A selection of riders detail their day at Winton’s sixth round of the 2015 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship. Team and privateer competitors can submit comments to [email protected] prior to the Wednesday after events for inclusion in the post-event Quotebook feature.

Superbike

Image: Russell Colvin.

Troy Herfoss (Team Honda Racing) – 3rd overall:
It was a tough weekend at Winton Raceway. I came away 3rd overall for the event and we head into the final round at Sydney Motorsport Park on equal points. It really is down to the wire and I know we can win the championship. I would like to thank the team once more for their tireless work. It is definitely going to be a huge event to finish the season and I look forward to the final battle for the title.

Jamie Stauffer (Team Honda Racing) – 5th overall:
I finished fifth overall for the event this weekend which is not what I expected. We made good progress from Friday through to racing on Sunday, but I couldn’t quite convert it into a podium finish. I struggled a bit to get out of the corners as quickly as I needed to in order to make a pass and at a circuit like Winton it can make all the difference. The team worked really hard and I would like to thank them. I know there will be a bit of work and planning done between now and December to come out strong for the final event to make sure we are racing at the front to end the season. I look forward to what is certain to be a huge battle at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Wayne Maxwell (YRT with YMI) – 1st overall:
I felt like we had been building over the last few outings but it just wasn’t coming together on the day. The team has got the new bike running sensationally and I felt I let one get away at the last round so I was determined to make a statement here and get my championship defense back on track. The weekend here at Winton went extremely well and I was able to qualify well and then take that into every race over the weekend. Winning all three races was the boost the team needed and the reward they deserved for what has been a really busy period and with just one point between myself and Troy as well as Glenn still well in the title fight, it’s going to be an exciting final round.

Glenn Allerton (YRT with YMI) – 2nd overall:
On the podium again so that’s good and a good day for Yamaha with the team going 1-2-4. I had a bit of a slow start to the season but things have turned around lately and we have been a threat at every round so that is pleasing. 24 points is a good gap but anything can happen at the final round. My goal is to win at Sydney Motorsport Park and if things go my way, you never know what might happen.

Cru Halliday (YRT with YMI) – 4th overall:
It’s pretty hard to get excited over fourth but it was a better day for me and one that I can build off. Race one I was able to charge through and make some passes and that’s how I usually ride, so things are definitely on the improve and with the last round at my home track in Sydney, I hope to finish the season on a strong note.

Ben Burke (SA Kawasaki BCperformance) – 7th overall:
It took me a little longer than expected to get up to pace as I was struggling with bike setup. Once we made some changes our pace improved. I was pretty happy with the final two races on Sunday but need to work on my consistency. Thanks again to the team, sponsors and partners.

Evan Byles (SA Kawasaki BCperformance) – 9th overall:
My first race weekend at Winton was very enjoyable with family and friends along for the event. I learnt the track more with each session and improved my feel under brakes of which I have been struggling with all year. Overall I am very happy with third Pro-Am rider for the round.

Supersport

Image: Russell Colvin.

Brayden Elliott (Suzuki) – 3rd overall:
Round six was certainly extremely tough. I felt I had great pace which showed in all practice sessions on Friday although I unfortunately crashed out of qualifying on my first hot lap which wasn’t an ideal way to start things off. The team did a great job to repair the bike for Saturday’s racing with the difficult task of starting from the rear of the grid. I was reasonably happy with our efforts to gain a front row starting position for Sunday’s racing which was defiantly my main focus. I really gave it my best Sunday to fight for race wins, but in the end one race win and third overall was the result I achieved. It was again disappointing to see the difference in straightline speed between the front bikes, but with a month to prepare I know we can be fully prepared for the last round. With the championship coming down to the final round, I will continue to focus on myself guaranteeing my best efforts. A special thank you to the local friends, family and fans for making the trip to Winton to show their support, also a thank you to my team for all of their hard work and commitment.

Kyle Buckley (SA Kawasaki BCperformance) – 4th overall:
Awesome weekend for me. Things didn’t flow well as we would have liked but to come away with a good amount of points heading into the final round is what we set out to do. Stoked to grab pole position and achieve a few more podiums in the Supersport class. A huge congrats to the team, the hard yards that were put in behind the scenes to get me out on track for Sunday was mega. Looking forward to Sydney.

Paul Young (SA Kawasaki BCperformance) – 7th overall:
The challenge of riding the two classes was even greater at Winton, but I am really pleased with the improvements the team has made with both bikes and we now head to the final round with a great chance of taking the Ninja 300 title and a top five in the Supersport class.

Brandon Demmery (Noise Guard Racing Yamaha) – 11th overall:
Winton is a track I have always liked. Racing on Sunday was great. I really enjoyed some of the battles I had with other riders and also running behind the front pack watching and learning how I can go faster. I was able to set my fastest lap of the weekend in the final race. I want to thank him for all the hard work he does not only at the track, but behind the scenes also. I now sit in 13th position in the overall championship and seventh in the B-grade championship. I’m hoping to finish the year inside the top 10.

Callum Alderson (Race Center Yamaha) – 12th overall:
Race one was up and I was determined to make it, the full race distance! No crashes involved! Teammate Jay had a pretty sore wrist aswell after crashing out of the lead early yesterday, Jay and I spent the race with each other only swapping positions twice though as we where never really close enough to make a pass, as we where running very similar pace. I passed him into turn two with two laps to go but he was able to out break me into turn 11 and come across the line ahead of me by 0.099s. Race two was a little harder for me because of my poor starts, I had to work my way through other riders and try catch someone running similar pace, but I was unable to do that and I was pretty gutted as I know I had it in me to run a fast pace, I just couldn’t find it. Race three was almost exactly race two, besides the fact that I played chicken with a magpie, I was happy to win that battle. We did make changes for this race, making the bike identical to my qualifying set-up, again I’m not quite sure why I couldn’t run the faster pace as it would’ve been nice to dip into the 27s, but I didn’t make it easy for myself starting from the back of the grid every race because of the fixed grids from Saturday’s fastest lap times, which I was unable to finish a lap! But I’ve left the round happy, I set a new PB, I was having fun and I got to ride motorbikes! Massive thanks to all the Race Center crew for their incredible work all weekend, working tirelessly making sure me and the bike where ready for each session, I cannot thank each of them enough.