From a press release issued by Mat Mladin Imports:

FERGUSSON CONFIRMS SUPERBIKE & SUPERSPORT TITLES AT PHILLIP ISLAND

Joe Rocket’s Adam ‘Krusty’ Fergusson confirmed his position as Australia’s best in 2004 becoming the first rider to win both the Australian Superbike and Supersport Championships in the one season.

The results came at the seventh and final round of this years Australian Superbike Championship, held at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, amid some of the worst weather conditions that south east Victoria had suffered in many months.

It caps off a sensational year not only for the likeable Victorian but for sponsors Joe Rocket and Jardine, both of which were making their debut in the Australian racing scene.

Joe Rocket launched into the Australian market, supporting five of Australia’s foremost riders – Adam Fergusson, Josh Brookes, Jason O’Halloran, Damien Cudlin and Brendan Clarke and have celebrated many successes along the way.

While Fergusson celebrates his Superbike and Supersport triumphs, his Castrol Honda teammate Josh Brookes will also be remembered for his stunning World Supersport race win at Phillip Island in March, gaining global recognition for himself, his team and his sponsors.

The pair were a formidable combination in the opening half of the season, but unfortunately Brookes’ run at the front ended prematurely when he suffered season ending injuries to his pelvis in a crash at the West Australian round of the championship

The year has also been equally successful for Performance Exhaust manufacturer Jardine who as a team sponsor of Castrol Honda have been pleased to be involved in every aspect of the team’s success in 2004.

The weekend at Phillip Island proved to be more of a handful than many would have liked or expected. Weather conditions threatened to cause turmoil throughout the weekend, but the event organisers were able to get through their packed program.

Fergusson’s chances of celebrating on a high note, were taken a step back after he was highsided from his Superbike at ‘The Hayshed’ section of the circuit, a flat out in fourth gear right hand sweeper. He suffered a fractured heel in the fall, but hopes to be fully fit to parade his #1 plate at the upcoming Australian Grand Prix support races in October.

“It was a pretty big fall and I was happy in a way that it did happen in race two and not race one for the sake of the championship,” said Fergusson. “It ended up being one of those weekend’s where you wanted to get in there and then get out unfortunately. It was good to go in and wrap up the championship finally. It was a disappointing. After wrapping up the championship in race one, I made a point in my head that I was going to do what we had done earlier in the year and go out and win. The first part of the second Superbike race I did just that and started to pull away when it was red flagged. And then in the restart I crashed, so they stopped that and declared the race after the opening stint, so I still got the race win which was good. It wasn’t the way I wanted to finish the season, but we’ve got the number one plates on each bike, so all is good.”

Fergusson announced that he will carry the #1 plates in 2005 and that he will remain with the official Honda team for the next three years.


More, from a press release issued by Nikon Yamaha:

Victorious Season Finale For

Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team


The Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team finished the final round of the 2004 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championships at Phillip Island (September 10-12) in the best possible way as Shannon Johnson took out the overall victory on the day.

Scoring a win, and a pair of second places, Shannon consolidated his second overall in the title, an extremely impressive result for the year considering that after his first meeting on the dynamic Yamaha YZF-R1 at Eastern Creek back in March he was in ninth position overall.

It was a remarkable achievement considering the atrocious conditions that the meeting was conducted in, as freezing gale force winds, rain and even hail lashed the picturesque southern Victorian circuit for three days sending the meeting into total confusion, the weather at one stage threatening to ruin the entire event.

“It has certainly been an up and down year,” explained Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager, Steve Trinder, ” but overall it has been very successful with Shannon securing second in the championship and Daniel maintaining his fourth place although he didn’t compete on the weekend.”

In recent rounds Shannon has been at the head of the leader board from the opening moments of practice and the situation on the weekend was no different, as he was the one to catch in the early lap times.

Shannon also had the added responsibility of being the only representative for the Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team in the Superbike class as his teammate Daniel Stauffer was unable to compete, still recovering from another operation to the shoulder that he originally damaged back in May.

Weather conditions deteriorated so much on Saturday that four hours of the timetable were lost as the flooded track was drained and resulted in the Superbike qualifying sessions being cancelled. Grid positions were taken from Friday’s practice with Shannon on pole but he was not awarded the customary championship point for recording the fastest time.

The opening Superbike race of the day started just after a downpour with tyre selection a bigger gamble than picking a Melbourne Cup winner. Some went for full wets, others for dry or intermediate tyres while the Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team took the unusual step of selecting – and putting immense faith – in the Dunlop D208 treaded production tyre.



Having never ridden on the tyres before Shannon took a couple of laps to gain full confidence as he settled into second place by which time Shawn Giles (Suzuki) set up a winning lead. Incidentally Giles used the same tyre selection, proving the excellent performance of the production Dunlop tyres.

“The tyre choices were my decision, ” explained Trinder. “It was a very critical time and the choice of the treaded tyres was calculated as slicks would not be up to it and wet weather tyres would not have lasted.

“It was an exceptional result for Shannon who quickly gained confidence on what are basically road tyres as the handling characteristics are drastically different and Shannon had never ridden on them before whereas Giles had.”

The second race was decided under controversy. After four laps the red flag was brought out when the heavens opened yet again with Johnson in second battling for the lead.

By the time the race was restarted the sun reappeared briefly but after two laps the red flag was brought out again after the recently crowned champion Adam Fergusson crashed at the Hayshed while Johnson was in the lead. The officials then decided to classify results after the first stoppage and award half points with Fergusson being awarded the win, Johnson third and the team very bemused at the result as in the past aggregate times of both legs have decided the result.

Variable conditions still prevailed for the final race for the year and what an entertaining stoush it was as Johnson battled Daniel’s brother, Jamie Stauffer (Kawasaki) with the lead swapping numerous times until the final couple of laps where Johnson’s determination and the superiority of the Yamaha shone through to enable the 24-year-old Victorian to secure the day’s proceedings.

“The Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team has become stronger at every meeting as Shannon has become more in tune with the bike and the team,” Trinder said in his summing up of the season. “His results have improved and now he is considered one of the best Superbike riders in the country after he had been discarded and overlooked by many others at the end of last year. Shannon has repaid the faith that Yamaha and I showed in him and is now ready to take the next step in becoming an Australian Superbike champion.

“Sadly for Daniel he missed two rounds due to the injury and we can only think of what might have been had he been fit the entire year as he demonstrated at the opening round and in Queensland, when he was far from fit, what a class act he is as well.”

2004 Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championships final pointscore after seven rounds:

1 A Fergusson (Honda) 344.5pts; 2 Shannon Johnson (Nikon Yamaha YZF-R1) 306; 3 S Giles (Suzuki) 291; 4 Daniel Stauffer (Nikon Yamaha YZF-R1) 215. 5 J Stauffer (Kawasaki) 212.5.

The next appearance for the Nikon Yamaha Factory Racing Team is at the Express Post Australian Superbike support races at the Australian Grand Prix at Philip Island October 16-18


More, from a press release issued by John Pearson:

American Pearson grabs sixth place at Phillip Island’s Australian
Superbike Series Finale

American road racer John Pearson finished sixth overall in the Pro-Twins class during the final round of the Australian Superbike Series held September 10th-12th at Phillip Island Grand Prix Raceway in Southern Australia.

In characteristic Phillip Island fashion, the weather played a huge role during the three-day event. Cold temperatures, hail, heavy rain, and a temporarily flooded racetrack made it a very challenging weekend for everyone.

Riding the Doin’ Bikes Honda RC-51 at the track for the first time, John commented, “The weekend ended up great, but started terrible! I only got 5 laps during my practice session because of an exhaust canister that came loose and then I only managed 2 laps in qualifying when the rear cylinder cam-timing sensor broke. Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy about starting last on the grid, but I was determined to make the best of it.” Because of the problems in qualifying, John was forced to start from the fourth and final row of the grid for all three, six-lap Pro-Twins races.

Race one lined up late Saturday afternoon in wet conditions, and after a great start and some determined riding, John charged through the field to finish a very respectable fifth place. “The track was really wet, but there was plenty of grip, so I just put my head down and tried to make up as many places as possible before the finish. I wished the race was longer because my last lap was my fastest and I was closing in on the leaders.”

Sunday brought bright sunshine and patchy rain, making quick tire changes the order of the day. “I swapped back and forth between wets and slicks four times on Sunday. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the track stayed wet, but it was drying so fast that leaving the wets on would have been a big mistake.” John said.

All the weather predictions went out of the window during race two. The race started dry, but rain began to fall on parts of the track on lap 4 of 6, with John, and most of the other riders caught out on slicks. Displaying excellent wet riding skills, John was able to overtake three additional riders in the final two laps to finish in fifth place once again.

Race three was ran in full dry conditions and after recovering from a less than perfect start, John worked his way up to a respectable seventh on the final lap, but was outrun on the dash to the checkered flag by another rider and relegated to eighth. “I ran medium compound slicks front and rear, but they never really felt like they came in during the race, so I probably should have chosen a softer tire for the cool conditions. Overall though, I am really happy with my performances for the weekend.”

With his temporary ride on the Doin’ Bikes RC-51 coming to a close, John is looking for support for the Australian National Series in 2005. “I really liked racing in the Pro-Twins class, so to get something to ride in that class next year would really be great, but I’m keeping all of my options open right now.”