Darwin returns to ASBK calendar

Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway will host a round of the Australian Superbike Championship for the first time in 11 years this weekend (April 9-11).

Just one of the current batch of riders was on track in 1999 - Suzuki's Shawn Giles, who later went onto win three championships in a row between 2000-2002.

"I am looking forward to getting on track for this event," Giles said. "The Northern Territory government has really gotten behind this event and there is an amazing atmosphere up here.

"Even though I am the only current rider to have competed in the last superbike event here in 1999 it doesn't give me any sort of advantage as the bikes are vastly different now.

"Coming to what is effectively a new event provides a level playing field. This is a very technical track so it will interesting to see who does well."

The ASBK field is stacked with talent in 2010, and also includes defending champion Josh Waters (Suzuki), 2008 title holder Glenn Allerton (Honda), new KTM recruit Shannon Johnson, two-time champion Jamie Stauffer (Ducati), and Bryan Staring (Honda).

Daniel Stauffer is also competing, and should be a lot more competitive in Darwin on the Aprilia V-four after being chronically underprepared for the Phillip Island championship opener.

Maxwell leads this year's championship after a clean sweep at Phillip Island. He has 51pts, ahead of Staring (38), who was a revelation in his superbike debut, Jamie Stauffer (37), Johnson (33), gritty Victorian Scott Charlton (Suzuki, 29) and Giles (29).

"Everyone has been looking forward to racing at Hidden Valley," said Jamie Stauffer. "We've made a few changes to the bike since Phillip Island, and the bike was pretty good there, so we're looking forward to being competitive.

"I've been training hard since the last round, it does take some time to get used to the heat but having raced in Japan and America I'm not really a stranger to it; the key will be keeping hydrated and being smart about recovery off the bike."

Jamie and most of the other top riders tested at Hidden Valley last week.

Round two of the championship gets underway on Friday morning, riders taking to the track for their initial practice and qualifying sessions.

Sunday's competition will feature two 17-lap superbike races, and the support card includes Superstock 1000 A&B (racing with the superbike class), Superstock 600, 125/250 GP and the Aussie Racing Cars.

Queenslander Ben Attard is the Superstock 1000 A&B leader after round one on his Ducati.

This weekend, motorcycle riders are encouraged to ride their bikes to the track where they can park in special designated areas trackside.

Alternatively the government will be providing free buses for the public to attend the event. Services will run return from Casuarina, Darwin, Nightcliff, Palmerston and selected rural areas.

Click on the following link for bus timetables and all other event information.