Australian Superbike Series Starts This Weekend at Mallala Motorsport Park

Australian Superbike Series Starts This Weekend at Mallala Motorsport Park

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Copyright 2003, www.mcnews.com.au, used with permission

By Trevor Hedge, www.mcnews.com.au

Australia’s fastest motorcycle racers converge on South Australia’s Mallala Motorsport Park this weekend to kick off the 2003 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship.

Over 180 competitors will ride this weekend in what is the opening round of Australia’s most exciting form of motorsport.

Shannon Johnson will be fighting through the pain barrier after a recent crash at the Victorian Titles left the young Victorian battered and bruised. But, like the true racer he is, Johnson is still looking forward to this weekend with confidence. “Mallala is a fairly physical circuit and there is absolutely no rest on the superbike around there at all. But if we can reproduce the times we did during testing then I know we will be challenging for the win.”

20 years ago Shannon’s father, the legendary Andrew ‘AJ’ Johnson, put in one of his most famous performances back in what was then the Australian 500 GP Championship. ‘AJ’ remembers the ride like it was yesterday, “The 500 Honda I rode that year was a particularly special factory bike and the way it howled up the Mallala back straight was just awesome, but the kink was always just a little ‘too’ exciting on the tyres we had back then.”

While the wicked two-stroke 500 machines are only a memory, the current crop of 180hp Superbikes are just as awesome around the South Australian circuit.

Young Sydney charger Josh Brookes joins Shannon to form the new Castrol Honda Race Team for 2003. Shannon is the current reigning Australian Supersport Champion while Josh won the Supersport Championship in 2001. Both riders will race the Supersport and Superbike classes this year.

But, like Shannon, Josh is heading to Mallala carrying injuries from last weekend’s round of the Victorian Titles. There he broke his collarbone and underwent surgery this week to plate the break. But the gutsy youngster will still attempt to score some important points in this first round of the Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship.

One young rider with many reasons to be happy is Shepparton’s Craig Coxhell. This year the experienced 20 year old joins reigning Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles in the recently dominant Team Suzuki.

But the all-conquering power of the Phil Tainton tuned GSX-R1000 will have both Coxhell and Giles working hard around the extremely physical Mallala track.

“I aim to try and come away from this opening round unscathed and with as many points as I can, you can’t win a championship in the first round so this year I am aiming for consistency,” commented Coxhell.

His three-time Australian Superbike Championship winning team-mate, Shawn Giles, was due to test at Mallala last week but could not ride due to a chronic bout of food poisoning. The 32 year old is still coming back to full strength from that ailment, but in any shape Giles will always be a threat for the win.

The Suzuki and Honda camps will be under fierce competition from the new factory supported Nikon Yamaha Racing Team. This is the first time a factory Yamaha squad have raced at the South Australian circuit for two years and South Australian fans of the tuning fork brand will be hoping for a win. With Kevin Curtain and Daniel Stauffer in their armoury, the Yamaha boys are odds-on to do just that.

In recent outings the Suzuki has shown a horsepower advantage. But in the tight cut and thrust battles, which are a feature of Australian racing, the Yamaha has recently proven the more nimble machine. Around the tricky 2.6km Mallala track agility is vital for a good lap time, here the Yamaha is sure to shine.

A top field of privateer entries will also battle hard. Riders such as Alistair Maxwell, Stephen Tozer, Jay Normoyle, Nick Henderson, Brent George, Scott Charlton and Robert Bugden all add strength to what is a quality Superbike field.

While Kawasaki has no entry in the premier Superbike class they do field a strong effort in the 600cc Supersport ranks. New South Wales teenager Russell Holland heads the Kawasaki charge and will be backed up by at least half a dozen riders starting the championship on the all new ZX-6RR machine.

But the green machines will have heady competition in the shape of riders such as Kevin Curtain and ex-500 GP competitor Brendan Clarke. These two world class talents form a mighty duo in Yamaha’s quest to take the 2003 Australian Supersport Championship.

Shannon Johnson will be aiming to defend his supersport title for Honda but will have his work cut out for him as the new CBR600RR machines have only just arrived and will be raced in standard trim. Suzuki has no factory entry in the Supersport class but will be well represented by privateers such as Reece Bancell and Ross Cooper.

While the Supersport and Superbike classes are the premier events, a talented supporting cast of 46 Superstock riders includes 14 South Australians, the locals aiming for a home track advantage.

The slideways sidecars always entertain around Mallala and a 16 strong field of the three-wheeled machines is guaranteed to produce some major action.

In 125 Grand Prix a junior motocross star makes his road race debut this weekend at Mallala. Bryan Staring is a 15 year old Western Australian with a string of national and state motocross championships under his belt. He will gain plenty of knowledge in his first tarmac outing from experienced campaigners such as Peter Galvin, Paul Campbell, Cath Thompson, Tim Inkster, Josh Waters and Rudi Muller. 250 GP should also prove exciting and these thoroughbred machines will share the track with a good field of 250 Production bikes.

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