For the 2011 season the grid in this class is particularly strong making it all the more remarkable that the Ninja ZX-10R beat all the other Japanese machines in the race first time out. With Staring not having any experience of the new bike at the tricky Assen circuit it took some time for him to get a good race set-up, meaning he qualified in 13th place on the grid. Up to 12th on lap one, Staring made real progress through the remainder of the race and passed two riders on the very last lap to earn a top five place for Kawasaki, Pedercini and the Aussie rider himself. Staring stated afterwards, “I had been confident the whole time even when I was back in the pack, because we were only one small change away from being in the top five in the sessions, and half a second or so from being up the leader board.” He continued, “I never quite made it happen for one reason or another, but the development of the bike has been coming along really well. Every time I have been riding the bike we have taken a step forward and every small step is slowly adding up. Our position is better and better all the time. I really believe this bike is pretty special and we can win races on it, we just need a bit more time.” With the bike and its real race settings more fully developed Bryan is shooting for top three finishes each time out. “I think when we get the bike working well we can compete for podiums every time out, and if I didn’t I wouldn’t have signed up to it in the first place. Coming into the Assen weekend I aimed for a top five and I knew it was a tough goal to achieve, but it worked out in the race. It is not an easy challenge because the competition is tough and we are riding against teams with a lot of experience. Our bike has really good speed so I am looking forward to going to the next round at MONZA.” Five Ninja ZX-10R riders, including Staring, took top 15 finishing places and therefore scored points at the first time of asking. The next round for all will be MONZA, between 6 and 8 May.