Staring moments after capturing the Supersport crown for 2009.

This season has been a memorable year for Yamaha Racing Team rider Bryan Staring, wrapping up his first Australian Supersport Championship in a dominant year of racing.

Staring added the title to his 2004 Australian 125cc Grand Prix Championship, the former motocross talent adding consistency to the raw speed that he has displayed over the past few seasons.

The Western Australian, now based on the Gold Coast, hasn’t signed a deal yet for 2010, but MotoOnline.com.au gave him a call to see if his accomplishment has set in since winning the title at Phillip Island last month.

Bryan, congratulations on putting it all together for the season mate. You seemed relieved at the Island to clinch the title after a few years of trying?

Yeah, definitely. Coming into the final rounds I just wanted it to be over, it felt like it dragged out so long since the first round that we had back in February at Phillip Island. I just felt relieved, kind of like a weight off my shoulders, but in saying that it was a massive feeling of satisfaction to win the title. I’m really, really happy and also really proud, so I thank everybody who has helped me throughout the years. It’s my biggest achievement by far.

You’ve always had the speed, there’s no doubt about that, so what did you change this year to make sure you made it through the season on two wheels?

I sort of took a step back in order to take a step forward, I guess. Although I didn’t change anything specifically, I did change a lot of things in my life such as moving from Melbourne to the Gold Coast, but my team all stayed the same at Yamaha.

For me it was just a realisation that you just can’t win or get anywhere if you don’t finish the races. Just getting through practice and qualifying to the race is important, I realised that it doesn’t matter where you qualify and that you don’t have to be the fastest on the track all the time. It’s all about getting the job done in the race, and I know that I can race well, so I feel like I raced well all year, but I don’t feel as though I qualified well once [laughs].

But anyway, obviously the race is where you win the big points so that’s the most important thing.

Looking at the stats, you actually didn’t finish off the podium all season!

Yeah, I know. That’s a really big achievement in itself. With the way that the last few years have gone, even if I did finish on the podium at every race and didn’t win the title I would have been happy. But obviously with the championship it’s even better!

Beating YRT teammate Jamie Stauffer is a real credit on the same equipment, you winning seven races to his five, so does that make the title that much more rewarding?

It does, for sure. I’ve learnt a lot from Jamie racing him throughout the year and it’s been a really good season. I feel like it is a feather in my cap to beat Jamie, because he’s been the absolute class of the field in Supersport for the last few years. He hasn’t really been beaten consistently and I hope that next year we can continue the battle wherever we may race. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, so I was really happy to beat him.

Staring in action earlier in the season at Symmons Plains.

You’ve already ridden for Honda as a factory Superbike rider before, so is it your goal to get back on a Superbike in 2010?

Yeah, 100 percent. It’s my goal, it’s my ambition and I feel like I deserve to ride a Superbike next year. That’s what I’m working toward at the moment, but everything’s a lot harder to secure at the moment than what it has been in previous years. Any other year I could almost guarantee that I’d be on a Superbike, but this year’s not that great, so we’ll see what happens. We’re working toward it, for sure.

Yamaha pulling out of Superbike must be a real shame for you as a rider, so is staying in blue to defend your number one plate in Supersport an option for you at this stage?

Yamaha are trying their hardest to look after me and they are looking after me well, so I have to thank them a lot for their support. It’s not really their fault that they have to pull out of Superbike, more of a bad situation in an unlucky circumstance. But you know, I can’t blame them and we’re trying to look after each other in a way, so there’s also a really good chance that I’ll stay with Yamaha in Supersport next year and continue my relationship there.

How are the prospects looking of heading overseas for a young Aussie rider right now? It seems harder than ever to get a break on decent equipment…

It does. I can only speak for myself, but I’ve looked into a few different options and have nearly exhausted all of my resources trying to find a ride. I’m sure it’s always been hard to get overseas, but at the moment it seems particularly hard. I don’t have to tell anyone because I’m sure everybody already knows, but there are really good riders who are already in the world championship that are on the market.

Guys like Mark Aitchison and Andrew Pitt don’t have rides as far as I know, so it makes me a lot happier that I’ve at least got something to ride here in Australia for next year. I’m really fortunate to be in that position and am really happy for that.

Well good luck with it and we look forward to watching you progress wherever your next step may be.

Thanks, Alex. I’m sure we’ll know soon what I’ll be doing, so I’ll let you know when it’s finalised.