4 Jul 2011

Yamaha Racing stamped their authority on the 2011 Australian FX – Superbike Championship after another superb performance at round three of the championship held at Eastern Creek over the weekend.

A season high of over 170 competitors entered the round but it was a streak of blue out front that had impressed onlookers as the factory Yamaha squad has put themselves in a commanding position in the championship chase of both premier FX-Superbike and FX-600cc divisions.

Kevin Curtain did what Kevin Curtain does best. He wins races. On his Yamaha R6, Curtain was never headed all weekend and made it a perfect three wins from three starts and has total control of the points in the championship chase.

The 600cc podium included Malaysian foreign exchange student Abdullah Hafizh, who as part of the YRD / Petronas Raceline program impressed many with his improvement over the weekend as he charged his way to second place for the round. He came in ahead of Glenn Scott, with YRD’s Mike Jones, who suffered from poor starts all weekend, in fourth.

The headline FX- Superbike class races were some of the best of the season as all three Yamaha Racing Team riders put on some display out front of the pack. Kevin Curtain, Rick Olson and Pat Medcalf engaged in race long duels from the get go of every race with positions swapping several times a lap and countless times during a race.

In an almost unprecedented finish, two races saw Olson and Medcalf in a photo finish that timing couldn’t separate and a dead heat was given. Race one saw the pair share the points for second, while race three was a dead heat for the win.

Ultimately it was Curtain that won the day with 1-1-3 finishes, narrowly edging out Olson with 2-2-1, who got the nod over Medcalf with 2-3-1 finishes.

While the riders had a great time dueling all the way to the finish, a nervous team owner John Redding watched from the sidelines.

“As a team owner it’s one of the most uncomfortable situations to be faced with because one mistake could have taken out the whole team in one foul swoop. Thankfully this didn't happen and the results show - the camarardary of the three riders on the podium was noticeable and it was clear they all enjoyed their close battles in identical machinery and tyres,” a relieved Redding said.

“It was also pleasing to see the Yamaha initiated Supermono class continues to grow. The idea behind the category is to have an entry level for riders to try road racing and after two events, the riders seem to be happy and enjoying the racing. Hopefully this will continue to grow and we will see more competitors at future rounds.”

Australian FX- Superbike Championship Results
Eastern Creek
FX- Superbike

FX- 600cc

 
Championship Points – After Round Three
Superbike
1st Kevin Curtain – 211
2nd Pat Medcalf – 167.5
3rd Rick Olson – 152.5
4th Brayden Carr – 151
5th Jason Cullen – 151

600cc
1st Kevin Curtain – 219
2nd Josh Hook - 177
3rd Sean Condon – 153
4th Joel Muddle – 129
5th Abdullah Hafizh - 108