Lap records at risk as Superbikes take to re-surfaced Queensland Raceway Dual titleholder Jamie Stauffer is eyeing a return to the winner’s circle as the QBE Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) heads to the newly re-surfaced Queensland Raceway for the fifth of seven rounds this weekend. Stauffer won 3 of the 4 races contested at the technical Ipswich circuit last year and went on to finish runner-up to eventual champion Glenn Allerton. He and fellow ASBK competitors will ride onto a vastly different surface this week, with track upgrades ironing out many of the vicious bumps and dips that formerly characterised the 3.12km layout. A move to the 2012-spec Honda machine has produced mixed results for Stauffer, who, despite scoring a number of podium finishes, has been less than satisfied with his run to date. “I usually do pretty well at Queensland Raceway so this is my chance to try and turn my season around,” said Stauffer. “There’s still lots of work ahead of us with the new suspension we’re running, it’s completely different to what we had last year and we’re still trying to make it work for us in the races. “The new surface up there has really changed the track a lot of the bigger bumps are gone so I’d say we could see the lap record being challenged if the conditions are right.” Last year’s runaway champion, Allerton has pin-pointed Queensland Raceway as a favourite circuit and says he feels confident ahead of the weekend’s races. “We’ve made really good headway with the bike setup and I enjoy racing at Queensland Raceway so all signs are positive,” said Allerton. “A win isn’t far away, the new surface should suit us pretty well and the Procon Maxima BMW should be quick. “Two of the three remaining rounds are here in Queensland so it will be a good chance for me to bridge the gap to Josh and Wayne.” At the head of the standings, Suzuki’s Waters enters round 5 with a 22.5-point advantage over form Honda pilot Maxwell, with the pair sharing all 8 race wins this season between them. A trio of Queensland-based Superbike riders will be keen to put an end to a lean run of local results at the circuit. Team Volvo Group Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden, Team Suzuki’s Ben Attard and Cube Racing’s Ben Henry are looking to the sidelines for local support ahead of the weekend. Attard is hoping to harness some of the speed of his championship-leading teammate Waters in his first season on the factory GSX-R. “It’s been a busy few months with the rounds close together and we’re really hoping to end this stint with a good result before we have a bit longer of a break,” said Attard. “It won’t be a straight-forward round. Weather looks like it could play a part, and we’ll be racing on the new surface which we have tested on, but it was a few months ago now and it didn’t have much grip. “I can’t wait, I’m ready to go and really want to put the Suzuki up the front where it belongs.” Triumph’s Mitchell Carr will look to extend his 11.5-point lead in the tightly-contested Motul Australian Supersport Championship this weekend. Carr won both races at Hidden Valley in April to move clear of factory Honda racer Josh Hook and Yamaha rider Glenn Scott. A pair of proven local wildcards could spoil the party of the frontrunners on race day, with Mike Jones and Brendan Clarke both immensely experienced at the 3.12km circuit. 18-year-old Jones has made the step from the Superstock-spec bike to Supersport with top results, and, complete with his vocal fan club, could be in contention for race wins this weekend. Clarke put on a top show in a one-off appearance last year, finishing a close second in both races to eventual champion Kevin Curtain. Both the Superbike and Supersport classes will contest a pair of 17-lap races on Sunday following initial qualifying and four-rider Superpole sessions on Saturday. The standalone race meeting will feature action from the Honda Prostock Championship, Suzuki Superstock Championship, Dunlop Superlites Championship, BargainBikeGear 250 Production Championship and the Akrapovic Supermoto S1 and S2 classes. On-track action will include a series of shows from stunt sensation Lukey Luke on his custom-built Triumph motorcycle. For further information including schedule and tickets, please visit www.asbk.com.au.