Hondas Holland on the Up
Teknic Honda’s Russell Holland returned to winning form this past weekend at the fourth round of the Australian Superbike Championships at Mallala.
Teknic Honda’s Russell Holland returned to winning form this past weekend at the fourth round of the Australian Superbike Championships at Mallala.
After setting blistering times in Supersport practice and qualifying, the young rider showed no signs of the shoulder injury that had been plaguing him since late last year.
Holland’s performance at the South Australia round resulted in a pole position and second place overall in the 600cc class, and a jump up to 5th overall.
Happy with his results, the typically competitive Holland said although he is pleased, he would have been happier with a round win.
"I was very comfortable with everything from the start of the weekend in Supersport. We had plenty of quick laps during practice and were well prepared after trying out some different tyres."
"Pirelli were great and brought us some different compounds to try. It all came together extremely well and I was able to get my first pole position for the year."
"The first race went to plan and I led from early on. In the second race, I had a half second gap at the lead from Jamie (Stauffer) and then it was red flagged. I just got a poor re-start which meant I finished third," he explained.
Whilst team mate Bryan Staring watched from the sidelines with an injured wrist, Holland and the Team also made progress in the Superbike class.
The 23-year-old runner up from last year, scored a 5th place round finish after bettering his results from 7th in the first race, to 6th second time out.
"In Superbike, we are definitely moving forward. I had a small off in qualifying so I didn’t get a chance to get out and put in a hot lap which put me back on the grid."
"We improved a bit between race one and two. I had to work up through the field pretty hard though to get that sixth place finish after a bad start."
"Overall, my fitness is the best it’s been since I had my shoulder operated on five months ago."
Although frustrated that he couldn’t be out on the track, Staring was also excited about the long awaited positive results for the Team.
"Of course it is disappointing that I couldn’t be out there today but I’m really happy to see Russell get his first race win," said Staring who, after missing the round, now sits 12th in Superbike and 6th in Supersport.
"The bikes are working really well and I can’t wait to get racing again. I’m having another operation on my wrist this coming week so hopefully the recovery will be quick."
Team Manager Paul Free said the Teknic Honda team have taken a massive step forward.
"Russell is mentally and physically capable of winning, and was extremely strong in Supersport all weekend."
"It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t get a hot lap in during Superbike qualifying. I think his results would have been better if that were the case, but we have identified some areas of improvement that will help us deliver a strong package in Tasmania."
