From a press release:

BAIRD SEEKS HOME ADVANTAGE AT QUEENSLAND RACEWAY

Queensland Raceway, south west of Brisbane plays host to round four of the Yamaha Xtreme Tri-State series, with defending champion and current points leader Robbie Baird, out to maintain his winning streak in this year’s series.

The Brisbane rider has been the overall round winner at each of the three previous rounds of the Formula Xtreme series and will be looking for continued success aboard his Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF-R1 this weekend.

Baird, along with his Radar’s Team Yamaha teammates, Kevin Curtain and Craig Coxhell, has been in strong form all season and has amassed a total of 259 points from the three rounds (12 races) held so far. Curtain, a three times Formula Xtreme Champion, holds second overall with 235 points, while Coxhell lies fourth with 137. Jamie Stauffer riding a Bio Magnetics Sport Yamaha YZF R1 is third overall with 143 points.

Baird and Coxhell recently took part in a one-day test at the 3.10km Queensland circuit, with both riders lapping at near record pace on the day. Both will be looking to match and improve those times when they take to the track for the opening qualifying sessions on Saturday.

“I’ll be taking each race as it comes, but it would be nice to win a few races, be consistent and do what I have to, to secure the championship again,” said Baird. “We tested here a few weeks ago and I was very happy with the lap times that we did. The new 2002 model YZF R1 continues to improve as the development program continues and I think it will be hard to beat here. They had truck racing at the circuit last week, so I’m not sure what the surface will be like when we get there. The weather has been perfect lately and hopefully it will stay that way and not end as it did last year with a torrential downpour.”

“It’s time for me to start turning things around and win some races,” said Coxhell. “A combination of things have meant that I haven’t got the results I was hoping for, but I’m putting that all behind me now and concentrating hard on the final three rounds of the series. As for the track, it can be a little bit boring, but it can be fun as well. There are a few places where you need to be late with your braking and that also means that the bike has to be set up well so that you can capitalize on that and maintain the corner speed. I had some good results there last year and picked up a race win, so I wouldn’t mind doing that again.”

Even though he was absent from the recent test, Curtain has been extremely busy as he has been competing in the Supersport World Championship in between race commitments here in Australia. The Newcastle resident will fly direct to Brisbane after competing at the last round of the WSS in Misano, Italy, where he finished just outside the top ten in eleventh place. He continues his busy schedule this weekend, where he again will take on dual duties of competing in both the Formula Xtreme, where he lies second and the Supersport class where he is the current points leader.

FAST FACTS – Queensland Raceway
Circuit length: – 3.10km

Formula Xtreme lap record:
Craig Coxhell (Yamaha YZF R1) 1:11.5064 (20/05/01)

Supersport lap record:
Brendan Clarke (Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:15.269 (20/05/01)



2001 RACE RESULTS:

Formula Xtreme
Pole position – Craig Coxhell (Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF R1) 1:11.6599

Race Winners:

Race 1 – Craig Coxhell (Radar’s Team Yamaha YZF R1)

Race 2 – Tony Rees (Bikebiz Racing Yamaha YZF R1)

Race 3 – Tony Rees (Bike bz Racing Yamaha YZF R1)

Race 4 – Alex Gobert (Redwing HRC Honda CBR929RR)


Supersport

Pole position – Brendan Clarke (Suzuki) 1:15.5440

Race Winners:

Race 1 – Craig Trinder (Bio Magnetic Therapy Suzuki GSXR600)

Race 2 – Brendan Clarke (Springwood Suzuki Suzuki GSXR600)

Race 3 – Brendan Clarke (Springwood Suzuki Suzuki GSXR600)

Race 4 – Cancelled due to wet weather.


2002 POINT SCORES
Yamaha Formula Xtreme, points after 3 of 6 rounds:
1. R Baird 259; 2. K Curtain 235; 3. J Stauffer 143; 4. C Coxhell 137; 5. D Stauffer 129; 6. J Brookes 115; 7. T Rees 98; 8. C McMartin 71; 9. L Magee 58; 10. S Tozer 35.

Yamaha Supersport, points after 3 of 6 rounds: 1. K Curtain 259; 2. J Stauffer 185; 3. C Donald 140; 4. D Coote 117; 5. B George 105; 6. R Holland 101; 7. A Fergusson 81; 8. R Bancell 75; 9. S Rattenbury 74; 10. D Stauffer 64.