STRONG START FOR JOE ROCKET SUZUKI
 Team
Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Shawn Giles showed he's lost none
of the skill and bravado that has earned him three Australian
Superbike Championships when he finished second overall at
the opening round of the 2008 Australian Superbike Championship
at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway at the weekend.
Giles engaged in two thrilling high-speed duels in the two
13-lap races with defending champion Jamie Stauffer, missing
victory in race one by just 0.252sec and 0.927sec in race
two.
In race one the duo swapped positions throughout, Stauffer
later commenting that he'd never seen the Suzuki rider in
better form than he was at Eastern Creek.
Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Robbie Bugden finished fourth
in race one, with Craig Coxhell sixth and TJRS-supported privateer
Trent Gibson 13th.
Stauffer and Giles continued their battle in the second 13-lap
heat, Giles' Suzuki GSX-R1000 hitting 290kmh down the front
straight.
Such was the pace at the head of the field that in the second
13-lap race the top six riders all lapped faster than the
Superbike lap record for the 3.93km Sydney circuit. The new
mark eventually went to Stauffer at 1:31.057 with Giles' best
lap just 0.048sec slower.
Bugden was again fourth in race two, with Coxhell adopting
a safety-first approach after experiencing gear-selection
difficulties on his TJRS GSX-R1000 and finishing eighth. Gibson
was 13th and again in the points.
Stauffer's two race wins and bonus championship point for
pole position gives him a 51pt tally and an 11-point lead
in the seven-round series over Giles, with Coxhell sixth on
28pts.
In the opening round of the 2008 Australian Supersport Championship,
Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Joshua Waters secured two fourth
places on his brand new 2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 to lie fourth
on the points chart.
Waters' bike had not turned a wheel until Friday's opening
practice session, the team opting to debut the new bike earlier
than initially planned and use the Eastern Creek meeting to
help fast-track development.
The decision proved to be the correct one with Waters leading
the second Supersport race and improving his race time by
over five seconds compared to race one.
Phil Tainton - Team Manager:
"It's been a good weekend for us and I'm extremely happy
with the results. Shawn rode with hunger and determination
that was rewarded with a very close runner-up position to
Jamie Stauffer on a track that hasn't been kind to us in the
past. Craig showed a lot of maturity in race two to ride safely
for a points finish when he had some gear-selection issues,
and Robbie's results of two fourths were excellent given the
little amount of time he's had on the new bike.
"To have all three riders placed in the top six of the
Superbike championship at a track that's been our worst results-wise
in recent years is a great start to the 2008 season.
"Josh's rides were impressive on the new GSX-R600, and
especially his second race. It's been a big learning curve
this weekend with the new bike, and we've learned a lot about
the bike. It hadn't turned a wheel until Friday, so for Josh
to lead the second race shows just how good the standard bike
is with very little development time."
Shawn Giles:
"I'm really happy with results - although I wanted to
win, not come second. But this is a track that Jamie Stauffer
has always been strong at, so to push him so close in both
races is a great start to the season.
"I'm hungry for another title, and I'm injury free and
fitter than I've been for a couple of seasons.
"It was a pretty fast pace out there; I don't think Jamie
and I could have ridden any harder. I never gave up to trying
to get past him in that final race - I was lucky on the last
lap as I lost the front between turns 11 and 12, but was able
to save it.
"My bike had good speed all weekend, it was one of the
fastest through the speed trap - and I can't say enough about
the team. The Superbike class is so competitive this year
- one of the toughest ever."
Craig Coxhell:
"I went into this round wanting to start the season
with a good haul of points, so I'm a little disappointed with
sixth overall. But when I had some gear-selection problems
in race two I knew that the important thing to do was finish.
"I ran wide at the first turn three laps in a row, so
the safest thing to do was let the other riders around me
go and give myself some clear track. Before the problem I'd
lapped faster than the old lap record, and faster than the
three riders ahead of me, so the bike had good pace.
"I wanted to be a couple of places further up, but I
just couldn't push any harder. I knew where Dan Stauffer was
and knew I could get him on the run to the finish. Those points
could be important at season's end."
Robbie Budgen:
"The new bike is great - lots of power. I only got in
an hour's testing before the meeting, so there's more development
to come.
"I'm happy with the results, and two fourths is a good
start to the season, although I'm a little disappointed as
I had the pace to run with the leaders. My starts weren't
as good as they could have been - even though I'd qualified
okay with fifth grid on the second row. It's difficult to
peg back the leaders once they get a jump."
Joshua Waters:
"It was always going to be a challenge to ride the brand
new bike at this meeting, especially as it didn't turn a wheel
until the first practice session on Friday.
"But it was a good opportunity to do some development
in race conditions and I guess I should be happy with two
fourths to start the season - the bike is only going to get
faster.
"Fourth in the first race was okay for the points, but
I was a long way behind the leaders - around 12 seconds. The
team made some changes between races and although I was fourth
again we were a lot closer - and I led the race for a while.
We learned a lot at this meeting.
"The championship points are good but I want to win races
- not ride for points. I'm looking forward to the next round
at Mallala as the new bike has so much potential."
Superbike Overall Results - Round 1: 1 Jamie
Stauffer, 2 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3 Jason O'Halloran,
4 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1100), 5 Glenn Allerton, 6 Craig
Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 7 Daniel Stauffer, 8 Kevin Curtain,
9 Shannon Johnson, 10 Scott Charlton.
Superbike Championship Points (after 1 of 7 rounds):
1 Jamie Stauffer 51pts, 2 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 40,
3 Jason O'Halloran 36, 4 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1100)
34, 5 Glenn Allerton 29, 6 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000)
28, 7 Daniel Stauffer 28, 8 Kevin Curtain 27, 9 Shannon Johnson
27, 10 Scott Charlton 23.
Supersport Overall Results - Round 1: 1 Jamie
Stauffer, 2 Jeremy Crowe, 3 Bryan Staring, 4 Joshua Waters
(Suzuki GSX-R600), 5 Judd Greedy, 6 Wayne Maxwell, 7 Scott
Charlton, 8 Shaun Geronimi, 9 Chris Quinn, 10 Grant Hay.
Supersport Championship Points (after 1 of 7 rounds):
1 Jamie Stauffer 51pts, 2 Jeremy Crowe 38, 3 Bryan Staring
38, 4 Joshua Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 34, 5 Judd Greedy 32,
6 Wayne Maxwell 29, 7 Scott Charlton 27, 8 Shaun Geronimi
23, 9 Chris Quinn 22, 10 Grant Hay 21.
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