Aaron Gobert was ruled out of podium contention after a technical problem struck the team in Supersport race two.

Former American AMA Superstock 1000 Champion Aaron Gobert finished a disappointing 10th overall at Queensland Raceway’s third round of the 2010 Australian Supersport Championship last weekend, a DNS in race two denying him from a shot at the overall podium.

The Gobert Motorsports team rider had a positive start to the weekend with his first front row qualifying position of the season in fourth place, converting that result to finish fourth in the first 16-lap Supersport race of the weekend.

Yamaha-supported Gobert ran in third for the majority of the race until tyre wear forced him to relinquish the position in the closing laps, however new rubber for the second race of the weekend had the 29-year-old confident he could take a podium placing overall.

A major blow to Gobert’s season came on the warm-up lap of race two when an unforeseen technical error forced him to return to the pit lane, effectively ruling him out of the start of the race and finishing his weekend early.

“After testing at Queensland Raceway it was great to return on the race weekend and show up with a bike set-up for the circuit,” Gobert said. “To be on the pace straight away in session number one was a confidence booster for the races.

“In qualifying we had the Gobert Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 going better than it had been all year, so to get on the front row gave us the opportunity to get away with the leaders from the first lap.

“Things have come a long way since we began the season, so hopefully we can keep improving. After I finished fourth in race one and now returning to the same circuit for the next round, I’m confident that we have what it takes to pressure the leaders – hopefully we can get a pole position, podium or maybe even a race win.”

The round was won by Team Suzuki factory rider Troy Herfoss, who also leads the championship.

Despite not starting race two in Queensland, Gobert remains sixth in the series after three rounds, now trailing Herfoss by 72 points at the halfway point of the season but maintaining a legitimate shot at a podium result in the title chase.

The Supersport series will now take a break before continuing at Queensland Raceway once again on 19-22 August.

Gobert Motorsports is proudly supported by: Yamaha Motor Australia, YRD, Graves Motorsports, Bell Helmets, Alpinestars, Hotbodies Racing, Galfer, Bel-Ray and D.I.D.