News 24 Apr 2018

Tough weekend for Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia

Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia press release:

The Bend Motorsport Park played host to Round 3 of the ASBK over the weekend with Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia racers Josh Waters (#1) and Markus Chiodo (#30) lining up for 3 races over across the 4 day program.

With a 5-DNF-6 for 11th overall, Josh Waters leaves South Australia 4th in the Championship, while Markus Chiodo’s 12-11-8 result strikes the first target for Victorian Rookie, a top 10 finish and 10th overall for the round.

Team Owner Dale Brede: “What a weekend. We were positive coming into the weekend that this would be a great round for us, but overall, it wasn’t to be. For all the ASBK teams, it’s a development race off the track just as much as it is a bar to bar race on track, and this weekend we were behind due to a technical issue, making the job for Josh and Markus that much more difficult. In saying that, the team worked well under considerable pressure and we’re convinced the direction we’re headed will help us in the hunt for the 2018 Championship. It was actually a really positive weekend for Markus in the end though, consistently moving forward and getting faster in every outing to eventually finish 10th overall and really showed a new level of maturity in his racing, dealing with the issues we had and pushing foward”.

A visibly frustrated Josh Waters: “It was a tough weekend for us, that’s for sure. The problems I had with the bike not only made it tough to ride in race one, but put a lot of extra pressure on the team to try to get things back on track for me, and so to back up a tough race with an unrelated DNF with the front brake locking on really hurt not just me, but everyone in the garage. All I can really do now is focus on Darwin and look to gather as many points as I can”.

Markus Chiodo: “It was a positive weekend for me to gain some consistent results, although not in the position of where I would expect myself to be. We started where we left off from the test which was positive and made big leaps forward in my times throughout the sessions, however, the faster you go, the setup needs to change more and unlocks issues you have not yet had, so going into race 1 was the first gauge for us to see where we were at. I feel we improved from race to race, not so much in the lap time but more in the consistency over the race distance which gives me confidence heading into Darwin, Round 4 of the championship.”

While it was a tough weekend for Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia, it’s clear the team remains focused on the Championship, and showing yet again, just how good the GSX-R1000R package is. The Championship now has a break until Round 4 in Darwin on July 1. For those considering heading to Hdden Valley to support the team, you can find more details on the next round at www.asbk.com.au.

Make sure you follow the team on social media to stay up to date with the teams progress throughout 2018:

Facebook @TeamSuzukiECSTARASBK
Instagram @teamsuzukiecstaraustralia

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