Stauffer's the target in Queensland

The 2011 QBE Australian Superbike Championship (ASC) continues at Queensland Raceway this weekend (August 19-21), bringing back together its core of top riders who have use the extended break to go racing overseas.

Team Suzuki rider Josh Waters was the most successful, finishing second in the Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race in Japan as he very nearly became the first Australian to win the high-ranking event since Wayne Gardner and Daryl Beattie in 1992.

Team Honda pair Jamie Stauffer and Wayne Maxwell were forced to retire at Suzuka when in a comfortable fourth spot, but it’s Stauffer who has the form on the board at Queensland Raceway after taking home the full monty in round five of the ASC – pole position and two race wins.

Stauffer’s return to the winner’s circle was an important confidence booster for the rider and his team, but he knows that his rivals will have been working hard to bridge the gap.

“If we can pick up where we left off last round then we’re looking good, but I know there are other guys out there that want to get a win in the books,” said Stauffer, the lap record holder at Queensland Raceway. “I’m going there to win races and I need to be scoring as many points as I can each time out.

“You can never really predict the conditions and pace at Queensland Raceway until you’ve actually ridden it.

“The track can vary from morning to afternoon and the grip levels will almost certainly be different each time out given the amount of car racing across the weekend.”

Stauffer’s round five heroics elevated the New South Welshman to second in the points chase behind Procon Maxima BMW’s Glenn Allerton, whose strong early-season form still leaves him with a commanding 56pt breathing space over his nearest rival.

Although Allerton will leave Queensland Raceway still in charge – there are a maximum of 51 points on offer – the BMW rider is reluctant to let down his guard.

Allerton recently competed in a round of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch, deputising for an injured rider in a privateer BMW team.

“It was great to be able to step in and ride in the Evo (full Superbike rolling chassis but with stock engines) class at Brands Hatch, the BSB is very competitive and I feel like I learnt a lot from the experience,” said Allerton. “A podium result was there but my bike ran out of fuel on the last lap which was disappointing, but I’ve taken lots of positives from it.

“We didn’t get to test at Queensland Raceway prior to this round, but I know the team has been working extra hard in the break.

“We’ve found a bit more power and are ready to try a few knew settings knowing that we already have a great setup and we can really only improve.”

Consistent results have kept Aprilia rider Ben Attard and Suzuki rider Troy Herfoss locked together in third on the points' ladder.

Ben Attard (i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing) and Team Suzuki’s Troy Herfoss – both Aussie Superbike rookies - are currently deadlocked in third place in the standings.

And a recent operation to combat severe arm pump has Attard positive about the upcoming weekend.

“I was able to get in an have an operation after the last round to try and reduce the arm pump I was suffering, my arms feel a lot stronger now and I’m confident I’ll be able to hang on to the bike for the full race distance,” said Attard. “We’ve been working on a few new parts for the bike and the test showed they are taking us in the right direction.

“Jamie (Stauffer) is the target for the whole field at the moment. He’s got the bike dialled for this circuit and it’s up to us to work hard and close the gap.”

Meanwhile, Maxwell is hopeful of notching up his first win of the season, and knows he will need to improve on last round’s performance where he finished a point shy of the podium.

Other contenders will include Victorian Craig Coxhell (Honda) and Robbie Budgen (Suzuki).

The ‘two-plus-four’ events feature a combined grid of Superbike and Prostock racers.

Riders will have 20 minutes on Friday morning to find a suitable setup on the fairly uninspiring 3.12km ‘paperclip’ layout ahead of two official qualifying sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

The top eight times in qualifying will advance to superpole to determine the front row of the grid for Saturday and Sunday’s 20-minute races.

A lap of Queensland Raceway on two and four wheels

V8 Supercar driver Craig Lowndes and Australian Superbike rider Josh Waters agree that Queensland Raceway is one of the country’s most deceptive and technical tracks to master.

This week’s event at Queensland Raceway will see the ‘two-plus-four’ format feature at the 3.12km Ipswich circuit for the first time, and some of the keenest spectators will be the drivers and riders themselves, willing on their fellow racers from the pit wall.

Bathurst legend Lowndes, from the Brisbane-based TeamVodafone, requires few words to describe the mettle of ASBK riders.

“They’re nuts!” he laughed. “A single lap around Queensland Raceway on a bike is intense; I can’t imagine doing that for a full race.

“The Superbikes run over and hit bumps that we don’t, so it throws them around a lot more – it must be incredibly demanding on the body and a rider’s fitness.

“A V8 Supercar loses out slightly in straight line speed but makes that up with a bigger braking footprint, so our lap times are pretty much even.

“At least 60 percent of the V8 paddock love and ride bikes – myself included - so you’ll be sure to see us watching on closely on pit wall.”

Lowndes and Waters are good mates and often find themselves comparing laps from a two and four-wheel perspective.

“The main difference would have to be the amount of track that we can use,” said Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider Waters. “A car is obviously a lot wider so I would imagine the tight exit out of turns would mean it would be easy to drop a wheel off or drive off the circuit completely.

“You need to be smooth and controlled to get a good lap – brake too early and you’ve lost time, brake too late and you’re running wide and struggling to turn back in.

“I think we both agree that it's a track that is a lot harder than it looks, on two wheels or on four, and I’m really looking forward to watching Craig and the rest of the V8 Supercar field fight it out.”

When it comes to pace, bragging rights currently sit in the ASBK corner, with the category-minimum 165kg, 210-plus horsepower bike lapping around 1.4 seconds faster than the 1355kg, 635+hp car.

ASBK riders will hit the track this week for a single 20-minute practice session before two 20-minute qualifiers, an eight-rider Superpole shootout and two 20-minute races.

Turn-by-turn: A Queensland Raceway analysis from the two and four-wheel perspective

Turn one
Lowndes: We run fifth gear into turn one and aim to brake at the end of the merging kerb between the pit lane and race track. The limiting factor here is the bumps; it’s a very bumpy area. The middle of the apex of turn one also has another series of bumps that can upset the car quite a lot if setup is not spot on. There’s a short run between turns one and two, full throttle without changing gears.?
Waters: The bike is really unsettled going into turn one. It moves around quite a bit and it’s hard to get right. I try to hit the inside kerb with my knee, that way I know I can pick up the throttle smoothly.

Turn two
Lowndes: Turn two is definitely one of the most difficult, it’s an off-camber turn with a series of difficult bumps. Some drivers will try to take a different line through here, but it is traditionally a corner with slight understeer and exit oversteer.?
Waters: The track is pretty rough here so you need to be smart. If you try to make up too much ground on the entry then you’ll lose it on the way out. The exit is crucial as it fires you onto the back straight.

Turn three
Lowndes: The run down the back straight is flat out, you’ll hit a few bumps before braking hard on your own brake marker. The car has to ride these bumps otherwise you risk locking a brake. It’s down to second gear here and a good overtaking point. The entry is tight but opens on exit.?
Waters: I brake just after the 200m mark for the entry into three, going from fifth to second gear from the run on the back straight. To get this corner right you need to drift out from the apex and stand the bike up nice and early so you can get on the power.

Turn four
Lowndes: The run down to (turn) four is pretty simple and back hard on the brake again. It’s the first left hander of the circuit so the car will have a bit of understeer as the right front tyre will probably be not up to temperature.?
Waters: The first of the double-left handers will see us go from fourth to second gear. Again it's a place where you can seem to make up time but you will more than likely lose that advantage on the way out.

Turn five
Lowndes: You can take this corner in second or third gear, depending on preference. Short shift or carry the throttle here to maximize speed and stability on exit, a small bit of understeer is normal.?
Waters: It’s a short burst to turn five and I aim to hug the inside ripple strip as close as possible when turning in.

Turn six
Lowndes: The braking point into turn six is another good passing opportunity. Some take a traditional line; others will drive in a V-shape. Good power down is essential as the car wriggles and bucks around here. It’s a big wheelspin corner and hard on the rear tyres. Grab the gears and quickly and you’re crossing the Start/Finish line before you know it.
Waters: This is the final corner and sets up another straight so you have to get it right. It’s a bit like turn three in that you can run it in too fast and find yourself wide of the mark. If you get your braking right then you are able to ride smoothly through the corner and stand the bike up early. If I look down at the dash and see a low 1:09 lap then I know I’m in the ballpark.