Team Coastline BMW remains firmly entrenched near the top of the leader board thanks to a strong finish for Mark Willis this weekend.

The penultimate round of the 2006 Australian NakedBike Championship was held at Victoria's Winton Motor Raceway over October 21-22.

Mark Willis again showcased his talents aboard the Team Coastline BMW K 1200 R taking second place overall for the round, while teammate Stuart Fripp had a more difficult weekend finishing tenth overall.

Mark qualified third fastest and made the most of three electrifying front row starts to immediately lead the field in each of the three races, challenging series leader Jon Cartwright at every opportunity.

A fighting second place in the opening race was followed by a fifth in the second race after a slipping clutch slowed his progress. The race was declared after five of seven laps due to a nasty fall, with officials awarding half points for the race. Willis came out charging in the final and held the race lead for the opening four laps highlighting the amazing progress the team has made during the season. He was passed by Cartwright who secured the title for this year with the win.

"We made a few adjustments to the BMW K 1200 R coming into this round," said Willis. "Initially I felt that we may find it hard around here. But as the weekend progressed things became a lot more favourable. We found ourselves challenging for the race lead which we haven't really been able to do so far."

"Every time I get on the bike I'm getting a lot more comfortable and confident and that's what you need to be at the front."

"I'm more than happy with the progress we have made in the short time since I first rode it in Queensland. It's a credit to our small team and to everyone involved."

"Having the extra track time as part of the Pro-Twins class has also helped us. Those extra laps help a lot over the weekend, especially as we have only a limited test programme," Mark said.

Stuart Fripp endured a less enthralling weekend in the NakedBike events. Knowing his teammate was on the race pace, he found it a little more difficult to come to terms with the track, where in the past he has achieved strong results.

A small technical fault in the opening race kept him out of the results, but he was able to bounce back, scoring a pair of fourths to leave him fourth overall on the points table.

"We've been trying to find the right set up for the bike, but it just hasn't come to us. Obviously it's there as Mark has ridden well, so it has been frustrating," Stuart said.

"We had a fair bit of chatter at both ends of the bike and were able to minimise that. Mechanically the bike was fine, but I found it a challenge to cope with some of the tighter turns that load up the front of the bike."

"We just have to put our heads down and do a lot better when we arrive at Eastern Creek for the final round."

Willis backed his NakedBike results up with a pair of thirds and a second from the three Pro-Twins race over the weekend, while Fripp took home a fifth and a pair of sixths.

Team patron Mac McMath was a more than an interested spectator at the round.

Mac moves on from his position as General Manager BMW Motorrad at the end of October to take up a management position with BMW Motorrad North America.

Mac was a driving force in organising the BMW K 1200 R race programme for Australia. He will leave Australia knowing that the team has done a wonderful job in their debut season, achieving such a solid position in the Championship.

"Once again we have made progress with the K 1200 R race bikes and closed the gap to our nearest rivals," Mac said, after watching the team perform at Winton this weekend."

"We've consolidated second place in the manufacturer standings although Stuart's DNF in race 1 has demoted him to fourth in the individual reckoning with just the final round remaining."

"Both the riders are now looking forward to concluding the season with a strong showing at Eastern Creek which should suit the characteristics of the powerful K 1200 R," Mac said.

The series heads to Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway for the seventh and final round on the weekend of November 18 & 19.