Changing weather conditions hampered a concerted effort by Yamaha‰Ûªs R1 racers at this weekend‰Ûªs fifth round of the Australian Superbike Championships (ASBK) at Mallala Motorsport Park in South Australia.
The factory outfit spent the day prior to Friday‰Ûªs opening session dialling in the Superbikes of Jamie and Daniel Stauffer to suit the tight 2.8km circuit.
Rather than the forecasted rains, strong winds lashed the area during practice, again making definite setup direction difficult.
The Superbike class fit in the majority of their combined qualifying laps on Saturday before rain began to fall. The conditions eventually forced the cancellation of the Superpole showdown which meant Jamie Stauffer would start on the second row from seventh with a best time of 1:07.158 and Daniel Stauffer a further two grid places back in ninth with a 1:07.373.
Cool but dry track conditions on Sunday looked set to provide the YRT riders with a good opportunity to take back positions and points.
The 20-lap opening race proved to be a processional affair, with few positions changing throughout the duration.
Daniel Stauffer grabbed two places off the start and was seventh as the field completed its first lap. Jamie had dropped two places and was eighth.
The teammates held steady for the remainder of the race and crossed the line in the same positions.
The R1 pairing were involved in a number of see-sawing battles across the course of the second race and would eventually finish in seventh and eighth once more, with Daniel leading Jamie home this time.
Both riders finished the weekend on 27 points. In outright terms Jamie is placed seventh after five rounds, with Daniel just a spot behind in eighth.
‰ÛÏThe bike felt good coming into the weekend but it was really hard to get on top of a good setup with the changeable conditions,‰Û
