Wayne Maxwell has taken overall victory by a knife-edge at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway, winning a closely-contested contest over Josh Waters by a mere half-a-point at round 3 of the QBE Australian Superbike Championship.

A final turn, final corner pass in yesterday’s race was the clincher for Team Honda’s Maxwell, who wasn’t going to let victory pass him by.

Maxwell and Team Suzuki’s Waters battled for the full 17-lap distance, with Waters appearing to take the advantage after Maxwell relinquished the lead running wide behind a backmarker.

Maxwell staged an entertaining fightback, and set up the thrilling pass with a strong run onto the long back straight.

There were millimetres in the move between the pair, great friends off track, but the fiercest of rivals with the visor down.

Greasy conditions saw riders contending with changing levels of grip throughout the race, with WA local using Ben Henry his intimate knowledge of the track to claim a hard-fought third place finish.

Cameron Stronach rounded out the top 5 on his BMW in a strong showing for local riders.

Today’s race was bittersweet for Suzuki riders Waters and Robbie Bugden.

The Team Volvo Group Suzuki pilot stormed into the lead before Waters assumed control after a lap.

Bugden pounced on Procon Maxima BMW Glenn Allerton rider at mid-race distance, taking second and setting the quickest lap of the race.

Unfortunately, his charge came to nothing when he was thrown spectacularly from his bike in a high-side crash at turn 1 a lap later.

The race was red-flagged on lap 9, with Waters declared victor and Allerton returned to second place.

Officials awarded half-points after the shortened affair, meaning Waters only claimed 12.5 points for his win while Maxwell took the full 25 yesterday.

34 points played 33.5 in a narrow victory for Maxwell, who moves to second in the race for QBE Australian Superbike Championship honours.

“It was a tough weekend with the conditions being wet and dry,” said Maxwell. “We had reasonable pace in the wet early on but it wasn’t ideal, and we were lucky to adapt quickly when it dried out.

“The bike wasn’t quite there but we worked hard to improve it.

“In the first race the conditions were really wet, and although we had good pace I nearly blew it 2 laps from the finish.

“We were lucky enough to get out of jail on the last corner and I was really stoked to get my second win of the year.

“In the dry we’re still working hard to find a setting with the new suspension. We’re slowly bridging the gap and it’s not for lack of trying – everyone’s giving it 110%.

“It’s only a matter of time until we’re back at the top.”

Waters added a fourth win to his 2012 tally and now leads the championship by 33.5 points.

“The whole weekend went pretty good,” said Waters. “Unfortunately that final race got cut short so I didn’t get full points and didn’t get the overall which would normally happen if you got a pole, a second and a first but these things happen.

“I have to say a huge thank you to the team who did a great job to be in the top 2 all weekend and I hope Robbie is okay after his crash.”

Defending champion Allerton battled hard on the BMW and holds down third on the standings despite a tough run in damp conditions yesterday.

The QBE Australian Superbike Championship returns to the track in a fortnight at Phillip Island, again racing alongside the V8 Supercars.

AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE C’SHIP at Barbagallo Raceway, Perth. Rd 3:

Overall: W Maxwell (Honda) 34 pts 1, J Waters (Suzuki) 33.5 pts 2, B Henry (Suzuki) 25.5 pts 3, G Allerton (BMW) 25 pts 4, B Attard (Suzuki) 23.5 pts 5, C Stronach (BMW) 21.5 pts 6, J Stauffer (Honda) 20.5 pts 7, B Waters (Suzuki) 20 pts 8, S Charlton (Suzuki) 19 pts 9, L Safranek (Honda) 14.5 pts 10.

Championship: J Waters (Suzuki) 130.5pts 1, W Maxwell (Honda) 97pts 2, G Allerton (BMW) 96 pts 3, J Stauffer (Honda) 87.5pts 4, B Attard (Suzuki) 85.5pts 5, R Bugden (Suzuki) 83pts 6, B Henry (Suzuki) 80.5pts 7, S Charlton (Suzuki) 62pts 8, C Trounson (BMW) 26pts 9, C McMillan (Yamaha) 24pts 10.

The Australian rider attacked hard from the beginning, setting a first lap of 1’42.369 which put a one second gap between him and Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa. The current World Champion led every lap of the 28-lap race and maintained a high pace for the duration with Jorge and Dani also riding consistently in the 1’37′s.

Casey also took the lead in the World Championship standings with 66 points, followed by Lorenzo with 65 and Dani in third with 52 points.

Casey Stoner
“In the end it was another fantastic weekend for us. This morning we were more confident but also a little concerned because yesterday afternoon when we had a very similar setting to FP3 the bike was a little bit worse in the warm conditions. In warm up we didn’t have a big problem with chatter but then for the race, under the warmer conditions, we struggled a lot more. This was very difficult to ride with, in the first part of the race I was confident and attacking the track but I closed the front twice due to the chatter. From this point I backed of a little, tried to stay smooth and just wanted to stay in front of Jorge and Dani, but Jorge was coming strong. I had to try and keep my pace and not make too many mistakes, I was changing t he mapping to try and reduce the chatter problem. Towards the end of the race I began to understand how to ride around it, this made things smoother and I found some more pace and was able to bring it home for a great race win.”

Dani Pedrosa
“It’s been a really tough race from the beginning, the pace was very very high from the first lap to the final one. Casey did a good race, unbelievably strong. I had a big shake in the first braking area, Casey and Jorge overtook me and I lost 1.5 seconds on the first lap. During the race I had some issues in the middle of the corner, I was not fast with corner speed; each lap I tried to get a little better, to try and modify my riding style, the mapping, braking later, I tried everything, I managed to match the lap times but not to close the gap. Three races on the podium is very good overall, but in three races we missed something, so let’s try it again in the next one.”

Press release courtesy of Repsol Honda Team.

Red Bull KTM and Ryan Dungey are title favourites for the 2012 Lucal Oil Pro Motocross Championship after ending his Monster Energy Supercross season with two wins on return from a mid-season shoulder injury.

Dungey, now 100 percent recovered from his shoulder injury, is glad to end his season on a positive note, winning in Salt Lake City and at the Las Vegas finale over the weekend.

With Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto and TwoTwo Motorsports’ Chad Reed out for the year, Dungey sits in the box seat to take control of the championship.

“It feels great to end the season with two wins,” remarked Dungey. “This was a tough season for me. I am glad to end it on a positive note.

“I am so happy to be a part of the Red Bull KTM Team and am grateful for all their support. We are turning our focus to outdoors now with a goal of winning the championship.”

Red Bull KTM and Dungey will now head to California in preparation for the opening round of the outdoor season at Hangtown in Sacramento, CA on 19 May.

Motorex KTM Off Road Racing’s Toby Price took an assertive pair of victories at Coonabarabran’s fifth and sixth rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship in New South Wales on 28-29 April.

Fresh from a trip competing in the United States, Price piloted his 500 EXC to the Outright and E3 class victories during both rounds of competition at the Goanna Tracks complex.

It was a perfect weekend for Price, who only arrived back in Sydney just days before travelling inland to Coonabarabran, and he now has a 19-point lead Outright and a buffer of 12 points in the big-bore E3 division.

“The whole weekend went really good for me and I’m loving the KTM 500 EXC,” said Price, of Singleton in NSW. “The team has been working really hard and we’re getting the rewards for that. Hopefully we can keep up this form and I can get the championship back.

“It was the first time we’d been to Coonabarabran for the AORC and the complex was amazing. The track got rough with deep ruts and a lot of dust, but we came out with the win and I’m happy with that. The big picture is the championship so I just need to take each round as it comes.”

Team E1 class contender Ben Burrell was in strong form at his home round of the series, the Parkes resident finishing second in class and fifth Outright during Saturday’s proceedings and then backing that result up with a third on Sunday. He now sits third in the title chase on the 250 EXC-F.

Defending AORC champion Chris Hollis’ weekend was a frustrating one, still struggling to recapture the form that saw him claim the round two win on the 350 EXC-F. Hollis finished eighth Outright and fifth in E2 in round five, before 11th and fifth concluded his weekend. He’s now ninth in the Outright standings and third in E2.

“Toby put in another awesome performance and he was faultless both days,” team manager Brad Williscroft said. “He did what he had to do and was able to dominate the weekend. Benny had an awesome day on Saturday and he was solid again on Sunday.

“Hollis is working through a few problems at the moment and we’re still working on a resolution at this point so he can ride to his potential. It’s a matter of pin-pointing the problem, but overall it was a good weekend for the team and I’m satisfied with the results.”

For additional information on the Motorex KTM Off Road Racing Team, visit the team’s official on Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/ktmoffroadteam. Visit www.ktm.com.au on the web for further information on KTM Australia, as well as KTM’s full model line-up of off-road and road motorcycles available.

The CDR Yamaha team enjoyed another successful weekend with Lawson Bopping breaking through for his debut podium result for the team while Josh Coppins showed his experience and maturity in a typical performance from the gritty Kiwi as he maintains a 20 point lead at the top of the MX1 championship.

Wonthaggi, in Gippsland Victoria, hosted round three of the Monster Energy MX Nationals under clear skies and on a perfectly prepared racing surface. Both CDR riders raced with plenty of spirit and finished third and fourth for the round.

It only took three rounds for Lawson Bopping to stand on the podium with his new CDR Yamaha team. After showing plenty of speed at the opening two rounds, Bopping finally cashed in on his obvious talent with a third place finish for the round.

His race results of 2-3-6 totaled 57 points with each race filled with fast laps as he passed some of the most established names in Australian motocross in his charge forward. His good days’ work has also seen him move to fifth in the championship and just a hand full of points away from third.

“I’m pumped about today and really happy to stand on the podium for the first time with the CDR team. It’s been great working with the team and I feel we are all gelling well and its starting to show in the results.”

“I also enjoyed racing today as we had some great battles. I like being involved in good racing and it seemed like I was in a great battle every race, so that was cool,” Bopping ends.

Coppins went into the third round with a 24 point lead and despite not getting a podium position for the day, left relatively unscathed in the championship chase only dropping four points to his nearest rival. Coppins was always in the hunt during each of the three races but just couldn’t find that last one percent to get his way into the lead.

Still his 4-5-2 result were another consistent day at the office for the worldly experienced Coppins and sees him in good stead as the championship moves forward.

“It was just an okay day for me,” Coppins states at days’ end. “I was always thereabouts but never able to get myself to the front. But the day didn’t do too much damage in the championship although I do want to work on a couple of things prior to the next round.”

With his riders sitting first and fifth in the championship after three rounds, team owner Craig Dack is optimistic about things as the championship heads towards the half way mark.

“I’m really excited about Lawson getting his first podium for the team and we could see him building to it in the previous rounds. He has amazing raw speed and we are starting to harness it and turn it into results.”

“Josh continues to be the consummate professional and always grinds out good results, even when things aren’t going his way.”

“Both guys are perfectly placed at the moment and with some more testing lined up before we head into the sand of WA, I feel confident we can keep the momentum rolling.”

The championship now heads for the deep sands of Wanneroo, just north of Perth in two weeks time in what promises to be a huge round in shaping the battle for the MX1 championship.

For full results and more information on the MX Nationals: www.mxnationals.com.au

To follow all the goings on of the CDR Yamaha team: www.facebook.com/cdrrockstaryamaha

MX1 Results: Wonthaggi
1st Brad Anderson – 67 (Honda)
2nd Todd Waters – 63 (Suzuki)
3rd Lawson Bopping – 57 (CDR Yamaha)
4th Josh Coppins – 56 (CDR Yamaha)
5th Cody Cooper – 50 (Suzuki)
6th Jake Moss – 47 (Honda)
7th Jay Marmont – 44 (Kawasaki)
8th Tye Simmonds – 39 (Honda)
9th Dylan Peterson – 35 (Kawasaki)
10th Dean Porter – 32 (Kawasaki)

MX1 Championship Standings: After Round Three
1st Josh Coppins – 181
2nd Brad Anderson – 161
3rd Todd Waters – 152
4th Jake Moss – 148
5th Lawson Bopping – 146
6th Jay Marmont – 139
7th Cody Cooper – 137
8th Tye Simmonds – 133
9th Daniel Reardon – 96
10th Daniel McCoy – 83

FOX sponsored rider and Zero Seven Motorsports team rider Adam Monea once again proved he has the speed to run with Australia’s best at the third MX Nationals round in Wonthaggi on the weekend.

A revitalized Monea was strong all weekend, setting the fastest practise lap in the ultra competitive MX2 class. The 23 year old from nearby Koo Wee Rup, then qualified his RM-Z250 machine in third on the sandy Wonthaggi circuit.

Coming into round three eighth in the championship points table, Monea’s priority was gaining solid points in all of the three motos and bolster his overall position.

“In the first two rounds I think I’ve shown that I can run with the fastest guys, but have let down my overall result by having a bad race here and there. I know to be a title contender I need to sort that out – which was my main goal for this weekend.”

Battling up front all weekend long, saw Monea earn fourth and sixth place positions in the first two ‘back to back’ 15 minute format races, before grabbing the lead in the early stages of the final 30 minute race.

A race long battle followed between Monea and Honda rider Ford Dale. With Dale eventually edging out Monea by a narrow margin.

“I’m really happy with today and that final moto. After Ford (Dale) past me I was able to find some new lines and close the gap back up on him towards the end of the race. I know my speed and fitness to win is there. Today has givin me a lot of confidence going into the next round in WA. I’m happy to get three solid motos – we can keep building on that!”

Yesterday’s result saw Monea finish in fourth overall for the day, missing the podium by just two points. He now sits seventh overall in the MX2 Championship with 135 points; 57 behind current championship leader Luke Styke.

The series now moves to Wannaroo, Western Australia in two weeks time.

Seven of the Outright top-10 positions went to riders on Yamaha machines today at round six of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), held at Coonabarabran (NSW).
And the Outright wasn’t the only place the boys in blue took charge. Two of the three premier championship class wins again went to Daniel Milner (YZ250F) and Matt Phillips (WR450F).
Milner, from Lang Lang (VIC) claimed his sixth consecutive win in the Championship E1 Class.
The 20-year-old, who rides a YZ250F for the Ballard’s Yamaha Park and Fly Off-Road Team, finished second Outright both days. Phillips came third on his WR450F.
“I started off a little rough in the morning on Saturday,” Milner said. “But I got into the groove.
“The whole weekend I think I had one crash and a few silly mistakes; I over shot a couple corners and hit a couple of trees, but nothing too bad.
“The event was good, they put a lot of effort into the track, which got really rough. But everyone was there helping to sort the track out, so it was enjoyable.
“The little YZ250F didn’t miss a beat all weekend. One of the tests on Saturday was really tight, so it worked to my favour.
“I was loving it.”
Milner said he was looking forward to rounds seven and eight of the Yamaha AORC, being held in his home state on May 19th and 20th.
Milner’s teammate and big-bore WR450F pilot, Stefan Merriman, also had a successful weekend, taking home third both days.
In the Outright, Merriman finished eighth, while fellow Yamaha riders Josh Green and Jarrod Bewley claimed fifth and sixth respectively.
Byron Bay rider Tom McCormack finished ninth Outright on his YZ250F. Stefan Granquist rounded out the top-10 on his WR450F.
The Ballard’s Yamaha Park and Fly Off-Road Team is proudly supported by: Ballard’s Off-Road, Yamaha, Park and Fly, www.jumbopets.com, www.tradingpost.com.au, Trakka, GYTR, Kustom, Choice Suspension, FOX, Endura, Metzeler, Go Pro Cameras, Uni Filter, Talon, DID, Tag, Scott and Braking.
Rounds seven and eight of the Yamaha AORC will be held at Broadford, Victoria, on May 19th and 20th.
For full results from the weekend, or for more information on the Yamaha AORC, please visit http://www.ma.org.au/index.php?id=1417
For more information on Yamaha, please visit http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/
ENDS

Yamaha AORC Round Six
E1
1st Daniel Milner YAMAHA
2nd Josh Green YAMAHA
3rd Ben Burrell

E2
1st Matt Phillips YAMAHA
2nd Glenn Kearney
3rd Jarrod Bewley YAMAHA

E3
1st Toby Price
2nd Stefan Merriman YAMAHA
3rd Scott Keegan

Outright Top-10
1st Toby Price
2nd Daniel Milner YAMAHA
3rd Matt Phillips YAMAHA
4th Glenn Kearney
5th Josh Green YAMAHA
6th Jarrod Bewley YAMAHA
7th Ben Burrell
8th Stefan MerrimanYAMAHA
9th Tom McCormack YAMAHA
10th Stefan GranquistYAMAHA

JEREZ, Spain (AFP) – Australia’s defending world champion Casey Stoner won the Spanish MotoGP here on Sunday for his first win in the race and said it was the greatest race he had ever ridden.

The Honda rider beat home Spain’s 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha while another Spaniard Dani Pedrosa was third on a Honda in his 100th race.

English rider Cal Crutchlow just failed to edge out Pedrosa for third and recorded his second successive fourth place.

Lorenzo – who was left frustrated in his bid to become the first rider since Valentino Rossi in 2001 to win the first two races – retains his lead in the overall standings after winning the race opener in Qatar where Stoner finished third.

Stoner, though, was ecstatic at his victory on a track which he has said he hates and where he had only previously finished on the podium once.

“That is the greatest race I’ve ever done,” said the 26-year-old, who extended his run of 17 successive podium finishes.

“I had a poor start and the conditions were dodgy at first but the bike was working fantastic.

“However, having taken the lead I felt my arm start to pump (he has been suffering from an arm injury) and I thought, oh no!

“Thankfully when I saw the two laps to go marker more blood seemed to flow through my arm and I felt a lot better and strong enough to hold on.”

Lorenzo said he had desperately wanted to deliver victory to his home fans.

“Sadly I was not strong enough today and Casey rode a remarkable race,” he said.

Pedrosa took the lead on the first corner ahead of Lorenzo while Crutchlow overtook Hayden but the Englishman fell back to fifth by the end of the lap.

Stoner produced a wonderful manoeuvre with 25 laps remaining and overtook Pedrosa and Lorenzo to take the lead.

Stoner and Lorenzo had opened up a bit of a gap on third-placed American Nicky Hayden with 22 laps to go, while Pedrosa was struggling to make an impact back in fifth and finding it difficult to pass Andrea Dovizioso.

Two laps later, though, down the straight Pedrosa at last found the speed to move smoothly past both Dovizioso and Hayden to go third but the Spaniard was almost three seconds adrift of Lorenzo.

Lorenzo gradually put the pressure on Stoner and with eight laps remaining the Spaniard was right on the shoulder of the Australian, only to make an error on a corner with six laps to go.

Pedrosa also was starting to cut into the gap with the front two while Crutchlow was impressing in fourth and setting fastest laps at will as he tried to get onto the podium.

However, Stoner fought off Lorenzo’s challenge by posting the fastest time on the penultimate lap while Pedrosa’s charge petered out as he focussed instead on holding off Crutchlow.

“I was a little careful in the beginning,” said Pedrosa, who had never in his six previous races here finished outside the top two.

“I never really found my rhythm and by the time I had passed ‘Dovi’ (Dovizioso) and Nicky (Hayden) the front two were too far ahead.”

Earlier Spanish rider Pol Espargaro had won a rain-shortened Moto2 Grand Prix, while 16-year-old Italian Romano Fenati won the Moto3 race.

The next races are in Portugal next weekend.

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time/Gap

1 25 1 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 157.3 45’33.897
2 20 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 157.2 +0.947
3 16 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 157.1 +2.063
4 13 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 157.1 +2.465
5 11 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 156.2 +18.100
6 10 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 156.0 +21.395
7 9 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 155.6 +28.637
8 8 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 155.6 +28.869
9 7 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 155.3 +34.852
10 6 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 155.3 +35.103
11 5 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 155.1 +38.041
12 4 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Elec. Aspar ART 153.2 +1’12.728
13 3 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda 152.9 +1’18.669
14 2 54 Mattia PASINI ITA Speed Master ART 152.3 +1’29.142
15 1 22 Ivan SILVA SPA Avintia Blusens BQR 152.1 +1’32.478
16 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Suter 151.7 +1’40.577
17 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 150.6 1 Lap

CDR Yamaha’s Josh Coppins turned in another timeless performance to take the round win and move into the championship lead in the MX1 class, after two rounds of the MX Nationals.

The Goanna Tracks venue at Coonabarabran played host to the second round of the MX Nationals where Josh Coppins turned up the heat on his competitors, taking the round win on the back of his 4-3-1 results. With the round victory combined with his second place finish at the series opener, Coppins sits atop of the championship table, 24 points clear of second place.

“I qualified fifth on Saturday and didn’t feel that good on the track, so I just shifted my focus for Sunday and was able to make it work,” Coppins explains.

“Starts are really important with these shorter races so it was good to get them nailed and I was battling up front every race.”

“Leading now doesn’t mean much as we have a long way to go, but so far things have been going to plan, the CDR team has been working tirelessly and we need to keep the momentum going,” he finishes.

Lawson Bopping finished seventh for the round in a tight knit bunch inside the top 10. Bopping posted the fastest lap in qualifying with a blistering 2:34 flyer that was 1.7 seconds faster than any other rider on the track.

He then went on to post the fastest laps in the opening two races, where he finished fifth and fourth. His day then turned a little sour in the final leg when he went down in the final leg and remounted in dead last position. He charged his way back through the field to finish eighth in an inspiring ride. He now holds down sixth in the championship.

“I felt awesome on the bike all weekend. My starts were ok, but with a group of guys this good, I need to improve them a little so hopefully by the next round I can be closer to the front and challenging for race wins,” Bopping said.

Craig Dack, team owner of CDR Yamaha was in good spirits at the end of the day, happy with the effort, energy and results of his team.

“Both guys put in today and rode with plenty of spirit. Josh relentlessly races his way to the front and doesn’t know how to quit while Lawson is doing a great job and we are very happy with the progress he is making.”

“The next three rounds will be vitally important as the racing surfaces become softer and bike setup is critical but I’m confident in the riders and the staff to make the changes needed and we can continue posting good results.”

For more information; www.mxnationals.com.au

To follow the CDR Yamaha team on Facebook; www.facebook.com/cdrrockstaryamaha

Round two Results – Coonabarabran
MX1
1. Josh Coppins 63 – CDR Yamaha
2. Tye Simmonds 56 – Honda
3. Jake Moss 55 – Honda
4. Jay Marmont 54 – Kawasaki
5. Brad Anderson 50 – Honda
6. Cody Cooper 49 – Suzuki
7. Lawson Bopping 48 – CDR Yamaha
8. Daniel McCoy 40 – Suzuki
9. Daniel Reardon 39 – KTM
10. Todd Waters 35 – Suzuki

Championship Standings – After Round Two
1. Josh Coppins 125 – CDR Yamaha
2. Jake Moss 101 – Honda
3. Jay Marmont 95 – Kawasaki
4. Brad Anderson 94 – Honda
5. Tye Simmonds 94 – Honda
6. Lawson Bopping 89 – CDR Yamaha
7. Todd Waters 89 – Suzuki
8. Cody Cooper 87 – Suzuki
9. Ben Townley 75 – Honda
10. Daniel Reardon 72 – KTM