Jamie Stauffer in action during race two at Hidden Valley. Image: Keith Muir.

Ducati Motologic continued the development of the factory-backed 1198 R Superbikes at the second round of the Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship in the Northern Territory last Sunday, the team working hard despite skipping the pre-race test leading up to the event in the ASBK’s return to the Top End for the first time in 11 years.

The two practice days on Thursday and Friday in lead up to the event should have given two-time Australian Superbike Champion Jamie Stauffer and team mate Jordan Burgess ample opportunity to acquaint themselves with both the Hidden Valley circuit, however much time was lost due to the torrential downpour on Thursday and the testing advantage of their opposition was extended.

Race day saw dual ASBK champion Jamie Stauffer finish with 11-4 results after experiencing a mechanical fault in race one, while rookie Jordan Burgess was taken down in the wet opening leg before bouncing back to 13th in race two despite suffering injured ligaments in his left knee after the race one collision.

“I am happy to remain in fourth position, although I would have liked to have moved up further in the rankings at this round of course,” Stauffer commented. “The weather played a big part in everyone’s weekend and we have located some issues to work on before round three in Queensland, but overall we are moving forward.”

For Burgess, the weekend marked another learning curve, working hard to build on his experience in the premier class.

“This weekend has been a little frustrating of course with a DNF for race one and an injury going into race two, but on a positive note we take away from the weekend a lot more information about the 1198 R,” he explained. “Hopefully the weather will be a lot more accommodating in Queensland for round three and we will be looking for strong results.”

Team owner and manager Paul Free was pleased with the progress made by the team, all things considered.

“I’m happy with Jamie and Jordan’s performance with the little practice and setup time they had,” Free said. “Going into the weekend knowing that our main competition had already had three days of testing at the circuit to setup their machines and gather information about the new Dunlop control tyre I wasn’t too concerned as we had Thursday as an additional practice day to our normal race event.

“But when we were washed out on Thursday with a huge downpour and lost basically the whole day’s practice I knew we were going to be up against it to bridge the gap to the other competitors. I am pleased with the development of the 1198R made this weekend and will look forward to the next event.”

The Ducati Motologic Race Team will be racing next at Queensland Raceway on 4-6 June at the third round of the 2010 championship.