Josh Waters Wins On New 2012 GSX-R1000
Josh
Waters wins opening round of Australian Superbike on the new 2012
GSX-R1000.
Team Suzuki's Josh Waters claimed victory in the opening round of
the Australian Superbike Championship at Phillip Island in Victoria
at the weekend.
Run alongside the World Superbike Championship round, Waters was
relentless in his pursuit for victory, claiming Pole Position and
one-two finishes on to seal the overall.
Waters topped Saturday's Superpole session to take first on the
grid with a 1:33.438sec lap around the scenic 4.5-kilometre ocean
side circuit, setting himself up for a successful race day.
The first 14-lap race on Sunday morning saw the former Champion
dominate from the outset aboard the brand new 2012-model GSX-R1000,
winning by a comfortable 7.424sec margin with the fastest lap of
the race at 1:33.925 seconds. Race two saw Waters finish a close
second, just 0.499 seconds behind Wayne Maxwell. With his results,
Waters claimed the overall on 46 points to lead the Australian
Superbike Championship.
"The first race was great as I was able to get a good start and
break away," said 2009 ASBK Champion Waters. "I was really happy
with that and the 2012 model GSX-R1000 was faultless. In race two
the heat was extreme. I tried and couldn't quite get away, so I let
the guys past and then near the end of the race I tried again. I
got caught up a little bit and couldn't quite get it done.
"It was a great way to start the Championship and get the ball
rolling with the overall victory. The bike was really good -
similar in a lot of ways to the old bike - but the engine is just
really strong and I have a lot of confidence in the handling
already. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into Darwin."
Team Volvo Group Suzuki satellite rider Robert Bugden finished a
strong fourth overall with five-four finishes, with fellow
Queenslander and Team Suzuki newcomer Ben Attard directly behind
him in fifth for the weekend. Attard took a hard-fought third in
race one before crossing the line eighth in the second race after
experiencing tyre degradation.
"It was nice to get a podium in my first Superbike race for Suzuki,
but also disappointing to experience the problem in the final race
because I felt like we could have challenged for a third or fourth
place," the experienced Queenslander said. "We've done a bit of
testing, but in race conditions I felt like my feeling for the bike
improved. I'm really looking forward to Darwin now and am confident
that the 2012-model GSX-R1000 will be even stronger with extra
development before that event."
Team Suzuki Supersport contender Brodie Waters commenced his 2012
campaign on the podium with third overall aboard the GSX-R600.
Waters finished third in race one and fourth in the shortened
second outing, which awarded half points due to the minimal amount
of laps completed.
"It wasn't the way that we wanted to start the year, just because
we struggled with the race set-up and didn't quite get to the level
we needed to for the win," said Waters. "We'll work on that for the
next round and hopefully be able to push for the win. Consistency
will be a vital factor this year though, which is something that I
learnt last year. You need to stay on and get points when you can,
because third place is definitely better than nothing at all when
it comes to scoring points for the Championship."
Team Suzuki manager Phil Tainton said that the weekend's results
were a strong base to build from for the season ahead, looking
forward to further developing the 2012 GSX-R1000 for upcoming
rounds.
"Josh was great as always and adapted really quickly to the 2012
GSX-R1000, plus I'm really happy with the way Ben is riding, so it
was impressive to see him in the top three during that first race,"
Tainton said.
"We're up a little bit in horsepower with the new bike, which is a
great benefit at Phillip Island. It's very similar to the previous
model bike; however the refinements are clear improvements and we
have more to come from Japan as development continues. Brodie
scored good points, but was struggling with grip in the heat. The
GSX-R600 is fast, but we're working on improving edge grip. It's
all going well and Brodie is riding well, but we didn't quite get
it good enough for Brodie to win this weekend."
Sadly, 17-year-old Queensland rider Oscar McIntyre was involved in
a fatal incident during the first Supersport/ Superstock race of
the weekend on Saturday afternoon. Team Suzuki expresses its
condolences to the family and friends of Oscar.
The Australian Superbike Championship will continue at Hidden
Valley in the Northern Territory on April 20-22nd for round two of
the seven-round 2012 season.
Round Results and Championship Standings
Superbike Results and Points
- Joshua Waters - 46
- Glenn Allerton - 36
- Jamie Stauffer - 35
- Robert Bugden - 33
- Ben Attard - 31
- Ben Henry - 29
- Chris Trounson - 26
- Wayne Maxwell - 25
- Scott Charlton - 15
Supersport Results and Points
- Josh Hook - 34
- Mitchell Carr - 33.5
- Brodie Waters - 26.5
- Chris Quinn - 24.5
- Glenn Scott - 24
- Levi Day - 22
- Ryan Taylor - 20.5
- Adam Senior - 18.5
- Darren Sciberras - 18
- Christan Casella - 15
