Race Report

Round 4 NZ Superbike Championship

Hampton Downs, March 26/27, 2011.

Words by: KC Bernard

Photos by: Dallas Alexander

Round 4 - NZ National Champs, Hampton Downs

The Team were excited about heading back to Hampton Downs after Australian Dan Stauffers’ great performance there previously. The Yamaha R1 had more horse power than last time and the Team was prepared for action.

Friday testing was wet, so the Team had to make a few adjustments to the suspension and fit some sticky Pirelli rain tyres. Steady progress was made during the day in the difficult conditions and the rain set up was getting better, with Dan Stauffer getting more comfortable on the bike.

Official practice on Saturday saw the pace picking up in the Superbike class, with the rain still falling. Further adjustments during the day were made but we couldn’t quite match the pace at the front and had to settle for sixth fastest in practice.

Qualifying was next and further changes were made to the Yamaha R1 to try and solve some steering issues that were holding Dan back. Then the rain stopped and the bike had to be returned to its dry settings and Pirelli slicks for the qualifier. Dan went out and put his head down right away, eager for a good session. The extra horse power of the Yamaha R1 seemed to change the characteristics of the bike and the Team struggled a little to give Dan the best of grip and handling – ending the session with fifth on the grid for Sunday racing – just 1.1 seconds from pole position.

Race 1 Sunday and Dan got a good start, sitting in the lead group and looking comfortable. On lap three he had a problem with a bit of brake fade so had to take it easy for a few laps and make sure the brakes were going to be ok. The problem seemed to disappear later in the race but by then, the lead group had gained a good gap and Dan had to settle for 4th place.

A bad start in Race 2 saw Dan have to try and fight his way up thru the field. This took its toll on Dan and the tyres, and he wasn’t able to make up all the ground he had lost, and again ended the race in 4th place.

The Team has moved up to 5th in the points standings, only 4 points behind Hayden Fitzgerald, 18 points behind Sloan Frost and 31 points behind Robbie Bugden. Andrew Stroud has again won the NZ Superbike title, so the Team congratulate him and will now focus on a podium finish in the series with just one round to go.

After such a busy weekend, the whole Team were grateful that bike and rider are all ok and are looking forward to the final round this coming weekend at Manfeild, Feilding.

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