Team Suzuki Sweeps Phillip Island Australian Superbike Finale ASBK

Mildura-based brothers Josh and Brodie Waters captured a double victory for Team Suzuki in the Superbike and Supersport categories at last weekend's final round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island in Victoria.

Josh Waters & Troy Herfoss

Former series champion Josh Waters raced to the overall victory in the premier Superbike ranks aboard the Phil Tainton Racing-prepared GSX-R1000.
The 24-year-old finished with 2-1 results in the pair of 12-lap races; however it was the point for winning Superpole qualifying on Saturday that clinched him the overall.

Waters and Wayne Maxwell had a tight tussle in the first race on Sunday, with Maxwell gaining the win by just 0.087 of a second in a photo finish, before Waters bounced back with a comfortable 3.478-second victory in the second outing.

"It was a great weekend and I was able to post the fastest times on both Friday and Saturday," Waters reflected. "In the first race on Sunday I led up until three turns to go, but Maxwell is really strong around there and he outsmarted me for the win.

"In the second race I knew I had to break them at the start and I was able to do that. I ran a lot faster pace and got the job done, so that was a great way to finish off the year for myself and Team Suzuki."

Despite contesting a limited schedule in Australia during 2011, Waters rounded out the championship in fifth position overall after winning four races and two rounds for the year.

Teammate Troy Herfoss scored his second podium in a row with third position overall, the 2010 national Supersport title winner taking out a pair of fourth places for the weekend. The result sealed Herfoss a commendable third in the title chase after a superb rookie Superbike season.

"Mixed weather conditions made it tough, but I'm happy to finish on the podium for the round and more importantly for the championship," 24-year-old Herfoss said. "I accomplished my goal of finishing every race this year and I really wasn't sure I could finish in the top three, to be honest. I'm really happy and I have to say thanks to the team and Suzuki!"

Queenslander Robbie Bugden, three times New Zealand Superbike champion, finished fifth overall in the final round at Phillip Island via 5-6 finishes for the Team Mack Trucks Suzuki satellite squad, resulting in a seventh place finish overall in the Australian Superbike Championship for 2011.

"The race weekend went pretty good even though we experienced mixed conditions during the weekend," Budgen said. "I had some really good races with Troy and Glenn [Allerton], so fifth overall was a fair result. I'm looking forward to having a good go next year but will head back to New Zealand to contest the Superbike Championship first."

Team Suzuki Supersport contender Brodie Waters narrowly missed out on the Australian championship with the GSX-R600, finishing second for the season after claiming the overall round victory at Phillip Island.

Waters, 18, also won the round thanks to scoring pole position, that additional point handing him the overall after taking 1-2 finishes in a pair of breathtaking 12-lap Supersport affairs.

"The weekend started off strong when I was quickest in free practice and then I scored pole position in qualifying," Waters said. "I had good pace in both races, put my head down from the start and pushed as hard as I could. Congratulations to Kevin Curtain for winning the championship and I'm happy that I could come back strong with a win in the last round."

Team Suzuki manager Phil Tainton congratulated the entire team on their results in 2011, proud to finish the season on a high note with wins in both classes. He was also pleased to see both Herfoss and Brodie Waters in the top three of their respective classes for the year.

"Josh was impressive again after we initially had some trouble finding a good setting with the rear shock, but once we had that sorted for Sunday he proved what he could do with a great win in race two," Tainton said.

"For Troy to finish third overall at the final round and in his rookie year overall, that's pretty good going and again shows just how talented he is considering the little experience he has in road racing.

"We went into the final round of the Supersport series 21 points off the series lead, but after Brodie won the first race and we realised he had closed the gap to nine points, it was really exciting. It wasn't to be, but that was the best I have seen him ride and we are extremely happy with him."

The team will now begin making preparations for the upcoming Phillip Island 8 Hour, Australian Endurance Championship, where Team Suzuki will contest both the Superbike and Supersport categories on 2-4 December.

2011 Australian Superbike Championship
Round Eight - Phillip Island, VIC

Superbike Round Results:
1. Joshua WATERS (Team Suzuki) 46
2. Wayne MAXWELL 45
3. Troy HERFOSS (Team Suzuki) 34
4. Glenn ALLERTON 34
5. Robert BUGDEN (Team Mack Trucks Suzuki) 31
6. Craig COXHELL 29
7. Ben HENRY (Suzuki) 25
8. Chris TROUNSON 25
9. Trent GIBSON 22
10. Ralph MAMMOLITI 20

Final Superbike Championship Standings:
1. Glenn ALLERTON 327
2. Jamie STAUFFER 259
3. Troy HERFOSS (Team Suzuki) 257
4. Wayne MAXWELL 255
5. Joshua WATERS (Team Suzuki) 243
6. Craig COXHELL 242
7. Robert BUGDEN (Team Mack Trucks Suzuki) 210
8. Ben ATTARD 196
9. Ben HENRY (Suzuki) 176
10. Cole ODENDAAL 123

Supersport Round Results:
1. Brodie WATERS (Team Suzuki) 46
2. Glenn SCOTT 45
3. Rick OLSON 33
4. Kevin CURTAIN 32
5. Paul YOUNG 32
6. Mitchell CARR 29
7. Aaron GOBERT 29
8. Michael JONES 26
9. Ryan TAYLOR 24
10. Chris QUINN 20

Final Supersport Championship Results:
1. Kevin CURTAIN 187
2. Brodie WATERS (Team Suzuki) 180
3. Aaron GOBERT 160
4. Rick OLSON 158
5. Mitchell CARR 149
6. Christan CASELLA 148
7. Glenn SCOTT 120
8. Nicholas WATERS (Suzuki) 113
9. Chris QUINN 105
10. Andy LAWSON 93

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Yamaha Racing Podium Double At Darwin ASBK Round

Curtain & Olson take 1-3 in the Darwin ASBK Round

Yamaha Racing continues to make their presence felt in the Australian Super Bike Championships (ASBK) with another quality performance by their riders in the 600cc Supersport category at round three of the championships held at Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway.

The team of Kevin Curtain and Rick Olson crowded the podium with a 1-3 finish respectively for the round while Yamaha also took the points in the 600cc class 'Manufacturers Cup,' nearly 100 points clear of their nearest rival, for the round.

Curtain continues to combine his obvious talent with raw speed and track smarts to rack up another round win in his long and celebrated career. Curtain claimed second in the first of two races and then stormed home to win the final leg to take the round win.

But it wasn't without some tight racing. Curtain missed winning the opening leg by just .152 of a second behind Mitchell Carr, while race two saw Curtain cross the line .054 ahead of his team mate Olson in some extremely exciting racing.

"We had to work for it today," Curtain said. "There wasn't a lot to separate the fast guys on the time sheets, so I knew we were going to be in for a fight on the track. I was able to get myself in the right positions at the right times and winning race two gave me the round win and closed up the points in the championship," Curtain finishes.

Kevin Curtain on his way to victory at Hidden Valley

Curtain now sits in third in the 600cc Supersport class, just five points from the lead.

Rick Olson also turned up the heat in the top end and gave his opponents, including his team mate all that they could handle. Olson charged home for a third in race one after being as low as 11th on the opening lap.

Race two and it was an instant paint swapper with Curtain. Although Curtain lead from start to finish, Olson was all over him from lap five and sweating on a mistake from his older statesman. That mistake never came, but Olson pushed through for a new lap record in his pursuit of Curtain to take second for the race and locked down third for the round.

"It was a pleasing day for the team," comments team owner John Redding. "Both riders up on the podium and we were able to claw some points back in the championship after the tough round we had previously."

"With two rounds to go and only a handful of points between first and third, it will make for some intense racing for this championship."

"The guys will head back to the workshop and get started immediately on preparations for round four and we will continue to build on the momentum from the Darwin round," Redding stated.

Round three Results - Darwin
600cc Supersport

Rider	Manufacturer	Results	Points
1st Kevin Curtain	Yamaha	2-1	45points
2nd Mitchell Carr	Triumph	1-4	43points
3rd Rick Olson	Yamaha	3-2	38 points
4th Nick Waters	Suzuki	5-3	34points
5th Christian Casella	Triumph	4-7	31points
6th Aaron Gobert	Yamaha	8-6	28points
7th Dylan Mavin	Honda	6-8	28points
8th Brodie Waters	Suzuki	10-5	27points
9th Andy Lawson	Yamaha	9-9	24points
10th Jackson L- Smith	Honda	7-11	24points

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Championship Points - After Round three
1st Mitchell Carr - 110
2nd Christian Casella - 108
3rd Kevin Curtain - 105
4th Brodie Waters - 103
5th Aaron Gobert - 99
6th Rick Olson - 89
7th Andy Lawson - 70
8th Nicholas Waters - 66
9th Ryan Taylor - 59
10th Chris Quinn - 55

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Kevin Curtain joins Yamaha Racing Team

ASBK

Kevin Curtain joins Yamaha Racing Team

One of Australia's most successful and talented riders has joined Yamaha Racing Team for the 2010 season.

Kevin Curtain from Rathmines, NSW resumes his long and illustrious career with Yamaha having enjoyed great success with the brand both at home and abroad.

Curtain, who finished runner up in the 2005 and 2006 World Supersport Championship on a YZF-R6 is delighted to be reacquainted with Yamaha in Australia: "I'm stoked to be back on the same awesome team and I know the bikes will perform great. Plus I'm back in Formula Xtreme where I had some top results before I headed over to Europe. So everything is new but really familiar at the same time. I can't wait to get on the bikes and start racing," says the 42-year-old.

Yamaha Motorsports manager Ray Howard is pleased to welcome Curtain on board the new team: "Kevin has more experience than the rest of the paddock put together and he is lightning fast motorcycle racer who is equally at home on big bore 1000cc bikes as he is on the smaller 600s. He can also develop a bike like few others out there. In fact, during the time he spent with Yamaha in World Supersports competition he helped develop the R6 into the race track dominator it is today," he explains.

"We anticipate that Kevin will be a great asset to the Yamaha Racing Team and his vast experience can only help our younger riders Pat Medcalf and Rick Olson," continues Howard.

Curtain replaces the departing Bryan Staring who opted to compete in the ASBK series in a different class. Curtain will ride a YZF-R1 and YZF-R6 in the Superstock FX1000 and FX600 classes as well as showcasing the YZF-R6 Supersports bike at the Yamaha round of the World SBK Championship at Phillip Island.