— FX 2012 – ROUND THREE – QLD RACEWAY
Yamaha Racing with Yamalube teamsters, Mike Jones and Cru Halliday, had a day out at round three of the FX Australasian Superbike Championships held at Queensland Raceway over the weekend, dominating proceedings and taking five race wins from six starts.
In near perfect racing conditions, Queenslander Jones, knew he was in for a tough day when he gridded up next to Yamaha stable mate and current 
Australian road race legend Kevin Curtain in the FX 600cc class, but the big occasion only empowered Jones and he went on to win the round with impressive 1-1-2 race results.
Jones and Curtain went into battle each and every race and the pair were never more than a coat of paint apart, literally. Jones took the opening leg by a narrow .4 of a second. But that was a blow out compared to race two when just .08 separated them at the finish in race two. Race three and the margin was .3, this time in Curtain’s favour, but Jones had done enough to seal the deal and take the round win.
“That was some intense racing today,” Jones offered. “This track always throws up close racing and it usually comes down to the rider not making any mistakes to determine the winner.
“Kevin was all over me in those first two races and I tried to keep focused on riding my race but its hard when someone like Curtain is right there and pressuring in every turn.
“Thankfully, I managed to hang on and win the first two races and then take the round win with a second in the final leg. It’s nice to do it here in my home state race also,” Jones signs off.
The day also went super smooth for team mate Cru Halliday contesting the Formula Oz championship. Halliday had gone unbeaten in the opening two rounds and wanted to keep that streak alive as the tour moved into QR.
Halliday did exactly that, dominating the class and taking an impressive three race wins from three starts in another perfect day for him. Halliday is a cut above the rest of the Formula Oz field and won each race with a handy gap back to second place.
“Winning all my races is awesome but I still have to work hard for it and the team does a great job off the track to do what’s required. If you take your eye off the ball for a round, it doesn’t take long for the rest of the field to catch up, so it’s important that myself and the team stay focused on the job all the way through to the final race,” Halliday said.
The FX Australasian Superbike Championship is now at the half way point, with three rounds still to come. Though Jones won the QR round, he is fourth in points with plenty of work do to, while Halliday is clear of his rivals at the tip of the table, but its along way from over.
Round Three Results – Queensland Raceway
FX 600cc
1st Mike Jones – 72
2nd Kevin Curtain – 69
3rd Brendan Clarke – 58
Formula Oz
1st Cru Halliday – 75
2nd Aaron Morris – 64
3rd Phil Lovett – 58
Championship Standings – After Round Three
FX 600cc
1st Kevin Curtain – 213
2nd Sean Condon – 176
3rd Michael Lockhart – 162
4th Mike Jones – 141
Formula Oz
1st Cru Halliday – 225
2nd Glynn Thomas – 121
3rd Daniel Stauffer – 110
— Curtain wins FX Superbike
Yamaha’s Kevin Curtain again was the headline act at round three of the FX Australasian Superbike Championships held at Queensland Raceway with the New South Wales star winning the premier FX Superbike class and taking a hard fought second in the FX600cc.
Curtain continued to enhance his status in Australian domestic road racing with another polished performance at QR, taking five wins from six starts and cementing his name at the top of the points’ charts in both classes.
Curtain won all three races on his Yamaha R1 and proved to be too good for his rivals. The perfect three from three is a reflection of the work Curtain and his Yamaha Racing with Ipone team put into their racing and he now has a sizeable 34 point gap back to second place.
Curtain also fronted the grid in the FX600cc category, only this time he faced much tougher competition in the form of his Yamaha stable mate, Mike Jones. The pair battled from the moment the bikes were unloaded and they were less than a bike length apart the entire weekend.
Curtain finished in second place for the round with 2-2-1 results in three of the most exciting battles seen at Queensland Raceway. Race two proved to be a thriller with just 8 hundredths of a second between the Yamaha duo as the charged for the finish line.
“I had a great time racing today and the battles I had with Jones on the 600 were awesome. I like racing close and battling hard and it was a lot of fun as we were going at it pretty hard.”
“Good on Mike, he raced well and deserved the win.”
Yamaha Racing with Ipone team mate Rick Olson was on track to make it a Yamaha R1 1-2 in the FX Superbike class when he finished the opening two races in second place behind his team mate.
Race three was also on track with Olson leading early before Curtain slipped by. Then in the later stages of the race, Olson fell from his machine and was unable to finish. His 2-2-DNF left him in seventh for the round.
“I just made a mistake in that last race and that’s all it took for me to hit the pavement,” Olson said of his race three DNF. “I was just working on staying close to Kevin and learn as much as I could but I can’t do that when I’m on the ground.”
“Fortunately, I’m still second in the series but my goal is to race with Kevin as often and as close as possible because he is the best guy going around at the moment,” a disappointed Olson finishes.
The championship now has a month break before the riders and teams grid up at round four at Wakefield Park, NSW.
A video of the Yamaha Racing Team was made at a recent test session at Queensland Raceway, to view;
Round Three Results – QR
FX Superbike
1st Kevin Curtain – 75
2nd Russell Holland- 60
3rd John Allen – 49
7th Rick Olson – 44
FX 600cc
1st Mike Jones – 72
2nd Kevin Curtain – 69
3rd Brendan Clarke – 58
Championship Standings – After Round Three
FX Superbike
1st Kevin Curtain – 214
2nd Rick Olson – 177
3rd Matthew Walters – 161
FX 600cc
1st Kevin Curtain – 213
2nd Sean Condon – 176
3rd Michael Lockhart – 162
