Motourage

The Australian Superbike Championship factory Honda team held its team launch this past weekend at the Watermark Bar at Docklands in Melbourne, Australia in the lead-up to the World Superbike event at Phillip Island this coming weekend.

The Team Honda Racing riders, #27 Jamie Stauffer, #47 Wayne Maxwell and #34 Josh Hook all gave their thoughts on the season ahead before unveiling the stunning, bright red livery of their new model CBR1000RRs and the CBR600RR. It was their first opportunity to view their machines in the new livery and all 3 riders were keen to take a closer look.

Special guest at the launch of Team Honda Racing was World Superbike Rider Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea. Pleased to start the season at the Phillip Island Circuit, Rea spoke of his preparation for the 2012 season and wished the Australian contingent all the best for the year.

Team Principle Paul Free echoed the thoughts of Honda Motorcycles general manager Tony Hinton when he expressed his excitement at returning to the 600 Supersport category in 2012. Both Free and Hinton agreed it will be a very strong season for the new Honda CBR1000RR and the CBR600RR with such a strong and competitive rider line-up in Maxwell, Stauffer and Hook.

Managing Director of Honda MPE, Mr Zenjiro Sakurai along with General Manager of Motorcycles, Tony Hinton and the marketing team at Honda were a testament to the strong and invaluable factory support given to Team Honda Racing, with marketing manager Glyn Griffiths even taking a leading role as MC for the launch.

Team Honda Racing will compete at the first round of the ASBK which takes place at the World Superbike Event February 24-26.

Bryan Staring

Former Australian Superbike champion and current Team Pedercini Superstock 1000 rider Bryan Staring will fill in for Leandro Mercado at the opening round of the 2012 Superbike World Championship season at Phillip Island on the last weekend in February. Mercado will miss the first round after sustaining a fracture of his right radius in a crash on his supermoto bike. The 19-year old former AMA Pro Supersport competitor sustained the fracture during a crash in a training session last week in Argentina. On Monday, Mercado underwent surgery to speed up his rehabilitation. He will be back for the second round at Imola, Italy on April 1.

Staring, who, in December, re-signed to race for Kawasaki in the Superstock 100o class, participated with the Superbike squad last year as a wild card in the first round of at Phillip Island, finishing with a fifteenth and a seventeenth place in the two races.

Leandro Mercado:
“I’m really disappointed because I won’t be able to participate at the Phillip Island races as it could be my Superbike debut. I was eager to compete in Australia hoping to obtain good results. I know the whole team worked extremely hard to prepare my bike for the first appointment of the season and now I’m forced to miss out on the race. Starting from next week, with the help of my doctors, I’ll start intensive rehabilitation to make sure that I’ll be in top condition for the second race in Imola.”

Motourage wishes a very happy birthday to reigning Australian Superbike champion Glenn Allerton.

Check out Glenn’s official website, GlennAllerton.com, and follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/GlennAllerton.

Team Honda Racing will return to the Australian 600 Supersport category in 2012 with last year’s ASBK 125GP Champion Josh Hook joining the team onboard a Motologic-prepared CBR600RR.

The young rider from Taree in New South Wales has already gained valuable experience in Australia and overseas, having competed in the Red Bull Rookies cup in the USA series two years in a row and competing as a wildcard entry in the IVECO Australian MotoGP 125cc class in both 2010 and 2011.

Excited to be racing with the factory Honda team, Josh believes he is ready for the challenge ahead saying “I am really looking forward to getting on the track on the Honda CBR600RR and I’m very excited to join Team Honda Racing. I know I will learn a lot working with the team as well as from Wayne and Jamie. It is a pretty competitive class so it’s not going to be easy, but I’m confident that we will find a good setup for me in testing and that I will feel comfortable on the bike going into Round 1 at Phillip Island.”

Team Principle, Paul Free is keen to see what the season brings for his expanding team and feels confident that the re-entry into the 600 Supersport class will be a notable one.

Paul Free:
“This is very exciting news for Team Honda Racing. The Motologic-based team has not competed in the 600 Supersport class for a few years now and we are all looking forward to returning to the category with Honda this season. Josh shows great potential and will fit in very well with everyone in the team. He will get his first taste of the CBR600RR soon in our first official test and I am sure he will do well going into the first event.”

Looking forward to Honda’s re-entry into the Supersport class, Tony Hinton, General Manager Honda Motorcycles said “Honda is excited to be re-entering the Supersport class in 2012 and welcoming Josh Hook into Team Honda Racing. Honda has a strong history in Supersport racing both here and on a World Championship level. Josh is a talented rider with fantastic potential and we look forward in helping him develop further, and to the prospect of challenging for the Australian Supersport Championship in 2012.”

International Entertainment Group (IEG) will build on solid foundations established in its first three years as QBE Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) promoter, with Motorcycling Australia (MA) extending the tenure for a further two years.

MA CEO David White said the organization looked forward to working with IEG in 2012 and 2013.

“The ASBK is an integral element of Australian motorcycle sport, and a highlight on the annual calendar,” said White. “MA has a strong commitment to the continuation and development of the ASBK, and I am confident that IEG’s proven track record will allow it to continue to deliver outstanding results for the next two years.”

The 2012 season will be contested over six rounds with the continued support of naming rights sponsor QBE Insurance Group. It promises to provide great entertainment to race fans and enthusiasts. New cost reduction strategies will be implemented to help riders reduce their racing costs, while IEG’s commitment to the marketing, promotion and profiling of the ASBK will be maintained.

IEG Managing Director Yarrive Konsky said the company’s goal is growth and continued exposure for ASBK’s world-class riders and teams.

“IEG looks forward to further growing and developing the ASBK in 2012 and 2013, extending our position as promoter to five years,” said Konsky. “This renewal allows the championship to move forward with consistency, and, in collaboration with MA, we are confident of extending our reach into mainstream channels and promoting the exceptional talent of our riders. In looking to 2012 we are extremely pleased to extend our relationship with QBE, who are a proactive player in the Australian motorcycle industry. IEG, MA and QBE share a common goal of growing Australian road racing at the highest level – we are confident that the sport has a healthy future to look forward to.”

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Team Honda’s Jamie Stauffer is eyeing his maiden race win with the manufacturer following a convincing QBE Australian Superbike Championship Superpole victory at Queensland Raceway today.

See video of today’s qualifying HERE.

The two-time Australian Superbike Champion left nothing in reserve with an ultra-committed lap of the bumpy 3.12km circuit, his 1:09.223s lap the best by a margin of close to .4” in a closely-contested session.

It was Stauffer’s day from start to finish, with the New South Wales-based rider topping both of the initial 30-minute qualifying sessions before confirming his pace with pole position.

Round 5 of the QBE Australian Superbike Championship is shaping up to be a thriller, and Stauffer will be leading the charge to stop current points leader, Procon Maxima BMW’s Glenn Allerton, who secured the second grid position with a 1:09.596 effort.

Ben Attard’s strong form on the Aprilia RSV4, with the best of the local riders taking a hard-fought third place in Superpole for the i-Style Natural Aprilia Team.

Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters was fourth-fastest, making it four different manufacturers on the front row for tomorrow’s 17-lap races.

Team Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden, Team Honda’s Wayne Maxwell, Demolition Plus GAS Honda’s Craig Coxhell and Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss will occupy the second row of the grid.

Carr Bros Motorsport’s Mitchell Carr secured his second consecutive QBE Supersport pole position, winning this afternoon’s four-rider Motul Superpole shootout.

The Triumph talent is riding high after recording debut race and round wins at the previous round in Darwin and is hoping to hold out a hungry pack tomorrow.

P1, Jamie Stauffer, Team Honda, 1:09.223
“It was a good day, we’ve been fastest all day, we can hopefully make the bike a bit better and hopefully we can race for the lead tomorrow.”

P2, Glenn Allerton, Procon Maxima BMW, 1:09.596
“So far qualifying has been really strong for us, obviously I want to be in P1 but P2 is a good starting position and I’ve proved this year that I am strong in the races. We made one last change before Superpole and the bike felt really good. It was a cracking Superpole lap and I’m really happy with how the bike feels, tomorrow I feel like the Procon Maxima BMW is going to be one really strong package for 17 laps.”

P3, Ben Attard, The i-Style Natural Aprilia Team, 1:09.596
“Today was a great day, we went out in the top 3, I made a few little mistakes in Superpole and it cost me. I thought we could have done a low nine but I messed up two corners. We’ve got a good bike, it’s quick and I can’t wait to fight tomorrow.”

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Team Honda Racing are at Queensland Raceway in preparation for Round 5 of the Australian Superbike Championship this weekend, June 4-5, with both Honda riders keen to take their racing up another notch and convert their obvious speed into race wins.

Maxwell on pole and Stauffer in third at Barbagallo

The team had a successful event at Round 4 of the championship at Barbagallo Raceway near Perth a month ago finishing second and third overall and taking their third pole position of the season.  The CBR1000RR once again showed its speed and agility, and Team Honda Racing began to turn their championship around.

#27 Jamie Stauffer holds the Superbike lap record at Queensland Raceway with a lap time of 1:09.145 sec and is not ready to let that record slip.
 
“The CBR1000RR set-up is definitely on target, and this is a circuit I feel comfortable on,” said Stauffer. “The last round in Perth was really a step forward in terms of development and now I just need to get my head down and get some race wins under my belt.  I’m fifth in the championship at the moment, but that could change dramatically after this event.  You just never know.”
 
Teammate #47 Wayne Maxwell has increased his training routine in the lead up to Round 5 having recovered well from surgery earlier in the year and is focused on moving up the championship points ladder from his current 6th position.
 
“I am probably in the best physical condition I have been in all year and have really ramped up my training in the past month,” added Maxwell. “Round 4 was a step in the right direction for Team Honda Racing, coming away 2nd and 3rd overall and I took my third Superpole for the season which was terrific.  We really just have to keep the momentum going now and step it up a notch.  The team has the Honda CBR1000RR set-up where it needs to be so now we just have to convert it all to a race win in Queensland.”
 
Team Honda Racing will have two 17-lap races on Sunday, June 5, and with a large crowd expected and sunshine predicted, it is certain to be some of the best Superbike racing of the season.

Procon Maxima BMW's Glenn Allerton

Glenn Allerton’s relentless pursuit of a second QBE Insurance Australian Superbike Championship crown was on show yesterday with the Procon Maxima BMW rider wrapping up race 2 and the overall round at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway. The Sydneysider’s form from a calculated race 1 victory continued, though he didn’t have it all his own way as a number of other riders showed their intention to challenge.

The best start to the gripping 15-lap encounter came from P4 on the grid, the CBR1000RR of Demolition Plus GAS Honda’s Craig Coxhell. No stranger to setting the pace at the front of a Superbike race, the 2003 Australian Superbike Champion diced with Team Honda’s Jamie Stauffer for a number of laps before relinquishing the lead to a storming Allerton. The championship leader decimated the standing race lap record on lap 5, lowering the mark by over three-tenths to 55.533s.

Maxwell kept a close watch and also dipped beneath previous lap record pace, knowing he would need to get in front of Allerton to have a shot at a much-needed round win. As they settled into rhythm, positions 1 through to 9 all broke into the 55-second margin and the flat-out pace meant they were soon on the tails of Prostock riders. Allerton threaded his way through efficiently while the trailing trio of Maxwell, Coxhell and Stauffer were slowed slightly leaving the BMW to bask in the sunshine of an incredible sixth race win, and the third in a row.

“This weekend has been an awesome one for the team and it’s great to come back to Perth and show the strengths of the BMW to such a big crowd,” said Allerton. “We knew that everyone would be searching for more grip after yesterday’s race so got together and made some changes to the bike to make it a bit better. Over race distance it came on strong again and was super quick. I can’t thank the team enough for putting everything they have behind me.”

Bagging 50 points at Barbagallo Raceway, Allerton’s lead over second place in the championship, Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss, increases to 58. While a race win continues to elude Maxwell, Team Honda’s foray to Perth was vastly more successful than their horror run at Hidden Valley, and the Victorian is not giving up the fight yet.

“It’s good to get two strong finishes on the board but we’ve still got a way to go to catch Glenn who is riding with a lot of confidence,” said Maxwell. “The team has turned things around this weekend and the parts we have been testing seem to be pointing us in the right direction. There’s a good break before Queensland and again we’ll be putting in a lot of work to try and bridge the gap.”

He made up four places on the standings and now sits sixth, 18 points shy of teammate Jamie Stauffer who took third overall for the round.

“It’s been a better weekend for Team Honda and we’ve managed to bounce back strongly here in Perth,” said Stauffer. “We’ve got a way to go now and we’ll put our heads down now to prepare for the next round.”

Solid showings from both Craig Coxhell and Mack Trucks Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden saw them finish equal fourth the round on 33 points.

Positions two and three in the championship remain unchanged after today with second-placed Troy Herfoss and third-placed Ben Attard scoring an even 29 points apiece.
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