Round 1 of the 2010 Australian Superbike Championship is now complete and the Ducati Motologic Race Team departs the World Superbike event at Phillip Island in high spirits after finishing 3rd overall for the round.
After qualifying 4th and 10th on the grid for Saturday, Jamie Stauffer and Jordan Burgess were eager to take to the track today to place their Ducati 1198Rs under race conditions and learn more about their capabilities.
Race 1 for the season was not short on excitement with Stauffer taking the Ducati 1198R to the front of the field early in the race. The #27 lead the field for the first 5 laps only, along the way psoting the fastest time of 1:34.266 sec, only to be passed by eventual round winner Wayne Maxwell as he encountered an issue with the rear tyre which saw him drop back through the field, eventually finishing in 4th place.
Stauffer's rookie team-mate Jordan Burgess began his Superbike year extremely well, taking 10th place in the first race of the year. A top 10 result for Burgess is very encouraging at this initial stage of the championship.
The second race of the day was reduced to 10 laps due to timing constraints and saw a fierce battle for the podium between the Ducati of Stauffer and the Hondas of Maxwell and Staring after Stauffer got a less than ideal race start to weave his way from 5th place off the start to finish in 2nd place behind Maxwell.
‰ÛÏToday was very important for us to see where we were at in full race condition," Stauffer said.
"In race one we were very fast and got into the lead early on and I was setting a quick pace, After 4 laps I slowed down to try not to over heat my rear tyre and was sitting in 3rd position. With 5 laps to go I had tyre issues and had to manage it as best as I could and ended the race in 4th position.
"Race two I didn‰Ûªt get the start I wanted and had a busy time in the race to get to the front guys, once I was with the leaders I sat behind them in 3rd trying to keep my tyre in good condition for the end of the race. On the last lap I passed Bryan Staring on the entry of southern loop but couldn‰Ûªt quite chase Wayne down before the finish of the race. Over all we had a great weekend on the Ducati 1198R and I‰Ûªm looking forward to developing the bike more and going to the next round in the Northern Territory," Stauffer concluded.
Burgess completed his first Superbike event on an impressive note, moving up 2 places from his first race to finish 8th in race 2. With an overall round placing of 9th Burgess is pleased with his season‰Ûªs beginning.
‰ÛÏI‰Ûªm pleased with my overall result for the weekend and very happy for the team overall," Burgess said.
"As this is my rookie season in SBK and first season as a factory rider, everything is new and I am having a load of fun so far on the 1198R!
This was the first time all of us have worked together and everything ran very smoothly and professionally. I must say I am humbled at the welcoming we have received by the Ducati Family and I am becoming very passionate about the brand and look forward to a great year ahead with Ducati Motologic Racing‰Û
