1 Nov 2010

The grand finale of the Australian Formula Xtreme Championshisps was run and won at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney over the weekend with Yamaha Racing dominating in the championship standings taking victories in the premier Australian Formula Xtreme 600cc and 1000cc divisions.

The five round national road racing championship has seen the Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) trio of Kevin Curtain, Rick Olson and Pat Medcalf put in consistently good performances throughout the year and bought home some well earned championships after the final round was wrapped up on Sunday.

Australian Formula Xtreme 600cc
Kevin Curtain may have won the battle at Eastern Creek with his 1-2-1 finishes in the three race round, but it was the young gun of Rick Olson won took home the championship by the barest of margins. Olson landed in second for the round on the back of his 2-1-2 results and took the championship by a two point margin.

All season long, the old master in Curtain pitted himself against the young charger in Olson and barely a bike length separated the pair all year. It was fitting that the final race of the final round turned out to be the championship decider and with one lap remaining, it appeared as though Curtain might pinch the championship away from Olson.

Curtain had the lead while Olson was locked in a race long battle with Michael Jones for second and third positions. On the final lap of the race, Olson was able to make the pass stick and cross the line in second place giving him his first national championship at top level Australian road racing.  

With Curtain in second, the championship standings were a 1-2 for Yamaha.

“I sure made hard work of that,” said Olson after clinching the championship. “I was a nerve racking race but I wasn’t going to let it slip. I knew I had to get second in that last race and once I crossed the finish line I was relieved as much as I was excited.”

“ I want to thank everyone at YRT for their continued support again in 2010. Results are always a reflection of the team a rider has around him and the guys we have at YRT do an amazing job,” Olson says thankfully.

Australian Formula Xtreme 1000cc
Kevin Curtain entered the final round with a comfortable points’ margin in the championship standings and needed nothing more than to bring it home with a smart and controlled final round at Eastern Creek. But always the racer, Curtain wasn’t out for a Sunday leisure ride and he pounded out 2-1-3 results in the three races to secure the 1000cc championship.

His domination throughout the series meant Curtain had the championship locked up before the final race and he was able to relax and enjoy his victory in the championship throughout the final leg.

Curtain was ably backed up by his teammate in Pat Medcalf who has found form at the end of the season and charged home with a third at the final round with 3-3-1 finishes. The big final points haul elevated him into third on the overall standings making it a Yamaha 1-3 finish in the 1000cc class.

“It’s great to win another championship,” Curtain said from the podium. “It’s been a while since I have been in this position but it feels good and I am glad I could get it done for the Yamaha Team.”

“ It would have been nice to take out the 600cc class as well, but congratulations to Rick on the way he raced this year and he deserved the championship.”

Team Manager John Redding was also a very happy man watching his team lock down two more championships and had this to say when the racing finished.

“It has been a great year for YRT in 2010. We had some tough decisions to make at the start of this year, but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome on all fronts.”

“Rick Olson has come on in leaps and bounds this year and is the most improved rider in the country. Kevin Curtain continues to prove his is a racer of world standing and shows no signs of slowing down while Pat finished off the year very strongly and he began to realize the potential we see in him.”

“YRT would also like to thank our team crew, riders and loyal sponsors this year as they have all been a huge part of our success,” Redding finishes.

Yamaha Motorsport Manager, Ray Howard was also on hand to witness the superb Yamaha showing.

“On behalf of Yamaha, I congratulate Rick and Kevin on their championship success and the whole team for an outstanding year. The Australian Formula Xtreme Championships has proven to be a perfect match for Yamaha and we look forward to our continued relationship with the promoters and the series starting with the Australian FX Superbike Championship later in the year.”

Round Five Results – Eastern Creek
Australian Formula Xtreme 600cc Championship

      
Australian Formula Xtreme 1000cc Championship

Final Championship Standings
Australian Formula Xtreme 600cc Championship
1st Rick Olson – 348
2nd Kevin Curtain – 346
3rd Jesse Austin – 233
4th Adrian Nestorovic – 212
5th Daniel Falzon – 197
6th Adrian Di Giandomenico – 163
7th Lachie Thomas – 163
8th Joel Muddle – 138
9th Andrew Cornish – 135
10th James Back – 120

Australian Formula Xtreme 1000cc Championship
1st Kevin Curtain – 339
2nd Glenn Cullen – 263
3rd Pat Medcalf – 224
4th Grant Hay – 217
5th Jamie Aitken – 202
6th Jeremy Crowe – 202
7th Dustin Goldsmith – 188
8th Damien Murphy – 187