Changes Pay Dividends for Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia

Round five of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) was a positive one for Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia racing team, with recent development finally showing dividends in the highly competitive field, with Josh Waters racing to 4-2 finishes over the two races for second overall. For Markus Chiodo, it was a tough weekend after qualifying seventh before a crash gave him a 21-13 result for 16th overall.

Josh Waters: “while we always have work to do, I was happy to be back in the mix this weekend”
Round 5: 2nd (4 – 2)
Championship: 5th

Markus Chiodo: ” I’m obviously disappointed with the result, but I showed that I have the speed with my best qualifying position so far this year”
Round 4: 16th (21 – 13)
Championship: 10th

Team Owner Dale Brede: “What a weekend. With Josh qualifying third and Markus seventh, it was looking promising for us. The field continues to push and improve. It really feels like, as a team, we’ve taken a big step forward with our development of the GSX-R1000R to put it back at the front. After getting used to running at the very front and winning, it has been a character-building year for all of us. But through the genius of Phil, along with Josh’s ability to ride the bike at the maximum, giving important and accurate feedback, we are back at the very front. We’re excited about the last two rounds and I’m sure that winning feeling will be back. For Markus, it was a slower start to the weekend, with improvements really coming through on Saturday morning, but the crash in race one aggravated his sore shoulder and made it difficult for him in race two.

Josh Waters: “While we always have work to do, I was happy to be back in the mix this weekend with the lead group of racers. Qualifying third, the work we did at the test and on Friday really paid off and gave me a better chance to be at the front in the races. Fourth in race one after the restart gave me some feedback for the team that let us push even harder in the second race. Race two was a lot faster than race one, but I was able to stay with the lead group and challenge for position. It’s not the race wins that I want, but it feels so good to be back in that lead group of racers again.”

Markus Chiodo: “It was always going to be tough coming into this weekend with a small shoulder injury, but I was confident after Darwin and the test at Morgan Park. Friday was tough though as we didn’t improve from the test, but on Saturday we managed to make some changes that saw me more competitive in the second of two qualifying sessions to start Sunday’s races from seventh place. Although I felt good coming into the races for Sunday, I made a mistake in race one, crashing. Race two was just about finishing. I’m obviously disappointed with the result, but I again showed that I have the speed with my best qualifying position so far this year, so my focus is on to Winton for the next round.”

Image Credit: Andrew Gosling / TBGSport
It’s now a relatively quick turnaround for Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia with round six of the seven round series heading to Winton in Victoria on September 7, 8 and 9. For more details on the next round, head to www.asbk.com.au.

Click HERE for the full results from round 5 of the Australian Superbike Championship.

Make sure you follow the team on social media to stay up to date with the teams progress throughout 2018:
• Facebook @TeamSuzukiECSTARASBK
• Instagram @teamsuzukiecstaraustralia