SA Kawasaki BCperformance press release:

Hot and humid conditions greeted the field for the first round of the Swann Insurances Australasian Superbike Championship and was the setting for one of the best racing weekends the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team has ever had. With a total of eight race wins and 24 podium finishes, there was a SA Kawasaki BCperformance rider on the podium in almost every race the team entered.

The twilight format meant the first round was held over the Friday and Saturday, with practice, qualifying and the first two races on Friday, and a further four races on Saturday.

Friday’s practice sessions were invaluable for every rider in the team – the hot and muggy conditions couldn’t have been previously tested and as such, required some of the riders and their mechanics to rethink their strategies for the weekend. With that in mind, both practice sessions proved very useful to all the riders. Superbike riders, Robbie Bugden and Ben Burke, were both consistent through practice, improving their ZX-10R’s with every setting change.

The same could be said for the team’s Supersport riders, Kyle Buckley and Ryan Masri. Both Ninja 300 Cup riders adapted easily to the conditions and were fast from the get go, with both Jimmy Broadbent and Yanni Shaw hovering around the top of the time sheets.

The qualifying sessions proved fruitful for each rider – Superbike riders Robbie Bugden and Ben Burke qualified in 2nd and 4th respectively, with Robbie posting a time of 1:32.608, just 0.073 back from pole position. Evan Byles qualified in 11th place for the Superbike race, as well as landing himself 4th position on the grid for Formula Oz.

Supersport riders, Kyle Buckley and Ryan Masri earned 5th and 7th spots on the grid, but this didn’t foreshadow the brilliant performances put in by both riders in the subsequent races. Ninja Cup riders, Jimmy Broadbent and Yanni Shaw both did well to qualify in 4th and 7th respectively and again, didn’t foreshadow the subsequently brilliant race results.

Friday’s racing was held throughout the late afternoon and evening, with each class completing two races for the AFX-SBK championship. In both race one and two, Superbike riders, Robbie Bugden and Ben Burke placed 2nd and 3rd respectively. Both were hard fought races with the top three separated by less than a second in race one and Ben putting in the fastest lap. Race two was mired with rain but Robbie managed to record the fastest lap on his way to a third place.

Evan Byles also rode well in both races, finishing in 9th and 6th. However, in the two Formula Oz races, Evan rode brilliantly to earn a 6th and a 3rd – well-done Ev!

Kyle Buckley kicked off his awesome round of racing with wins in both of Saturday’s races, while Ryan Masri worked hard for his 8th place in race one but unfortunately recorded a DNF in race two. Ninja Cup riders, Jimmy Broadbent and Yanni Shaw both rode phenomenally well with Jimmy taking out the first race, while Yanni finished the race in 3rd place.

Unfortunately, due to Yanni recording a jumped start, he was penalised 15 seconds, which placed him in 6thwhen including the penalty. In race two, both riders battled hard at the front, with Jimmy and Yanni ultimately finishing 2nd and 3rd, separated by less than a tenth of a second.

Saturday’s racing was even more satisfying for the team as the sensational results continued to flow. Superbike rider, Robbie Bugden worked hard at the front all day, coming home with a 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Ben Burke also rode sensationally scoring a 4th, 4th and an epic win for the final race of the day. This was Ben’s first win in the Superbike class and is just reward for all the effort he has put in. Congratulations Ben!

Evan Byles put in a huge effort on Saturday, placing 3rd in three races and 6th in the final race of the day. Evan also deserves congratulations for his efforts and podium finishes are a great reward. Supersport riders, Kyle Buckley and Ryan Masri continued their great form, with Kyle winning three of the four races and a 2nd place in the final race. Ryan continued to get his bearings on his ZX-6R, coming home in 6th, 7th, 8th and 6th in the four races.

This is a huge improvement for Ryan and it shows all his training is now bringing positive results. Having spent a season racing his 600, Kyle is now firmly at the pointy end of the Supersport class and his talent is truly beginning to shine. Congratulations on such an incredible effort over the weekend, Kyle!

Ninja 300 Cup riders, Jimmy Broadbent and Yanni Shaw fought hard all day long with intense battles with other riders through each of the four races. Jimmy is certainly maturing as a rider and is getting a great handle on his race craft, scoring himself a win and three 3rd place finishes.

Yanni Shaw is also improving immensely, finishing narrowly behind Jimmy in all four races, finishing in 5th, 4th, 4th and 4th for the day. Yanni has fantastic pace on the bike and is now learning how to translate that into his race craft – congratulations Yanni!

All of these wonderful results meant the riders made a great start to their championship ambitions. Robbie Bugden and Ben Burke finished Saturday’s racing to place 2nd and 3rd in the AFX Superbike Championship, and then 3rd and 4th in the Australasian Superbike Championship.

Evan Byles earned enough points to finish 3rd in both Formula Oz Championships. Kyle Buckley is leading both championships due to his five wins and Ryan Masri is well placed in 6th and 4th in his class. Ninja 300 Cup rider, Jimmy Broadbent, is leading both the Under 20’s and Overall classes in the AFX Championship and 3rd in the Australasian Superbike Championship. Yanni Shaw is very close behind, in 5th and 4th positions, respectively.

A huge thank you must go to every member of the team and all of our sponsors, as well as the riders. Without every member of the team, we would not be able to achieve such sensational results. We love having your support down at the track too, so if you can make it to the next round at Mallala Raceway in Adelaide on the 27th -29th of May, please do.

In the mean time, all of our race bikes are back at the workshop being finetuned for the next round – the work never stops for the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team!

Ben Burke – “Had a good weekend in the SA Kawasaki BC Performance garage. Right from the get go we were where we needed to be. I felt I rode well but struggled in the heat. Winning the final race was the high light and I am happy overall. Thanks again to all the team and sponsors for keeping the show on the road”

Robbie Bugden – “once again have to say a massive thank you to the whole Bc performance sa Kawasaki team. Another massive effort and a really positive weekend. My two main focus points for the weekend was to make sure we put ourselves in a strong position in the Championship, and to learn and understand the new 2016 Zx 10r some more. We achieved both of those things so I’m really happy. As we learn, we will only get stronger as we unlock the true potential of the Kawasaki.Thanks again to my personal sponsors, Pope Building Services, Nitro Stainless and Kabuto Helmets”

Evan Byles – “An awesome fun weekend in Sydney. I love riding the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R with all the amazing improvements build it the 2016 model it is so easy to lay down personal best laps nearly every time I get on the bike early in the season. Finishing on the podium in both series at Sydney Motorsport Park was very fulfilling and being part of a great team at SA Kawasaki BCperformance with my daughter/mechanic is really “living the dream”. Roll on Mallala!”

Kyle Buckley – “Awesome weekend at eastern creek for Round 1, had a heap of work infront of us starting out with a new bike but managed to get it sorted in practice and qualifying ready for the races. Massive thanks to the team for getting me up the front! Stoked to win a few races to start the year off, hoping to continue in Good form at round 2 in a few weeks!”

Ryan Masri – “Had a blast at eastern creek over the weekend. I was off to a rough start with the changing conditions on Friday but with the help of the team I stayed on the bike and qualified 7th for Saturday’s racing. On Saturday had an amazing day everytime I went out I went faster and felt more comfortable the more I pushed the bike. Ending up 6th overall is a real positive start to the season being my first race at eastern creek on the Kawasaki ZX6r. Would like to say big thanks to the team for setting up the bike so well and helping me improve each time I went out on track.”

Jimmy Broadbent – “It was the best racing weekend I’ve ever had! 2 race wins, and on the podium every race, i proved that I could be up the front in the wet and dry! Last year this wasn’t one of my strongest tracks so to be up the front fighting for the wins was an awesome feeling. To be leading the AFX-SBK series and 3rd in the ASC series is really special and a fantastic start to the season. Can’t thank SA Kawasaki BCperformance and all the sponsors enough for all there help especially from Cam, Kelvin and Dad for all the advice and guidance.”

Yanni Shaw – “This weekend was an awesome learning curve. The bike was feeling great and i was able to put in competative lap times and run with the front group. I head to round 2 knowing we will be able to run up the front all year”

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

For further information please contact BCperformance by Bikesconnect on 02 8607 7044 or [email protected]