BCperformance press release:

The popular World Superbike round at Phillip island which incorporated round 1 of the Australian Superbike Series saw the SA Kawasaki BCperformance Superbike and Supersport teams kick off their season with some encouraging results from Kawasaki ZX10R mounted Ben Burke and Evan Byles in the Superbike class, while Supersport Kawasaki ZX6R pilot Paul Young was flying solo after a testing crash ruled out youngster Kyle Buckley.

Perfect weather greeted the team as practice and qualifying got under way with the Superbike pairing of New south Welshman Burke putting his ZX10R in 13th spot on the grid and South Australian Byles making his debut in the class qualifying in a credible 22nd, both were happy but knew there was work to do and sat down with the team and discussed a plan for the two 12 lap long Superbike races.

Saturdays first Superbike race was cancelled after 2 red flags and was moved to an early Sunday morning start leaving no warm up session. Again superb Phillip island weather greeted the team on arrival at the circuit and it was straight into the racing. Burke got off to a flyer in both races with his trademark fast starts and claimed a 12th place finish in race 1 but it was race 2 where we saw Burke gain the momentum and cross the line in a brilliant 6th giving Burke an 8th overall for the round.

“I was really pleased with my weekend, we had to overcome a few challenges and took a few risks which thankfully paid off!” says Burke “I am now looking forward to the first round of the ASC and we know what we need to improve on. Big thanks to SA Motorcycles and BCperformance and sponsors. I especially would like to thank one of our technicians Ollie, who has now gone back to the UK for all his hard work and dedication over the past 12 months with the team, Good luck mate!”

New recruit Byles who was making his Superbike class debut on his Kawasaki ZX10R also got off to a flyer in both races and crossed the line in a excellent 20th and backed that result up with a close 21st in the second outing of the day and claiming 23rd overall in a tough field of Superbike regulars.

“I am happy with my first race meeting on a 1000cc bike, whilst I would have preferred to be nearer the front, I learnt a lot about riding the Kawasaki ZX10R” says Byles “The team was slick and good to work with and am looking forward to what the season brings”

Lone Supersport rider Paul Young, after Kyle Buckley injured himself in a testing crash the week earlier came into the weekend optimistic after just a single days testing the week before. In an impressive qualifying run, Young put his Kawasaki ZX6R on the front row with a 3rd place to set himself up for a front running attack in the two 10 lap races.

Saturday’s race 1 was held in the super hot conditions and Young slotted straight into 3rd off the start and kept that position all the way to the line, only losing touch with the leading duo in the closing stages claiming a well deserved podium. Sunday’s second Supersport outing was again held in similar conditions and with no warm up available Young and the team made a gamble on some setup changes.

Young got off to another good start and was battling with the leading duo in the early stages and it was clear to see that the changes made worked but then an uncharacteristic crash on lap 5 ended his race early. Overall a encouraging start for the SA Kawasaki BCperfomance supersport team.

“Thanks to the guys at Ktech Suspension who had travelled over with the World Supersport paddock, we made some real great progress with developing the new Kawasaki ZX6R” says Young “It’s hard to believe that just 4 weeks ago these bikes were still in the crate! It was very satisfying to give the team a top 3 result in race 1 and although I crashed out of race two, we did make some very effective setup changes for the race and we could fight for the win”

The SA Kawasaki BCperformance team now prepares for the first ASC race over the weekend of March 27th, 28th and 29th were the Superbike and Supersport teams will be joined by the Ninja 300 cup team.

To follow the teams please go to www.bcperformance.com.au or www.facebook.com/bcperformance.