From a Radar’s Team Yamaha press release, which explains why suddenly the lead class in the release is Supersport instead Superbike:

2001 Shell Australian Superbike & Supersport Championships
Round 5, Oran Park Raceway, NSW
Final Qualifying

BAIRD SEALS SUPERSPORT POLE POSITION

Radar’s Team Yamaha rider Robbie Baird will start from pole position for this weekend’s fifth and final round of the Shell Australian Supersport Championship at Sydney’s Oran Park Raceway.

The Queenslander was the fastest rider in both qualifying sessions for the Supersport competitors and stopped the clocks with a best time of 1:12.8266 recorded in the final session. His time was under the existing Supersport lap record of 1:13.00 held by Adam Fergusson.

Baird will be joined on the front row of the grid by fellow Queenslander Ben Attard (1:13.5764), Daniel Stauffer (1:13.7832) and Mark Aitchison
(1:13.8467).

Baird has maintained the form that won him the Yamaha New South Wales Formula X Unlimited State Championship at the same circuit last weekend.

“I just went out and went as quick as I could go,” said Baird. “We changed a few things with the suspension, both front and rear, from what we had last weekend and it worked well. The jetting is just about perfect as well with the YZF-R6 producing some very good horsepower which was evident with the lap times being under the current lap record.”

While Baird headed the Supersport timesheets, his teammates Jamie Stauffer and Craig Coxhell were in the thick of the action aboard their Yamaha YZF-R1s as they qualified for the final round of the Australian Superbike Championship. Stauffer will line up on the outside of the front row of the grid after setting the fourth fastest time (1:11.1968), while Coxhell will head the second row with the fifth fastest time (1:11.3331).

Heading the pair were newly crowned champion Shawn Giles (on a Suzuki GSX-R1000), who set pole with a time of 1:10.7939, followed by Wayne Maxwell (1:11.0439) and Bikebiz Yamaha’s Tony Rees (1:11.1329).

“I went faster than I did in the first session this morning, but unfortunately three others went quicker again,” said Stauffer. “I’m somewhat happy with the time as it is the quickest that I’ve ever been around here, so I can’t complain with that. I’ve got the bike set up well and that has definitely helped me in getting my lap times down.”

Coxhell spent the day chasing a good set-up and was frustrated with his fifth-fastest time.

“The hardest part has been trying to find a front tire that I’m comfortable with,” said Coxhell. “For me the track still feels oily and slippery and that is where the problems with the front end are coming in. For tomorrow we’ll try a softer spring in the rear suspension and see how it goes in the warm-up session and then make a decision for the races.”

Tomorrow’s race program gets underway at 10:00 a.m. with the Superbike competitors facing three 12-lap races, while the Supersport field will line up for two 12-lap races.

Qualifying times follow:

Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship
Round 5, Oran Park Raceway, NSW, August 25-26

Qualifying

1. Shawn Giles, Suzuki, 1:10.7939
2. Wayne Maxwell, Kawasaki, 1:11.0439
3 Tony Rees, Yamaha, 1:11.1329
4 Jamie Stauffer, Yamaha, 1:11.1968
5 Craig Coxhell, Yamaha, 1:11.3331
6 Alistair Maxwell, Suzuki, 1:12.9467
7 Steven Fisher, Honda, 1:13.0423
8. Jay Normoyle, Suzuki, 1:13.0816
9. Clayton Landells, Suzuki, 1:13.1613
10. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:13.2645
Lap Record Mat Mladin (Kawasaki), 1:10.2005 on 06/08/95


Shell Advance Australian Supersport Championship
Round 5, Oran Park Raceway, NSW, August 15 – 26

Qualifying

1. Robert Baird, Yamaha, 1:12.8266
2. Ben Attard, Honda, 1:13.5764
3. Daniel Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:13.7832
4. Mark Aitchison, Suzuki, 1:13.8467
5. Josh Brookes, Suzuki, 1:13.9056
6. Craig Trinder, Suzuki, 1:14.0174
7. Rory Rock, Honda, 1:14.1180
8. Cameron Donald, Suzuki, 1:14.2062
9. Rodney Taplin, Suzuki, 1:14.3033
10. Scott Charlton, Suzuki, 1:14.4047
Lap Record: Adam Fergusson (Honda) 1:13.0000 set on 05/03/00