The Teterin Motosport rider rode his Motologic Racing-prepared Honda CBR1000RR to the pole position during Saturday morning‰Ûªs qualifying session with a new record of 1:37.764 to secure the number one position on the grid for the trio of 10-lap races to be contested throughout the weekend.
Race one was staged on Saturday afternoon where a slow start from Burgess halted any opportunity to win the race, working his way into second as arch-rival Pat Medcalf raced to the win on his factory Yamaha to clinch the championship.
Sunday morning‰Ûªs second outing saw Burgess again take second, this time in wet conditions, finishing just 0.044 behind Medcalf to again cement himself as one of the leaders in the STK1000 development category.
The third and final race on Sunday afternoon was a dry affair once again, with Burgess building a substantial lead in the early laps and controlling the race from the front. The 24-year-old from Newcastle in New South Wales crossed the line first, rounding out his season at the top of the podium while wrapping up second for the round and the championship.
Burgess also put on a strong showing in the premier Superbike category with a superb 10th overall on his Superstock 1000-spec machine including the treaded control tyres, finishing as the top competitor in the Superstock Triple Challenge Cup for the weekend and overall in the series that‰Ûªs run within the Superbike field.
"Wow, what a weekend! I came into this round with clear intention of winning and reinforced this point when I laid down a record lap time on used tires in Q2," Burgess said.
"The first race I struggled to get off the line, which gave Medcalf a solid lead, and once I got going it was too late to contest for the lead. Race two in the wet I led for most of it until the last corner of the last lap, where Patty got across the line first. This was such a disappointment for me but I was keen to make up for it in race three and that is exactly what I did, put my head down and rode hard and smart to take the win. I would have loved to take the round win here this weekend but congratulations to Pat, he is a mate off the track and a great rider.
"It was a great achievement to take the honours in the Superstock Triple Challenge and I must thank ESG and International Entertainment Group for making this Cup happen. I would like to pass on my sincere thanks to all of my team, sponsors, supporters, family and friends for their support for 2009 and I couldn‰Ûªt have done it without them. I will be back next year and cannot wait to see what the new year brings for me and our sport," he concluded.
Following a successful rookie season in the Superstock 1000 ranks in his first year on the large capacity bike after stepping up from STK600 for the season, Burgess now has his sights firmly set on contesting the Australian Superbike Championship in the premier class fulltime in 2010.
