Team Honda's Jamie Stauffer won a dramatic opening clash at Symmons Plains in the opening race of round 7 of the QBE Australian Superbike Championships today.
From fifth on the grid, the only man still able to challenge Glenn Allerton in the title hunt did his chances no harm as chaos erupted just after mid-race distance.
Leading from the start, Team Suzuki's Josh Waters had amassed a handy buffer approaching lap 11 before a mechanical issue saw him slow on the front straight.
Polesitter Wayne Maxwell swept into the lead but it fell away beneath him in the space of seconds as he lost the front end of his Team Honda machine entering the challenging hairpin.
Just a lap later, the hard-braking hairpin was the site of a controversial clash between a hard-charging Robbie Bugden and leader Allerton.
Negotiating lap traffic, Bugden nosed his Team Mack Trucks Suzuki up the inside of Allerton before contact was made as both riders wrestled for track space.
The airfence arrested both bikes, while the riders were quick to their feet. The frustration was evident for Allerton, who was able to re-mount his BMW for an eventual finish of 7th.
Stauffer stormed into the distance, while Craig Coxhell on the Demolition Plus GAS Honda continued his solid showing to finish third, pipped in spectacular fashion by Team Suzuki's Troy Herfoss who secured second place with a daring last corner move.
Stauffer, who had been frustrated by a mechanical issue in qualifying, was pleased to bounce back and record his fourth win in the space of five races.
"It's a really positive result after qualifying this morning," said Stauffer. "I was in a good battle with Glenn for the first half of the race before everything started happening on track.
"Fortunately I avoided the trouble, hard luck to Wayne who was showing great speed.
"It's great to get another win in the bag for Team Honda."
