2 Mar 2010

The 2010 Australian road race calendar kicked off at Phillip Island over the weekend as the iconic venue played host to the opening round of the Australian Road Race Championship in conjunction with the World Superbike Series.

Yamaha filled the top 10 of both the Superstock and Supersport classes and already has a commanding lead in the manufacturers championship after the opening round. Individual performances from Yamaha Racing Team's (YRT) Kevin Curtain and Rick Olson also leave the team feeling confident for the looming FX Series which Yamaha Racing will contest in 2010.

SUPERSPORT
The weekend started strongly for YRT with Pat Medcalf running up the front in race one of the two points paying races. Medcalf ran at the head of the field until the final few laps where he lost the front end and went down on his wrist, breaking it in the process.

Luck also didn't feature in Kevin Curtain's opening race as a mechanical gremlin had him sidelined in the early stages, while Rick Olson soldiered on for a 16th place finish after running in the lead group early in the race before an off track excursion.

Race two saw the Yamaha team fight back. Despite Medcalf being unable to race, Curtain slotted his R6 near the front of the field and was in a tight battle for the podium spots. He crossed the line in second place, in a great rebounding effort from race one.

Olson also was on the pace in moto two and he improved eight places over race one to collect seventh place in a solid effort.

“It wasn't the perfect start for the guys, with a broken wrist and a DNF in moto one. But everyone showed good spirit and the guys bounced back strongly in the remaining races. Curtain's second position was a ride that only an experienced campaigner could produce while Olson showed he belongs deep inside the top 10. We have something to build on now and round two will see the team improve even more,” states YRT manager, John Redding.

SUPERSTOCK 600cc
Yamaha riders hogged the podium in the Superstock division with all three riders being Yamaha R6 mounted. It was an impressive display for the R6, as the Superstock class showcases production based racing. Phillip Island again proved you can wheel an R6 from the dealer floor and be instantly competitive on the race track.

Carew Dickinson (NSW) took the round win with consistently good performances highlighted with a win in the final race. Micheal Jones (QLD) and Aaron Morris (NSW) battled over the minor positions, both finishing on 51 points, with Jones getting the nod on a count back.

Morris dominated the early events taking pole in qualifying and winning the opening two legs before coming unstuck in the final race. Despite the DNF, he was still able to grab a podium positon.

“The results are another testament to the quality and performance of Yamaha's R6, offers Yamaha Motorsport Manager, Ray Howard. “Yamaha riders filled the podium and 14 out of the 28 bikes entered were Yamahas. Yamaha congratulates Carew, Michael and Aaron on todays performance and hope to see it continue for the upcoming rounds,” he finishes.

SUPERSTOCK 1000cc
Yamaha also claimed the round points in the Superstock 1000cc division with Dustin Goldsmith leading the Yamaha charge in third place in the 'A' grade race. Cameron Keevers also slotted into the top five in a solid display. 'B' grade saw four Yamaha R1's in the top eight with Danny Moulton, Chris Beck, Craig Nicholson and Liam Daniels flying the flag.

Yamaha riders went home with 122 points in total, over 29 points ahead of Honda in the manufacturers table.

YRT support co-ordinator, Ian Irving, was impressed by the performance of all the Yamaha support riders and commented, “It was a top effort from all the Yamaha riders in the Superstock 600cc class. To win every race and dominate the podium is a huge effort and we also made good progress in developing the bikes for the remainder of the series.”

“We also showed a lot of promise in the 1000cc class and I expect the riders will only improve now the first round is out of the way and the bikes tested under full race conditions.”

Round 1 Results – Phillip Island

SUPERSPORT

Yamaha leads the manufacturer table on 214 points, 79 clear of its nearest competitor

SUPERSTOCK 600

Yamaha has amassed 350 points in the manufacturer cup, more than double of its nearest competitor