From a press release issued by Team YZF Yamaha: Twice in the top 15 Shinichi Nakatomi finished two times in the top fifteen riders at Philipp Island. This is the first time this year that he is earning points. Despite some difficult practice sessions, Nakatomi ended up the first race in 15th position, out of 27 riders on the starting grid. The second race was a new occasion for the Japanese rider to finish again 15th. He tried by the end of the race to catch and pass Makoto Tamada, but he could not overtake the Kawasaki rider and finished just one tenth of a second behind him. Nakatomi, with these points, is closer now to the top riders. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) won magnificently both races, while the Spanish riders like Carlos Checa (Honda), Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki) and Ruben Xaus (Ducati) performed really well. Unfortunately, Max Biaggi (Ducati) crashed two times and could not earn any points. Shinichi Nakatomi: “I had a better feel from the tyres in the first race, not so much in the second. We scored points in both races, which was a good reward for the team, who work so hard.” Team-manager Martial Garcia: “Many things happen very often during the races at Phillip Island, and it was again the case today. So it was a good opportunity for us to finish twice in 15th position. It was the case in the first race thanks to a good choice of tyre. This point is well deserved. It was more difficult in the second race, but we finally earned one point.” Race 1: 1. Bayliss (Ducati) 2. Corser (Yamaha) 3. Fabrizio (Ducati); 4. Xaus (Ducati); 5. Nieto (Suzuki)”¦ 15. Nakatomi (Yamaha) Race 2: 1. Bayliss (Ducati); 2. Checa (Honda); 3. Nieto (Suzuki); 4. Xaus (Ducati); 5. Neukirchner (Suzuki)”¦ 15.Nakatomi (Yamaha) Superbike World Championship standings: 1. Bayliss (Ducati) 88 points; 2. Nieto (Suzuki) 61; 3. Xaus (Ducati) 59; 4. Corser (Yamaha) 45; 5. Checa (Honda) 45″¦ 22.Nakatomi (Yamaha) 2 3rd round of the Superbike World Championship: April 6th at Valencia (Spain) More, from a press release issued by Scuderia Triumph-SC: SCUDERIA TRIUMPH-SC FIGHT FOR THE PODIUM IN AUSTRALIA (Phillip Island Australia March 2, 2008) The Scuderia Triumph SC team had a weekend to remember after Australian Garry McCoy pulled off the performance of the weekend by battling for the podium after qualifying in 17th place. The Scuderia Triumph SC squad pulled out all the stops for race day and McCoy repaid them for their efforts with a ride that had the 65,400 strong weekend crowd on their feet as he charged through the pack to the leaders. After getting on the back of the fight for the podium, McCoy ran out of time to get to the front and had to settle for a morale boosting sixth position in only the Triumphs second ever world championship race. Team-mate Illario Dionisi looked set for a strong result after upping his pace significantly in morning warm-up, but unfortunately a technical problem robbed him of the chance to show his true potential and he was forced to retire from the race on lap seven. Garry McCoy said: “I’m pretty happy to have come from 17th to where we finished. At the start I was picking people off pretty much every corner but I could see the front group of guys pulling away and was concerned that I wasn’t able to go with them. When I had clear track though I began closing them down pretty fast and I honestly believe that if I could have got past them some how I could have gotten away. From what we’ve seen today I think the bike has got great potential. We’ve still got some work to do on it but if we can improve a few things and I can qualify better it’s easy to see how we could get some wins.” Ilario Dionisi said: “I got a good start and ended up just behind Garry, but then he started to pull away. The bike was feeling really good and I passed a few riders but then unfortunately I had the problem. My pace in warm-up was good and I felt confident that I could do the same in the race but I never really got the chance.” Team Manager Stefano Caracchi commented: “This was like a dream race for me because I did not think it was possible for Garry to do this. We know what a talented rider he is and with some more experience with the bike our potential is very high. Just two months ago we received a street bike so we must take things step by step. For sure we have had some difficult moments but also some great emotion so we will see what will happen during the rest of the season.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Australia: HONDA AND O’HALLORAN KICK OFF SEASON WITH PODIUM Teknic Honda’s Jason O’Halloran has scored the Team’s first podium of the year after a strong performance at Phillip Island on the weekend. The 20-year-old qualified his CBR1000RR on the front row of the grid, just next to Shawn Giles on pole, finishing up with a 3-4-3 finish in the three World Superbike support class races. His overall score earned him the final place on the podium — an excellent result for the new recruit to the Superbike class. The highlight of the weekend, however, was O’Halloran’s incredible pace in race one where he managed to smash the official lap record with a time of 1:32.921. “We had really good grip with the Dunlop’s so I was able to push hard the whole race,” he said. “I expected to be up with the top runners but to be honest, I didn’t expect to get such a fast lap in so early on so that was fantastic.” “The only thing that let me down this weekend was my starts. I didn’t get away fast enough and just couldn’t make up the time to catch the race leader.” “Overall, it was a very positive weekend and we are well prepared for the first round of Aussie Superbikes at Eastern Creek.” “Halloran’s team mate Glenn Allerton also came away from the weekend relatively happy with a fifth overall. “We started out pretty strong in race one and I finished fifth, but we had a few set up issues so I didn’t quite get the finishes I would have like in the next two races,” Allerton said. “Still I managed a personal best time of 1:33.5 which was helped by the high grip of the Dunlop tyres we had on the bikes.” Teknic Honda Team Manager Paul Free of Motologic said the Team worked well together and the synergy is starting to show on the track. “Jason and his Crew Chief Garry (House) are building a great relationship and have found a fantastic setting for Jason’s bike that really suits his riding style,” Free said. “Jas and Glenn worked very hard this weekend and if the final race had not been cancelled due to scheduling issues, I think we would have seen them both improve on their results.” Australian Superbike Event Points 1 Shawn Giles, 71pts 2 Jamie Stauffer,65pts 3 Jason O’Halloran,53pts 4 Craig Coxhell,48pts 5 Glenn Allerton,45pts 9 Dan Stauffer,35pts SOLID RESULT FOR HONDA’S MAXWELL IN AUS SUPERSPORTS Teknic Honda’s sole Supersport rider, Wayne Maxwell put in one of the best performances of his career at Phillip Island’s World Superbikes round two this weekend. With a race result of 4-2-7-5, the new recruit finished fourth overall in the support class on his CBR600RR, after qualifying on the second row of the grid. “There wasn’t much between the top qualifiers, and we made a few changes before racing which made a difference,” Maxwell said. “That first race was very quick between the top four guys, and I even managed to break the lap record on lap four before Jeremy (Crowe) got me by another couple hundredths of a second.” “Even though I finished fourth on the track there was only an eighth of a second between myself and the race winner.” Maxwell said he is very happy with his first official outing with the Teknic Honda Team after a tough couple of months of testing. “It has taken me a little while to adapt to the new package but the effort has paid off and I’m really happy now with the Honda Pirelli package,” said the 25-year-old. “I really want to thank Honda and Paul (Free) for giving me their commitment and I’m definitely looking forward to Eastern Creek in a couple weeks time.” Australian Supersport Event Overall Points 1 Jamie Stauffer, 94pts; 2 Jeremy Crowe, 79pts; 3 Bryan Staring, 72pts; 4 Wayne Maxwell, 67pts; 5.Judd Greedy, 66pts More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Shawn Giles kicked off his 2008 season with the overall win at the 2008 Superbike World Championship round at Phillip Island at the weekend. Giles won two of the three races in the Australian Superbike support category at the world championship meeting, falling short by just 0.014sec in race two to make it a clean sweep of three wins from three starts for Giles and the new-look 2008 Suzuki team. Giles’ 71 point tally across the three races gave the three-time Australian Superbike champion a six-point margin over Jamie Stauffer, with Jason O’Halloran third on 53pts. Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Craig Coxhell finished fourth overall on 48pts with Supersport rider Josh Waters making a guest appearance in the Superbike category and claiming sixth overall. The meeting marked the first appearance for 2008 of all five factory-supported Superbike teams which will contest the upcoming seven-round Australian Superbike Championship, with the Phillip Island results sending Suzuki to Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway in two weeks’ time for the opening round full of confidence – and the team to beat. The opening six-lap Australian Superbike race on Saturday morning saw pole-sitter Giles blast off the line and go head-to-head with reigning Australian Superbike Champion Stauffer over full race distance, the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider taking a thrilling 0.134sec victory. Despite the relatively low 15-degree air temperature and 18.3-degree track temperature for the opening Superbike race, Russell Holland’s 2007 lap record of 1:33.427 was first bettered by Giles, and then by third-placed Jason O’Halloran, the new mark eventually resting with O’Halloran at 1:32.921. Races two and three were held on Saturday afternoon, with Giles and Stauffer again trading blows. Giles led out of the second last corner on the final lap of race two, only to have Stauffer force his way underneath Giles’ GSX-R1000 on the final corner to claim a 0.014sec win. In the final race of the day Giles and Stauffer again went handlebar-to-handlebar over the full six-lap journey, with Stauffer again pulling his bold move on the final turn, only to see Giles keep the throttle of his Suzuki GSX-R1000 pinned to the stop and hold on for a thrilling 0.011sec win – and overall round honours. The combined winning margin from all three races was a scant 0.159sec. The fourth and final Australian Superbike race scheduled for Sunday was abandoned due to time delays in the international program. Phil Tainton – Team Manager: “It’s been a great weekend for us and I’m extremely happy with the results. We were looking for a good start to the 2008 Superbike season and all three riders delivered. “With Shawn taking the win, and Craig and Josh inside the top six, it shows we’re on the right track for the year ahead. Some recent testing at the circuit helped us get the GSX-R1000s set up to suit the fast Phillip Island circuit and we were able to try some new suspension components this weekend. The results have been great, but we’ve learned a lot too. “Shawn rode three excellent races and Craig has found some settings he’s now comfortable with. Josh too did a great job in a one-off guest ride on a bike that’s a lot different to his usual 600cc Supersport machine. The whole team now has good momentum heading into the 2008 Superbike season.” Shawn Giles: “It’s a great way to start the year and I really enjoyed the battles with Jamie. Phillip Island always creates good racing – it’s a shame we don’t race here more often. I really love the circuit. “All three races were entertaining. I was sort of expecting that move from Jamie in race two and thought I’d blocked it – but he tried it anyway, and made it stick. And then he did it again in race three. It was good, close racing. I’m very happy with the weekend’s results. The Superbike class looks like being really competitive this year – one of the toughest yet.” Craig Coxhell: “Congratulations to Shawn on the win – he rode really well. I’m disappointed with my results this weekend though, especially as the last time we raced here at the MotoGP last October I took the overall win. Early on nothing was working for me, as I was trying different suspension settings and couldn’t find a set-up I was comfortable with. Then when I did, and was ready to have a go, I lost my knee-slider in race three and kept going backwards. “I was disappointed when the final race was abandoned as I had a point to prove after race three. Still, fourth overall isn’t too bad given the frustrations – and I now know I’ve got a set-up that suits me.” Joshua Waters: “It’s been good fun riding the Superbike at this meeting, but I really needed more time on it to do it justice. I didn’t do any testing before the meeting, so to finish up in the top six is a good result. “The bike I rode is the one Robbie Bugden usually rides for the team, so I guess I’ll have to give it back now. Now it’s time to focus on the upcoming Australian Supersport Championship and the new Suzuki GSX-R600. I’m really looking forward to 2008 with the team and the new bike.” Superbike Overall Results: 1 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2 Jamie Stauffer, 3 Jason O’Halloran, 4 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 5 Glenn Allerton, 6 Josh Waters (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 7 Kevin Curtain, 8 Shannon Johnson, 9 Daniel Stauffer, 10 Scott Charlton.