VICTORY FOR BUGDEN | Bikesportnz

New Zealand superbike champion Robbie Bugden won the third round of the QBE Australian Superbike Championship at Queensland Raceway at the weekend.

The Volvo Trucks Suzuki rider from Brisbane won the dramatic final 17-lap Superbike race ahead of teammate Wayne Maxwell and Team Honda Racing’s Josh Hook.

The round win is Bugden’s first in the premier class across the Tasman and he said he was thrilled to achieve it at his home event.

“The weekend turned out better than I had hoped to be honest,” Bugden said. “We have been building momentum ever since the test and today we proved the Suzuki is every bit as good as any bike out there.

“To take the race and round win at my home track, in front of my friends and family is something I will remember for a long time.”

Championship leader Glenn Allerton won the opening race of the day but a problem the ECU on the No.14 HP41000 R saw him start the race on his spare bike and from the rear of the grid.

The NextGen Motorsports rider, who stormed through the field to sit fourth at the end of the opening lap, looked poised to strike the top three but was forced to back off when he ran out of front brake.

Allerton finished the round second, tied on points with Bugden and retains his lead in the QBE Australian Superbike Championship.

“That is the one that got away,” Allerton said. I had a problem with the ECU on the warm-up lap which couldn’t be fixed in the five minute window that you have so I had to go to the spare bike,

“I had such a big go at the start, I ended up over doing it on the front brake so in the end I had to give the boys some room as I didn’t want to run into the back of them.

“We have the best package going at the moment and I am going to go to Eastern Creek like a bull at a gate as it is my home event,” he added.

Team Honda Racing’s Jamie Stauffer put in a stoic effort to finish fifth overall while Cube Racing’s Ben Henry was left rueing a tough weekend after walking away from a spectacular crash in the final race.

Wellington’s Sloan Frost had a difficult weekend, although he did manage to score valuable points.

The New Zealand No.4 suffered mechanical issues with his BMW but finished his weekend with a 10th and 9th placings.

Meanwhile, Michael Blair took a clean sweep of the Motul Supersport races and claimed the round win ahead of Ryan Taylor and championship leader Daniel Falzon, while Christchurch rider Alastair Hoogenboezem finished the day ninth overall

“It was a good weekend the bike was really strong in both races today,” Blair said.

“I started from the inside which played to my advantage. I could get the inside starts and try and get out there and control the race for as long as I could.

“A couple of times the boys got in front of me but I was able to out brake them and get back in front,” Blair explained.

Polesitter Chris Quinn finished just off the podium in fourth and sits third in the championship standings six points ahead of Blair.

Matt Walters took his second consecutive Prostock round victory after winning the two 10-lap races. Kawasaki rider Ben Bourke and NextGen Motorsports Ben Nicolson rounded out the podium.

Walters extended his lead in the 2013 Championship and now sits 33 points ahead of Nicolson in the standings.

More than 350 riders took part in the inaugural ASBK Charity ride and collectively raised over $8000.00 for the Starlight Children’s

The next event will see the QBE Australian Superbike Championship return to Sydney Motorsport Park on August 1-4.

QBE Australian Superbike Championship round results

1. Robert BUGDEN (QLD), 43

2. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW), 43

3. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC), 40

4. Josh HOOK (NSW), 35

5. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW), 32

6. Chas HERN (VIC), 29

7. Linden MAGEE (QLD), 28

8. Glenn SCOTT (NSW), 27

9. Sloan FROST (NZ), 23

10. Beau BEATON (NSW), 23

QBE Australian Superbike Championship Championship Standings

1. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW), 94

2. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) , 80

3. Robert BUGDEN (QLD), 79

4. Josh HOOK (NSW) , 67

5. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW), 66

6. Glenn SCOTT (NSW), 54

7. Beau BEATON (NSW) , 49

8. Linden MAGEE (QLD), 43

9. Phil LOVETT (NSW), 38

10. Ben HENRY (QLD), 34

Motul Supersport round results

1. Michael BLAIR (NSW), 50pts

2. Ryan TAYLOR (VIC), 38pts

3. Daniel FALZON (SA), 37pts

4. Chris QUINN (NSW), 31pts

5. Aaron MORRIS (NSW), 31pts

6. Kyle BUCKLEY (QLD), 29pts

7. Luke BURGESS (QLD), 26pts

8. Brendan CLARKE (QLD), 25pts

9. Alastair HOOGENBOEZEM (NZ) 24pts

10. Callum SPRIGGS (QLD) 22pts

Motul Supersport Championship Standings

1. Daniel FALZON (SA), 80pts

2. Ryan TAYLOR (VIC), 72pts

3. Chris QUINN (NSW) , 71pts

4. Michael BLAIR (NSW), 65pts

5. Aaron MORRIS (NSW), 57pts

6. Aiden WAGNER (QLD), 52pts

7. Callum SPRIGGS (QLD) , 51pts

8. Alastair HOOGENBOEZEM (NZ), 45pts

9. Luke BURGESS (QLD), 44pts

10. Brendan CLARKE (QLD), 43pts

Comments are closed.