Yamaha look to Winton
Seeking to recapture their regular winning ways the factory Yamaha Racing Team outfit will be on consistent performances at this weekend’s round of the 2008 Australian Superbike Championship at Winton.
The focus of the factory Yamaha Racing Team outfit will be on consistent, pointscoring performances at this weekend’s third round of the 2008 Australian Superbike Championship at Winton Motor Raceway. Seeking to recapture their regular winning ways, the team’s last hitout at Mallala in April produced a bag of mixed results, with the Superbike team struggling in comparison to their regular form.
The R1 pilot pairing of brothers Jamie and Dan Stauffer recorded fantastic results at Winton in 2007, and are confident that a recent test session has them ready to race. The Supersport team looks set to maintain its charge, with dominant performances at both Eastern Creek and Mallala. The R6 is once again proving a superior race package in 2008, taking all available race wins to date.
The Winton circuit, located approximately 2.5 hours from Melbourne, is characterised by a series of complex corners at the start and mid-point of the lap, with slow, low-gear corners opening up to some fast straight sections. Though the forecast is fine, low track and ambient temperatures are predicted for the weekend, which will result in changing surface conditions as the day goes on. Yamaha Racing Team Superbike. All signs are pointing to a strong fightback from current Australian Superbike Champion Jamie Stauffer at this weekend’s third round of the series at Winton Motor Raceway.
The current lap record holder at Winton, Jamie was the quickest factory pilot at a recent shakedown at the short, but complex rural Victorian circuit, and is confident of a strong result when the round gets underway. Stauffer qualified on pole in 2007 and went on to win 3 from 4 races at the dual-round event.
"The test session was vital to prepare the Superbike for Winton," said Stauffer. "We have had a good run here in the past and the team knows what the track requires, it is quite technical." "It’s important to convert this form into a good grid spot and some more race wins if we are going to chase down Glenn (Allerton) in the lead." "It was disappointing to crash out in Mallala and see those points slip away, but I think I’ve got what it takes to rebound this weekend."
Jamie’s uncharacteristic spill at Mallala saw him miss the podium and also hurt his championship campaign. He currently sits third on 71 points after two rounds, in what has been the most competitive start to a season in a number of years. Dan Stauffer will look to recapture last year’s Winton form at this weekend’s event. He joined his brother on the front row after a solid qualifying effort and won the first race of the round, following up this performance with two more race podium finishes. The Gold Coast-based rider is sixth on the championship ladder, with his trademark speed and consistency keeping him well within reach of the frontrunners.
Yamaha Racing Team Supersport.
The dominant run of the Yamaha Racing Team’s Supersport riders looks certain to continue at Winton Motor Raceway this weekend, the third round of the series. For the third consecutive season, the R6 has emerged as the clear championship favourite following strong results at both Eastern Creek and Sydney. The manufacturer’s pointscore paints a clear picture of its stranglehold – Yamaha, on 499 points, leads the next rival marque by an astounding 358 points.
Mallala round victor Jeremy Crowe has earned the tag of ‘favourite’ in the 600cc class, and will be hard to stop as riders contest two 17-lap races on Sunday. While a Winton win is his immediate focus, Crowe is also looking forward to the opportunity to race in the World Supersport Championship at the Nurburgring in just a few weeks.
"Winton will be tough, we tested there earlier in the month and the top times were very close, there are quite a few riders that are capable of winning but hopefully the R6 continues the good run up the front," said Crowe. "Jamie (Stauffer) is riding well in the championship lead, he is very hard to beat but we managed to slip by at Mallala so I’ll be after a repeat performance. Following this round I’ll begin preparing to race my first international event at the World Supersport round in Germany. Even though its my first shot at the series, I’m quite confident I’ll be able to adapt to the task pretty quickly.As an added bonus, this is the first time that the World Supers have raced at the Nurburgring, so that effectively levels the playing field a little more."
A disappointed Bryan Staring will miss his second round in a row after injuring his wrist in the opening sessions at Mallala. Staring underwent a complete wrist re-construction last Monday and will be sidelined for a number of weeks as he recovers his strength.
