Brayden Elliott has secured back to back points scoring rounds in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship following his latest outing with ADR Motorsports at the World famous Laguna Seca circuit, Elliott’s first time on the track. Coming away with points from a further two race results has wrapped up his trip to the USA in good form, with this momentum now looking to be carried through to the next round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Morgan Park in August.
With limited track time due to competing along side the World Superbike Championship, Brayden looked to make the most of the practice sessions and subsequently showed good progress across the three outings. A 1:30.270 in practice one was backed up with a 1:28.668 in practice two and 1:28.200 in practice three, with his best time placing him in 18th overall on combined classification. A further improvement in lap times came in qualifying, setting the seventh fastest time in superpole one with a 1:27.342. Combined times from the two sessions placed Brayden in 17th overall from the 32 rider field.
The first of two races saw a further improvement in overall lap times for Elliott, setting his quickest time on lap three of the 20 lap race with a 1:27.312. Despite battling some issues during the race, Brayden climbed back up the order across the race to finish 15th. Numerous battles would develop in race two with the longer 23 lap event also seeing an increased level of consistency within the lap times. A fastest time of 1:27.012 on lap three helped to progress the Tumut rider gradually up the order, picking his way through to 13th by the chequered flag.
Brayden Elliott:
“Overall I am happy with our performance from the weekend in my maiden appearance at Laguna Seca for the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. The track is something that you truly can’t describe, it has so many features to it which amass to a huge learning experience each and every time we were out on the circuit. I had to make the most of the time in practice with limited track time due to being a support category to the World Superbikes.”
“It proved to be a very physical track and with 23 laps in the final race, it was the longest race I had competed in which was both mentally and physically demanding, however I was determined to press on and deliver the best result possible. I had a few issues in the first race which we worked to recover from and I managed to come away with 15th. I felt a lot more comfortable in race two allowing me to stay extremely consistent over race distance battling my way through the field to cross the finish line in 13th position. It was great to finish the weekend in a positive way and I am happy to have learnt so much and take away further experience from the
event.”
“I have really enjoyed my time racing in the USA, learning new tracks, competing against some brilliant riders and being part of a whole new Championship and atmosphere. I have to extend a huge thank you to ADR Motorsports for the opportunity to race with them and putting their faith in me. Also, I have to send a big thank you to Phil Tainton for making the journey and helping me along the way, also to my parents and sponsors for their continued ongoing support. I am thoroughly looking forward to now getting back on the Knobby Underwear Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Superbike at Morgan Park in a few weeks time for the Australian Superbike Championship.”
Round five of the 2016 Australian Superbike Championship takes place at Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick, Queensland from 5-7 August.