Source: Honda Racing.

Current Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship (ASC) leader Jamie Stauffer will attempt to complete this weekend’s Winton round of the ASC series just one week after breaking his left ankle at the Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan.

The Team Honda Racing rider has been in phenomenal form to date in 2014 with a perfect run of podiums including the Wakefield Park win, however he’ll now face his biggest challenge of the season yet at round four, racing through the pain of a freshly broken bone.

Stauffer lost the front-end of the Dream RT Sakurai Honda in the pre-qualifying practice session at Suzuka, forcing him out of the race alongside Chojun Kameya and countryman Troy Herfoss. Scans in Sydney this week have reaffirmed the extent of the injury.

“In practice just before qualifying, the team made a few changes to the bike and I knew they were wrong,” Stauffer told CycleOnline. “The Showa technicians said try it anyway, and on my first flying lap I lost the front. I think my outside foot got on the bike and that’s where I did the damage.

“It’s broken just below the ankle bone on the outside. It’s actually broken right off, but there’s no need for surgery and it’s not expected to cause any real dramas down the track. The pain isn’t that bad, really. It’s just the swelling making it hard to move.”

Stauffer is the third major title threat to race with injury this season after Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton were forced to in earlier rounds, with a salvation of points now becoming the priority at Winton come Sunday’s championship races.

“I’m going to ride, that’s the plan and I should be able to, but we will see how we go when we get down there,” Stauffer added. “I’ve had a chance to rest it and it is feeling better, but it’s still quite swollen.

“The Saturday races aren’t important to us, we just want to get a good qualifying time for Sunday, so that will help. It’s just a matter of resting it and hoping that this swelling reduces before the weekend.

“I’ve been enjoying riding this year, the bike’s really nice, and luckily enough I should still be able to ride this weekend. I’ll be trying just as hard to get as many points as what I normally do and then see where we are entering the final rounds.”

Entering Winton this weekend Stauffer holds an 11-point lead over Motul-backed teammate Maxwell, while Herfoss is a further 23 points in arrears.