GILES WINS AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Shawn Giles kicked off his 2008
season with the overall win at the 2008 Superbike World Championship
round at Phillip Island at the weekend.
Giles won two of the three races in the Australian Superbike
support category at the world championship meeting, falling
short by just 0.014sec in race two to make it a clean sweep
of three wins from three starts for Giles and the new-look
2008 Suzuki team.
Giles' 71point tally across the three races gave the three-time
Australian Superbike champion a six-point margin over Jamie
Stauffer, with Jason O'Halloran third on 53pts.
Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Craig Coxhell finished fourth
overall on 48pts with Supersport rider Josh Waters making
a guest appearance in the Superbike category and claiming
sixth overall.
The meeting marked the first appearance for 2008 of all five
factory-supported Superbike teams which will contest the upcoming
seven-round Australian Superbike Championship, with the Phillip
Island results sending Suzuki to Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway
in two weeks' time for the opening round full of confidence
- and the team to beat.
The opening six-lap Australian Superbike race on Saturday
morning saw pole-sitter Giles blast off the line and go head-to-head
with reigning Australian Superbike Champion Stauffer over
full race distance, the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider taking
a thrilling 0.134sec victory.
Despite the relatively low 15-degree air temperature and
18.3-degree track temperature for the opening Superbike race,
Russell Holland's 2007 lap record of 1:33.427 was first bettered
by Giles, and then by third-placed Jason O'Halloran, the new
mark eventually resting with O'Halloran at 1:32.921.
Races two and three were held on Saturday afternoon, with
Giles and Stauffer again trading blows. Giles led out of the
second last corner on the final lap of race two, only to have
Stauffer force his way underneath Giles' GSX-R1000 on the
final corner to claim a 0.014sec win.
In the final race of the day Giles and Stauffer again went
handlebar-to-handlebar over the full six-lap journey, with
Stauffer again pulling his bold move on the final turn, only
to see Giles keep the throttle of his Suzuki GSX-R1000 pinned
to the stop and hold on for a thrilling 0.011sec win - and
overall round honours. The combined winning margin from all
three races was a scant 0.159sec.
The fourth and final Australian Superbike race scheduled
for Sunday was abandoned due to time delays in the international
program.
Phil Tainton - Team Manager:
"It's been a great weekend for us and I'm extremely
happy with the results. We were looking for a good start to
the 2008 Superbike season and all three riders delivered.
"With Shawn taking the win, and Craig and Josh inside
the top six, it shows we're on the right track for the year
ahead. Some recent testing at the circuit helped us get the
GSX-R1000s set up to suit the fast Phillip Island circuit
and we were able to try some new suspension components this
weekend. The results have been great, but we've learned a
lot too.
"Shawn rode three excellent races and Craig has found
some settings he's now comfortable with. Josh too did a great
job in a one-off guest ride on a bike that's a lot different
to his usual 600cc Supersport machine. The whole team now
has good momentum heading into the 2008 Superbike season."
Shawn Giles:
"It's a great way to start the year and I really enjoyed
the battles with Jamie. Phillip Island always creates good
racing - it's a shame we don't race here more often. I really
love the circuit.
"All three races were entertaining. I was sort of expecting
that move from Jamie in race two and thought I'd blocked it
- but he tried it anyway, and made it stick. And then he did
it again in race three. It was good, close racing. I'm very
happy with the weekend's results. The Superbike class looks
like being really competitive this year - one of the toughest
yet."
Craig Coxhell:
"Congratulations to Shawn on the win - he rode really
well. I'm disappointed with my results this weekend though,
especially as the last time we raced here at the MotoGP last
October I took the overall win. Early on nothing was working
for me, as I was trying different suspension settings and
couldn't find a set-up I was comfortable with. Then when I
did, and was ready to have a go, I lost my knee-slider in
race three and kept going backwards.
"I was disappointed when the final race was abandoned
as I had a point to prove after race three. Still, fourth
overall isn't too bad given the frustrations - and I now know
I've got a set-up that suits me."
Joshua Waters:
"It's been good fun riding the Superbike at this meeting,
but I really needed more time on it to do it justice. I didn't
do any testing before the meeting, so to finish up in the
top six is a good result.
"The bike I rode is the one Robbie Bugden usually rides
for the team, so I guess I'll have to give it back now. Now
it's time to focus on the upcoming Australian Supersport Championship
and the new Suzuki GSX-R600. I'm really looking forward to
2008 with the team and the new bike."
Superbike Overall Results: 1 Shawn Giles
(Suzuki GSX-R1000), 2 Jamie Stauffer, 3 Jason O'Halloran,
4 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 5 Glenn Allerton, 6 Josh
Waters (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 7 Kevin Curtain, 8 Shannon Johnson,
9 Daniel Stauffer, 10 Scott Charlton.
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