ASBK: Bugden has productive day at Phillip Island , Waters takes series lead

Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters has taken victory in the first round of the 2012 QBE Australian Superbike Championship round at Phillip Island today. Waters dominated the opening race of the season to win by over seven seconds, then backed that with a second place finish in race two to take the overall for the day. 


Race two was won by Team Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell after an close battle with Waters. A holed radiator and DNF during race one dashed Maxwell's hopes of a higher overall position.


The 2011 Australian Champion Glenn Allerton (Procon BMW) took the overall runner up position for the round with  2-5 finishes.Maxwell’s Team Honda Racing teammate Jamie Stauffer was third with 4-3 finishes.

Current New Zealand Superbike Championship leader Robbie Bugden (Team Volvo Group Suzuki) had a close battle with Allerton , Stauffer and Ben Attard (Team Suzuki) in race one and was at one stage as high as second on the track , the battle came down to the wire with all four charging for the line , in the end Allerton took second from Attard in a solid third and Stauffer and Bugden.

In Race 2 Maxwell and Waters fought it out front with Maxwell taking the chequered flag by just .499 of second . Stauffer took third some 9.6 seconds back . Bugden finished fourth 1.3 seconds behind Stauffer but well ahead of Allerton who was around 6 seconds back.

With a solid start to the series Robbie Bugden now sits fourth in the Australian Championship , and heads back to New Zealand in a few weeks to continue his challenge to regain the New Zealand title at The New Zealand TT at Hampton Downs on March 17th-18th.

2012 Australian Superbike Championship

Round One - Phillip Island, VIC

Superbike Overall Results:

1. Joshua WATERS 46

2. Glenn ALLERTON 36

3. Jamie STAUFFER 35

4. Robert BUGDEN 33

5. Ben ATTARD 31

6. Ben HENRY 29

7. Chris TROUNSON 26

8. Wayne MAXWELL 25

9. Scott CHARLTON 15

WSBK: Biaggi and Checa take one win each at Phillip Island. Sofuoglu wins exciting Supersport Race

World Champion Carlos Checa had a crash and a win 

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing) won the first race of the year by seven seconds setting a new lap record in the process from Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) and Sylvian Guintoli (Team Effenbert Liberty Racing) after a dramatic contest held over 22-laps.World Champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) crashed out of the race while leading, suffering a fast high-side fall on the final corner early in the race ,destroying his bike but walking away with just a sore elbow,Spots of rain appeared at two separate stages during the race but to no real effect for the majority of the riders and it continued as a dry race.Pole sitter Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) took fourth place after leading early on, with Jakub Smrz fifth on another Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati.

In race two Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) recovered from his race one crash to post his first win of the year but arguably an even greater performance came from second place finisher Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing).

Checa hit the front early on but Biaggi then ran off the track on lap one at the fast turn one after touching the back of the Tom Syke's Kawasaki. Biaggi kept his bike upright and restarted dead last, but fought through to take a second place and a clear championship lead with a total of 45 points.  After Biaggi made his way through , Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) began overhauling  Jonathan Rea who had made a good start and was looking for sure like a podium finish .The Ten Kate Honda rider had held second for most the race then started suffering with grip issues .In a breathtaking final lap the two riders battled it out with Sykes making use of his superior grip on the last corner , while Rea had his Honda's rear tyre smoking as he sort grip.But it was Sykes who took  his first dry weather  podium on the Kawasaki ZX10 from a frustrated Rea.The injured Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) put in a gritty ride to secure fifth place while his team-mate Marco Melandri was one place behind.Melandri is second in the points to Biaggi with 30, one point ahead of Sykes in overall third. Checa is fourth with 25 points.

WSBK: Sykes and Kawasaki on pole at Phillip Island after Superpole Cancelled.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) moved  to the top of the timesheets in second qualifying with a time of 1 minute 31.323 seconds to head the 16 who would have  gone into this afternoon's Tissot-Superpole session had it not been cancelled. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) moved up to second place overall after recording the fastest ever top speed at Phillip Island, 323.7 km/h. Right behind the 2010 champion were three Ducatis in the hands of Carlos Checa, Jakub Smrz and Sylvain Guintoli.

Overnight leader Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike) did not improve his time nor his position and in fact dropped down to eighth place. The Northern Irishman crashed and his Honda team mechanics took less than 10 minutes to replace the damaged handlebars, fairing and exhausts. Chaz Davies (ParkinGO Aprilia) also crashed, suffering a suspected broken left wrist in the process and has been declared unfit to continue, with two still convalescent riders Eugene Laverty (eleventh) and Leon Haslam immediately behind.

The Superpole was cancelled due to the tragic accident where 17 year old Australian 600 racer Oscar McIntyre lost his life in a three bike pile up during lap two of the first Australian championship race for 600 Supersport and Superstock Machines.

"Motorcycling Australia and PI SBK Pty Ltd can confirm that Queenslander Oscar McIntyre has died following an incident during the opening round of the 2012 Superstock 600cc Championship race at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit this afternoon," the statement read.

"McIntyre, 17, was immediately tended to by medical personnel after the incident, but his injuries proved to be fatal."

"The crash, which also involved two other riders, occurred on lap two of the scheduled 12-lap race at approximately 2.00pm AEDT. It occurred between turns two and three."

"The other riders involved were Luke Burgess and Michael Lockhart. Burgess has now been released from the circuit’s medical centre and Lockhart remains under observation with non life-threatening injuries." Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Oscar from all us here at nzsbk.com .


Times:

1 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'31.323 
2 3 M. BIAGGI ITA Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia RSV4 1'31.477 
3 7 C. CHECA ESP Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1'31.621
4 96 J. SMRZ CZE Liberty Racing Team Effenbert 1'31.783 
5 50 S. GUINTOLI FRA Team Effenbert Liberty Racing 1'31.832 
6 2 L. CAMIER GBR Crescent Fixi Suzuki Suzuki GSX- 1'31.904
7 59 N. CANEPA ITA Red Devils Roma Ducati 1'31.953
8 65 J. REA GBR Honda World Superbike Team Honda 1'31.959
9 121 M. BERGER FRA Team Effenbert Liberty Racing 1'31.966
10 84 M. FABRIZIO ITA BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet 1'32.068
11 58 E. LAVERTY IRL Aprilia Racing Team Aprilia 1'32.069
12 91 L. HASLAM GBR BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW 1'32.082
13 33 M. MELANDRI ITA BMW Motorrad Motorsport BMW 1'32.123
14 34 D. GIUGLIANO ITA Althea Racing Ducati 1098R 1'32.198
15 19 C. DAVIES GBR ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia 1'32.338

Rea fastest in first qualifying for Round 1 of World Superbikes at Phillip Island

 1   Rea Jonathan  Honda World Superbike Team    Honda CBR1000RR  17  1'31.959
2   Smrz Jakub  Liberty Racing Team Effenbert    Ducati 1098R  18  1'32.116
3   Giugliano Davide  Althea Racing    Ducati 1098R  13  1'32.198
4   Checa Carlos  Althea Racing    Ducati 1098R  20  1'32.228
5   Biaggi Max  Aprilia Racing Team    Aprilia RSV4 Factory  23  1'32.318
6   Canepa Niccolò  Red Devils Roma    Ducati 1098R  14  1'32.343