Pirelli riders dominate Superbike, Supersport and Production classes of Australian Superbike Championships at Phillip Island
Phillip Island, October 4, 2015 – In an exciting end to the season of the Australian Superbike Championship, some warmer weather provided close racing across all classes of the premier national road race series in Australia.
In the Superbike Class, Team Honda Racing returned to the ASBK for the final round to join the series alongside all of the regular season long race teams and riders. Saturdays Pirelli Superpole saw Team Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss record the fastest Superpole of 1.32.85 around the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit using Diablo Superbike SC2 front and SCX 1633 rear. Teammate Jamie Stauffer was next fastest ahead of newly crowned 2015 champion Mike Jones (Australian Outdoor Living Cube Racing ZX10R), all using this same combination of Diablo Superbike tyres available to all riders choosing Pirelli to race in the Superbike class this weekend.
Come race day sunny weather greeted all of the riders. In the Superbike race 1 Jamie Stauffer took the race win ahead of team mate Herfoss, with both riders recording their fastest lap times on the last lap of the 14 lap race. Mike Jones completed the podium for a Pirelli 1-23-3 in race 1. Race 2 saw the same positions for all three riders, with Stauffer edging our teammate Herfoss by just .1 of a second at the chequered flag and privateer Jones 3rd.
The overall result was an emphatic 1-2-3 for Pirelli riders in the Superbike class, with Jones confirming his 2015 Australian Superbike Championship crown one round earlier and staying strong right until the finish despite some health issues over the weekend.
Paul Free – Team Principal – Team Honda Racing: “I am very happy with the weekend’s results for Team Honda Racing. We continue to develop the combination of the Honda CBR1000RR SP and Pirelli tyres, and this weekend’s results build on this development in a very positive way. Troy’s fastest Superpole lap and Jamie’s race wins put us in a strong position for the upcoming Moto GP support races.”
In the Supersport class, Pirelli championship contender Kane Burns suffered mechanical woes early in the meeting, effectively ending his tilt at the class win. He struggled on though throughout the meeting however and finished up 4th overall for the round and 2nd in the Supersport Championship for 2015. The real revelation for this round though was Privateer Chas Hern, who won both races on his GSXR600 using Diablo Supercorsa SC1 in 120/70 ZR-17 and 180/60 ZR-17. Hern showed the true pace and lasting performance of Diablo Supercorsa by taking both race wins convincingly, with fellow privateer Aiden Coote leading a gaggle of Pirelli riders to the podium for a Pirelli for 1-3 result in the Supersport class for the round.
Pirelli riders continued the weekend domination in the Australian 300cc Production class and Production 300 cc Women’s classes, with the winning riders choosing the Diablo Rosso II in 110/70HR-17 and 140/70HR-17 for both classes. In the Australian 300cc Production class, Drew Sells did all he could by taking the round win ahead of Robbie Menzies and Zackary Johnson, but it was Justin Hall who prevailed for the 2015 championship, ahead of Drew Sells and Michelle Marais in 3rd.
In the 300cc Women’s class, IIlish Ross also did all she could to win the championship by taking out the round win, but it was Michelle Marais who took out the 2015 300cc Women’s championship ahead of Ross and sister Lara Marais, for a Pirelli 1-2-3 in this class too.
Don Nicholas Pirelli Product Manager, Link International. “We are very pleased with the weekend’s results. Phillip Island is a challenging place for riders, machines and tyres and we learn more each time we race here. Our congratulations to Team Honda Racing and Jamie Stauffer for this weekend’s race wins in Superbike and Chas’ wins in the Supersport class, and to Cube Racing’s Mike Jones on the 2015 Australian Superbike Championship title. Our congratulations also go to Justin and Michelle for their class wins, and to all riders who chose to race on Pirelli for season 2015.”
Tyres can be ordered for the upcoming MotoGP support categories now by downloading the MotoGP Support tyre order form online.
Orders can be emailed to sales@cykel.com.au or faxed to 07-3382 5050. Cykel can also be contacted by phone on 03-9729 4888
Pirelli Motorcycle Tyres are Imported and Distributed exclusively in Australia by Link International.
www.linkint.com.au.
Image credit – Andrew Gosling/TBGSport
