15 Mar 2011

Sydney’s Eastern Creek hosted the opening round of the 2011 Formula Extreme Superbike Championships with the factory supported Yamaha Racing Team (YRT)picking up exactly where they left off in 2010, taking two class wins and a podium position in a day full of action and drama.

The team of Kevin Curtain (FX 600 / FX Superbike) / Rick Olson (FX Superbike) and Pat Medcalf (FX Superbike) entered the new season in good form but had to literally come to grips with the new control tyre in use for 2011 as well as the increased level of competition in the Formula Extreme Championship.

FX600cc
Curtain kicked off his season in the perfect fashion taking the round win in both the 600cc and Superbike classes. The 600cc class was a hotly contested affair where Curtain dueled with up and coming star, YRD supported Mike Jones. Jones took the first race from Curtain in a tight 1-2 finish as they cleared out from the pack.

Curtain took race two after Jones fell while race three saw the wily veteran play it smart as quickly deteriorating tyres left him vulnerable on the track. He backed it down and his 2-1-2 results gave Curtain the overall round victory and a handy nine point lead as the championship chase begins.

FX Superbike
All three of Yamaha’s factory pilots lined up in the premier FX Superbike class on board the Yamaha R1. Curtain again led the Yamaha charge taking the round win in a strong field of riders with a maximum 75 points from the three races contested.

Curtain crossed the line in second place on two occasions, but a technical issue left the organizers no option but to exclude the other competitors’ bike from the results and the round win given to Curtain with a perfect 1-1-1 day.

Behind him was team mate Rick Olson in his first outing on the 1000cc machine. Olson did well to man handle the beast around the fast Eastern Creek circuit and his 6-2-3 results saw him grow in confidence throughout the day to take a well earned second overall.

Pat Medcalf completed the Yamaha trio and finished the round in fourth place overall. His second race 10th place upset what was looking to be a YRT trifecta, after he ran off the track whilst battling in the lead pack. Medcalf finished the other two races in third and fourth positions.    

YRT also assisted Cru Halliday in the FX Superbike class with Halliday seen as a future star of Australian road racing. After a big crash during the Saturday qualifying, Halliday fought on bravely to take fifth overall. Halliday and his crew worked well into the night to get his bike back on track for Sunday but he was noticeably slowed by his crash the previous day. He still posted some impressive results despite carry injuries from the previous day.

“Overall, it was a pretty good opening weekend for the YRT crew and the 2011 championship,” offers YRT man, John Redding. “A good roll up of riders, supporters and spectators made for a good atmosphere while the on track action was close and exciting.”

“Fortunately YRT came away with some good results and all three of our factory riders as well as our YRD supported riders showed good form and promise for the season ahead. Winning both classes always feels good as a team and that’s our goal every time we hit the track.”

“Kevin was just sensational again, while Rick impressed on a much more powerful bike. Pat was looking exceptionally good until he ran off in the second race and the YRD guys of Jones and Halliday continue to improve and impress.”

“We look forward to the next round,” Redding signs off.

Round two of the Formula Extreme Superbike Championships takes place at Wakefield Park on April 29 and the YRT guys will be looking to keep the momentum rolling from the first round.

FX 600cc Results – Round one
Eastern Creek

 
FX Superbike