Friday morning FP1 report from SMP | ASBK

2019 Australian Superbike Championship

Round 7 – Sydney Motorsports Park


You can tell there is even more tension in the air than normal here at Sydney Motorsports Park today. The temperature too is rising as the mercury is heading towards the low-mid 30s today, with track temperatures likely to be over 50-degrees at times as this final round of the Motul Pirelli ASBK Championship plays out in Western Sydney.

51-points are up for grabs this weekend in the Superbike category and there are six riders in with a shot at the championship with the top three separated by less than five points. 

Troy Herfoss, Wayne Maxwell and Mike Jones are that highest ranked trio but Cru Halliday, Josh Waters and Bryan Staring are still in the race for the title.

With the competition so tight, and the riders and machinery so closely matched, it is not only skill, fitness, bravery, guile and cunning that will decide the outcome, lady luck is also sure to play its part. Riders have fallen in and out of favour with that lady at various times this season and she can be a fickle beast…

Track temperatures had already passed 41-degrees despite the early 1030 start of FP1 and was rising rapidly as a smoky haze cast a grey shadow over Sydney Motorsports Park.

All superbike riders were getting plenty of laps in as they tested tyre longevity, and suspension settings to extend that longevity. With hot conditions also forecast for tomorrow, before a cooler change on Sunday that will bring with it a high probability of heavy showers, it is going to be a very interesting weekend with that weather factor sure to increase the already palpable tension yet further.

YRT’s Cru Halliday set the pace throughout FP1, using his local knowledge to good effect to secure top spot with a m1m30.752s.

ASBK TBG Round SMP Cru Halliday TBG
Cru Halliday – TBG Image

Wayne Maxwell got close to that marker later on in the session but was P2 ahead of Troy Herfoss at the chequered flag. The top three all put in 14 laps during the session.

Daniel Falzon was fourth quickest and on the pace with a 1m31.042 ahead of Mike Jones and Daniel Falzon while Josh Waters was seventh. 

Pos Rider Bike Time
1 Cru HALLIDAY Yamaha YZF-R1 1m30.752
2 Wayne MAXWELL Suzuki GSXR 1m30.790
3 Troy HERFOSS Honda CBR SP 1m30.980
4 Daniel FALZON Yamaha YZF-R1 1m31.042
5 Mike JONES Ducati FE 1m31.206
6 Mark CHIODO Honda CBR SP 1m31.684
7 Josh WATERS Suzuki GSXR 1m32.026
8 Matt WALTERS Kawasaki ZX10R 1m32.140
9 Bryan STARING Kawasaki ZX10R 1m32.486
10 Glenn ALLERTON BMW S RR 1m32.518
11 Alex PHILLIS Suzuki GSXR 1m32.889
12 Lachlan EPIS Kawasaki ZX10R 1m33.063
13 Damon REES Honda CBR SP 1m33.071
14 Brendan MCINTYRE Suzuki GSXR 1m34.210
15 Ben BURKE Kawasaki ZX10R 1m34.368
16 Arthur SISSIS Suzuki GSXR 1m34.519
17 Sloan FROST Suzuki GSXR 1m34.558
18 Jamie STAUFFER Ducati V4R 1m35.072
19 Dominic DE LEON Kawasaki ZX10R 1m35.608
20 Heath GRIFFIN Suzuki GSXR 1m36.345
21 Matthew TOOLEY Yamaha YZF-R1 1m36.886
22 Nathan SPITERI Suzuki GSXR 1m37.758
23 Michael EDWARDS Yamaha YZF-R1 1m37.930

Supersport

In the Supersport ranks the championship has already been decided with Goulburn teenager Tom Toparis crowned at Phillip Island after a faultless year that saw him dominate almost every outing. He looks set to do the same here after setting a 1m33.023s in FP1, 1.7-seconds quicker than the rest of the field…

ASBK TBG Round SMP Tom Toparis TBG
Tom Toparis in action at SMP this morning – TBG Image

Second placed Broc Pearson has a 38-point advantage over Nic Liminton thus is in the box seat to claim the #2 plate.

An interesting addition to the Supersport field this weekend is young Tommy Edwards, who has returned from World Supersport 300 duties to chance his hand in stepping up to the 600 Supersport ranks this weekend. He was seventh in FP1 on a 1m35.676s.

ASBK TBG Round SMP Tom Edwards TBG
Tom Edwards getting a feel for the BikeBiz Yamaha YZF-R6 at SMP in FP1 – TBG Image
Pos Name Bike Time/Gap
1 Tom TOPARIS  Yamaha YZF-R6 1m33.023
2 Jack PASSFIELD Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.745
3 Aidan HAYES  Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.854
4 Nic LIMINTON  Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.910
5 Oli BAYLISS  Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.149
6 Broc PEARSON  Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.288
7 Tom EDWARDS  Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.653
8 Callum SPRIGGS Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.729
9 Ty LYNCH  Yamaha YZF-R6 +3.424
10 Brodie MALOUF  Yamaha YZF-R6 +4.223
11 Jack HYDE  Yamaha YZF-R6 +4.323
12 Luke MITCHELL Yamaha YZF-R6 +4.425
13 Dallas SKEER Suzuki GSXR +4.789
14 Chris QUINN  Yamaha YZF-R6 +4.842
15 Rhys BELLING es Yamaha YZF-R6 +5.048
16 Richie DIBBEN  Suzuki GSXR +5.283
17 Andrew EDSER Kawasaki ZX6R +5.491
18 Avalon BIDDLE Yamaha YZF-R6 +5.644
19 Callum O’BRIEN Kawasaki ZX6R +8.223

Supersport 300

Max Stauffer had looked on course comfortable victory in the Supersport 300 Championship, but in the most recent round at Phillip Island his points margin was eroded by Senna Agius, who has closed to within 16-points of Stauffer. Yannis Shaw topped FP1 this morning ahead of Agius and Hunter Ford while Max Stauffer was sixth. 

Pos Name Bike Time/Gap
1 Yannis SHAW  Kawasaki EX 400 1m44.833
2 Senna AGIUS  Kawasaki EX 400 +0.566
3 Hunter FORD Yamaha R3 321 +0.837
4 Brandon DEMMERY Yamaha R3 321 +1.013
5 Ben BAKER Yamaha R3 321 +1.174
6 Max STAUFFER  Yamaha R3 321 +1.413
7 Kyle O’CONNELL  Yamaha R3 321 +1.518
8 Ryan SMITH  Yamaha R3 321 +1.776
9 Luke JHONSTON  Kawasaki EX 400 +1.871
10 John LYTRAS  Yamaha R3 321 +2.641
11 Zylas BUNTING Kawasaki EX 400 +3.307
12 Peter NERLICH  Kawasaki EX 400 +4.499
13 Laura BROWN  Yamaha R3 321 +4.892
14 Jimmy BROADBENT  Kawasaki EX 400 +5.223
15 Seth CRUMP  KTM RC 390 +5.305
16 Noel MAHON Kawasaki EX 400 +6.717
17 Matt RINDEL  Yamaha R3 321 +8.586
18 Zak PETTENDY  Yamaha R3 321 +8.799
19 Caleb GILMORE Yamaha R3 321 +8.875
20 James JACOBS Kawasaki EX 400 +9.201
21 Harry PARKER  Yamaha R3 321 +9.325

YMF R3 Cup

The YMF R3 Cup has produced a see-sawing contest between Hunter Ford and John Lytras, the two riders swapping the points lead several times over the last couple of rounds. At Phillip Island, Ford scored two wins but Lytras kept his chances alive with a trio of third-place finishes, and is only 13 points behind Ford. Max Stauffer is only a further five-points behind and is still in the game. Ford set the early pace in FP1, topping the session from Stauffer and Demmery with Lytras fourth.

Pos Name Machine Time/Gap
1 Hunter FORD  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m45.020
2 Max STAUFFER Yamaha YZF-R3 +0.151
3 Brandon DEMMERY  Yamaha YZF-R3 +0.459
4 John LYTRAS Yamaha YZF-R3 +0.878
5 Ryan SMITH  Yamaha YZF-R3 +0.989
6 Kyle O’CONNELL  Yamaha YZF-R3 +1.192
7 Ben BAKER Yamaha YZF-R3 +1.518
8 Jacob HATCH Yamaha YZF-R3 +3.084
9 Patrick BOGNAR Yamaha YZF-R3 +3.837
10 Archie MCDONALD  Yamaha YZF-R3 +4.239
11 Caleb GILMORE  Yamaha YZF-R3 +4.590
12 Harry PARKER Yamaha YZF-R3 +5.143
13 Tony SIMS  Yamaha YZF-R3 +5.866
14 Matt RINDEL  Yamaha YZF-R3 +6.048
15 Hunter DIPLOCK  Yamaha YZF-R3 +6.944
16 Zak PETTENDY Yamaha YZF-R3 +6.963
17 Dominic FLETCHER Yamaha YZF-R3 +7.535
18 Patrick LI  Yamaha YZF-R3 +2m52.998
DNS Laura BROWN  Yamaha YZF-R3 -1:45.020

Superbike Masters

The Superbike Masters category appeared earlier in the season at the Morgan Park ASBK round, and encompasses a range of Period 5 (1976-82) and Period 6 (1983-1990) motorcycles.

John Allen leads Alex Pickett by 15-points but it was Aaron Morris who topped FP1 here at SMP this morning by a huge 6.8-seconds after putting in a 1m35.515s on the C&M Motorcycles FZR 1000.  Morris did not race with the Superbike Masters at their previous round as he was otherwise engaged riding a NextGen BMW Superbike. 

Pos Name Bike Time/Gap
1 Aaron MORRIS  Yamaha FZR 1043 1m35.515
2 Stephen KAIRL  Yamaha FZR 1040 +6.857
3 Stephen WARD Yamaha FZR 1000 +10.383
4 Stuart WOODBURY  Yamaha FZR 1040 +11.744
5 Scott WEBSTER  Harris Suzuki 1200 +11.777
6 Phillip BURKE Honda RC30 750 +12.477
7 Mick JOHNSTON Ducati TTF1 985 +14.532
8 Gregory JAMES Honda CB R 1100 +16.595
9 Steven HARLEY Yamaha FZN 750 +17.168
10 Roger GUNN  Harris F1 1170 +18.041
11 Phillip BEVAN) Honda VFRR 750 +19.652
12 Anthony BANN Kawasaki ZXR 750 +19.731
13 Gary NAYSMITH  Kawasaki Z J 1166 +22.502
14 Karen WEBB  Suzuki GSXR 749 +22.762
15 Patrick POVOLNY  Suzuki GSX 1100 +26.798
16 Mark RODDA Suzuki GS S 1100 +30.893
17 Paul RIGNEY  Kawasaki Z R 1170 +31.277
18 Darren LARK  Suzuki GSX 1150 +41.182
DNS John ALLEN  Yamaha OW31 750 -1m35.515

Source: MCNews.com.au

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