ASBK 2022 Phillip Island Test

It was a much finer but still quite sultry morning as the second and final day of the 2022 ASBK official pre-season test got underway just after 0900 on Friday.  The weather forecast had been quite foreboding but by the BOM radar it looked as though we might get lucky for at least the first half of the day, and that is just how it unfolded.

Many riders had essentially started packing up yesterday evening due to the forecast inclement weather today and some personnel had already gone home. Cape Barren Geese once again interrupted the second Superbike session here today. Riders had only managed a lap before the red flag came out to clear the birds from the track. 

Thursday’s quickest runner Wayne Maxwell was without crew chief Adrian Monti today but the Boost Mobile Ducati outfit still ran through a program of testing various things ahead of the season ahead.

That was pretty much the story up and down pit-lane. Riders getting familiar with new bikes. The same went for some of the technicians getting to know their way around new machines, or new riders, thus there was still plenty of work to be done.

As to whether any results from this week can be used as some sort of form guide for the season ahead, that’s far from clear. It might serve as some indication as to the form heading into round one, but many crews still have a lot of work to do in order to get up to full speed for season 2022.

This is where the defending champ and his crew really have the advantage, there are no changes, it is situation normal. They are just going through the well practiced steps to try an achieve a better outcome.  On his third lap out this morning Wayne dropped in a 1m31.848. The team then packed up and headed home before lunchtime today, as they had already been here testing all week and had got through the bulk of their program. They are the clear pre-season favourites.

Their biggest rival in recent years is still somewhat walking wounded. The injuries sustained by Troy Herfoss in Darwin last year are still quite evident in his gait, and in the somewhat pained expression on his face. He has been working hard to get back to full strength and fitness, but it appears Herf’ is not quite there yet.

Herfoss has another four weeks to build further strength, but it looks as though it might take a little longer than that before we see him back at his best. Herf’ put in quite a lot of laps, but there were few smiles to be seen in the Penrite Honda garage. They ended the test 15th on combined times, hardly an accurate representation of Troy’s speed and the bikes potential performance. 

Bryan Staring rode the DesmoSport Ducati all week and was in a constant loop of laps, feeback to team, more laps, rinse and repeat. Progress was made in many areas as Brian fine tunes himself to the V4 R, and the team in-turn also fine tune the bike to his preference. Fourth quickest is a good start, but they have a lot of ground to make up if they are to challenge Maxwell when we get back here in a few weeks time. They have a busy test schedule planned to try and achieve exactly that and Bryan has ridden the V4 R all this week.

The surprise stand out from the test gong has to go to Lachlan Epis. He did a 1m32.9 yesterday and backed it up again today on his 13th lap of the opening session.  Sure, they have been testing here all week, but so have quite a few of the others.  Epis then went quicker again in today’s second session, a 1m32.825. The team said he had more speed to come but a niggling wrist injury saw them quit while they were ahead, so to speak. Third quickest is impressive and the new BMW Alliance Team will be stoked, if they can convert that to race pace then they will be genuine podium contenders.

Cru Halliday made significant progress today, a big leap in speed late in the second session resulting in a 1m32.232s  Mike Jones didn’t make a leap quite as large and the weather robbed him of his chance to improve further later in the day, although he did take the opportunity to get a feel for the Pirelli wet in the conditions. Halliday ended the test second quickest and on current form is the most likely to take the battle to Maxwell come round one. Jones was seventh, just over a second off Halliday’s best.

Mark Chiodo has steadily built speed this week and has been making incremental improvements to the set-up of the Yamaha. His YZF-R1 is overdue for a fresh engine and he is really starting to get the best out of his equipment and looking for more.  Sixth overall on combined times is I think more than they had even hoped for. 

Arthur Sissis has been consistently fast in every session but didn’t seem to put in a single lap blinder time attack thus ended the test tenth. I think there will be more to come from the South Australian by the time we get back here.  We will also have another quick South Aussie on a Yamaha here at round one, when Daniel Falzon rejoins the field following his injuries at The Bend that sidelined him from this test.

The Hayshed crash by Allerton yesterday put the Maxima Oils BMW squad behind the eight-ball and the team have had limited track time this week compared to most. Josh Waters did not make as much progress as could have been expected. The duo eighth and ninth but no doubt with plenty more to come. I hope they get on top of things and can fight for a podium back here in a few weeks time. 

Aiden Wagner crashed at turn four this morning, the Queenslander hit a false neutral then the gear dropped in and high-sided him, damaging the rear rim and putting a question mark over the straightness of the bike. That was them done, but satisfied with their early speed considering they only had a day or so, while many of their competitors had been here all week. Wagner and the team are not yet committed to the full season, but do expect to compete in at least four rounds. Fifth quickest is an impressive start, especially considering the relative lack of laps they turned here this week compared to most. 

Another well credentialed rider not having the best of days was Anthony West. A crash at Siberia around lunch-time certainly didn’t help their progress, but the issues around the bike he is riding just never seem to end. Chasing one issue after another once again this week, just as they had at The Bend last season, it is starting to look somewhat of an untenable prospect. I believe the team will have some meetings after the test to see what direction they take from here. I think I would be inclined to put the bike in a dumpster and start again… 

Matt Walters was one of the riders to pack up early today so they could start the long trek back to Cessnock. The privateer 12th quickest.

The new 727 Moto pairing of Jed Metcher and Broc Pearson worked their way through a test program. The two riders running very different set-ups, and Broc steadily getting his head around the speed of Phillip Island on a Superbike. Jed ended the test 13th and Pearson 16th. 

BC Performance Kawasaki’s Ben Burke put in plenty of consistent laps as they found further direction with the MoTeC electronics. They also gained plenty of data to reflect on ahead of the season start. Their fastest time of 1m34.430 placed them 14th overall.

A brief shower dampened the circuit before the penultimate Superbike session. That sealed the deal for many as to whether to call an early mark and head home. Another front looked to be approaching, and it had already been a long, and very expensive week for many… It turned out that was a wise decision, as just after the session started the rain really started to fall and the track was sodden. 

I didn’t get to chat at length with many competitors today, everyone was busy running through their test schedules and I didn’t want to interrupt. I will follow up with many of them in the weeks ahead in the lead up to round one back here late next month. It is shaping up to be an exciting season…

Next stop for many competitors is a private track hire of Queensland Raceway organised by DesmoSport Ducati where many other teams have been invited to, and taken up the opportunity, to join them at a circuit that ASBK has not visited for some years. Some riders will also test at The Bend in coming weeks.

Alpinestars Superbike Test Times

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Michelin Supersport

Senna Agius had an engine issue on the new CBR600RR today which caused him to head home early. There is some talk of Senna delaying his return to Europe so he can contest the opening round of the championship back here late next month. His bike is clearly fast, it even sounds fast with a proper race bike note to it that you generally don’t hear at a domestic Supersport event.  Senna ended the test as second quickest 600, his 1m35.293 less than two-tenths adrift of pacesetter Tom Edwards.  

Tom Bramich made some big strides forward at this test, primarily off the back of an intervention in the electronics from Boost Mobile Ducati Crew Chief Adrian Monti. Adrian made a few tweaks and voila the corner entry issues Tom has been chasing for months disappeared thanks to some fine tuning of the engine braking on the YZF-R6.  He ended the test ninth. 

Tom Edwards though was the man to beat, fast in every session. I don’t know as much as I should about the team set-up, and the level of machinery Tommy has run in recent seasons, but it certainly looks like quite a small outfit compared to many of his competitors.  Nevertheless you always know that Bikebiz Yamaha is going to be fighting for pole positions and race wins. It would have been nice to see Tom take the step up to Superbike this year.

Edwards only lost the Supersport Championship by a nose across the line at the final juncture, and will start season 2022 as the hot favourite. Edwards topped proceedings with a 1m35.012, a couple of tenths under the lap record, and a clear sign that Dunlop are not only sponsoring the Supersport category this season, but they are also out to win it. 

Harrison Voight and Luke Power were also strong, fourth and fifth respectively amongst the 600 cc competitors. They were then followed by Ben Baker, Jack Passfield and John Lytras.

Oli Bayliss again joined the Australian Supersport competitors onboard a Panigale V2, the likes of which he will ride in the World Supersport ‘New Generation’ category this year. Oli and dad Troy are heading to Europe next week to start the next leg of the learning curve for Oli. He topped the Supersport category overall on the 955 Ducati, a 1m34.484 his best. 

Michelin Supersport Test Times

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Dunlop Supersport 300

Four Moto3 machines joined the Supersport 300 sessions this week and predictably they were 1-2-3-4 on the timesheets. Harrison Voight led the way from Carter Thompson, Marianos Nikolis and Angus Grenfell.

Young Cameron Swain was the fastest 300 Supersport competitor ahead of class veteran Brandon Demmery and young Archie McDonald.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Test Times

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Yamaha OJC

Queenslander Bodie Paige led the way in the OJC class of 2022 ahead of Marcus Hamod and Teerin Fleming.

Yamaha OJC Test Times

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2022 ASBK Calendar

Source: MCNews.com.au