The opening round of the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship was run and won today, with Team Honda Racing rider Jamie Stauffer taking out overall honours on the day.
In a thrilling day on the track at Wakefield Park, Stauffer managed a third place, race win, and second place from his three races, to claim a narrow two-point lead atop of the overall leaderboard from nearest rival Glenn Allerton.
Allerton – riding for Next Gen Motorsports BMW, started strongly winning the opening Superbike race of the day, but could only manage third place in each of the remaining races.
Motul Honda rider Wayne Maxwell finished the day strongly with a win in the third race, however sixth placing in the opening race and second in the second race could only see him manage third overall.
Sean Condon (second, fourth and sixth from his three races) and Troy Herfoss (fifth, fifth and fourth from his three races) rounded off the top-five.
The incredible action again highlighted that this will be the premier class of Road Racing in Australia in 2014.
In the Supersport class, consistency was the key to ensuring that Yamaha rider Callum Spriggs finished the day at the top of the outright standings, after a third place, win and second place in his three races.
Aaron Morris did enough on board his Yamaha to take second overall – the talented rider wining the first and third races but a crash relegated him to ninth in the second race.
Yamaha Rider Aiden Wagner rounded out the Supersport podium after a consistent day which saw the pilot register a second placing and two third-placings from his three races.
Daniel Falzon (fifth, second and fourth from his three races) and Matt Davies (fourth, sixth and fifth from his three races) rounded off the top-five.
Brandon Demmery took out the Kawasaki Insurances FX 300 Ninja Cup ahead of Kyle Buckley and Bailee Perriton – the same three riders finished in the same order in the Ninja Under 21 class.
In the Kawasaki Ninja FX 250 category, Grant Jordan finished in front of Stuart Green and Craig White in the overall standings.
Glenn Scott won two of the three races in the Forumla Oz class to take the outright honours while Sophie Lovett produces the same feat to take the overall points in the Forumla Oz B-Grade class.
Jason Eacott and Michael Witchard both completed clean-sweeps on the day to take the overall win in the Formula Oz C-Grade and D-Grade classes respectively.
Angus Reekie won all three races to claim top spot in the Nakedbikes – F1 class, while Craig McMartin swept the Pro-Twins F1 class.
Superbikes:
- Jamie Stauffer 67 (20, 25, 22)
- Glenn Allerton 65 (25, 20, 20)
- Wayne Maxwell 62 (15, 22, 25)
- Sean Condon 55 (22, 18, 15)
- Troy Herfoss 50 (16, 16, 18)
- Glenn Scott 48 (18, 14, 16)
- Rick Olson 42 (14, 15, 13)
- Dustin Goldsmith 40 (13, 13, 14)
- Cru Halliday 34 (12, 10, 12)
- Chris Seaton 33 (11, 12, 10)
Supersport:
- Callum Spriggs 67 (20, 25, 22)
- Aaron Morris 62 (25, 12, 25)
- Aiden Wagner 62 (22, 20, 20)
- Daniel Falzon 56 (16, 22, 18)
- Matt Davies 49 (18, 15, 16)
- Patrick Medcalf 46 (15, 16, 15)
- Aaron Gobert 41 (14, 14, 13)
- Dylan Mavin 40 (13, 13, 14)
- Aaiden Coote 34 (12, 11, 11)
- Justin Di Giandomenico 31 (11, 10, 10)
Honda Report
Jamie Stauffer now leads the Australasian Superbike Championship after Round 1 at Wakefield Park! It was a fantastic day of racing at the New South Wales circuit as Team Honda Racing made their mark on the ASC with Motul Honda rider #47 Wayne Maxwell now 3rd in the championship and #17 Troy Herfoss placed 5th.
The starting grid for the 3 Superbike races today saw Herfoss on Pole after recording the fastest lap of the day yesterday, a lap record 58.793 sec. Stauffer started today’s races from P3 and Maxwell from P5.
Superbike Race 1 was a very close race and although Stauffer got a strong start and lead the field into lap 1, the battle that ensued was a sign of things to come with much dicing throughout the 11 laps. Stauffer finished Race 1 in 3rd place, Herfoss 5th and Maxwell in 6th onboard his Motul Honda.
The first race gave the Team Honda Racing riders the incentive needed to push hard for the win and with some terrific battles once again out on track in Superbike Race 2, it was Stauffer who managed to break away and take a very convincing win, his fastest lap time of the race a 59.240 sec. Maxwell finished 2nd with a fastest lap time of 59.212 sec and Herfoss 5th, his fastest lap of the race a 59.558 sec.
The final battle in Race 3 this afternoon was very fierce and Team Honda Racing had no plans to give up the win with all 3 Honda CBR1000RR SPs battling it out with Allerton on the BMW one final time. It was the Motul Honda of #47 Wayne Maxwell that crossed the line 1st, his fastest lap a 59.025 sec with team mate #27 Jamie Stauffer just .146 sec behind in 2nd place. Stauffer’s campaign saw him not only record the fastest lap of the race, but also break team mate, Troy Herfoss’ lap record for Superbikes at Wakefield Park with a lap time of 58.693 sec. Herfoss raced extremely well in Race 3, often battling for the lead until ultimately finishing 5th.
Team Honda Racing went from strength to strength this weekend as they familiarized themselves with the Wakefield Park circuit and the format of the ASC programme. Team Principal and Team Honda Racing Owner, Paul Free could not be more pleased with his team. “Prior to testing here recently, we had not raced at Wakefield Park for many years. Going into the weekend we were cautiously optimistic of a strong weekend, but to come away with the lap record for Superbikes and the overall win just shows the strength of our team and the package we have in the Honda CBR1000RR SP. I am extremely proud of the team for their effort this weekend and would like to thank Troy for the fantastic job he has done to step in for Josh whilst he recovers. Congratulations to Jamie on taking the overall win and Wayne for his Race 3 win onboard the Motul Honda CBR1000RR SP. We still have much work to do before Round 2 at Mallala and look forward to getting back out on track to defend the championship lead.”
The man now leading the championship after Round 1 who previously described Wakefield Park as one he struggles most at, Jamie Stauffer is really happy with the weekend’s results. “We had a really strong weekend to start the season and I am obviously really happy to take the overall win and the championship lead. The Honda CBR1000RR SP is a great package and I felt strong through the weekend to push hard. I would like to thank the team for all their effort and I am looking forward to Round 2. It is just the beginning of the season so we will see what unfolds, but we are certainly off to a good start.”
Wayne Maxwell, riding under the Motul Honda banner for Team Honda Racing, is now 3rd in the championship after a fantastic weekend of racing. “I am starting to find my feet on the new CBR1000RR SP and it is great to get my first win under my belt. I believe we have a great platform to build on heading into Mallala. Thank you to the team for a great weekend.”
Filling in for Josh Hook at Round 1, #17 Troy Herfoss enjoyed his weekend with Team Honda Racing. “I want to say a huge thank you to Team Honda Racing and all involved. It was a pleasure working with the team. On a personal note, I am happy to take pole position and race with the front runners after having such a long break from racing. I feel better each time on the track and I am looking forward to racing a little better at Mallala.”
The next event for Team Honda Racing will be held 16th – 18th May at Mallala circuit in South Australia.
Kawasaki Report
Kawasaki supported rider Sean Condon secured a 2nd place race finish on board his Ninja ZX-10R at the 1st round of the 2014 Australasian Superbike Championship on his way to finishing the round in 4th overall. Defending champion Matt Walters endured a frustrating round with two DNF’s marring the beginning to his championship campaign.
Hot on the heels of 3 Pro Stock race victories at the World Superbike race meet at Phillip Island last month, Sean Condon carried his good form to Wakefield Park, stringing together 3 solid race results. Condon led the pack for 3 laps during race 1 before eventually finishing in 2nd place. His 2-4-6 results left him in 4th place for the round and the series.
Sean Condon say’s, “I’m over the moon with my results. This has been a great confidence booster. I know now that I have the pace, I just need to learn more race craft and that will come with experience. The 4 or 5 guys in front of me are all ex champions with years of experience. I’m looking forward to learning more and gaining that experience and hopefully keep improving my results.”
Kawasaki’s Matt Walters had a round he’s ready to put quickly behind him. A big crash in the first race left his #1 adorned Ninja ZX-10R worse for wear. Then a technical issue with his spare bike forced him to retire during race 2. Walters was only able to secure precious championship points in the final race where he finished 19th however his weekend ended on a high note when he was presented with the RK Chains Samurai Award for rider of the year in a ceremony last night.
Matt Walters say’s, “This is obviously not the start to the season that I envisaged or hoped for. This is not our favourite track because the big horsepower of the Ninja ZX-10R doesn’t really suit the track characteristics but I was hoping to keep the bike on two wheels and come away with more points than I have. Plus a lack of off season testing really showed. But I’m sure all the other guys will have a bad round somewhere along the way, I just need to put this behind me and come out strong at Mallala.”
Kawasaki rider Dustin Goldsmith got his 2014 season off to a great start finishing in 8th overall in the Superbike class with 8-8-7 results. Kawasaki supported rider Aaron Gobert managed a solid points haul in the Supersport class going 7-7-8 on his Tap Out Wet 4 U Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to finish in 7th overall.
Sophie Lovett took 7th overall on her Ninja ZX-10R in the Formula Oz class (1st in B grade) with 10-8-9 results. Her father Phil Lovett was able to put his Ninja ZX-10R on the podium in the class with 3-1-3 results giving him 3rd overall. Sophie also raced well in the Kawasaki insurances FX300 Ninja Cup where she finished in 5th.
Kawasaki supported riders Sean Condon, Matt Walters, Aaron Gobert and Sophie Lovett will look to increase their championship points count at the second round of the 2014 Australasian Superbike Championship at Mallala Raceway in SA on 16-18 May.
Glenn Scott Report
Team InsureMyRide Racing’s Glenn Scott has secured a strong array of results in the opening round of the 2014 Australasian Superbike Championship at Wakefield Park with the Honda pilot taking victory across multiple races in both the Superbike and Formula Oz categories, giving him a great boost to kick start to the new season.
After limited testing and setup time prior to the Wakefield Park event, Glenn went in hoping to back up from his impressive debut season result in Superbikes in 2013. Contesting two classes proved to be a test for Team InsureMyRide Racing, though their sheer determination to succeed provided Glenn with his best possible chance of securing a podium.
“The weekend was an incredible start to my 2014 season, with very fun competitive racing. I have never been up against such a fierce field of riders. With the new SP Honda only turning up one week before the race, we were extremely pushed for time to bring everything together but with an amazing effort from my team we did it and the hard work put in certainly paid off.”
“It was a great feeling to pull the results we did this weekend, I have been working hard on my physical fitness with Fitmoto which was a massive help to back up so many races in one weekend and be competitive in every one of them,” Scott said.
With new machinery giving Glenn an advantage in the opening round, the Central Coast rider was faced with added challenges to become adapted to his new equipment and to fine tune the setup according to the conditions. Scott secured outright victory in both Superbike and Formula Oz in Saturday’s events, with another outright win on Sunday in Formula Oz and sixth outright in Superbike. From the 12 races contested, Glenn took an impressive seven wins around the technical country NSW circuit.
“The new Honda SP was such a pleasure to ride all weekend, my crew got it working great. We learnt a lot and for sure there are many areas we can improve on both the bike and my riding but for our first outing and first round for 2014 I am very happy to take home three class wins and a sixth.”
“Starting from the second row on Sunday in the Superbike class was difficult. Wakefield Park is a tight, technical circuit and with the Superbike class being so competitive, passing places are near impossible, so that is something I definitely need to work on in the future is setting a quick time in racing on Saturday to ensure we are as far up the grid as possible for Sunday,” Scott added.
Glenn’s first round performances were by his own admission not possible without the support of his sponsors and fans and he credits his added determination to the strong supporter base behind him, both on-track and off it.
“I want to send a big thank you to everyone that sent messages of support over the weekend and I can’t thank my amazing sponsors enough for helping me become a serious contender for the 2014 Championship; InsureMyRide, Veolia, MSCmoto, Ipone, Shark Helmets, GoodRidge, Direct Management Group, Fitmoto, Unifilter, DID chains, bring on round two,” Scott concluded.
Kawasaki Insurance FX300 Ninja Cup Report
The Kawasaki Insurances FX300 Ninja Cup got off to a flying start at the opening round of the 2014 Australasian Superbike Championship at Wakefield Park Raceway over the weekend. The class lived up to high expectations with a grid of 20 Ninja’s providing close and competitive racing. New South Welshman Brandon Demmery proved strongest on the day taking all 3 race wins while industry luminary Jeff Ware improved his result each race to finish in 8th on board the wild card Kawasaki Motors Finance Ninja 300.
Brandon Demmery holds a 9 point lead in the series after the first round thanks to 1-1-1 results. Demmery set the lap record for the new class in the first race with a time of 1:08:950 which wasn’t beaten all day. Although in race 3 he crossed the line in 2nd place, he was awarded the win after a penalty was imposed on Kyle Buckley.
Brandon Demmery say’s, “Sunday I was on pole. To finish the day with 3 wins from 3 starts is a huge boost to my championship aspirations for this year. I have worked hard with Stephen Mion and the Fitmoto team in the off season, my team has worked hard preparing me a great bike and we are looking forward to round 2 in approximately 6 weeks time at Mallala in South Australia”
Kyle Buckley proved consistent on the day taking 2-2-2 results while Bailee Perriton from NZ rounded out the podium with 3-3-3 results.
Kawasaki supported rider Sophie Lovett enjoyed a successful round of racing taking 5th overall (equal 4th on the points table) with 4-5-5 results and leads the Women’s class..
Kawasaki Motors Finance hosted Rapid Bikes and Knee Down magazines editor Jeff Ware on board their wild card Ninja 300 for the round. Ware enjoyed being part of the Kawasaki Motors Finance team for the weekend.
Itching to get his race day off to the best start possible, Ware jumped the start in race 1 imposing a 15 second penalty and finished in 11th however he improved his results each race to take 11-10-8 for 8th overall.
Jeff Ware say’s, “A feeder production class that is affordable and produces close racing, teaches up and coming riders race craft and can also be enjoyed by experienced riders wanting a laugh – that’s the Kawasaki Insurances FX Ninja 300 Cup.
“I raced 250 Production in the booming early 1990s when we had 40-plus on the grid. This class is the closest thing to that yet and the 1990s produced plenty of talented riders. The Ninja 300 will grow rapidly. The Kawasaki Motors Finance Ninja 300 ran perfectly all weekend and talk about shoestring racing, we only needed one set of Sava tyres for the entire three days and one set of SBS brake pads!”
“Personally, I had a ball. I’m used to much faster more powerful bikes and my last race was on a Superbike, also at Wakefield Park, but I think I had more fun on the 300! Thanks to Kawasaki Motors Australia and Kawasaki Motor Finance for a top weekend of fun on two wheels and at the end of the day, we all ride bikes for that one reason – to have fun!”
Grant Jordan from NSW leads the FX250 class after the first round with 1-2-1 results onboard his Ninja 250R. The Kawasaki Insurances FX300 Ninja Cup will resume at Mallala, SA for the 2nd round of the 2014 Australasian Superbike Championship.
