See report from the Superside web site

Tuesday, 3. May 2005

2002 Superside FIM Sidecar World Champions, Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs began their Australian Championship challenge in fine style at last weekend's opening round of the series at Eastern Creek.

Riding for the Aircom Castrol Team, on an LCR-Suzuki, Abbott and Biggs took maximum points, with Pole Position and each of the three races that made up round 1. Steve Hutchinson and Darren Dewhurst were distant runners-up on the first two occasions on their Alvin, before the vastly experienced Doug Chivas and passenger Matt Johnson overcame earlier problems to take second position in the final race with the Skip-Yamaha. Former World Championship competitor and Aussie Champion, Shane Souter was making a return to racing at Eastern Creek but suffered a dismal weekend with the Techsim LCR-Kawasaki, managing only to salvage a solitary 4th position in the final outing.

The British pair also smashed the long standing Eastern Creek sidecar lap record, taking almost three seconds off the previous best time of 1:40:37 set way nack in 1991 by Andre Bosman & Dave Kellett.

 "The new lap record time of 1:37:42 raises the bar significantly - In fact the whole approach of the Aircom Castrol F1 Sidecar Team signifies a new level of professionalism for locals to strive toward" said Brett Gilbert of Aircom.

Both Steve and Jamie thoroughly enjoyed the casual and relaxed racing atmosphere. It was fantastic to meet new competitors and the entire event went off without too many incidents.

Comment of the day from around the pits was 'We can’t wait to meet them, Greet them and hopefully Beat them' - lets hope this comes to fruition.

Perhaps Souter will be able to sort things out before the next round at Barbagello on 27-29 May and start giving Abbo and Biggsy a run for their money.

Steve and Jamie would like to thank the following sponsors for their assistance:

Aircom Systems
Castrol
Arai Helmets
Bessemer Street Smash Repairs
Unique Stripes and Signs

Full race report can be found at www.formula-xtreme.com.au

Photos Courtesy: Keith Muir, www.bike-photos.com

Author: Brett Gilbert / Ian Guy