Honda maintains the rage in Michelin Superbike Josh Brookes and Adam Fergusson made it a second consecutive quinella for the factory Joe Rocket Honda team in race two of the Michelin-backed Superbikes at the 2005 Polini Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Brookes (CBR1000RR) continued his perfect weekend with a hard-fought 0.097sec win over Fergusson (CBR1000RR), while Jamie Stauffer (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-10R) was also in the thick of it in a signature Phillip Island drag to the finish line. The immensely gifted Brookes, who hopes to continue his motorcycle racing ascension in the 2006 World Supersport title, also broke his one-day-old lap record in race two, with the benchmark now standing at 1:34.763. That’s a time which would have seen Brookes qualify for this year’s MotoGP race. Fergusson (1:35.166) and Jamie Stauffer (1:35.198) also went under Brookes’ old lap record. After the field settled down in race two, a four-bike rolling scrum was soon at the pointy end of the field Brookes, Fergusson, Jamie Stauffer and polesitter Daniel Stauffer (Yamaha YZF-R1). The decisive moment came at the start of lap three, when Brookes moved from fourth to first in one fell swoop the reward for a superb slipstreaming effort. From that moment, he didn’t relinquish his hold on the No. 1 position, despite vigorous attention from his main pursuers. Meanwhile, Daniel Stauffer again faded in the last few laps, although he still had six seconds to spare over Glenn Allerton (Team Suzuki GSX-R1000). Privateers Scott Charlton (Active Electrical GSX-R1000), Nick Henderson (Dudley Hotel CBR1000RR), Wayne Maxwell (BP ZX-10R) and Shannon Etheridge (Nova Honda CBR1000RR) then followed in quick succession, ahead of Shannon Johnson (Yamaha Racing Team YZF-R1), who is riding with three broken ribs after a recent supermoto spill. Three-time national champion Shawn Giles (Team Suzuki GSX-R1000) only lasted one lap before retiring with an electrical problem. Brookes completes Michelin Superbike whitewash Just minutes after being taken out in the final Supersport race, Honda wiz Josh Brookes (Joe Rocket CBR1000RR) has hit back with a vengeance to complete a clean sweep of the Superbike races at the 2005 Polini Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. In another blanket finish around the classic 4.448km circuit, the irrepressible Brookes again proved too strong for teammate Adam Fergusson (CBR1000RR) and Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jamie Stauffer (ZX-10R). Brookes’ perfect scoreboard is the second time in three years that a rider has gone undefeated in the Superbike support races at Phillip Island, after Suzuki’s Shawn Giles overcame all-comers in 2003. Moreover, Brookes has now won nine of the past 11 Superbike and Supersport races he has contested at Phillip Island, stretching back to the opening round of the Australian championship in April. The third Superbike race was quite a staid affair compared to the earlier hitouts, with changes in position kept to a minimum. The eight-lapper got underway with eight-time World Superbike winner Anthony Gobert (CBR1000RR) out in front, but only after he had cheekily jumped the start from the fifth row of the grid. Officials immediately ‘handed’ him a 10-second penalty, and his sixth place finish on the track was eventually corrected to a 12th place in the official results. With Brookes, Fergusson and Jamie Stauffer well ensconced at the business end, Daniel Stauffer (Yamaha Racing Team YZF-R1) again slotted into a secure fourth, while Giles (Team Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Shannon Johnson (Yamaha Racing Team YZF-R1) were keeping things willing in the battle for fifth. That eventually fell in favour of Giles, who leads this year’s national championship over Brookes with one round remaining back at Phillip Island from November 12-14. In the final standings, Brookes finished on a flawless 75pts, from Fergusson (66), Jamie Stauffer (56), Daniel Stauffer (55) and Glenn Allerton (Team Suzuki GSX-R1000, 42). Aitchison wins after a late bout of friendly fire Yamaha’s Mark Aitchison (Fraser Motorcycles YZF-R6) has won a sensational third and final DENSO Supersport race at the 2005 Polini Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix after Honda teammates Josh Brookes and Adam Fergusson crashed on the final lap. Brookes (Joe Rocket Honda CBR600RR), who won the opening two races yesterday, was leading on the final circuit when Fergusson (CBR600RR) ran too deep at Turn 10 and cannoned into his off-sider. Despite the bingle, both riders were able to remount and complete the distance, with Brookes in 10th and Fergusson 14th. Up front, a delighted Aitchison won his second national-level race of the year by 0.025sec over Josh Waters (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR), with dual Australian dirt track champion Chris Seaton (Cosway Kawasaki ZX-6RR) in third. Aitchison also had cause for a double celebration, because the win guaranteed him overall honours in the DENSO Supersports on 63pts, ahead of Brookes (61), Waters (60), Seaton (53) and Bryan Staring (Allect Racing CBR600RR, 40), who crashed out of second position in the final stoush. Actually, the high attrition rate among the ensemble cast in race three opened the door for some other riders to shine, including teenager Jason O’Halloran (Rocket Racing CBR600RR), Craig McMartin (Ducati Sydney 749R) and Shaun Geronimi (Sydney Mesh & Steel YZF-R6), who finished in positions 4-6. It was a timely return to form for O’Halloran, who was third in the opening two Aussie title races in early April.