Jamie Stauffer secured a race and a round podium but struggled to match his best form. Image: Toby Lynch.

Team Honda Racing will come together to analyse a challenging Australian Superbike Championship weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, with riders and personnel eager to improve ahead of the next round at Hidden Valley.

The factory team struggled in the opening stanza of the double-header event, with principal Paul Free describing Saturday’s opening race as “nothing short of disastrous.”

A number of changes were implemented for the second race, allowing both riders to bridge the gap to the leaders.

“Both riders had a much more consistent motorcycle throughout the race and the lap times were similar to the front runners,” explained Free after the second race in which Jamie Stauffer was able to secure his first podium of the season.

Sunday’s proceedings saw Josh Hook make a marked improvement, with the rookie rider scoring his second podium of the season in race two.

In contrast Stauffer was unable to move forward, lacking the consistency needed to challenge the frontrunners and experiencing growing discomfort from the pelvic injury sustained at Queensland Raceway.

Free recognised the efforts of the team to make inroads but admitted the desired results hadn’t been achieved.

“Overall it was a difficult weekend for us,” he said. “The team worked hard to try and get on top of issues raised by the riders but overall we fell slightly short.

“Both riders did get on the podium over the weekend which was great to see and we have come away with solid points.

“We will have a debrief now to get a clear understanding of where we are and create a strong direction heading into Darwin for round six.”

The pairing sit fourth and fifth on the standings following round five, with Stauffer on 135 points and Hook on 133.