YOSHIMURA SUZUKI DOUBLE WIN
Team Yoshimura Suzuki rider Craig Coxhell claimed two thrilling
race wins on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 in front of a record Australian
Superbike Championship crowd of 12,500 spectators at Queensland
Raceway's innovative double-header round at the weekend, moving
to second on the championship points table with one round
left to run.
In an impressive outing for all three Team Yoshimura Suzuki
riders at the Ipswich circuit, Coxhell, Shawn Giles and Josh
Waters continued their recent run of strong form in the 2007
Australian Superbike and Supersport Championships with two
race wins, a lap record and six further podium results in
both classes.
The double-header concept at the 3.12km circuit saw Round
Six's two 16-lap races for each class conducted on Saturday
with round seven's two races held on Sunday.
After both qualifying on the Superbike front row, Coxhell
and Giles (pictured) were quick to show they had every intention
of adding another Australian Superbike title to their respective
CVs in Saturday's opening race, Coxhell taking a thrilling
0.061sec win over reigning champion Jamie Stauffer with Giles
third in the typically-tough and aggressive Superbike racing
that has characterised this year's series.
Both Coxhell and Giles recorded times below the previous
Superbike lap record although it was eventually Stauffer who
claimed the new mark as he chased Coxhell for the race win.
Coxhell's win in race one was backed up by a third placing
in Saturday's race two for second overall for round six; the
24-year-old's Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 repeatedly topping
the speed trap times with 270kmh at the end of the back straight.
Just 24 hours later, a win and a fourth placing in Sunday's
two races gave the 2003 Australian Superbike Champion second
overall for round seven and catapulted the Shepparton rider
to second on the championship points table.
Giles, a three-times Australian Superbike Champion in 2000,
2001 and 2002, backed up his third in Saturday's race one
with sixth in race two, then added sixth and eighth placings
on Sunday as he battled with the bumpy nature of the Queensland
circuit, in the process consolidating fifth place on the series'
points table.
Joshua Waters continued his impressive results aboard the
Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 with second-place finishes
in each of Saturday's two 16-lap Supersport races backed up
by second and third placings in Sunday's two 16-lappers.
Waters set a new Supersport lap record of 1:11.689sec in
Sunday's opening race, only to see it bettered just over three
hours later in race two by just 0.047sec by Jason O'Halloran.
The points haul from four podium finishes from four starts
strengthened Waters' hold on third place on the Australian
Supersport Championship points table and gave the 20-year-old
a shot at claiming the title in his first season aboard the
Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 as the series heads to the
final round at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway on 17-19 August.
Robbie Bugden, third in the 2006 Australian Superbike Championship
and the 2007 New Zealand Superbike Champion, had a frustrating
meeting by his high standards on a satellite Team Yoshimura
Suzuki GSX-R1000 at his home round. The Queenslander's best
results came in Saturday's two races with seventh and fifth
placings, a poor qualifying result leaving the 26-year-old
with the challenge of a spirited charge through the field
in each 16-lap race from his third-row grid position.
The eighth and final round of the 2007 Australian Superbike
and Supersport Championship takes place at Sydney's Eastern
Creek Raceway on August 17-19th.
Phil Tainton - Team Manager:
"It's been a good weekend for the Yoshimura Suzuki team
with Craig's two race wins and Josh breaking up the blue team
at the front of the Supersport field.
"This year's Superbike and Supersport championships
are the most competitive for many years, which makes Craig's
wins all the more satisfying.
"I'm extremely happy with how all the riders performed
over the four days of the double-header event in conditions
that were demanding on everyone. We had eight races to prepare
for and varying temperatures over the two race days that placed
a premium on bike set-up and tyre selection.
"Josh's races in Supersport were exceptional as the
GSX-R600 is a brand new bike for us this season, and we don't
have the same amount of development time behind us as the
other teams. Josh showed he could run at lap record pace on
a bike that is still being developed.
"Shawn and Robbie had up and down meetings by their
standards. We're still working on getting a set-up on the
2007 bike that Shawn feels comfortable enough with to challenge
for race wins, with third in race one proof that we're heading
in the right direction. Robbie had a hard task after qualifying
back on third row, but his race pace on the 2006 bike was
good once he got clear track.
"Congratulations to Jamie Stauffer on his two overall
round wins on the weekend and clinching the 2007 Superbike
championship."
Craig Coxhell:
"To win two races and to finish the weekend second overall
in both rounds is a great result for the team - as well as
moving into second in the championship.
"Thanks to the work by Phil and the guys my bike's got
a lot of horsepower, but trying to hold on to it around this
circuit with all the bumps isn't that easy. While I'm happy
with the two wins, I'm disappointed that I let the other two
races get away from me with bad starts.
"The Australian championship is extremely competitive
and I knew it was going to be tough coming home after three
seasons in Europe. You can't give these guys a start in the
early laps and then expect to haul them in."
Shawn Giles:
"The bike had good speed all weekend, and I can't say
enough about the team. I got good starts and was well-placed
in the early laps but I had trouble maintaining a race-winning
pace.
"The layout of this circuit requires a bike that drives
well off the turns and I struggled to find a set-up that gave
me the confidence to push hard into the corners and then get
hard on the throttle on the way out. It's hard work fighting
the bumps here on a Superbike.
"The level of competition this season is as high as
I can remember in the Australian Superbike Championship."
Joshua Waters:
"I'm pretty happy with four podium finishes in the four
races this weekend, but I really want to win - not come second
or third. I was down in the dumps after qualifying on second
row as it's so hard in the Supersport class if you have to
come from behind. You're really up against it.
"We've got good race pace with the Suzuki GSX-R600 now,
but there's still more to come - it's only our sixth race
meeting on the bike and it's getting better with every outing.
I was stoked with getting the lap record in Sunday's first
race, as the Supersport class is so competitive. I couldn't
believe it when I was told it was a 1:11.689.
"Once I got clear track in Sunday's final race I tried
to chase down Jamie Stauffer and Jason O'Halloran but I could
see from my pit board that I wasn't gaining fast enough so
it was better to go for points."
Robbie Budgen:
"It's good to finish all four races and get some points
on the board, but I made it hard for myself with a bad qualifying
session and a third-row start. The racing is unbelievably
close this year. It's so competitive out there it's important
to have the bike set-up spot-on.
"I went from 13th to sixth in the final race on Sunday,
so my race pace was good. There's no doubt my bike had good
speed, but I certainly made it hard for myself this weekend.
Sixth overall for each round - Saturday and Sunday - wasn't
a bad result considering."
2007 AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP:
Superbike Overall Results - Round 6 (Saturday, 30
June):
1 Jamie Stauffer, 2 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3 Daniel
Stauffer, 4 Russell Holland, 5 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000),
6 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 7 Glenn Allerton, 8 Wayne
Maxwell, 9 Scott Charlton, 10 Brendan Clarke.
Superbike Overall Results - Round 7 (Sunday, 1 July):
1 Jamie Stauffer, 2 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3 Daniel
Stauffer, 4 Russell Holland, 5 Glenn Allerton, 6 Robbie Bugden
(Suzuki GSX-R1000), 7 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 8 Gareth
Jones, 9 Wayne Maxwell, 10 Scott Charlton.
Superbike Championship Points (after 7 of 8 rounds):
1 Jamie Stauffer 325, 2 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 260,
3 Daniel Stauffer 255, 4 Glenn Allerton 234, 5 Shawn Giles
(Suzuki GSX-R1000) 193, 6 Russell Holland 187, 7 Wayne Maxwell
187, 8 Scott Charlton 165, 9 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000)
158, 10 Shannon Johnson 154.
Supersport Overall Results - Round 6 (Saturday, June
30):
1 Russell Holland, 2 Jamie Stauffer, 3 Joshua Waters (Suzuki
GSX-R600), 4 Jason O'Halloran, 5 Jeremy Crowe, 6 Chris Seaton,
7 Judd Greedy, 8 Gareth Jones, 9 Nick Henderson, 10 Wayne
Maxwell.
Supersport Overall Results - Round 7 (Sunday, 1 July):
1 Jamie Stauffer, 2 Jason O'Halloran, 3 Joshua Waters (Suzuki
GSX-R600), 4 Jeremy Crowe, 5 Gareth Jones, 6 Chris Seaton,
7 Judd Greedy, 8 Bryan Staring, 9 Nick Henderson, 10 Zac Davies.
Supersport Championship Points (after 7 of 8 rounds):
1 Jamie Stauffer 303, 2 Jason O'Halloran 297, 3 Joshua Waters
(Suzuki GSX-R600) 254, 4 Jeremy Crowe 235, 5 Russell Holland
228, 6 Gareth Jones 165, 7 Chris Seaton 153, 8 Wayne Maxwell
135, 9 Bryan Staring 132, 10 Judd Greedy 126.
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