At the Australian Motorcycle GP Chas Hern made his Supersport and B grade debue. Unfortunetly Bike set up was far from right and with his Stafford Yamaha down aproxatmetly 15 HP on the Super-Sport bikes we would be pleased just to qualify, in the 41 bike grid.
Don from Stafford Yamaha donated a Over Exhaust to the team for the event in hope to find more horse power and Chris Casella lent Chas a power commander, but there wasn't enough time or days for the bike to be tuned, so decision was made to run just the exhaust.
Chas managed to put his Yamaha R6 on the 21st possistion on the grid which the whole team was delited with ahead of many A and B grade full time Super Sport runners.
In race 1 Chas was swammped into turn 1 and it took a few laps to settle into a rythum. As Chas began to fight his way though a very tight pack the rain started just as he entered the straight, over the next lap the rain got heavier and Chas made up 3 positions but as he entered the main straight the race was red flagged.
Race 2 and again his Yamaha was swammped into turn 1 and he was again having to work his way though a pack. Chas engaged in a 3 lap battle with A grader Russel Nash also on a Yamaha R6, Chas and Nash passed and repassed 6 times in 3 laps before Chas slipped up the inside of Nash into turn 1 and tried to make a brake. As Chas crossed the line and look back there was a 3 seccond gap back to the next rider. Unfortunetly Nash had out braked and ran off at Honda corner. Chas finished his best possistion all weekend in 17th.
In race 3 as Chas left the pits he followed fellow Super-Stock Allista Reid out of the pits [Chas and he have been Battleing all year in the Australian and Victorin series] and as the arived at Hay shed Alistair's bike step sideways and high sided him off the track at hay shed. All the best to the Reid Racing Team in there recovery and also with the newest member being not to too much use around the bike yet, baby Ashton.
The 3rd race was also on the Sunday with no warm up prior to the race so when the lights went out Chas found himself not in the right mindset as Phillip Island is a very fast track and it took 4 laps before Chas was able to settle into his rythum again. As the laps ran down the bike developed a engine problem and it was missing top gear down the main straight. Chas decided to continue on hoping the problem would go away. Unfortunletly it didn't and he finished in 24th Posistion.
"This weekend has been amazing, just the fact we get a chance to run on Phillip Island is a godsent and to be there the same time as the worlds best rides watching them in between our races is awsome"
"We never had any expectations for this event so to finish 2ND in B Grade is the best we could hope for " commented Chas after the weekend.
Big thanks to the team, Stafford Yamaha for all there support over the year, Over Racing for the Exhaust, Chris Casella for the Power Commander, Spidi Leathers, Mobil Oils, Rossco for spannering for me, BluGreen Multimedia, Hern Engineering, EK Chains and C&C Motorcycle Engineering