Yamaha win 2007 Australian Superbike and Supersport Championships

by Dave · August 20, 2007

While the weather played havoc with proceedings at today’s final round of the Australian Superbike Championship, it did little to stop Yamaha’s bid for dual-class titles which it officially wrapped up today. Jamie Stauffer had already taken his second Superbike title ahead of the round, and all eyes were on the showdown between himself and his teammate in the race for Supersport honours.

Jason O’Halloran re-took the points advantage after a chaotic opening race which Stauffer uncharacteristically crashed out of, and maintained the buffer in this afternoon’s shortened final stoush to take the title of 2007 Australian Supersport Champion. The dual titles are a fantastic reward for another dominant year aboard the R1 and R6 machines for both the riders and their teams.

Yamaha Racing Team Superbike

The final round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Eastern Creek was a significant one for the Yamaha Racing Team, as it officially claimed back-to-back titles thanks to the efforts of Jamie Stauffer. Incredibly, competitors contested just 8 racing laps today as the torrential rain forced the shortening of Race 1 and a complete cancellation of Race 2.

Jamie elected to sit out the race, with Dan given the task of delivering the team a strong result for the weekend. He was also chasing second in the championship, a feat he came painfully close to achieving upon recording an encouraging second place. The points haul brought him to equal second with Craig Coxhell, but a countback on season race wins shuffles him back to third.

"The conditions out there were some of the toughest we’ve race in for many years, it was hard to keep the bike upright and I’m pretty pleased with taking a second place," said Stauffer. "I qualified well too, so its a shame we didn’t get to take to the track again to try and find that extra point needed for second in the championship. It’s been a fantastic year with the team, well done to Jamie for wrapping up another title!"

Jamie elected to concentrate his focus on the Supersport race, and said it was a luxury to be able to sit on the sideline knowing that his second Superbike title was already on the mantle. "The R1 was perfect all year and the team presented me with the best race bike out there round after round," said Stauffer. "I was looking forward to racing and chasing down a lap record this weekend but obviously the conditions wouldn’t have allowed that. It certainly took the pressure off me today and I am rapt with reclaiming the championship title."

Yamaha Racing Team Supersport. Yamaha Racing Team’s Jason O’Halloran fought the elements at Eastern Creek today, putting in a level-headed performance to claim his first Australian Supersport crown. Battling teammate Jamie Stauffer for honours, he knew he needed to grab maximum points to overtake him in the lead, and he capitalised when Stauffer fell in the opening race. The lead he had enjoyed for much of the season was back in sight, and O’Halloran only needed a clean and consistent run in the shortened second race to take victory.

Fourth place was enough for the 19-year-old to wrap up proceedings for the year, a well-deserved victory. "That was definitely the toughest race of the year this afternoon, I went in with the points advantage and just needed to finish well to take the championship," said O’Halloran. "A big thankyou must go to the team, everyone has put in a massive effort this year. We built off last year, the same team and setups, the Yamaha and Dunlop combination worked well once again as the results of all our team showed."

Jeremy Crowe put in another stellar effort at Eastern Creek, and rode extremely well in the opener to take his first race victory. His setup suited the conditions, and the win was the result of a fast and smart performance. He backed up for a 5th placing in race 2, to take second overall for the round. Crowe rounds out the year with 4th in the championship, having closed the gap to Josh Waters in third slightly.

"The race win has been a long time coming, hopefully there’s many more to come!," said Crowe. "We felt as though we had a really good balance in the front and rear of the bike this weekend, the Dunlop tyre package was great in the wet. I feel like in the dry we would have done the same thing though, everything has been working very well in the leadup. Thanks to the team and everyone who has supported me throughout the year, it’s been a very successful season."

Round Results Superbike

1. Shannon JOHNSON, 25
2. Daniel STAUFFER, 20
3. Trent GIBSON, 18
4. Shawn GILES, 17
5. Craig COXHELL, 16
6. Scott CHARLTON, 15
7. Cole ODENDAAL, 14
8. Christopher SEATON, 13
9. Ashley ROE, 12
10. Sean McKAY, 11

Supersport
1. Wayne MAXWELL, 45
2. Jeremy CROWE, 41
3. Joshua WATERS, 35
4. Jason O’HALLORAN, 35
5. Nick HENDERSON, 28
6. Ian ANDREWS, 25
7. Jamie STAUFFER, 21
8. Sam SMITH, 20
9. Brett SIMMONDS, 20
10. Tom HATTON, 16

2007 Australian Superbike Championship Final Standings.
Superbike
1. Jamie STAUFFER, 325
2. Craig COXHELL, 276
3. Daniel STAUFFER, 276
4. Glenn ALLERTON, 233
5. Shawn GILES, 210
6. Russell HOLLAND, 198
7. Wayne MAXWELL, 187
8. Scott CHARLTON, 180
9. Shannon JOHNSON, 179
10. Robert BUGDEN, 158

Supersport
1. Jason O’HALLORAN, 332
2. Jamie STAUFFER, 324
3. Joshua WATERS, 289
4. Jeremy CROWE, 276
5. Russell HOLLAND, 236
6. Wayne MAXWELL, 180
7. Gareth JONES, 171
8. Christopher SEATON, 164
9. Nick HENDERSON, 153
10. Bryan STARING, 137