In what can only be described as a mixed weekend at the track for Ducati Motologic Racing the factory Ducati team finished Round 3 of the Australian Superbike Championship without a result for #27 Jamie Stauffer after he did not finish either race on Sunday despite racing competitively in both races, even recording the fastest lap time in Race 1.

Stauffer's rookie team mate, #33 Jordan Burgess had a more successful weekend of racing overall as the developing rider finished 11th in Race 1 of the day, placing him amongst some very experienced riders. Although recording faster lap times in practice on Thursday on the 1198R, Burgess was still competitive in Race 1 recording a lap time of 1:12.847 seconds.

The developing Ducati team began the weekend strongly, leading the timesheets in practice. Qualifying on Saturday also placed the Ducati 1198R in a strong position to challenge for first place. Race day on Sunday appeared promising as the starter's flag fell on Race 1 and within 3 laps Stauffer had recorded the fastest lap time of the whole race at 1:10.470 seconds.

It was then that the two-time Australian Superbike Champion encountered an electrical gremlin causing his bike to stop. Stauffer was forced to return to the pits. It was Bryan Staring that took first place with his fastest lap time being 1:10.523 seconds.

The mixed results of Race 1 did nothing to deter the technicians as they set about preparing Stauffer's spare bike to compete in the second race of the day. Stauffer himself was eager to move forward from the first race and remain focused.

Stauffer was again extremely competitive in Race 2 recording his fastest lap at 1:10.456 sec on lap 6; however it simply was not his day. The #27 was again unable to finish the race on his spare bike when a clutch plate fractured causing the clutch to slip.

Jordan Burgess finished Race 2 in 16th place and has used the event as a significant learning experience.

#33 Jordan Burgess: "My weekend had some definite highlights as I recorded some strong lap times in practice and was able to finish 11th in Race 1 which was a solid improvement after my injury in Darwin. The second race did not go quite as well after we tried a different setting in the bike, only to finish in 16th place. I have learned a lot this weekend particularly from the team's experience overall so I have some very definite points to work on and discuss both with my technicians and my trainer."

#27 Jamie Stauffer: "I'm really disappointed this weekend, of course. No rider wants to come away from an event without points, but I know the entire team put their heart and soul into everything at the track and it really was just a string of bad luck for us on race day. My times in practice were the fastest of the day and I recorded the fastest lap time of Race 1 so I was going strong. I'm disappointed not to have gained more points in the series, but I really have to thank the team for their dedication. When things got tough, the team came together really well and just got to work. It was disappointing for everyone that we couldn't come away from the event as strongly as we began. There were some positives though and we will focus on those and look to the next round in Qld in August."

Team Owner and Manager Paul Free: "Our weekend began positively as both Jamie and Jordan were posting fast times in the early part of the weekend. It was just a shame that the momentum in Jamie's case was cut short. It was great to see Jordan get up into 11th place in Race 1 especially in his first event since his injury. Overall, we learned a lot about the motorbike and tested many new ideas. We look forward to our next event on the Ducati armed with the information gained from Round 3 and to continuing the development path of the 1198R. The bike showed so much potential at Round 3 and good overall speed so I'm sure once we can get over some of these niggling problems Jamie will be the one to beat."

The next event in the series will be Round 4 at Queensland Raceway August 19-22. The Ducati Motologic Race Team will be there with a stronger team spirit than ever as we continue developing the Ducati 1198R.