Supersports win
Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Joshua Waters claimed overall victory at the sixth round of the Australian Supersport Championship at Tasmania's Symmons Plains Raceway at the weekend.
Waters' Tasmanian round win came in only the sixth race meeting for the 2008-model Suzuki GSX-R600 and moved the Victorian to within 27pts of the championship lead with one round remaining.
In an incident-packed opening Supersport race the 21-year-old claimed a thrilling 1.789sec victory, backing up with a hard-fought third in race two to finish the day equal on race points with championship leader Jamie Stauffer.
However, the bonus championship point Waters received for qualifying his Team Joe Rocket Suzuki GSX-R600 in pole position moved his tally to 44 points and with it the overall victory.
In trying conditions that saw the 2.41km circuit lashed with occasional rain squalls and blustery winds throughout Sunday, the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider was fortunate to survive a heart-stopping moment in the opening race when he hit a patch of damp bitumen. The water, accidentally flicked onto the circuit by another rider's knee, saw Waters thrown out of the seat of his GSX-R600.
Waters was able to regain control, although five following riders weren't as fortunate, all crashing out of proceedings. With bikes littering the track, race officials had no option but to red-flag the race while the scene was cleared.
In the restarted race Waters rode to overall victory on combined times after a penalty was imposed on leg one 'winner' Wayne Maxwell for a start-line infringement.
In Race Two Waters was involved in an exciting three-way battle with championship leader Stauffer and Maxwell, with Stauffer prevailing in a thrilling last lap to claim a 0.989sec win over Maxwell, with Waters just 0.218sec back in third. The third place, combined with the bonus point for pole position, gave Waters the overall round win.
Waters heads to the final round at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway on 17-19 October in second place in the championship, and a chance to claim his first Australian Supersport Championship.
While Waters' round win was reason for celebration in the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki pit, it was a day of frustration for the team in the Superbike class. Craig Coxhell, 2003 Australian Superbike Champion, crashed out of the first 20-lap heat while in contention for a podium finish. It was Coxhell's first race crash for the team in two seasons.
Although the spill was only minor, and at one of the slowest corners on the circuit, the 25-year-old was unable to rejoin the race on his Team Joe Rocket Suzuki GSX-R1000 due to minor damage to the bike.
Coxhell was again with the leading pack in race two when his Team Joe Rocket Suzuki GSX-R1000 succumbed to a minor technical problem, caused as a result of the opening race crash.
With Coxhell out of proceedings, and team mate and three-times Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles sidelined with injuries received at the previous round of the series, the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki colours were flown proudly by reigning New Zealand Superbike Champion Robbie Bugden and privateer Trent Gibson.
Bugden, who was suffering from a severe bout of flu, picked up fourth and fifth placings in the two Superbike races to finish fifth overall, while Gibson had his best result for the season with a top-10 overall finish.
In a morale booster for the team, Team Joe Rocket Suzuki Superbike rider Shawn Giles attended the Symmons Plains meeting, albeit on crutches rather than in the saddle of his TJRS GSX-R1000. Giles is recovering rapidly from injuries received at the Queensland round of the series in mid-July, and expects to be back racing for the final round at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway in October.
Phil Tainton - Team Manager:
"It's been an up and down weekend for us emotionally and results-wise. I'm really happy with the Supersport results and how the team and riders worked together in some pretty challenging weather conditions.
"Josh's overall win for the round sets us up for a tilt at the title at Eastern Creek. He showed that he can ride smart as well as fast in trying conditions.
"Craig was disappointed with what happened in the opening Superbike race, but he was pushing hard at the time. Those things happen - I can't remember the last time he crashed.
"Robbie's effort was exceptional considering how badly affected he was with the flu. I'm not sure how he was able to ride the bike, let alone get the results he did.
"The team is now looking forward to the upcoming support races at the Australian MotoGP, and then the final round of the Australian championship two weeks later at Eastern Creek.
"Shawn looks like he'll back for that meeting, so the team will be back to full strength and looking to finish 2008 on a high."
Joshua Waters:
"I can't thank the team enough. It's only our sixth meeting with the new 2008 GSX-R600, and it just keeps getting better and better.
"I'm happy with the overall win, and with my pole time, but I really wanted to pull back some more points on Jamie.
"I guess I should be happy that I stayed upright in that opening race and got maximum points, as the conditions were pretty tricky. The back just snapped sideways when I hit the water, and I'm not sure how I didn't crash.
"It looked like someone had dragged their knee through a puddle on the inside of the corner the lap before. I didn't see it until I hit it.
"I was happy with how I was riding in the first part before the red flag and was confident of having a go at Wayne in the closing laps. But I just couldn't get in the groove in the restart. I'm not sure if it was the rain spots on my visor, but I just couldn't settle down."
Craig Coxhell:
"I went into this round determined to get my championship challenge back on track and get into the top three on the points table, but it wasn't to be. I was pushing hard in race one and the front just tucked without warning.
"I was pleased with the progress we made across the weekend as we got faster each time we went out on the track, but unfortunately the weekend results don't reflect the effort of the team."
"The team has worked so hard on getting a set-up that makes me feel comfortable, and I feel my confidence is back to what it should be. I felt comfortable running with the leading group, and I was planning to have a real go in the closing laps. But it wasn't to be.
"I'm looking forward to the MotoGP support races and the final round at Eastern Creek."
Robbie Budgen:
"I'm happy with fourth and fifth in the two races, as there's nothing more I could have done. After 10 laps I was fully spent and had no energy. It was hard work just getting to the finish over 20 laps.
"The flu hit me on Thursday and I honestly thought I would have shaken it off by race day on Sunday. But it kept getting worse.
"Holding on to a Superbike at 250km/h around the Symmons sweeper is not easy at the best of times, but when you've got no strength after 10 laps it makes it quite a challenge.
"The bike was great all weekend - it's just a pity my body couldn't match it."
2008 AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
Superbike Overall Results - Round 6:
1 Daniel Stauffer, 2 Jamie Stauffer, 3 Glenn Allerton, 4 Jason O'Halloran, 5 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 6 Zac Davies, 7 Chris Trounson, 8 Jon Cartwright, 9 Shannon Johnson, 10 Trent Gibson (Suzuki GSX-R1000).
Superbike Championship Points (after 6 of 7 rounds):
1 Glenn Allerton 230pts, 2 Jamie Stauffer 225, 3 Daniel Stauffer 216, 4 Jason O'Halloran 188, 5 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 160, 6 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 138, 7 Kevin Curtain 133, 8 Chris Trounson 131, 9 Zac Davies 130, 10 Jon Cartwright.
Supersport Overall Results - Round 6:
1 Joshua Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600), 2 Jamie Stauffer, 3 Wayne Maxwell, 4 Ben Attard, 5 Judd Greedy (Suzuki GSX-R600), 6 Christian Cassella, 7 Brett Simmonds, 8 Grant Hay, 9 Scott Campbell, 10 Ben Burke.
Supersport Championship Points (after 6 of 7 rounds):
1 Jamie Stauffer 264pts, 2 Joshua Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 237, 3 Wayne Maxwell 201, 4 Ben Attard 185, 5 Judd Greedy (Suzuki GSX-R600) 179, 6 Jeremy Crowe 165, 7 Grant Hay 151, 8 Mitchell Carr (Suzuki GSX-R600) 128, 9 Chris Cassella 118, 10 Chris Quinn 115.
