News 17 Feb 2020

Stauffer graduates to Supersport in newly-formed GTR MotoStars Team

Image: Supplied.

Max Stauffer will graduate to the Supersport category in the 2020 Mi-Bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) with the newly-formed GTR MotoStars Team, which will also field Archie McDonald in the Supersport 300 class.

The team has been established through former FX Pro Twins champion Heath Griffin and MotoStars founder Damian Cudlin, where a Yamaha-supported program will see the outfit represented across the Supersport, Supersport 300 and Yamaha R3 Cup categories.

Stauffer, who scored a number of Supersport 300 and R3 Cup race wins in 2019, will step-up to Supersport aboard the Yamaha YZF-R6.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to race with the GTR MotoStars Team and I want to learn as much as I can in 2020,” said Stauffer. “Working with guys like Heath, Damo, and of course my Dad, Jamie, is a dream come true. I’m really excited to step up to the 600 class and I hope to mix it up at the pointy end as soon as I can.”

13-year-old McDonald, a current Australian Junior Dirt Track champion, contested the inaugural Oceania Junior Cup in 2019 where a selection of race wins led to the fourth in the series standings.

“I’m absolutely thrilled and immensely proud to represent the GTR MotoStars Team in 2020,” McDonald commented. “I come from a humble dirt track background and am still relatively new to road racing.

“I raced in the OJC last year and always maintained a strong dedication to the MotoStars training and coaching days under the guidance of Damian Cudlin. Having the opportunity to work with him again, Heath Griffin and Jamie Stauffer, while being teamed up with Max Stauffer is every kid’s dream. I have to thank everyone who’s helped me reach this point and I can’t wait for round one.”

Team co-founder Cudlin added: “Since the inception of MotoStars, I’ve worked with plenty of talent here in Australia that just needs more opportunities to succeed. When Heath came to me with the idea of building a pathway for riders from MotoStars to ASBK, I was keen to be a part of it, and thankfully Yamaha and a host of our sponsors were too.

“Archie and Max have both been regulars at MotoStars events and have made an impact already within ASBK. I’m excited to see what they can achieve this year with a bit of help and support.”

The opening round of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) kicks off on 28 February-1 March at Phillip Island, which will run in conjunction with the round one of the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK).