Yamaha Racing with Ipone’s Kevin Curtain (above) stamped his authority on the 2013 FX Superbike Championship with an impressive performance at round two of the series held at Winton in Victoria.
Competing in both the head FX Superbike class and the Formula Oz division, on board different performance spec Yamaha R1’s, Curtain used his vast talent and experience to take the class win in both divisions and take control of the championship table.
He won all three races in the Formula Oz machine in emphatic fashion ahead of Yamaha stable mate, Broc Parkes. After two rounds, Curtain has racked up six wins from six starts and holds down a 32 point lead already in the series.
The FX Superbike class proved to be a Yamaha R1 freight train with Curtain, team mate Rick Olson and Broc Parkes all involved in some close racing. Curtain took the round win on the back of his 1-1-3 race results and now leads the championship by 14 points.
“I had a good time racing today,” Curtain said. “Both Rick and Broc were riding really well and it was a tough race as any mistake would cost not just time but positions as well. I never get tired of winning races and today put us in a good position in both championships.”
Olson took a perfect three from three on the R6 after some spirited battles with fellow Yamaha racer, Cru Halliday. He backed that up with some ultra-consistent racing on his Yamaha Superbike with 2-2-2 results. Over six races on Sunday Olson finished with 1-1-1 / 2-2-2. He now leads the FX600cc class by six points and is second in the Superbikes.
“It was important for me to string some races together and not doing anything silly and lose touch in the championships. Crashing instantly means not finishing and in a six round championship, not finishing one race is costly, so today was all about being consistent and racking up some points,” said the maturing Olson.
The strong showing from both riders left team manager, John Redding, excited about their performance and that of his YRT crew.
“Both the riders and the team acquitted themselves well and we made real progress in the championship. Kevin was in top form and Rick really impressed with his smart approach to racing today and both set some extremely fast times throughout the day. We still have four rounds to go and a lot can happen, but we have started the season off well and are well placed as we head towards the halfway mark.”
Results – Round two
FX Superbike
1st Kevin Curtain – 70 (Yamaha)
2nd Rick Olson – 66 (Yamaha)
3rd Broc Parkes – 65 (Yamaha)
FX600cc
1st Rick Olson – 75 (Yamaha)
2nd Callum Spriggs – 58
3rd Justin Di Giandomenco – 52
Formula Oz
1st Kevin Curtain – 75 (Yamaha)
2nd Broc Parkes – 66 (Yamaha)
3rd Russell Holland – 53
Championship Standings – After Round 2
FX Superbike
1st Kevin Curtain – 137
2nd Rick Olson – 123
3rd Broc Parkes – 121
FX600cc
1st Rick Olson – 122
2nd Callum Spriggs – 116
3rd Cru Halliday – 116
Formula Oz
1st Kevin Curtain – 150
2nd Broc Parkes – 128
3rd Brett Kitchin – 82
Credits: Pervisual
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