Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Annandale Honda’s Craig Connell crashed outside of turn five causing the Formula Xtreme qualifying session to come to a premature end.

AMA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Results:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:23.333*
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:24.363
3. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:24.432
4. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:24.835
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:25.131
6. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:25.648
7. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:25.723
8. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:25.870
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:25.955
10. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:26.237
11. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:26.397
12. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:27.074
13. Craig Connell, Honda, 1:27.079
14. Doug Chandler, Honda, 1:27.084
15. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:27.194

*New lap record. The old lap record of 1:24.288 was held by Damon Buckmaster.

Spies’ Formula Xtreme qualifying lap time was fast enough to have earned the Superbike pole position.

From a press release issued by Road Atlanta:

Brian Livengood “Stabilized and Improving”

7:45 a.m., Saturday, May 17, 2003

Brian Livengood is in “Guarded, but Stable” condition this morning at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Doctors described his condition as “stabilized and improving” following his single bike accident Friday at Road Atlanta during AMA Superbike qualifying.

He will remain in the Neurological Intensive Care unit at Grady for an undetermined time.

Adding to the statement he released, Road Atlanta media relations manager Erin Fannin told Roadracingworld.com that details of Livengood’s injuries have been withheld at the request of his family. Fannin added that Livengood’s family is scheduled to meet with doctors at Grady Memorial Hospital at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and an updated report is expected soon after.

Roadracingworld.com’s Michael D. Green spoke to Livengood’s team manager Kevin Hunt who said Livengood suffered a concussion but was awake and conscious. Hunt said his rider was badly beaten up, bruised all over and will probably miss the next two races.

Green also spoke to Dunlop Road Race Manager Jim Allen about the original release on Livengood’s crash, which stated “Livengood crashed in Turn 9 because of suspected tire failure, according to AMA officials.”

Allen told Green that he didn’t know of the AMA/Road Atlanta statement until Green informed him of it, but Allen added that he spoke to a reliable source who said Livengood’s tire appeared to be losing air and smoking immediately prior to Livengood’s crash.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jamie Hacking took pole position during Pro Honda Oils Supersport qualifying Saturday with a new lap record time of 1:26.250 on his factory Yamaha YZF-R6.

Asked if his fastest lap was exciting, Hacking told track announcer Richard Chambers, “It was, actually. I was having fun on that last lap. I was burning it off coming out of turn seven, backing it in down into turn ten, spinning it all the way up the hill, wheelying. I was laughing in my helmet.”

Hacking is the current AMA Supersport point leader and won the Supersport race at Road Atlanta last season.

Hacking’s teammate Damon Buckmaster also dipped under the old Supersport lap record of 1:27.096 with a 1:26.442 on his Yamaha R6 and told Chambers he was looking forward to a good race with Hacking in Sunday’s 15-lap final.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was also under the old record time and the fastest rider from the odd-numbered session with a 1:27.045, but Spies’ time only held up for the third spot on the front row.

Jason DiSalvo made it three factory Yamahas on the front row with a 1:27.093 on his YZF-R6.

Provisional AMA Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:26.250
2. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:26.442
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:27.045
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:27.093
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:27.203
6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:27.227
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:27.248
8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:27.643
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:27.967
10. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:27.993
11. Matt Wait, Yamaha, 1:28.115
12. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:28.524
13. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:28.609
14. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:28.683
15. Ty Howard, Honda, 1:29.512
16. Doug Chandler, Honda, 1:29.540
17. Craig Connell, Honda, 1:30.185
18. Thad Halsmer, Yamaha, 1:31.582
19. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, 1:32.142
20. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:32.718
21. Heath Small, Yamaha, 1:33.325
22. Darren Luck, Suzuki, 1:34.136
23. Chris Greer, Yamaha, 1:34.957
24. Darrin Mitchell, Suzuki, 1:34.991
25. Steven Breckenridge, Triumph, 1:35.285

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Aaron Yates took the win in the 25-lap AMA Superbike final by 2.8 seconds over Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom Saturday at Road Atlanta.

The win was the sixth of Yates’ career, his first Superbike race win at his home track and his first Superbike victory since winning both races of a double-header at Mid-Ohio July 15-16, 2000.

The win combined with Mat Mladin’s DNF puts Yates in the AMA Superbike point lead.

Anthony Gobert got the holeshot into turn one but was quickly overtaken by Eric Bostrom, Mat Mladin and Yates on the first lap. Mladin took the lead from Eric Bostrom on the second lap of the race and quickly began to pull away by 0.5 second per lap.

After a string of laps hovering around 1:24.0, Mladin had a 3.8-second lead on lap ten. Then just as Mladin sat up to brake from an estimated 175 mph for the turn ten chicane, his rear Dunlop practically exploded, coming apart in big chunks of rubber.

Mladin gave a heoric effort trying to save it. He kept his bike up and going straight despite his rear wheel skidding side-to-side on only a few remnants of rubber for approximately 350 feet of pavement. Still carrying a great deal of speed, Mladin jumped the transition between the track and the gravel trap, continued to try to bring his bike under control in the gravel but lost the front end and finally crashed. Mladin pointed fans to his rear tire before attempting to ride the bike back into the pits, but he couldn’t get the bike out of the impact zone and walked back to the pits.

After he was displaced to second by Mladin, Bostrom worked hard for seven laps to hold off the advances of Yates. Yates finally got by Bostrom on the brakes for turn ten on lap eight and quickly pulled out a comfortable gap. Eric Bostrom closed the gap at times in traffic but had nothing for the Georgia rider.

Kurtis Roberts ran a steady race in fourth, which eventually became third, from the second lap.

Anthony Gobert was as far back as seventh on lap ten before pushing forward past Ben Bostrom and a fading Miguel Duhamel to score fourth, his best finish of the 2003 season.

Ben Bostrom came home fifth in front of Michelin-shod Larry Pegram, Corona Extra Suzuki’s Jordan Szoke, Prieto Racing’s Michael Barnes, Team Embry Geoff May and HSA Racing/Kaufman Trailers’ Shawn Higbee.

Duhamel started fading quickly on lap 13, slowing from a early pace of 1:25s to 1:28 before settling in at 1:31s. Duhamel finished 11th, one lap down.

AMA Superbike Race One Results:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 25 laps
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -2.857 seconds
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -20.449 seconds
4. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, -26.454 seconds
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -44.789 seconds
6. Larry Pegram, Ducati, -56.206 seconds
7. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -68.781 seconds
8. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -79.779 seconds
9. Geoff May, Suzuki, -1 lap
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -1 lap
11. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -1 lap
12. John Dugan, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, -1 lap
17. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, -1 lap
18. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap
20. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap

Provisional AMA Superbike Points:

1. Yates, 187
2. Mladin, 175
3. Eric Bostrom, 170
4. Ben Bostrom, 168
5. Roberts, 160
6. Duhamel, 141
7. Pegram, 124
8. Higbee, 120
9. Haskovec, 111
10. Pridmore, 100

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Mat Mladin sent a shot across the bow of his competition in the final 20-minute Superbike practice Saturday before the first of two 25-lap races this weekend by turning a 1:22.861.

The time is well under Nicky Hayden’s Road Atlanta lap record of 1:23.287 set last year. Mladin’s time on the revised course will not be recognized as an official lap record because it was not recorded during official timed qualifying.

Eric Bostrom nearly matched his fast time (1:23.944) from Saturday morning’s qualifying with a 1:23.988 in the final warm-up session.

Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts was third-fastest in the 20-minute sessions with his fastest time of the weekend, a 1:24.125.

Saturday Afternoon AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:22.861
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:23.988
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:24.125
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:24.862
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:25.111
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:25.518
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:26.406
8. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:26.772
9. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:27.174
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:27.997

16. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, 1:32.928

From a press release issued by the Parts Canada Superbike Series:

CREVIER LEADS SUPERBIKES

SHANNONVILLE, ON – Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC led the way on the opening day of practice for the first round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park on Friday.

In his Canadian debut with the Diablo Performance team the six-time national Superbike champion toured the 1.5-mile ‘Pro’ track in 1:07.559 on his Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Tom Kipp of Chardon, OH was second quickest on the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-7RR at 1:07.699 and Toronto’s Michael Taylor placed third on the Orion Motorsports Honda CBR954RR with a time of 1:08.086.

Qualifying for Sunday’s Superbike feature race will run Saturday afternoon.

“We’ll make some small changes for tomorrow,” said Crevier, who holds the track lap record at 1:05.746. “I think we’ll need a second and a half tomorrow to stay on top. I think the record will be pretty easy to smash, just because the level of competition has gone up this year.”

Kipp is a late addition to the Canadian Kawasaki team. He was brought in after primary rider Owen Weichel broke his wrist in a crash in California two weeks ago.

“We were definitely able to get into a groove quicker than I expected,” said Kipp, who last raced at Shannonville in 1991. “I’m very happy with the Kawasakis.”

Taylor led a tight group of five riders within half a second of each other as new series rules, designed to even the playing field in the Superbike class made their debut.

“We made a lot of changes before the last session,” Taylor said. “I like the bike. We’ll have to keep it up for tomorrow.”

Defending race winner Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, ON was fourth on his Brooklin Yamaha YZF-R1 with a time of 1:08.168. He was followed by Taylor’s Orion Motorsports Honda teammates Kevin Lacombe and Robbie Baird.

Lacombe, from Granby, QC recorded a 1:08.205 on his Honda RC51 while Australian newcomer Baird managed a 1:08.220 on his similar machine.

Pascal Picotte was quickest in practice for the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike national class. The Granby, QC rider set a time of 1:08.534 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Kipp was second fastest at 1:09.241 aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6RR and Trombino placed third with a 1:09.242 on another Yamaha.

Bill Card of Wellesley, ON was quickest in the opening day of practice for the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike division on his Honda CBR600RR with a time of 1:12.868. Richmond Hill, ON’s Eric Warren placed second with a 1:13.027 aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600 and Mark Douglas of Warkworth, ON was third at 1:13.534, also on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

Qualifying for all three national classes will take place Saturday afternoon. Riders will be on the track at 8:30 a.m. with the first qualifying session slated for 1:00 p.m. Feature races will run Sunday.

This weekend’s event will be televised on TSN on Sunday, June 15 at 11:00 am EDT and later this year on Quebec’s RDS and across Canada on the Outdoor Life Network.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Hooters Suzuki’s Vaclav “Vincent” Haskovec came from behind to beat Attack Suzuki’s Josh Hayes in the run to the last corner to win the AMA Superstock race at Road Atlanta Saturday. It was 29-year-old Haskovec’s first AMA National race win, and the Czech Republic immigrant now leads the Superstock point standings.

Hayes got the holeshot and led every lap except for the last lap.

Haskovec was sixth after lap one; passed Adam Fergusson, John Haner and Tommy Hayden on the first lap; and battled with Chris “Opie” Caylor through the middle of the race.

Haskovec turned the fastest lap of the race, 1:26.801 on lap five, passed Caylor in turn one on lap six, pulled within striking distance of Hayes on lap 12 and even sized up Hayes for a pass in turn 10 on lap 14. Haskovec spun up his rear at the exit of turn seven on the final lap, allowing Hayes to pull an advantage down the back straight. Hayes still protected the inside of turn 10, while Haskovec set up for a drive out of 10 and up the hill. Haskovec got the power down up the hill, and Hayes spun up and ran wider over the hill than he wanted. Haskovec rubbed up inside Hayes coming down the hill to turn 12 and took the win by less than a bikelength.

Caylor finished a close third.

Hayden’s 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R was overpowered by the 750cc machines down Road Atlanta’s straightaways. The situation became worse in lapped traffic, but Hayden held on to finish fourth.

Haskovec’s teammate Mike Ciccotto put in a late-race charge to move from eighth up to finish fifth.

Eric Wood, Fergusson, Jimmy Moore, Haner and Yamaha YZF-R6-mounted Jason DiSalvo rounded out the top 10.

Mike Smith and Jordan Szoke both pulled out of the race with mechanical problems. Smith was third when he slowed on the back straight on lap two. Szoke was ninth when his engine apparently blew on the front straight on lap 13.

AMA Superstock Race Results:

1. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 15 laps
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, -0.108 second
3. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, -0.851 second
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -7.654 seconds
5. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, -10.716 seconds
6. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, -11.310 seconds
7. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R750, -12.255 seconds
8. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, -14.657 seconds
9. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R750, -15.885 seconds
10. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, -15.961 seconds
11. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, -17.139 seconds
12. Matt Furtek, Suzuki GSX-R750, -17.812 seconds
13. John Dugan, Suzuki GSX-R750, -20.178 seconds
14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -25.809 seconds
15. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, -30.569 seconds

Provisional AMA Superstock Point Standings:

1. Haskovec, 120
2. Hayden, 118
3. Fergusson, 109
4. Hayes, 100
5. Meiring/Caylor, TIE, 93
7. DiSalvo, 92
8. Moore, 90
9. Haner/Ciccotto, TIE, 77
11. Ulrich, 65
12. Furtek, 56
13. Wood/Szoke, TIE, 54
15. Acree, 52


More, from a press release issued by Marietta Motorsports:

1-888-FASTLAP’S CAYLOR FINISHES 3RD IN 750 SUPERSTOCK AT ROAD ATLANTA

BRASELTON, Ga.- 1-888-FASTLAP rider Opie Caylor stood on the podium in front of his friends and family at his home track of Road Atlanta after taking third in the 750 Superstock race on his 1-888-FASTLAP/Team EMGO Taiwan Suzuki GSX-R750.

Caylor started the race from the second row after qualifying sixth. In the opening two laps, he worked his way into second. For the remainder of the 15-lap race, Caylor battled with Vincent Haskovec as the two tried to chase down race leader Josh Hayes.

Haskovec passed Caylor on lap six, but the two slowly began to close the gap that Hayes had gotten. The three riders stayed close to each other for the remainder of the race in what many fans declared the most exciting race of the day.

Caylor was able to pull away from Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden, who tried to challenge him for third. Caylor ran unchallenged in the closing laps, earning his first podium of the season.

“It seems like it’s always hardest to do good at your home track,” reflected Caylor. “I went to California Speedway and qualified with a better position than I did here. But we ended up on the box today and it’s great.”

1-888-FASTLAP rider Brian Stokes finished 16th on the Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R750. He battled with Rich Conicelli for the entire race. “Conicelli is a good rider and we had fun. It gave me something to do. I hit a couple of false neutrals on the back straight, so my speed back there wasn’t as high as the other bikes. But we did well today and it was a fun time.”

More information about 1-888-FASTLAP, including information about Caylor and Stokes, can be found on the Internet at www.1888FASTLAP.com.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning AMA Superstock Practice Times:

1. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.907
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.166
3. John Dugan, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.183
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:30.210
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.468
6. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:30.560
7. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.597
8. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.696
9. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.762
10. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.800
11. Jason Peters, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.356
12. Mike Smith, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.470
13. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.797
14. Jacob Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.853
15. Hawk Mazzotta, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.284
16. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.300
17. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.516
18. Thad Halsmer, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:33.960
19. Darren Luck, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.321
20. Jeff Muskopf, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.858
21. Chuck Ivey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.412
22. Mike Scruggs, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.224
23. William Johnson, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.758
24. Nathan Hester, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.818
25. Chris Greer, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:40.416
26. David Bell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:40.866
27. Robert Hilliard, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.988

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:27.936
2. Simon Turner, TSR Honda, 1:30.443
3. Chris Pyles, Honda, 1:33.361
4. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:33.463
5. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:33.699
6. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:33.997
7. Darren Fulce, Yamaha, 1:34.465
8. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:34.937
9. Greg Esser, Honda, 1:35.401
10. Sean McNew, Honda, 1:35.546

Chuck Sorensen, the defending AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion, did not participate in Saturday’s qualifying session at Road Atlanta due to an injury suffered in a crash on Friday.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Trevor Hedge, www.mcnews.com.au

The opening stages of the second round of the Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship were played out under cloudy skies at Victoria’s magnificent Phillip Island circuit today.

Shawn Giles (Suzuki) signaled his intentions in first qualifying by going 1.5 seconds under the previous Australian Production Superbike qualifying record and over half a second under the race lap record. Nobody could beat that mark in final qualifying which put Giles on pole position for tomorrow’s three races.

Yamaha’s Kevin Curtain dominated the opening encounter of the five round championships at South Australia’s Mallala Motorsport Park last month with a perfect record of race wins in both the Superbike and Supersport classes. At that meeting Giles was still suffering the effects of a case of severe food poisoning which hindered his performance.

But Giles proved he is back, and fit, after conquering those ills to take pole on his GSX-R1000 Suzuki. Curtain piloted his Yamaha YZF-R1 to a 1:35.244 in the final qualifying session which was good enough for fourth on the grid.

Curtain’s team-mate and fellow Novocastrian, Daniel Stauffer, was the second fastest man in final qualifying and will take his place next to Giles at the front of the grid. Daniel is the brother of Jamie Stauffer who recently filled the Suzuki AMA Supersport seat vacated by Aaron Yates.

Also on the front row is 20-year-old Shepparton rider Craig Coxhell. He is the youngest rider on the front row of the grid and is partner to reigning Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles in Team Suzuki Australia.

But Kevin Curtain did manage to top the tables in the 600cc Supersport category, the 26-year-old needed only one of the two qualifying sessions to secure pole. Second on the Supersport grid is young Brendan Clarke, who, like Curtain, also rides a Yamaha YZF-R6 for the Nikon Yamaha Team. Both riders are back riding in Australia after stints riding on the world championship stage. Curtain rode World Supersport on a Honda while Clarke was the youngest ever 500 Grand Prix competitor when he rode for the Shell Advance Grand Prix squad two years ago.

The tyre rules for Australian Supersport mean that riders have only two sets of tyres to last them through the qualifying sessions, and the three eight lap races scheduled over the weekend. With this in mind both the Nikon Yamaha riders only did the absolute minimum laps needed to ensure their places at the front of the grid.

The first of the weekend’s three Supersport races was run today with Kevin Curtain storming away to an easy victory. The battle for second was hard and fast with Brendan Clarke, Shannon Johnson, Josh Brookes and Glenn Allerton all taking turns at leading the fight. Honda team-mates Josh Brookes and Shannon Johnson rubbed fairings, and elbows, down the main straight in the final run to the line but it was Brookes who held on to take second, but the call was close enough for the video evidence to be called upon to back up the timing system. Both the Honda riders had a talking to about their antics down the main straight which nearly resulted in Brookes rubbing the wall at around 240kph.

Alex Cudlin took the Superstock win by the narrowest of margins over Alex Tomassetti after the duo had a great battle. Leigh McKenzie was the star performer at the previous Mallala round but at the ultra fast Phillip Island circuit the Victorian could only take third behind the two New South Wales riders.

Mildura’s Josh Waters got a shocker of a start in the 125 Grand Prix race but quickly worked his way up to the front. The 16-year-old had a ding-dong battle for the win with multiple time Australian Champion Peter Galvin. Waters took the win by two-tenths of a second after both himself and Galvin continually lowered the lap record. While Waters eventually recorded the win, it was Galvin who set the new record with a 1:41.632. Waters also did times in the 1-minute-41 bracket but the best of the rest could only managed 1-minute-44s.

Western Australia’s Peter Taplin took the win in 250 Grand Prix to continue his perfect record so far this year. Mark Stanley challenged him at times but Taplin eventually took the win by two seconds, while Stanley just managed to hold off Chris Wilkie to take second place.

Caleb Stalder continued to be the class of the field in the dwindling 250 Production ranks. This class sees basically standard Aprilia RS250 machines go head to head with each other and the class has produced champions such as Troy Corser, Mat Mladin, Robbie Baird, Kevin Curtain, Broc Parkes, Anthony West and Aaron Gobert.

But at this stage of the game the 250 Production class is definitely only a shadow of its former self, with grids quite often numbering less than 15. Some rule changes were introduced this year which puts riders on a Michelin Pilot Sport control tyre. The riders have petitioned this move and want to get the rule changed so they can ride on the more track focused ‘Pilot Race’ tyres.

The main factor in tomorrow’s three Superbike races could well turn out to be the notorious Phillip Island weather. ‘A few showers’ are forecast but there is also a chance that the weather could turn nasty. This could really throw a spanner in the works as it has been a long time since a Shell Advance Australian Superbike experienced inclement weather so many of the top riders have not ridden in the rain for a couple of years.

If it is dry, the top four Superbike riders are all on Dunlop rubber but compound choices could be where it is won or lost in regards to the overall round win. Australian Superbikes get two sets of tyres each for them to complete three races on, so one set has to be used in two races. If it is wet Michelin have previously proven to be superior which could allow Honda riders such as Shannon Johnson and Josh Brookes figure more in to the equation. But Dunlop are rumoured to have some great new wets available in Australia this year. If it does turn wet I guess we will find out…

But come rain, hail, or shine the action will be fierce as Australia’s fastest motorcycle racers battle it out around the 4.45km circuit on Sunday to see who comes away the victor from this second round of the Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship.