From a press release:

2003 Yamaha Formula Xtreme TT Series
Round 5, Eastern Creek Raceway, NSW
Race Report

CURTAIN CROWNED ‘KING OF XTREME’ FOR THE FIFTH TIME AS YAMAHA SCOOP FOUR MAJOR XTREME TITLES

Kevin Curtain reaffirmed his position as the ‘King of Xtreme’ after he wrapped up his fifth Yamaha Formula Xtreme title in the seven-year history of the series after a frantic final round battle at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway with Nikon Yamaha teammate Daniel Stauffer.

To add to his Xtreme success, Curtain took of the FX Supersport title giving him unprecedented back to back wins in each class.

Adding to Curtain’s success were fellow Yamaha riders Craig Trinder who made a successful defence of his NakedBike title aboard his Nikon Yamaha FZ1 and Taree teenager Alex Cudlin, who in his first full season of road racing took out the Superstock title aboard his Fineline Motorcycles Yamaha YZF R6 and is certain to be a talent to watch for the future.

Curtain has been the man to beat all series, but he was under immense pressure from teammate Daniel Stauffer (in Formula Xtreme) and Brendan Clarke (in Supersport) heading to the final round. He trailed Stauffer by six points when he arrived and emerged victorious by four after taking three race wins and a second, compared to Stauffer’s single win and three seconds. In his rookie year, Clarke was drafted into the team from round two and quickly grew comfortable with the R1 and completed a strong clean sweep for the team by finishing third overall.

“I must say that it’s getting harder and harder each year,” said Curtain after his title win. “It came right down to the wire at the end, so it’s a fantastic relief to be able to have come away with another win. I did everything I could to get the win in that final race as it came down between Daniel and myself as to whoever won that race would win the title. I gave it everything and came up trumps. The Nikon Yamaha team have prepared a great bike for me to ride in the shape of the YZF R1 as have Dunlop who gave us some great tyres to use this year.”

The Xtreme class has provided Yamaha riders with great results in 2003, especially for the strong contingent of privateer riders who support the series. A total of eight Yamaha’s filled the top ten placings in the premier class.

This charge was led by Victorian Cameron Donald who finished the series fourth overall aboard his Gay O’Brien Yamaha. He took out the overall round win at the penultimate round of the series in Queensland, but commitments to race in Asia this weekend forced him to miss the final, but he was rewarded by retaining his place on the points table.

One of the performances of the final round was that of 1997 Formula Xtreme champion Benn Archibald. The Aluma-Lite Racing rider rode solidly all weekend to finish third overall for the round and moved up to fifth on the point’s table. Victorians Nicholas Barton (SCR Yamaha) and Stephen Tozer (Stafford Yamaha) have been competitive all series and finished seventh and ninth respectively.

Curtain’s run at the Supersport title was equally as impressive. He arrived at the Creek with a 20-point advantage over Clarke, but an uncustomary crash in race two left the pair all square on points as they lined up for the penultimate race of the series. Curtain responded as a true champion taking the win and backing it up with another in the final to take the title by 10 points from Clarke.

“I just love the R6,” said Curtain. “It’s such a great package. You don’t have top do that much work to them, just work out how to go around corners fast and they work out very good. Again the team has done a great job in preparing the bike, while Dunlop have really stepped up to the mark this year and have been able to supply a great tyre for the class.”

“It’s getting harder to win races and titles because a few of the other guys are starting to learn how to ride fast. They are thinking seriously about going fast instead of just coming here and having a bit of fun. They now know how well I have gone overseas, so when I set the pace it gives them something to aim for. There’s little difference between my bike and everyone else’s and it just comes down to the rider and preparation.”

Curtain’s blistering charge over the weekend was rewarded even further as he set new lap records in both the Formula Xtreme (1:32.981) and Supersport (1:35.225) classes.

Sydney privateer Glen Allerton continued his great year, finishing fourth overall in the series with his best result being his overall round win at Queensland aboard his Yamaha YZF R6. Lismore Motorcycles rider Mark Stanley had posted a number of strong top ten finishes during the series and finished ninth overall even though he was absent from the final round as he was competing in the Asian championship held over the same weekend.

The Yamaha sponsored Superstock class unearthed another future talent as 16-year-old Alex Cudlin scored his first career open title. Riding his Fineline Motorcycles Yamaha YZF R6, Cudlin has dominated the class all series even though he was up against a number of vastly more experienced riders.

“We had a good weekend scoring a win and three seconds which was enough to have secured the win in the Superstock series,” said Cudlin. “It’s been a really good year. I wasn’t sure how far up near the front we would get, but we got the Yamaha YZF R6 running very well and came away with the title. The Superstock class has been a very good place to have spent my first year of road racing. I’ve learned a lot so that will help a lot as we step up to the Supersport class next year.”

Craig Trinder wrapped up the NakedBike title at the previous round and traded his leathers for a shirt and tie as he took up a guest commentary role for the weekend. In his absence the Yamaha flag was waved by Graeme Wilshaw aboard his Procycles Yamaha FZ1.

Wilshaw completed the weekend third on the outright points table for the class, but did give Yamaha victory in the NakedBike privateers class. He had a strong season and was consistently chased home by fellow Yamaha FZ1 riders Matthew Waldron and Lee Munro who finished fourth and fifth on the outright table.

“The Yamaha FZ1 has been faultless all series, giving us no problems at all,” said Wilshaw. “We’ve given it a bit of a hard time and it proved itself well. We’ve been on the podium at each round, picked up a couple of lap records along the way and won a few races. It’s been good.”

YAMAHA XTREME Overall points standings after round 5 of 5:

1. Kevin Curtain (340); 2. Daniel Stauffer (336): 3. Brendan Clarke (210); 4. Cameron Donald (165); 5. Benn Archibald 162); 6. David Butler (160); 7. Nicholas Barton (151); 8. Robert Bugden (145); 9. Stephen Tozer (143): 10. Ben Attard (133)


YAMAHA SUPERSPORT Overall points standings after round 5 of 5:

1. Kevin Curtain (375); 2. Brendan Clarke (365); 3. Russell Holland (287); 4. Glen Allerton (231); 5. Wayne Maxwell (190); 6. Simon Rattenbury (178), 7. Mark Aitchison (159): 8. Josh Waters (94): 9. Mark Stanley (82); 10. Christopher Seaton (77).

YAMAHA SUPERSTOCK Overall points standings after round 5 of 5:
1. Alex Cudlin (505); 2. Alex Tomasetti (437); 3. Jarrod Curren (396); 4. Benjamin O’Brien (300); 5. Matthew Whalen (234).

NAKEDBIKE Overall points standings after round 5 of 5:
1. Craig Trinder (385); 2. John Allen (382); 3. Graeme Wilshaw (342); 4. Matthew Waldren (275); 5. Lee Munro (228).