The first round of the Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship saw the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team kick of their championship campaign for 2015, with the Superbike, Supersport and Ninja 300 Cup riders all racing for their first opportunity to snatch some 2015 championship points.
The three-day championship event was held in stunning Sydney, with the mornings crisp and days warm and dry. Friday‰Ûªs Superbike qualifying session saw Superbike riders Ben Burke and Evan Byles qualifying in 12th and 13th respectively.
Burke‰Ûªs best lap came on his 8th loop, while Byles qualifying his fastest on only his second of seven qualifying laps. There was still plenty of work to do on set up for both bikes and with qualifying done on Friday, the Superbike team grouped together to get ready for Saturday‰Ûªs racing.
Burke performed brilliantly on his Kawasaki ZX-10R during the first of Saturday‰Ûªs Superbike races, coming in just behind factory Yamaha rider, Glen Allerton in 7th place, while Byles finished a little further back in 11th place. The second Superbike race saw both riders finish a little further back in the standings, with Burke in 10th and Byles in 13th, however the pace of both riders continued to improve.
Sunday‰Ûªs racing brought both good and bad results ‰ÛÒ Burke unfortunately recorded a DNF in race one courtesy of a damaged sensor, while Byles finished in 12th position with his times continuing to drop with every outing. The second race on Sunday Burke cross the line in 9th position and Byles in 12th, both continually improving their times with their ability to make use of the set up changes done by the team.
‰ÛÏIt was great to be back on the bike again and to start a new season.‰Û
