Australian Superbike Championship 2005 – Round Seven – Phillip Island
10 years ago today…. Images from the 2005 Australian Superbike finale at Phillip Island
Below the gallery is our wrap from the 2005 Australian Superbike finale held the month before we published this Gallery S of images from that event.
The 2005 Australian Superbike Championship finished up with Shawn Giles and Josh Brookes tied on points, with a count-back on wins giving Josh Brookes the title.
A crucial factor in the championship results was that the series lost one race from the calendar at the World Superbike season opener when a race was cancelled.
The 2005 Australian Superbike Championship was ran by Terry O’Neill under an agreement with Motorcycling Australia. 2005 was the second year in what was a ten-year deal that M.A. pulled out from after season 2008. Thus from 2009 we again had two championships competing against each other, the renamed ‘ASBK’ Championship while O’Neill went back to running his original ‘Formula Xtreme Championship’ which in more recent years O’Neill renamed the ‘Australasian Superbike Championship’. Troy Herfoss won the 2015 Australasian Superbike Championship last weekend at Sydney Motorsports Park by a single point over Wayne Maxwell. The closest finish to a major Australian road racing title since the 2005 event we depict below. Enjoy!
2005 Australian Superbike Round Seven Image Gallery S – Photos by Stephen Piper
Australian Superbike Championship 2005 – Round Seven – Phillip Island
Josh Brookes wraps up the 2005 Australian Superbike / Supersport double at Phillip Island
Honda maestro Josh Brookes signed off on a sensational year with a double triumph in the YMF Loan Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island on November 13.
The 22-year-old, who rides for the factory Joe Rocket Honda team, not only cantered to a second Supersport championship on his CBR600RR, but he also chimed in to win the premier Superbike class in the most breathtaking of circumstances.
After winning the second 11-lap Superbike race over Jamie Stauffer (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-10R) and teammate Adam Fergusson (Joe Rocket Honda CBR1000RR), Brookes (CBR1000RR) finished the seven-round championship on the same number of points as Team Suzuki’s Shawn Giles (GSX-R1000) – 279.
However, Brookes was crowned Superbike champion on a count-back, courtesy of more chequered flags during the year. Brookes’ win in race two was his fourth in 14 races, vis-à-vis to Giles’ three.
“This is an unbelievable feeling,” said Brookes. “I didn’t know until I got back into the pits that I had won the championship, so I’m stoked.
“The guys who race in Australia are world-class, and today was much harder work than when I won the world Supersport race here in 2004.
“I’d especially like to thank my mechanic, who hasn’t put a foot wrong all year – the only mistakes made have been by me.”
Brookes will now head overseas in 2006, and is expected to make an announcement on his plans very soon.
The factory Honda collaboration has now won both major Australian Superbike Championship (ASC) classes for the second year in succession, after Fergusson claimed the exalted double in 2004.
Meanwhile, Giles, who completed his season with 3-4 finishes, was magnanimous in defeat, although coming so agonisingly close to a fourth championship was a bitter pill to swallow.
“Firstly, congratulations to Joe Rocket Honda and Josh for taking his first championship,” said Giles, who claimed a hat-trick of titles from 2000-2002. “I couldn’t do anything more than I was doing today. I thought that Jamie (Stauffer) may have got in front of Josh again in race two, but it didn’t happen.
“I also want to thank Suzuki for all its help this year. This has been the closest, toughest championship I’ve raced in, and everyone has worked together to achieve a great result. Suzuki is now going to be hungrier than ever to get back the championship crown in 2006.”
Giles’ fourth place in race two was the first time in 16 ASC races at Phillip Island that he has failed to finish on the rostrum, allowing Brookes to eradicate the 7pt lead he held after the opening stoush.
Giles finished third in that one, behind Stauffer and Brookes, while Fergusson limped home in 15th after problems with his Michelin rear tyre. Russell Holland (Shoei/RK Chains CBR1000RR) was also a leading light in the early stages before highsiding on lap six.
That left Glenn Allerton to finish fourth on the second Team Suzuki GSX-R1000, ahead of privateer Shannon Etheridge (Nova Honda CBR1000RR).
In race two, Stauffer, Brookes and Fergusson turned it into a three-way shootout, while Giles had a fight on his hands to keep Anthony Gobert (Redwing Honda CBR1000RR) and a slow-starting Holland in check.
Brookes’ sheer willpower got him over the line by 0.834sec from Stauffer, while Fergusson, with his own championship hopes dashed in race one, was third from Giles and Holland. Gobert was troubled by cramp in the closing stages, but still finished sixth.
Stauffer’s late championship flourish saw him finish third on 254pts, ahead of Fergusson (252pts) and Queensland Robbie Bugden (Northstar Yamaha YZF-R1, 252pts), who again finished another year as leading privateer.
In Supersport, Brookes was always in the box seat to add to his previous title in 2001, and that’s how it panned out.
In a reprisal of their brilliant finish in a support race at last month’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Brookes defeated Mark Aitchison (Fraser Motorcycles YZF-R6) by just 0.015sec in the opening Supersport hitout, while Josh Waters (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR) was a lonely third from outgoing champion Fergusson (Joe Rocket Honda CBR600RR) and Chris Seaton (Ewington Racing ZX-6RR).
There were 20 finishers, with West Aussie Bryan Staring (Allect Racing CBR600RR) not one of them after crashing out of second place on lap five.
With 19pts up his sleeve over Fergusson, Brookes completed this year’s Supersport harvest with a safe third place, behind runaway winner Aitchison and Staring.
After finishing on the rostrum in 12 of the 15 races, including a bank of seven wins, Brookes completed the year on 310pts. Fergusson (288pts) held onto a secure second, ahead of round winner Aitchison (254pts), Waters (235pts) and Staring (221pts).
2005 Australian Superbike Championship Final Points Standings
- Josh BROOKES (NSW) 279
- Shawn GILES (VIC) 279
- Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) 254
- Adam FERGUSSON (VIC) 252
- Robert BUGDEN (QLD) 209
- Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) 208
- Scott CHARLTON (VIC) 159
- Shannon JOHNSON (VIC) 142
- Tony REES (NZ) 142
- Daniel STAUFFER (NSW) 133
- Anthony GOBERT (NSW) 127
- Russell HOLLAND (NSW) 108
- Shannon ETHERIDGE (NSW) 92
- Shaun GERONIMI (NSW) 91
- Nick HENDERSON (VIC) 90
- Deon COOTE (VIC) 77
- Judd GREEDY (VIC) 60
- Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) 60
- John TUCHYNA (SA) 35
- Chad TURNBULL (QLD) 33
- Ashley ROE (VIC) 30
- Mick KELLY (VIC) 28
- Justin MILLINGTON (NSW) 26
- Michael ELLIS (SA) 26
- Stephen TOZER (VIC) 21
- Trent GIBSON (VIC) 21
- Stuart ADAMS (WA) 16
- Troy ELLIOTT (VIC) 12
- Roger HEYES (QLD) 10
- Paul McMENAMIN (SA) 10
- Mark HIGGINS (VIC) 10
- Ray CLEE (NZ) 8
- Darren NAUGHTON (WA) 7
- Karl SCHMIDT (VIC) 7
- Luke WICKS (NSW) 7
- Steve ALDERSON (WA) 5
- Ben STRONACH (WA) 5
- Scott TUDDENHAM (VIC) 4
- Wayne SMITH (WA) 3
- Michael WRIGHT (VIC) 3
- Jason GREEN (QLD) 2
2005 Australian SupersportChampionship Final Points Standings
- Joshua BROOKES (NSW) 310
- Adam FERGUSSON (VIC) 288
- Mark AITCHISON (NSW) 254
- Joshua WATERS (VIC) 235
- Bryan STARING (WA) 221
- Brendan CLARKE (QLD) 207
- Jason O’HALLORAN (NSW) 200
- Christopher SEATON (VIC) 171
- Jordan COOTE (VIC) 158
- Gareth JONES (QLD) 156
- Jeremy CROWE (NSW) 128
- Zac DAVIES (NSW) 116
- Robbie BAIRD (QLD) 109
- Jarradd CURRAN (NSW) 105
- Caleb STALDER (NSW) 91
- Mark STANLEY (NSW) 70
- Alex CUDLIN (NSW) 64
- Hayden FITZGERALD (NZ) 61
- Scott CAMPBELL (TAS) 61
- Dustin GOLDSMITH (NSW) 58
- Chris QUINN (NSW) 52
- Karl MORGAN (NZ) 44
- Sam DAVIES (NSW) 32
- Shaun GERONIMI (NSW) 26
- Craig McMARTIN (NSW) 21
- Damon BARTLOME (VIC) 18
- Alex TOMASSETTI (NSW) 11
- Ken ONUS (VIC) 9
- Cameron STRONACH (WA) 8
- Chris WOOD (VIC) 5
- David MALINS (VIC) 4
- Jamie BOLAND (WA) 3
- Dean MARTINELLO (SA) 2
- Riko PARTOOSH (VIC) 2
- Cole ODENDAAL (QLD) 2
- Grant HAY (NSW) 1
- Ralph MAMMOLITI (WA) 1
