Yamaha Report from Queensland Superbike Rounds 6 & 7

Jamie Stauffer grabs Championship (Provisional) 

Yamaha has once again headed the field at this weekend’s dual-round showdown of the Australian Superbike Championship, with all four factory riders delivering ultra-competitive campaigns across two full days of racing. The Superbike and Supersport teams were in fine form, and their front running pace saw the riders dicing with each other for the podium spoils, with rival riders struggling to make ground at the technical Queensland Raceway.

Riding identical factory Yamaha YZF-R1 machines, the Stauffer brothers enjoyed a spirited battle for race honours for much of the weekend, while Jason O’Halloran and Jeremy Crowe battled hard on their Supersport YZF-R6 bullets.With just one round remaining, Jamie Stauffer has built himself an unassailable lead in the premier class, and will be crowned back-to-back Australian Superbike Champion at Eastern Creek series finale next month.

The competition was fierce in the Supersport field, and the battle between Stauffer and young gun O’Halloran looks set to re-ignite at the final round.

Yamaha Racing Team Superbike

Yamaha Racing Team rider Jamie Stauffer is the provisional 2007 Australian Superbike Champion after two comprehensive round wins at Queensland Raceway this weekend. Stauffer’s points push started early in the piece, and it was clear he would be tough to beat after hovering around the top of the timesheets for the initial sessions, with extra pace still to be unleashed.He was second in the opening race of round 6 on Saturday morning, crossing the line just 0.061 seconds shy of Craig Coxhell.

Making no mistake in race 2, Stauffer was back to his regular winning form, taking victory ahead of his brother who held out Coxhell and Russell Holland. Sunday’s opening race saw the Stauffer brothers engage in an extremely entertaining battle, with Dan and Jamie showcasing their talent in front of a massive crowd. The duo fought gallantly to the flag, with Jamie executing a successful pass on Dan in the dying stages, taking the win. With the pressure well and truly off, Jamie cruised to a comfortable second place in race 2, securing a solid haul of points to award him the round win, and an unbeatable lead in the championship.

He was understandably elated with the achievement and said the team had been instrumental in creating the best possible opportunity for him to take his second series title. “I knew what I had to do today and in the final race, it was a very strong run from Craig (Coxhell) and full credit to him for his efforts,” said Stauffer. “I can’t say enough about the Yamaha Racing Team, last year we wrapped up the Supersport championship with a round to go and we’ve done it this year in Superbikes.”

“It says a lot about the bike, and the team. Everyone plays a large role and they all deserve congratulations for winning this championship too. Our tyre supplier Dunlop has been fantastic, and a key part of the championship was decided with their help.”

And while Jamie stood in the spotlight for the majority of the weekend, it was a very solid outing for Dan, who came excruciatingly close to wrestling a race win away from his brother this morning.The result was a carbon copy of Saturday’s second race, where Dan also finished second to his brother. A sixth and fifth in his other races saw Stauffer collect a strong bag of points to ensure he finishes strongly in the championship.

“It was a great weekend, and really good to be on the podium aboard the new R1, it’s certainly been very quick over the past 4 days and there’s probably even more to be found!” said Stauffer. The team has done a fantastic job and really had very little time off since Tasmania, it’s an awesome result for them and I can’t thank them enough. The guys continue to provide me with the perfect race bike and the Dunlop tyres are perfect, the results really indicate that Dunlop is the winning tyre out there.”

“Congratulations to Jamie for wrapping up his second title, it’s been another great year for him and I’m pleased to have been able to run with him on a number of occasions.”

Jamie’s points advantage over second placed Coxhell is 65, and Dan needs just 5 points to claim the runner-up trophy at Eastern Creek.

Yamaha Racing Team Supersport

The race for the title of 2007 Australian Supersport Champion is well and truly on, with Jamie Stauffer and Jason O’Halloran set to continue duelling to the season’s chequered flag after a number of extremely close finishes this weekend.

O’Halloran entered the round with the majority of wins under his belt, but was shadowed by Stauffer who has put together a run of very consistent podium finishes. As a result of the Queensland Raceway double-header round, the points advantage has now swung in Stauffer’s favour, by a small margin.The tenacity and grit of the teammates was shown on a number of occasions, as they raced handlebar to handlebar for much of the weekend.

When racing at the limit, the potential for disaster is high, and the Yamaha riders did well to contain themselves despite a number of heart-stopping moments as they diced for the top position. Stauffer won Saturday’s first two-part race, and backed up with an uncharacteristic fourth in the second race, with the final podium place snatched away by O’Halloran.He was back in fine form today, winning both races and taking the lead of the Supersport class for the first time this year

.O’Halloran was in prime position for a race win this morning, but an unfortunate mishap with his teammate saw him float wide of the ideal line, giving Josh Waters an opportunity to snap up second.
O’Halloran came through in third, and bounced back for second in the second and final race of the weekend. On Saturday, he strung together a consistent pair of third places, and despite losing the championship lead is adamant he can bounce back and win at Eastern Creek.

“It was a tough weekend, we had some good results but weren’t quite there and the other riders really stepped it up,” explained O’Halloran. “While it was disappointing to lose out to Jamie in the first race today it just shows that the Yamaha Racing Team is giving both of us an equal opportunity to race for the championship and that the bikes are the best out there. The tyres stayed in very good condition throughout the weekend, Dunlop does a great job in this regard and I’m confident that I can bounce back to winning form and take the championship at Eastern Creek.”

A limping Jeremy Crowe made for a sad and sorry sight in pit lane, but once the leathers were on and the YZF-R6 was wound up, his ankle injury hardly seemed to bother him as he battled with the leaders once again.He collected a pair of 5th placings on Saturday, and was on the march today, this time taking a pair of 4th placings. A nasty crash on Thursday had him behind the eight-ball for much of the weekend, and he was glad that the niggling injury had not prevented him from taking to the track.“It’s always tough racing with an injury and I’m just pleased it didn’t cost me too much in terms of the championship,” said Crowe.

“The team was very supportive this weekend and a good setup and tyre selection from Dunlop made the job much easier for me. I’m confident that I can come back at Eastern Creek and really throw down the challenge to Josh Waters to make it a 1-2-3 for the Yamaha Racing Team.”

He is 19 points shy of third, and will do everything to ensure he is up with the best possible chance of making it a trifecta for the team for the second year running.The series final will be held at Sydney’s Eastern Creek from August 17-19.

Round 7 Results.(Sunday)

Superbike
1. Jamie STAUFFER, 45
2. Craig COXHELL, 42
3. Daniel STAUFFER, 36
4. Russell HOLLAND, 35
5. Glenn ALLERTON, 34
6. Robert BUGDEN, 28
7. Shawn GILES, 28
8. Gareth JONES, 24
9. Wayne MAXWELL, 23
10. Scott CHARLTON, 23

Supersport
1. Jamie STAUFFER, 50
2. Jason O'HALLORAN, 38
3. Joshua WATERS, 38
4. Jeremy CROWE, 34
5. Gareth JONES, 30
6. Christopher SEATON, 30
7. Judd GREEDY, 25
8. Bryan STARING, 25
9. Nick HENDERSON, 20
10. Zac DAVIES, 19

Round 6 Results. (Saturday)

Superbike
1. Jamie STAUFFER, 45
2. Craig COXHELL, 43
3. Daniel STAUFFER, 35
4. Russell HOLLAND, 35
5. Shawn GILES, 33
6. Robert BUGDEN, 30
7. Glenn ALLERTON, 30
8. Wayne MAXWELL, 24
9. Scott CHARLTON, 24
10. Brendan CLARKE, 20

Supersport
1. Russell HOLLAND, 44
2. Jamie STAUFFER, 42
3. Joshua WATERS, 40
4. Jason O'HALLORAN, 35
5. Jeremy CROWE, 32
6. Christopher SEATON, 29
7. Judd GREEDY, 27
8. Gareth JONES, 26
9. Nick HENDERSON, 25
10. Wayne MAXWELL, 21

Championship Standings.

Superbike
1. Jamie STAUFFER, 325 Provisional Aus Champion
2. Craig COXHELL, 260
3. Daniel STAUFFER, 255
4. Glenn ALLERTON, 234
5. Shawn GILES, 193
6. Russell HOLLAND, 187
7. Wayne MAXWELL, 187
8. Scott CHARLTON, 165
9. Robert BUGDEN, 158
10. Shannon JOHNSON, 154

Supersport
1. Jamie STAUFFER, 303
2. Jason O'HALLORAN, 297
3. Joshua WATERS, 254
4. Jeremy CROWE, 235
5. Russell HOLLAND, 228
6. Gareth JONES, 165
7. Christopher SEATON, 153
8. Wayne MAXWELL, 135
9. Bryan STARING, 132
10. Judd GREEDY, 126