2015

Stauffer claims double as Jones bags podium finish

News

Jamie Stauffer (Team Honda Racing) has won both Superbike races at the final round of the 2015 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli at Phillip Island.

Stauffer put in a dominant performance to claim the round win ahead of teammate Troy Herfoss, with 2015 Champion Mike Jones (Australian Outdoor Living – Cube Racing Team) finishing in third.

In glorious conditions at the Island, Jones overcame a bout of the flu to cap off a wonderful year on the podium – with JD Racing pilot Daniel Falzon finishing the series in second and Kiwi Ryan Hampton (Next Gen Motorsports) in third.

Race 1

Off the start line it was Herfoss who moved into the lead heading into the opening corner, with Stauffer settling into second from Jones and Falzon.

Coming down the straight at the end of the first lap it was Jones who made a surprise move – powering past both Herfoss and Stauffer to claim the race lead.

Behind the trio Hampton moved into fourth ahead of Falzon – the pair riding for their respective countries in battling for the FIM Oceania – 2015 Road Race Championship.

Heading through three laps Linden Magee (LMR Racing) held onto sixth, with Adam Senior (Senior Engineering), Philip Czaj (Czaj Racing), John Hunt and David Barker rounding out the top ten.

On lap four Stauffer moved into second position but Jones seemed to be in control at the front of the field – keeping the Honda pair at bay.

Stauffer soon moved into the lead on lap five and Herfoss followed pushing Jones back into third, but the Kawasaki rider was not going down without a fight.

At the halfway mark Falzon had put a 0.638 of a second lead onto Hampton in fourth and fifth respectively, while the battle at the front was intensifying between Stauffer and Herfoss.

Jones drifted back to nearly three seconds behind the pair through 10 laps, while the gap between Stauffer and Herfoss was a mere 0.063 of a second.

The Honda teammates were tyre on tyre for the remainder of the race, but Stauffer rode a measured and composed race – never giving up the lead and taking the well-earned win.

Herfoss was left to claim second spot, with Jones nearly seven seconds behind in third.

Falzon increased his lead over Hampton as the race progressed to claim fourth – 6.152 seconds ahead of his Oceania rival in fifth.

Race 2

Falzon got the perfect start in the second race, and by turn one he had moved into the race lead.

Soon after Herfoss moved into the lead and by the end of the opening lap it was Herfoss from Jones, Falzon and Stauffer.

On turn 12 of lap two Stauffer attempted to move into second, but both Jones and Falzon held him at bay and he finished the lap in fourth.

Herfoss was sizzling and moved to a 1.584-second lead after the opening couple of laps, and on lap three Hampton, who was in fifth, came unstuck – ending his day early and handing the Oceania title to Falzon and Australia.

Through four laps Jones had cut the lead back to 1.083 seconds, with Stauffer hot on his heals in third and Falzon not far behind in fourth.

Stauffer again tried his luck to pass Jones at turn 12 on lap five, but the Kawasaki of Jones showed its power on the straight, and he held the Honda rider at bay.

On lap seven Stauffer did manage to pass Jones on turn 12, but the 2015 Champion came straight back past him to reclaim second spot.

Lap eight saw Stauffer pass Jones again at the Hayshed, and that was the end of the battle between the pair as the gap widened over the ensuing laps.

But the battle up front between the Hondas intensified as Stauffer honed in on the race leader.

By the end of 11 laps, Stauffer had closed the gap from over 1.5 seconds to .045 of a second, and we were in for an incredible finish.

On lap 12 Stauffer made his move and took the race lead, before Herfoss used the slipstream to his advantage heading down the straight into the final lap and reclaimed the lead.

Stauffer again made his move on turn 12 of the circuit, moving past Herfoss and holding on for the race and round win.

Jones, Falzon, Hunt and Czaj rounded out the top six spots in the race.

ROUND 5 RESULTS:

1          Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) – Honda    (25, 25)          50
2          Troy HERFOSS (NSW) – Honda        (1, 20, 20)      41
3          Mike JONES (QLD) – Kawasaki        (18, 18)          36
4          Daniel FALZON (SA) – Yamaha        (17, 17)          34
5          John HUNT (SA) – Kawasaki                        (15, 16)          31
6          Philip CZAJ (VIC) – Aprilia                (14, 15)          29
7          David BARKER (VIC) – Kawasaki     (12, 14)          26
8          Quentin BLAZLEY (TAS) – Suzuki    (13, 12)          25
9          Nathan SPITERI (VIC) – Honda       (11, 13)          24
10       Ashley FLEMING (WA) – Suzuki       (9, 11)                        20

OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

1          Mike JONES (QLD) – Kawasaki                    225
2          Daniel FALZON (SA) – Yamaha                    163
3          Ryan HAMPTON (NZ) – BMW                      144
4          Ben HENRY (QLD/WA) – Kawasaki                        111
5          Philip CZAJ (VIC) – Aprilia                           99
6          Ashley FLEMING (WA) – Suzuki                  94
7          Troy HERFOSS (NSW) – Honda                   86
8          Adam SENIOR (WA) – Suzuki                       78
9          Quentin BLAZLEY (TAS) – Suzuki                57
10       Jamie STAUFFER (NSW)- Honda                 51