SA Kawasaki BCperformance press release:

The Swann Insurances Australasian Superbike Championship made its way north for the 3rd round of the series at Queensland Raceway, just a few km’s inland from Brisbane. ‘The paperclip’ as it’s affectionately known, marks the midpoint of the season and the pressure was on the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team after its total dominance of the previous round at Mallala, South Australia.

Qualifying day saw brilliant blue skies and a rising temperature throughout the day making bike setup crucial for the single qualifying session per class later on Friday afternoon. Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R mounted Superbike riders Robbie Bugden and Ben Burke slotted into 2nd and 3rd respectively being split by the smallest margins of 0.031 of a second, with Bugden only 0.088 of a second behind pole sitter Michael Blair.

Supersport riders Kyle Buckley and Ryan Masri also had a tight qualifying session with Buckley achieving 2nd on the grid and Masri claiming his first front row start in 4th on their Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R’s. The teams Ninja 300 cup contenders Jimmy Broadbent and Yanni Shaw claimed 4th and 11th on the grid to set themselves up for a competitive start to their weekends races whilst Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R mounted Evan Byles qualified a respectable 6th in the Formula OZ class after missing the teams scheduled test 2 weeks earlier.

Saturdays AFX-SBK championship saw another typical Queensland blue sky day and the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team got off to a great start with Robbie Bugden claiming the Superbike outright with 3 out of 3 wins, unfortunately his team mate Ben Burke crashed out of the opener but bounced back with a spirited ride in race 2 to claim 3rd from last on the grid and backed that up with another 3rd in the final race of the day.

Supersport contender Kyle Buckley battled all day with championship rival Mitch Levy to achieve 2-1-2 resulting in 2nd outright for the day and setting up another thriller for Sundays all Important ASC championship whilst Ninja ZX-6R teammate Ryan Masri cemented himself as a front runner with 3-3-4 and claiming 3rd outright for the day.

Kawasaki insurances Ninja 300 cup team saw Jimmy Broadbent bring his 300 home in 4-3-3 to finish 3rd outright for the day and Yanni Shaw building confidence after a highside during testing at Queensland Raceway achieved 12-13-13 to claim 13th overall.

Formula OZ Ninja ZX-10R mounted Evan Byles worked on machine setup all day and brought his Kawasaki home with 3-4-4 results to claim 4th overall. Overall a good solid day for the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team to work with for the Sunday ASC races.

The Sunday Swann Australasian Championship is the blue riband series and with the team well prepared after Saturday’s solid results, mixed with a good size crowd including our very own Robbie Bugden’s ‘Honey Badger’ fan club in huge numbers flocking on the sun drenched circuit, setting up a tantalising day of motorcycle racing.

The three 9 lap Superbike races produced some of the best racing of the day with local Robbie Bugden taking out the overall for the day with 2-1-1 results, whilst teammate Ben Burke was in contention in every race achieving 3-2 for the first 2 outings and then an unfortunate crash in the final race of the day saw Burke remount and charge back up to 11th. Bugden and Burke are now sitting comfortably in 1st and 2nd respectably in the championship.

The Supersport races were also held over 9 laps and Kyle Buckley set about his rivalry with Mitch levy and was just pipped to the line for the win in the first outing, whilst the second outing saw Buckley accidently knocking his kill switch, cutting the engine on lap 1 dropping him to 11th, with a charge through the field, he brought his Ninja ZX-6R home in 2nd.

In the final race of the day Buckley brought it home for the win consolidating his lead in the Australasian Supersport championship. Supersport 600 teamster Ryan Masri keeps going from strength to strength and brought his Ninja ZX-6R home in 4th place in the first two races of the day, but it was his outstanding ride in the final race that saw Masri bring his Ninja ZX-6R home on the podium in 3rd after leading for the first 2 laps, outstanding for the rookie in his first year of Supersport competition.

Masri sits 4th in the championship within striking distance of 3rd. Ninja 300 cup’s Jimmy Broadbent claimed a credible 5th in his opener after having some setup issues, unfortunately crashed out of the second outing doing extensive damage to his Ninja 300 that it couldn’t be used.

Kindly Landscapesupplies.com.au’s Gregory Farrell lent his spare Ninja 300 for Broadbent to compete on seeing the youngster claim 9th on the unfamiliar bike from the back of the grid.

Broadbent’s efforts meant he kept in touch with the championship lead dropping to 2nd by a slim 5 points. Ninja 300 teamster Yanni Shaw had a difficult weekend working through a lack of confidence in his Ninja 300 but kept his head high and brought home 12-12-12 results gaining valuable championship points keeping 8th overall not too far from the leaders.

SA Motorcycles dealer principle and the team’s lone Formula OZ entrant, Evan Byles put in a sterling effort battling with local rider Brett Kitchin in all 3 outings and getting the better of him in them all to claim 3rd overall for the day with 3-3-3 results. Byles still sits comfortably in 2nd position of the Australasian Formula OZ championship.

After another strong weekend where the teams efforts were faultless with every scenario thrown at them, the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team now will focus on the second half of the season and the run in the Australasian Superbike Championship.

Robbie Bugden – #24 – Superbike

Amazing weekend for me at Queensland Raceway, it’s always great to race my home round and with a lot of support from my friends and family making it special. On track our weekend didn’t come all that easy, we knew we had the lap speed but not the consistency, but working with Kelvin and my crew chief Ronny we made some improvements to both rider and bike and came out winning 5 out of 6 races and a 2nd. We are getting stronger and stronger with the new 2016 Ninja ZX-10R and I cant thank all the team, sponsors and personal sponsors for what was a dream result.

Ben Burke – #60 – Superbike

Had a good weekend with the SA Kawasaki BCperformance team, I was happy with my pace as I was strong enough to be competitive. Unfortunately this weekend didn’t go my way with Robbie riding faultlessly and my crash in the final race on Sunday. I know what we need to work on and will come out fighting for the remaining rounds and look forward to battling Robbie. Huge thanks to my crew chief Adam and the rest of the team for giving me a package to be fast with. Thanks also to the sponsors and supporters.

Evan Byles – #98 – Formula OZ

Definitely a change in weather from Adelaide!  I really enjoyed my weekend at Queensland Raceway. After a difficult Friday due to missing the scheduled test for the opening of my new SA Motorcycles store in Tailem Bend meant I hadn’t ridden at QR for 12 months and never on the new 2016 Ninja ZX-10R. Saturday’s racing format of racing people rather than bikes really helped me and I was really pleased to take 3rd for the weekend and maintain my 2nd in the championship.

Kyle Buckley – #83 – Supersport

Great weekend at my home track in Queensland. Despite some bad luck we achieved some solid results and maintained our championship lead. Huge thanks to the team, especially Kelvin and my crew chief Vaughan who gave me a fast bike all weekend. Really looking forward to getting back to the teams home round at SMP. Massive thanks to the teams sponsors and my personal sponsors, Iceberg Enterprises, Doyle media services, Shark helmets, Ixon leathers and Falco boots.

Ryan Masri – #96 – Supersport

Had a really good and progressive weekend, after a few challenges on Friday I was able to go forward thanks to the amazing support behind me. Really stoked to work way into the lead of the final race of the day and finish 3rd, couldn’t thank the whole SA Kawasaki BCperformance team enough, especially my crew chief Duncan.

Jimmy Broadbent – #365 – Ninja 300 cup

Learnt a lot this weekend; Friday and Saturday was good and we took some positive steps forward thanks to Sabastian from Dunlop working to get the tyres suited to the bike. After my crash in the second race it was a case of damage control and we finished the weekend still well within the hunt for the championship. Massive thanks to my crew chief Cameron who worked tirelessly all weekend and Kelvin and the rest of the team for working on setup and keeping me focused. Now we will work harder to come back stronger for round 4 at SMP. Thanks to the teams sponsors and my personal sponsor Advantech Communications.

Yanni Shaw – #333 – Ninja 300 cup

A challenging weekend for me but I had fun and learnt to keep a level head when things aren’t going to plan. I struggled to keep the pace and was not confident to push but stayed consistent and gained some valuable points. A huge thanks to the team and my crew chief Tim who provided me an excellent bike every time I went on track. Will focus and come back stronger than ever for round 4 at SMP.

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