Giles closes in

From Team Suzuki

Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Shawn Giles is on target for his fourth Australian Superbike Championship after finishing third overall at the second round of the 2008 Australian Superbike Championship at South Australia's Mallala Motor Sport Park at the weekend.

Giles' 36-point haul from second and fifth placings in the two races has moved the three-time Australian Superbike Champion to within four points of the championship lead, currently held by Mallala round-winner Glenn Allerton.

Further success for the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki squad came in the hands of two-time New Zealand Superbike champion Robbie Bugden, whose third placings in the 17-lap and 19-lap races gave the Queenslander second overall for the round and consolidated fourth on the championship points table with two of seven rounds completed.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for the Team Joe Rocket Suzuki Superbike riders, with 2003 Australian champion Craig Coxhell contracting a debilitating stomach bug on Friday that left the Shepparton rider physically drained across the weekend. After securing medical clearance on Sunday morning to contest both races, Coxhell put in two 'gutsy' rides to secure 30 valuable points for sixth overall.

Giles engaged in a thrilling high-speed duel in the opening 17-lap race with pole-sitter Allerton, defending champion Jamie Stauffer and teammate Bugden, eventually claiming second place, 2.845sec behind Allerton and 0.929sec ahead of Bugden as Stauffer crashed out of the battle with two laps to run.

In race two Giles got caught in a battle with Daniel Stauffer in the early laps, eventually breaking clear to secure fifth place and 16 valuable points. Bugden's third behind race winner Allerton and second-placed Jamie Stauffer gave him 36 points for the round, equal with Giles.

In the second round of the 2008 Australian Supersport Championship, Team Joe Rocket Suzuki rider Joshua Waters secured second and third placings on his 2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 to move to third on the points chart. After leading the early laps in race one, Waters finished third behind eventual winner Stauffer and Jeremy Crowe. In the second 19-lap race Waters finished second behind Crowe.

The seven-round Australian Superbike Championship now heads to Victoria's Winton Raceway for round 3 on May 30-June 1.

Superbike Overall Results
1 Glenn Allerton, 2 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 3 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 4 Jason O'Halloran, 5 Daniel Stauffer, 6 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000), 7 Kevin Curtain, 8 Shannon Johnson, 9 Scott Charlton, 10 Zac Davies
Superbike Championship Points (after 2 of 7 rounds)
1 Glenn Allerton 80pts, 2 Shawn Giles (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 76, 3 Jamie Stauffer 71, 4 Robert Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1100) 70, 5 Jason O'Halloran 69, 6 Daniel Stauffer 59, 7 Craig Coxhell (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 58, 8 Kevin Curtain 54, 9 Shannon Johnson 51, 10 Scott Charlton 46

Supersport Overall Results
1 Jeremy Crowe, 2 Jamie Stauffer, 3 Joshua Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600), 4 Wayne Maxwell, 5 Judd Greedy, 6 Ben Attard, 7 Scott Charlton, 8 Mitchell Carr (Suzuki GSX-R600), 9 Grant Hay, 10 Ian Andrews (Suzuki GSX-R600)
Supersport Championship Points (after 2 of 7 rounds)
1 Jamie Stauffer 95pts, 2 Jeremy Crowe 83, 3 Joshua Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 72, 4 Judd Greedy 64, 5 Wayne Maxwell 63, 6 Scott Charlton 54, 7 Ben Attard 45, 8 Grant Hay 45, 9 Chris Quinn 43, 10 Bryan Staring 38