Motourage

After all but counting himself out, Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing pilot Bryan Staring was able to produce a near perfect lap to claim pole position for the fifth round of the Viking Australian Superbike Championship at Queensland Raceway.

Staring struggled in today’s two 30-minute qualifying sessions and was hopeful of simply securing a front-row start. Midway through Motul Superpole, Staring’s split time suggested he had found some extra pace, and it was confirmed as he stopped the clock with a 1:10.379 lap of the 3.12km circuit, the fastest lap of the day.

Wayne Maxwell came agonizingly close to knocking Staring from the top spot, lapping just nine-hundredths of a second slower than his fellow Honda rider. The Demolition Plus GAS Honda pilot claimed provisional pole after a solid showing in this afternoon’s second qualifying session, and was encouraged despite missing out by such a small margin.

KTM Superbike Team rider Shannon Johnson enjoyed a welcome return to form, qualifying his RC8R in third position with a tidy Superpole lap.
“Qualifying has been a dream run in comparison to the last round, last time we were here we only did 3 laps in qualifying – this time I find myself in third,” said Johnson. “It’s the first time all year we’ve made Superpole and we improved a handful of positions on top of qualifying. It’s a huge credit to all involved in the outfit including KTM and ESG (Evolution Sports Group).
After the last round I was really questioning myself but we worked hard, tried a few things at a test which yielded positive result and here we are.
This is the best the bike has felt all year; it feels good in the turns, which was its weak point in the past. Over race distance this will be a strong point, too.
I’ve already exceeded my goal for the weekend and – who knows – we might just be in a position to take a podium which would be amazing.”

The Valvoline-backed entry of Glenn Allerton made it three Honda CBR1000RR racers on the front row, with the 2008 champ recording a 1:11.300.

CJC Racing Superstock entrant Craig Coxhell made it in to Superpole for the second round in a row and showed the might of the 1000cc BMW machine on Queensland Raceway’s two long straights. He was fifth quickest and heads up the second row of the grid, followed by The Natural Aprilia Racing’s Dan Stauffer, Team Mack Trucks Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden and Ducati Motologic’s Jamie Stauffer who made a small mistake on his flying lap.

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A handful of Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship riders will look to re-assert themselves as field frontrunners when the series visits Queensland Raceway, the host of the season’s third round, from June 5-6.

ASBK’s inaugural Top End trip during April resulted in frustration for the KTM Superbike Team, and experienced pilot Shannon Johnson has focused all his efforts on a strong weekend in the Sunshine State. The Victorian rode the new KTM RC8R to a podium placing at Phillip Island, but changeable conditions at Hidden Valley saw him fall well short of his own expectations. Johnson was optimistic about progress made on the new bike, both in the workshop and on track last week.

KTM's Shannon Johnson sits in eighth position after a disappointing weekend at Hidden Valley

“We spent much of our time on track last week kick starting the development program on the new MoTec system the bike is running, its a significant change from what we used at the first two rounds,” explained Johnson. “The team has been hard at work and completed close to 140 dyno runs with the KTM, but nothing beats getting out onto the track and getting that all-important feedback. It was a little tedious as we could only make small changes, take the bike for a run and then come back in. In terms of lap times we weren’t there to set the world on fire but have made good ground in terms of how the bike produces its power. As a team we’re really looking forward to getting out on track on Thursday and Friday and converting what we have learnt into practice pace.”

Johnson sits eighth in the race for Superbike class honors, on 43 points.

Another rider quietly confident of scaling the standings next weekend is The Natural Aprilia Racing Team’s Dan Stauffer. His Gold Coast-based team has been hard at work since a disappointing showing at the previous round and came away from the second day of testing with a much better understanding of the new factory Aprilia RSV4.

“All the effort off-track and time spent learning more about the RSV4 translated to some really quick lap times at Queensland Raceway,” said Stauffer. “We left Darwin with lots to do and seeing the bike up there where it should be has been a real shot in the arm. We wrapped things up as one of the fastest teams on track last Tuesday, and more importantly, the bike is feeling good both in delivery of power and handling. The bike is back on the dyno for the next week before we head to Ipswich, any gains which can be made from here will be a bonus.”

Scoring points in just one of 2010’s four races to date, Stauffer can make measurable inroads on his current placing of 20th at next weekend’s event.

The Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship standings are headed by Demolition Plus GAS Honda’s Wayne Maxwell with 73.5 points, followed by Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters’ 65.5. Gold Coast-based rider Bryan Staring of the Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing team rounds out the top three, just half a point shy of Waters’ score.

Next weekend’s event will feature a packed schedule of racing from a number of exciting classes. Visit asbk.com.au for the schedule and ticketing details.

The 2010 Australian Superbike Championship year roared into life at Phillip Island yesterday with day one of the official Australian Superbike Teams Test. A fresh new year was met with exciting new sounds, as the European brands unleashed their new machines on the Phillip Island circuit.

On hand for the test was the championship winning Factory Suzuki squad, plus all new teams from KTM, Ducati, Aprilia and Triumph. Privateer Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and Suzuki also turned out to take a few laps.

“It’s fantastic to see such a wide range of bikes and manufactures,” said Ben Williams, ASBK Events Manager. “From the factory set ups to very professional privateer teams, we have a massive range of Japanese and European brands here today. It’s a true representation of the sports bike market here in Australia and a very exiting development for ASBK in 2010.”

A pinnacle focus of the test was the teams’ first runs on the all-new Dunlop control tires. The Dunlop D211GP RACER for Superbikes & Superstock A&B, and the Dunlop SPORTMAX GP-A for Supersport & Superstock C&D. Both tires proved to be quickly up to pace in early testing with lap times of 1.35.3 and 1.39.4 respectively.

On hand for the test was Dunlop’s National Motorsport & Motorcycle Coordinator, Stewart Corser, to provide support to the teams.
“At this early stage we are very happy with the lap times and durability. We are getting great rider feedback already, and with more laps and bike development we are quickly seeing times fall. This tire has shown great wear rates even up to 50 laps on the front and 40 on the rear. We are very proud to be the Official Tire Supplier for ASBK 2010 and even more importantly to be able to do so with an affordable range of high performance racing tires.”

Shannon Johnson opens it up on the new KTM 1190 RC8R

A stand-out feature of the test was the awesome sound and impressive looks of the all new KTM machine ridden by Shannon Johnson and Chris Trounson. The 2010 KTM 1190 RC8R has now been in the hands of the KTM team for only four weeks and is already quickly on the pace. Its imposing body shape and unmistakable engine sound will no doubt be a stand out on the track in 2010.

“I’m very excited that the team and I have been able to find a successful setting so quickly in this first official test day on the KTM 1190 RC8R,” said Shannon Johnson, KTM Factory Superbike Rider.” We are concentrating on getting to know the new Dunlop control tire which I must say is surprising good. Based on this early set up performance we are happy to see our times are very close to the quickest times here at the ABSK test. We still have a lot of work ahead but with my fantastic crew and great support from KTM, I believe from round 1 we will be right on the pace for the championship.”

Unofficial times indicate that Superbikes will again be a hotly contested championship The top-six riders for the session were:

Josh Waters – Suzuki – 1:35.2
Wayne Maxwell – Honda – 1:35.4
Shannon Johnson – KTM – 1:35.4
Glenn Allerton – Honda – 1:35.4
Shawn Giles – Suzuki – 1:36.1
Jamie Stauffer – Ducati – 1:36.4

Day two of testing is shaping up to be another busy day with fine weather on the Island, a number of industry media in attendance and an unexpected test ride for the 2005 Australian Superbike Champion Josh Brookes.