After a 10 year absence the Australian Superbike Championships makes a welcome return to the Apple Isle Qualifying.

Having had little practice time at the Symmons Plains circuit, most of the Nakedbike riders were quite cautious in the qualifying and practice sessions. After the second qualifier on Saturday morning the combined times placed Jon Cartwright first with a time of 56.791, Simon Rattenbury Finson Yamaha Team second with a time of 57.379 and Mark Willis Coastline BMW was third with a time of 59.026.

The conditions for the qualifying sessions were very windy and quite cold. The Finson Yamaha Team was confident of some strong race results having a good balance between tyres and suspension on this fast and technical circuit.

Race 1
With the colder track temperatures, extreme wind and threatening rain, Saturday afternoons' first race was always going to be a close. The two BMW’s of Fripp and Willis were first and second into turn one closely followed by Jon Cartwright and then Finson Yamaha Team rider Simon Rattenbury. By turn three Jon had moved into the lead and Simon was hot on his heels. The racing was fast and furious with both riders separated by no more than 1.5 seconds during the race. Neither rider was quite sure how hard to push in the varying conditions therefore the race was decided in last lap.

In a last corner passing move Simon was able to take the win by 0.151 seconds over Jon in second place followed by Mark Willis in third.

Race 2
Symmons Plains raceway hasn’t hosted a round of the Australian Superbikes for the last 10 years and they sure made it known on Sunday. The morning bought the perfect conditions for racing with a slight breeze, 17 degrees and a very enthusiastic large crowd.

The Finson Yamaha Teams FZ-1 led the field into turn one followed by Mark Willis and Jon Cartwright. Simon was spurred on by the enthusiasm of a home crowd. Jon moved into second place by the end of the first lap then Simon went on to comfortably head the field for the next six laps. When the last lap board was bought out it had come down to a two horse race between Simon and Jon. Simon’s lap board showed a lead of just 0.5 seconds as he crossed the line for the second last time. The choice of Dunlop tyres in the FZ-1 was perfect for the race distance. As they quickly approached the lapped riders in the last corner at the end of the fast back straight, Simon moved to the left side of the track to cover any passing move by Jon. Jon opted the longer outside line around the slower traffic Simon took the win by 0.069 seconds, the closest finish of the weekend.

Race 3
With a massive local support base and a total crowd figure of over 10,000 Simon was preparing himself to take all three race wins. Having signed over 500 posters and given away nearly 100 Finson Yamaha Team T-Shirts, Simon desperately wanted to do well. Simon's mechanic Mick Carruthers from APW Motorcycles had meticulously prepared the Yamaha FZ-1 for the final race.

Simon started perfectly getting the holeshot from the line and led the field by just over 1 second into the fourth corner. This is when Simon's weekend took a turn for the worse. Maybe it was the cold tyres, maybe Simon was trying too hard. As he made the transition from the brake to the throttle the front tyre gave way and down he went. Simon was straight back on his feet and on the motorcycle. Unfortunately the crash had broken the gear shift lever and thus rendered the motorcycle un-rideable. Simon sat with his head in his hands as the entire field passed him by, watching his perfect weekend of three race wins slip away.

With just 2 more rounds of the Australian Naked Bike Series, Simon is confident that he can rise to the top of the points chart with the ever increasing speed and confidence in the Finson Yamaha Teams FZ-1.

A very big thank you must go to the Finson Yamaha Team members, Michael Carruthers - Team Mechanic, Ian Irving - Engine Development, Tony Wilson - Team Manager, Kim, Shane, Diane & Caroline Rattenbury - Track Assistants, Jamie Keeling - LID Design and the incredible fan support base shown by all of the Tasmanian supporters.

Overall Points
1st Jon Cartwright (NSW) 270 points
2nd Simon Rattenbury (TAS) 249 points
3rd Stuart Fripp (NSW) 204 points

Simon's Interview Quote:

"It's been a long time coming, getting a round back here in Tassie. I am so happy and thankful to all of those involved in organising and making this round of the Australian Championship’s possible and most of all the amazing support of all the fans."