from Stauffer’s teammate Wayne Maxwell. 51 points sees Stauffer the clear QBE Superbike round winner today, with Allerton second and Waters third. An enthusiastic crowd was treated to an exemplary display of racing from the country’s best, with riders expertly negotiating the surface dips and bumps. A two-time Australian Superbike Champion, Stauffer is elevated to second in the title hunt, 56 points shy of Allerton who remains in charge with a comfortable buffer. The i-Style Natural Aprilia Team’s Ben Attard retains third in the points chase with a solid run this weekend. The battle for Superbike honours resumes in August as Queensland Raceway hosts the second ‘2+4′ meet for the year featuring the ASBK alongside V8 Supercars. Today’s pair of QBE Supersport races produced a carbon copy of results, with the Yamaha Racing Team’s Kevin Curtain taking two narrow race wins and the overall. Teammate Rick Olson finished third, bookending Brendan Clarke who returned to the track with a spirited ride on the Champion’s Ride Days Honda. The trio traded positions with a number of slipstreams and late-braking moves, and it was Curtain who was in the lead as the chequered flag waved on both of the 17-lap races. Championship leader and polesitter Mitchell Carr had a day to forget, with clutch problems ending his race early this morning and a crash at turn 3 resulting in a finish at the back of the pack. Curtain leaves Queensland Raceway as the new points leader, with Carr dropping down the order to sixth. Team Suzuki’s Brodie Waters’ consistent run elevates him to second in the championship, 21 points off the lead. Christian Casella, Aaron Gobert and Rick Olson round out the top five after the penultimate round of racing, with the class next on track at Phillip Island in November. 1st overall, Jamie Stauffer, 51 points “In the first race we got in front and just tried to maintain the lead really, the bike felt good. Josh pressured us there for a while but in the end we pulled a bit of a gap. The second race was much the same, the times seemed a bit slower in the second race, myself included, but I was able to get a gap and be a lot more comfortable out there. It was a great weekend for us, we really needed to have at least a race win, so to get two wins, pole position and the round is what we needed. We can come out and try even harder up here with the V8 Supercars.” 2nd overall, Glenn Allerton, 38 points “Today went pretty good for us, we got a third and a second and it’s always good to be up there on the podium. I’ll take the positives away from this weekend, you can’t win them all, today has been good and we got good points. I gave it everything I had in race 2, hats off to Jamie, I had a clear shot at beating him and today just wasn’t my day. I’ll go back, do some more training and the boys will have a look at the data. We’ll make a few changes to the bike and come back stronger.” 3rd overall, Josh Waters, 36 points “Today was tough. I thought going into the race we had a good chance of battling with Jamie at least until the end of the race but unfortunately I almost ran off the track three times and I lost a lot of time. I had a few little issues but worked around it, and by the end of the race I felt fine. I’m looking forward to the next round up here, it should be good.” QBE Superbike Round Results 1. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW), Team Honda Racing / Oleon Oils / Motologic, Honda CBR RR, 51 2. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC), Procon Maxima BMW / Procon / Maxima Oils, BMW S RR 38 3. Joshua WATERS (VIC), Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 36 4. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC), Team Honda Racing / Oleon Oils / Motologic, Honda CBR RR , 35 5. Ben ATTARD (QLD), The i-Style Natural Aprilia Team / Archers / MOTUL, Aprilia RSV4, 31 6. Troy HERFOSS (VIC), Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R , 30 7. Craig COXHELL (VIC), Demolition Plus GAS Honda, Honda CBR RR , 28 8. Robert BUGDEN (QLD), Team Mack Trucks Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 26 9. Cole ODENDAAL (NSW), NSW Compensation Lawyers / GAS Honda Racing, Honda CBR RR, 25 10. Ben HENRY (QLD), CUBE Racing Australian Outdoor Living / Weld West P Suzuki GSX-R, 23 QBE Superbike Championship Points 1. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC), 226 2. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW), 170 3. Ben ATTARD (QLD), 160 4. Troy HERFOSS (VIC), 160 5. Craig COXHELL (VIC), 151 6. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC), 136 7. Joshua WATERS (VIC), 124 8. Cole ODENDAAL (NSW), 123 9. Robert BUGDEN (QLD), 116 10. Ben HENRY (QLD), 98 QBE Supersport Round Results 1. Kevin CURTAIN (VIC), Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6, 50 2. Brendan CLARKE (QLD), Champion’s Ride Days / Honda Australia / Palfinger, Honda CBR RR, 40 3. Rick OLSON (VIC), Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6, 36 4. Aaron GOBERT (NSW), Yamaha / Graves / Hot Bodies, Yamaha YZF-R6, 32 5. Brodie WATERS (VIC), Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 31 6. Nicholas WATERS (VIC), Arai Helmets, Suzuki GSX-R, 31 7. Chris QUINN (NSW), Coopers Pale Ale / The Channon Store, Yamaha YZF-R6, 30 8. Glenn SCOTT (NSW), WNR Kawasaki / Insure My Ride / Stahlwille Tools Kawasaki ZX6R, 25 9. Christan CASELLA (VIC), Aark Racing / Triumph Australia / Alpinestars / Ktec, Triumph Daytona, 24 10. Andy LAWSON (QLD), Avweld Pty Ltd / Trucks Australia, Yamaha YZF-R6, 23 QBE Supersport Championship Points 1. Kevin CURTAIN (VIC), 155 2. Brodie WATERS (VIC), 134 3. Christan CASELLA (VIC), 132 4. Aaron GOBERT (NSW), 131 5. Rick OLSON (VIC), 125 6. Mitchell CARR (NSW), 120 7. Nicholas WATERS (VIC), 97 8. Andy LAWSON (QLD), 93 9. Chris QUINN (NSW), 85 10. Glenn SCOTT (NSW), 75 More, from a press release issued by Team Honda Racing: A Clean Sweep for Stauffer and Team Honda Racing at Round 5 ASBK Team Honda Racing dominated at Queensland Raceway this weekend for Round 5 of the Australian Superbike Championship with #27 Jamie Stauffer taking the Superpole point yesterday, P1 for both qualifying sessions, 2 race wins today and even breaking his own lap record in the Superbike class. Stauffer now sits 2nd in the championship in what can only be described as a magic weekend for Team. Stauffer: “It was a great weekend and finally we have moved forward and got the result the team and I knew we could achieve before the year started; we took a little longer than originally planned, but to have won both races, taken Superpole and broken the Superbike lap record is definitely the way to turn things around! Hopefully we can continue the momentum into the next round and be racing for race wins for the rest of the year.” Both Team Honda Racing riders saw a terrific improvement in the set-up of the CBR1000RR with some changes made to the front forks after practice on Friday and found their championships turning around. #47 Wayne Maxwell finished his weekend 4th overall and is really pleased with the direction he is now going with the set-up of the Honda. Maxwell: “I guess the weekend didn’t start great for me after the big crash on Friday, but full credit to the team, they regrouped to bridge the gap. The bike is definitely much better this weekend and I’m looking forward to coming back to Queensland Raceway in August to race again. It is great for Team Honda Racing to get their first win for 2011 and I think it will be the first of many between now and the final round.” The fastest lap of the day which broke the Superbike lap record was Jamie’s with a 1:09.125 sec on lap 2 of Race 1. Starting from P1, Jamie lead from start to finish for both races and it seemed nobody had an answer as his Motologic-prepared CBR1000RR pulled away. Elated by his win, the Newcastle rider even took a moment to give the Team Honda Racing Corporate guests on the hill a quick thrill with a ride by. Doric Products, Architectural Window Systems, Bank of Queensland and Honda corporate guests were thrilled by the day’s success. Team Principle Paul Free is excited by the team’s turn around and is eager to build on the Round 5 success and reduce the points gap even further at Round 6 in August. Free: “What a fantastic weekend! It is full credit to the team for all their hard work and dedication even when things get tough. We have turned Honda’s championship around now and what a way to do it! Jamie dominated this weekend and I couldn’t be more proud. Wayne raced extremely well this weekend and it was unfortunate that he had that crash in practice as I think his confidence took a bit of a hit. With some more work to the set-up of his bike I know he will be strong at Round 6. It was fantastic to see so many sponsors in the Team Honda Racing Corporate Marquee and I was particularly pleased to have the General Manager of Motorcycles Tony Hinton and the Marketing Manager Glyn Griffiths here supporting the team also. After a bit of break we will be ready to race just as hard at Round 6.”
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