Motourage

AMA Pro Racing officials announced today that the overall purse for the March 26-28 road racing event at Auto Club Speedway will feature added financial benefits for riders in the AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike class.

The top three finishers in AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike will now receive additional money and prize money that will be paid down to 15th place.

“We are pleased to add to the AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike prize fund,” said David Atlas, Chief Operating Officer of AMA Pro Racing, “the competition this year is extremely close and with the added financial incentives, the racing will be better than ever.”

This year’s National Guard American SuperBike field is lead by Josh Hayes (Team Graves Yamaha), Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Suzuki), Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance Ducati), Ben Bostrom (Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha) and AMA Pro Racing returnee John Hopkins (M4 Monster Energy Suzuki).  Joining Hayes, Bostrom and Hayden as former winners at Auto Club Speedway are Aaron Yates (Jordan Motorsports Suzuki), Jake Zemke (National Guard Suzuki), making this one of the most competitive fields in years.

The purse structures for the AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL and the AMA Pro SuperSport classes will remain as announced with Daytona SportBike prize monies being paid from 1st to 20th places and SuperSport paying 1st through 10th  places.

For tickets and track information, please check www.autoclubspeedway.com .  Also  visit www.amaproracing.com for the latest AMA Pro Racing results and information.

Team Suzuki rider Troy Herfoss kicked off his 2010 season with the overall win in the opening round of the Australian Supersport Championship, run in conjunction with the Superbike World Championship first round at Victoria’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit at the weekend.

Christian Casella, Troy Herfoss and Brodie Waters were the top three in the Supersport class at Phillip Island

In only his second full season of Supersport racing, Herfoss had a near-perfect start to his title assault with a close third in the opening race, backed up with a dominant win in race two. The 23-year-old missed victory in race one by just 0.059sec after a race-long battle with eventual winner Christian Casella and fellow Suzuki GSX-R600 rider Brodie Waters; the trio flashing across the finish line with less than 600ths-of-a-second covering all three bikes. After some minor suspension adjustments between the two 12-lap races, Herfoss powered to a 5.410sec victory in race two over experienced international competitor Kevin Curtain, with Waters third.  Herfoss’s 43-point tally across the two races gives the 2008 US Supermoto Champion a narrow one-point lead over Casella in the six-round series, with Waters third (38pts) and Suzuki GSX-R600 rider Chas Hern fourth (30pts).

In the opening round of the Australian Superbike Championship reigning champion Josh Waters had a mixed commencement to the defense of his title. The 23-year-old Team Suzuki rider, who won the 2009 title in his rookie Superbike year, missed pole position by just 0.001sec to fastest-qualifier Wayne Maxwell. Third in the opening 12-lap race, just 1.293sec behind race-winner Maxwell, and only 0.123sec behind second-placed Bryan Staring, was followed by disappointment in race two when a gear lever malfunction on lap four left Waters’ GSX-R1000 stuck in third gear. He completed the 10-lap journey in third gear to secure 9pts, his tally of 27pts across the two races leaving the defending champion 24pts off the series lead.

Shawn Giles finished sixth overall on 29pts after recording sixth and seventh placings; the three-time Australian Superbike champion admitting that his tactics to combat Phillip Island’s tire-punishing high speeds did not work in his favor.
“I didn’t encounter those sort of grip problems when we tested here earlier in the year, but Phillip Island is one of the world’s most-punishing tracks on tires. The track temperature on Friday was up to 54 degrees, and the conditions were affecting the world teams as well. It was a matter of balancing fast lap times with tire conservation, and setting the bike up to cope,” added Giles.

The Phillip Island Superbike World Championship race meeting also marked the one-year anniversary of Team Suzuki’s custom-built New Breed Mack Trident transporter, the impressive rig drawing plenty of admirers from the visiting international Superbike teams.
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Wayne Maxwell

In a reduced race to ten laps, Wayne Maxwell rode the first part of the race conservatively to save tire wear and then took the lead on Lap 6 to win comfortably in front of Cougar Bourbon Honda’s Bryan Starring and Ducati Motologic’s Jamie Stauffer.

Wayne Maxwell:
“I am absolutely stoked to get maximum points in Round 1. We need to retain the momentum going into the next round and will be doing a lot of testing before then. The Demolition Plus GAS Honda team have worked hard in preparation of a fantastic bike”.

2009 Supersport champion Bryan Starring, riding the Honda CBR RR
“We had a good bike that I felt I could win with but I’ve got some good points on the board in our first round that will take us forward to the next round.”

Third place overall, Jamie Stauffer who had tire troubles in both races felt pretty strong. “I took it pretty easy in the second race to conserve the tires. Hopefully, we can do one better next time.”

Early in the race Josh Waters, 2009 Superbike champion, was dicing in the top four until Lap 4 when he encountered technical problems. Josh was gutted saying, “I’ll be back in Darwin, stronger and more determined. I’ve lost a lot of points in this round, so I’ll be trying harder.”

Shannon Johnson riding the ESG KTM put a fantastic ride with consistent lap times to secure forth place after starting from sixth position.

Former AMA Supersport Attack Kawasaki rider, Aluma-Lite Racing’s Ben Attard, was the leading Superstock 1000 A rider, also setting a new fastest lap record at Phillip Island with a 1:36.493. Ben finished the second race in ninth position but leads the Superstock 1000 class by ten points over Chris Trounson (ESG KTM) and closely followed by Dustin Goldsmith (Central Coast Performance).

In the Superstock 1000 B Grade, Heath Brinsley (Suzuki) took out two race wins for the weekend and has a comfortable twelve point lead over Adam Christie (Honda CBR) and Jackson Leigh-Smith (Aprilia).

The Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship moves to Darwin April 8-11 where all riders are looking forward to a new circuit for the Championship. Most riders haven’t ridden the circuit, so it will be a very even playing field.

Australian Superbike Championship Overall Standings:

1 Wayne MAXWELL (NSW) 51

2 Bryan STARING (VIC) 38

3 Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) 37

4 Shannon JOHNSON (VIC) 33

5 Scott CHARLTON (VIC) 29

6 Shawn GILES (VIC) 29

7 Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) 28

8 Joshua WATERS (VIC) 27

9 Jordan BURGESS (NSW) 24

10 Kris McLAREN (VIC) 24

11 John ALLEN (QLD) 21

12 Craig McMARTIN (NSW) 20

13 Jay NORMOYLE (VIC) 14

14 Martin SUTHERLAND (VIC) 12

15 Adam SENIOR (WA) 10

16 John PHELAN (VIC) 8

17 Grant HAY (NSW) 8

18 Daniel STAUFFER (QLD) 7

19 Richard PARRY (NSW) 4

20 Brad WOOTTON (TAS) 3

21 Johny ARKISIAN (VIC) 3

22 Ray ANSET (WA) 3

Andrew Stroud (Suzuki) leads Craig Shirriffs (Honda) at the front of Sunday's Superbike race.

Hamilton’s Andrew Stroud is possibly less than two races away from reclaiming the New Zealand superbike crown he last held four seasons ago. The Brother Suzuki rider raced to two commanding wins in the class at the weekend’s fourth round of five in this year’s Castrol Power 1 New Zealand Superbike Championships at Feilding’s Manfeild race circuit. Stroud’s double race victory in the Manawatu on Sunday means the 42-year-old has stretched his lead to 43 points over the defending champion, Brisbane Suzuki rider Robbie Bugden, with just 50 points still available, at the fifth and final round at Hampton Downs, near Meremere, in March. Stroud’s massive points advantage came about thanks to two key factors – his own fantastic talent on a motorcycle and the incredible bad luck that struck main rival Bugden when his bike mysteriously ran out of power nine laps into the 14-lapper and he was forced to withdraw.

“Winning was what I had in mind coming here and that’s also what I plan to do at Hampton Downs. I can afford to settle for seconds and thirds now but I wouldn’t be a real racer if I was happy to do that,” said Stroud.

Second best superbike class rider on Sunday was home-town favorite Craig Shirriffs (Honda), while his team-mate, New Plymouth’s Hayden Fitzgerald was third overall. With Shirriffs finishing 3-2 at Manfeild, he has moved to third in the championship standings, with Christchurch Suzuki rider James Smith slipping to fourth and Fitzgerald remaining in fifth spot. It was bad luck all around for Smith as he also lost his grip on the lead of the other class he is contesting, the 600cc sports production class. Hamilton’s Nick Cole (Kawasaki) was one of the beneficiaries after Smith and Wellington’s Glen Skachill were each penalized 20 seconds after allegedly jumping the start of race one. That decision by track officials elevated Cole from fifth to third in race one. Cole backed that up by placing fourth in race two, that battle abbreviated to just three laps following a serious crash. So, finishing 3-4 on the day was enough for Cole to zoom into the championship lead, now 6.5 points clear of Smith.

“This was a better weekend for me that I had expected,” said Cole. “Manfeild is not one of my favorite tracks.”

The day’s outright winner in the class was Inglewood’s Midge Smart (Yamaha), making his first appearance in the championship and stunning with his 1-2 results.

The battle for formula three honors continued between Manawatu friends and rivals Glen Williams (Suzuki) and Jason Easton (Tigcraft Aprilia), with defending champion Williams edging further ahead in the championship chase thanks to his 1-2-1 results.

Easton had to settle for 2-1-2 at Manfeild and was disappointed to learn he is now 16 points behind Williams with just the final round to come.

Dannevirke’s Geoff Booth (Suzuki) was untouchable in the 650 Pro Twins class, winning all three races in the class at Manfeild. He is now 36 points ahead of Christchurch’s James Hoogenboezem (Suzuki).

Meanwhile, Hoogenboezem’s bother, Alastair (Honda), overcame problems racing without a foot peg when it fell off on his warm-up lap before race one in the 125GP class on Saturday, still managing third place and then bouncing back to win both his races the following day. He is now a massive 90 points in front of Auckland teenager Avalon Biddle (Honda).

In the sidecars class, Wanganui men Stephen Bron and Dennis Simonsen (Suzuki) finished 2-1-1 at the weekend, further boosting their lead in the championship.

Leading standings after round four of the Castrol Power 1 New Zealand Superbike Championships at Manfeild on Sunday:

Superbikes:
Andrew Stroud (Hamilton, Suzuki) 178 points;
Robbie Bugden (Australia, Suzuki) 135;
Craig Shirriffs (Feilding, Honda) 113.

600cc Sports Production:
Nick Cole (Hamilton, Kawasaki) 146.5 points;
James Smith (Christchurch, Suzuki) 140;
John Ross (Christchurch, Yamaha) 106.

125GP:
Alastair Hoogenboezem (Christchurch, Honda) 266 points;
Avalon Biddle (Auckland, Honda) 176;
Jaden Hassan (Auckland, Yamaha) 172.

Formula Three:
Glen Williams (Palmerston North, Suzuki) 264 points;
Jason Easton (Palmerston North, Aprilia) 248;
Terry Fitzgerald (New Plymouth, Suzuki) 185.

650 Pro Twins:
Geoff Booth (Dannevirke, Suzuki) 260 points;
James Hoogenboezem (Christchurch, Suzuki) 224;
Jason Cameron (Kaiapoi, Suzuki) 188.

Sidecars:
Stephen Bron and Dennis Simonsen (Wanganui, Masterton) 220 points;
Dave Annan and Warwicks Demmocks (West Melton, Rangiora) 164;
Peter Goodwin and Pion Weedon (Bay of Islands, Papakura) 136

Leon Haslam holds off Xerox Ducati's Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga for the win in race 1.

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam recorded his first ever World Superbike win in the first race of this year’s Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island today.

He led the race from start to finish and took the flag, just .004 ahead of Michel Fabrizio’s Factory Ducati.

He and his Suzuki Alstare team mate Sylvain Guintoli then disputed the lead for most of the second race, but Haslam’s dreams of a double were dashed right at the death by Spaniard Carlos Checa (Ducati). Nevertheless, his tremendous win in race one and runner-up spot in the second puts him on the very top of the Superbike World Championship, nine points ahead of his nearest rival.

Also encouraging for the team was Guintoli’s ability to run at the front and be in contention: The Frenchman led his team mate eight laps out of 22 and did not look out of place at all. This was his first race of the year, on the new 2010 GSX-R1000 bike, with a new team, but he also showed that he too will be a force to be reckoned with this year. Although he missed out on the podium, he did receive a trophy – for the fastest lap of race two – so he did not leave Phillip Island empty handed.

Leon Haslam – Race 1: 1st, Race 2: 2nd:
“I am so happy to get my first WSBK win and it feels great! I want to thank the team and all the staff back at the workshop for all their support and hard work and I’d also like to thank Francis and Patricia Batta for having faith in me.

“The first race was such hard work and it was impossible to relax for a second. I knew that I had Michel and Nori breathing down my neck, but I just kept concentrating on my lines and my braking points and tried to hold them off. I realized that Michel was in my wheel tracks going into the last turn and would try and use the draft to get past me, but I kept my head down and charged to the flag. At the end, I didn’t know if I’d won or not, but when I realized that I had, I was so unbelievably happy and it was such a fantastic feeling. All weekend I knew that a win was possible, but thinking about and it happening are two different things.

The Suzuki Alstare team holds off the triple-Ducati attack of Fabrizio, Haga and Checa. Carlos Checa eventually made his way to the front and held on for the win in race 2.

“In race two, I had some problems with rear traction but I still thought I could win. I had a great fight with Sylvain and when I finally got ahead of him and made it stick, I thought he might act as a buffer between me and the rest. Then suddenly, Carlos was there. He dived under me just three corners from the end, on the last lap. I tried to get it back, but he managed to hold me off and take the flag. But it feels good to take a win and a second in my first race with the team and it feels fantastic to be leading the Superbike World Championship.”

Sylvain Guintoli – Race 1: 6th, Race 2: 4th:
“I have really enjoyed today and it’s been great fun. I can’t remember the last time I was leading a World Championship race, so to lead quite a lot of race two was a great feeling and now I want to do it again. When I was in front, I felt comfortable and I knew I could keep up a good pace. Everything felt very smooth and it was all going to plan until I made a small mistake and Leon and then Carlos went through. Carlos and I touched in turn 8 when my elbow was in contact with his front wheel and then I tried a bit too hard to get back straightaway when perhaps I should’ve been a bit more patient and that’s where I lost ground.

“I could’ve made a better result in the first race if I hadn’t had such a bad start. My pace was good, but I was too far off the leaders, but I am learning about WSBK race pace and also the fact that the races are longer than what I have been used to. I am very happy with all the work we’ve done and am enjoying riding this bike so much. It was nice to get a trophy for the fastest lap in race two and I hope that it will just be the start of many to come. I am looking forward to Portimao and my next trophy.”

Results:

Race 1: 1 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 2 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati), 3 Haga (JPN-Ducati), 4 Rea (GBR-Honda), 5 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia), 6 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare).

Race 2: 1 Checa (ESP-Ducati), 2 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare), 3 Fabrizio, 4 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare), 5 Haga, 6 Rea.

Championship points: 1 Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) 45, Fabrizio 36, 3 Checa 34, 4 Haga 27, 5 Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) 23, 6 Rea 23.

Challenging start to the season for Yamaha Sterilgarda at Phillip Island

It wasn’t an easy start for Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland today at the season opening race in Phillip Island Australia. Race one saw both riders crash out, Crutchlow losing the front having run wide on onto a dirty section of track on lap two and Toseland highsiding on the fifth lap.

Race two saw a fiercely contested battle for points with both riders fighting off riders including Biaggi, Corser and others to stay within the top ten. Combined with a less than perfect set up on both bikes and struggling for grip the riders put in an incredible ride to bring their bikes home in the points, Crutchlow in ninth and Toseland tenth.

Crutchlow moves on to round two in Portimao in 12th position in the championship on seven points, team-mate Toseland sits just behind in 13th with six points.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 9th)
“Race one was unfortunate, I felt we had good pace and were running up in the top five quite comfortably, I just made a little mistake. I was a bit better than Rea into the hairpin so had to run wide to avoid him and lost the front on the dirt. The second race was hard, I felt like I had no grip from the start and still some chattering. If we had better grip we could have pulled more out of it. We need to go back to the drawing board and work some stuff out.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 10th)
“I really needed to finish the second race after the crash in the first. To only finish 14 seconds from the front with the issues we’ve had this weekend is not so bad. I was really disappointed with the first race, with my injury on Friday I wanted to have two good finishes today. Full credit to the team they’ve tried so hard but unfortunately we haven’t had the software here to solve the issue. We know what the problem is and I’ve given enough feedback and input to give the guys a direction to go in. We’ve got a lot of work to do, no doubt, but even with all the problems we’re not actually that far away. The package, the power, the balance and the suspension have come on leaps and bounds. On to Portimao now, it’s a long season so we can do it.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“It was definitely a really tough weekend for us. We solved some problems, and some we still have to work on. As we spent the two day test and the first day of the race weekend resolving the chatter issue, qualifying and race day was our first opportunity to really test the 2010 bike set up. We’ve seen that we have the potential to do well so we will go home and start working on the solutions to be ready to fight for the Portimao races. The team have worked really hard over the last few days to try and solve the issues and both Cal and James have given 100% to meet the challenges.”

Phillip Island Circuit, Victoria, Australia
Circuit Length: 4.445
Weather: Windy
Lap Record: 1’32.402 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2006)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1’31.069 (Ben Spies, 01/03/2009)
Last Year’s Winner: Ben Spies
2010 WSB Australia – Phillip Island 28/02/2010