This weekend saw the start of the 7 round 2006 Australian Superbike Championship with SD Racing's Darren Sciberras in action aboard the all new TW-Performance Yamaha YZF R6 in the Superstock class. Preseason testing had shown that Daz had definitely upped the pace since the last round of the series in 2005 and left everyone at SD Racing hopeful of a strong showing in the 2006 series opener. It certainly turned out to be a very exciting and eventful weekend for the team, with two top ten finish's, Darren's first at this level, and a couple of crashes that kept Ian busy all weekend repairing the damaged bike.

it was also the first outing for the bike with its new paint work, beautifully prepared by Euro Pro Smash Repairs, along with the team's new uniforms and livery designed by TW-Performance's custom graphics department. Darren's was also sporting brand new Tiger Angel leathers, which were to save his butt later in the weekend, so the package certainly looked the part and we hope did our sponsors justice.

After taking some team photos it was down to business with pit lane opening for the first time to kick off the 2006 series. From the outset it was obvious that we had got something wrong, Darren wasn't particularly happy with the bikes handling and the pace wasn't there. We struggled all the way through final qualifying and only managed to secure 4 th row start with 13h position, a long way from striking distance to the front runners.

Luckily Trevor form Shocktek was on hand and he an Ian were able to get the bike back on track and working to Darren's liking by the end of the weekend and the only obstacle now seemed to be the poor grid position for the weekend's 3 races. Just as we got our heads above water Darren suffered brain fade on the out lap of a practice session and lost the rear into the 3 rd gear turn 3 sending him and the bike into a 70m slide along the tarmac and grass. With not much time before the start of the 1 st race, Ian got busy with the repairs and had the bike ready to go with time to spare.

Race 1 and the nerves were high in preparation of the lights to go out signalling the start of the 06 series. Daz got an ok start holding position and now with the bike working so well was looking to pounce. He got involved with the tight battle for 8 th place with Chris Corcoran , Craig Nicholson and Richard Parry which saw them all trade places, and almost paint on occasions, which eventually resulted in Darren talking 10 th behind Chris and Craig with Richard right on his tail.

Ian was Kept Very Busy by Daz with lots of Repairs Required

Race 2 saw Daz involved in a violent crash as he was trying to force his way through after a good start. He was caught out by how hard the rider in front braked for the transition between turns 10 and 11 and subsequently hit this rear wheel with a thundering blow. He was sent hurtling over the handlebars, at an estimated 140km/h, followed by a violent tumble across the tarmac and into the gravel trap. Amazingly he didn't brake any bones and the damage to the bike was not too severe which meant Ian was able to get it going in the nick of time for race 3, he was certainly kept busy all weekend.

A bruised and batter Daz remounted for race 3 feeling some understandable reservations but the encouragement from the team and friends there to watch was enough for him to put the scary crash out of his mind and focus on the race ahead. What followed was probably the most spirited ride he has put together with an outstanding 7 th place from 13 th on the grid combine with a poor start and being boxed in through turn 1. Even with a sore and battered body he didn't fade during the race and if anything was getting stronger, still making passing moves on the closing laps. What made the ride more impressive was the fact that the clutch was damaged in the earlier crash resulting in clutch slip at the top end of the rev range, costing Daz vital horsepower.

It was a tough weekend and although the results aren't too good on paper and we missed out on vital points, there are lots of positives to take away including the fact that Daz wasn't more seriously injured and will be able to ride in the next Round at the end of May in WA.

Darren was also asked to sign his first every autograph by a young boy who obviously was unaware that Daz is no star but will surely be happy until; he realises that fact.