2021 ASBK Finale – FP2 Report
The FP1 session had seen our guest stars Jack Miller and Josh Hook turn their first laps of The Bend but local riders Daniel Falzon and Arthur Sisses were the early pacesetters ahead of ASBK Championship leader Wayne Maxwell, DesmoSport Ducati’s Oli Bayliss and Maxima BMW’s Glenn Allerton. Please go back and read our report from FP1 for some good background not only on Jack Miller’s bike, but also various other interesting tidbits that we covered in our yarn from the morning session.
Wayne Maxwell is riding the Boost Mobile Ducati around the South Australian venue for the first time this weekend but the team’s base set-up was good enough for the championship leader to finish the opening session third quickest, behind the local pacesetters.
It was much the same story for the majority of the BMW runners, with the likes of Allerton and Epis never before riding the new M 1000 RR around The Bend. The teams tell us the M bikes is nothing remotely like the previous bike, thus all previous set-up data is of no use.
For much of FP2 it was still the two South Australians at the top of the time-sheets, both lowering their morning markers by a tenth or two in the first half of the session.
Jack Miller then started to get wound up after getting accustomed to his new mount and what was a completely new track for him to join the local boys in the 1m52.6s and push himself between them and up into P2, Sissis still on top.
Josh Hook then started to show his potential by dropping in a 1m53.065 to push Wayne Maxwell back to P5 with 11 minutes remaining in the session. Like Miller, this was Hooky’s first taste of The Bend.
The track temperature was now nudging 50-degrees but in some sections of the circuit that would have been much cooler due to a stiff breeze blowing across the circuit.
Arthur Sissis then lowered the benchmark to 1m52.4 then lower still to 1m52.338 before returning to the pits.
Jack Miller exited pit-lane again with a couple of minutes left in the session and put in a 1m52.864, a couple of tenths from his best and it seemed that in comparison to Sissis the MotoGP star was losing time between sectors one and two, but then was on his pace through the final sectors. He found that time on his final flying lap though to go top of the timesheets with a 1m52.331, on his final lap of the session, which is also only his 26th lap around The Bend. Miller recorded the highest top speed of the session at 305 km/h.
Arthur Sissis finishes FP2 a strong second place after putting in quite a few fast laps, the best of which was only 7-thousandths off Jack Miller. The last time Jack Miller and Arthur Sissis went head to head was in the 2014 Moto3 World Championship. Sissis was also in the Red Bull Rookies Cup with Josh Hook in 2010.
Daniel Falzon P3 ahead of Josh Hook and Wayne Maxwell, that latter pair neck and neck with identical 1m52.726 laps.
Lachlan Epis was also in the 52s and lead BMW with a 1m52.820 while Cru Halliday was starting to find some speed on the YRT bike to push up to seventh quickest ahead of Oli Bayliss.
The final 35-minute practice session for today is scheduled to take place at 1625 local time.
ASBK FP2 Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Lap | Speed |
| 1 | Jack MILLER | Ducati V4R | 1m52.331 | 305 |
| 2 | Arthur SISSIS | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m52.338 | 303 |
| 3 | Daniel FALZON | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m52.656 | 298 |
| 4 | Joshua HOOK | Honda CBR RR | 1m52.726 | 303 |
| 5 | Wayne MAXWELL | Ducati V4R | 1m52.726 | 301 |
| 6 | Lachlan EPIS | BMW M RR | 1m52.820 | 295 |
| 7 | Cru HALLIDAY | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m53.021 | 299 |
| 8 | Oliver BAYLISS | Ducati V4R | 1m53.064 | 306 |
| 9 | Glenn ALLERTON | BMW M RR | 1m53.278 | 295 |
| 10 | Aiden WAGNER | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m54.449 | 295 |
| 11 | Troy HERFOSS | Honda CBR RR | 1m55.213 | 295 |
| 12 | Jed METCHER | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m55.242 | 293 |
| 13 | Anthony WEST | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m55.475 | 290 |
| 14 | Mark CHIODO | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m56.003 | 294 |
| 15 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1m56.843 | 290 |
| 16 | Nathan SPITERI | BMW M RR | 1m58.177 | 283 |
| 17 | Jack DAVIS | BMW S RR | 1m58.267 | 291 |
| 18 | Benjamin BURKE | Kawasaki ZX10RR | 1m59.003 | 299 |
| 19 | Evan BYLES | Kawasaki ZX10R | 1m59.937 | 281 |
| 20 | Chandler COOPER | Honda CBR RR | 2m00.019 | 296 |
| 21 | Michael EDWARDS | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2m01.436 | 283 |
The Bend Motorsport Park
There are numerous different lay-outs used here at The Bend Motorsport Park but it is the 4.95 kilometre ‘International Circuit’ is the one used for ASBK.
The South Australian venue have courted Dorna officials in a quest to lure international events to the circuit, which has already held a round of the Asian Road Racing Championship. Circuit owners have expressed interest in trying to bring World Superbike, World Endurance and even MotoGP events to the circuit in coming years. In full length form the circuit measures 7.77-kilometres in what they call the GT Circuit. This is shown in the lightly shaded areas of that circuit map above.
Onboard lap of The Bend
This video was taken on the first day that ASBK ever visited the South Australian venue for a test session three years ago. Times have tumbled since this 1m55 lap but it will give you a good idea of the circuit lay-out.
Australian Superbike Entry List
| No | Rider | Make | Model |
| 1 | Wayne Maxwell | Ducati | V4R |
| 2 | Markus Chiodo | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 3 | Jed Metcher | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 5 | Josh Hook | Honda | CBR1000RR |
| 13 | Anthony West | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 14 | Glenn Allerton | BMW | M1000RR |
| 16 | Luke Jhonston | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 17 | Troy Herfoss | Honda | CBR1000RR |
| 25 | Daniel Falzon | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 28 | Aiden Wagner | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 32 | Oli Bayliss | Ducati | V4R |
| 37 | Michael Edwards | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | V4R |
| 51 | Chandler Cooper | Honda | CBR1000RR |
| 60 | Ben Burke | Kawasaki | ZX-10R |
| 61 | Arthur Sissis | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 65 | Cru Halliday | Yamaha | YZF-R1 |
| 78 | Nathan Spiteri | BMW | M1000RR |
| 83 | Lachlan Epis | BMW | M1000RR |
| 92 | Jack Davis | BMW | S1000RR |
| 98 | Evan Byles | Kawasaki | ZX-10R |
ASBK Superbike Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Total |
| 1 | Wayne MAXWELL | 132 |
| 2 | Troy HERFOSS | 106 |
| 3 | Glenn ALLERTON | 100 |
| 4 | Cru HALLIDAY | 88 |
| 5 | Oli BAYLISS | 87 |
| 6 | Bryan STARING | 87 |
| 7 | Mike JONES | 74 |
| 8 | Arthur SISSIS | 71 |
| 9 | Jed METCHER | 70 |
| 10 | Josh WATERS | 53 |
| 11 | Anthony WEST | 52 |
| 12 | Matt WALTERS | / |
The Bend ASBK Schedule
| Friday 3rd December | ||||
| 7.15 | 7.30 | Riders Briefing (SSP300, R3 Cup, OJC) | Briefing 1 | 15 mins |
| 7.35 | 7.50 | Riders Briefing (SBK, SSP) | Briefing 2 | 15 mins |
| 8.30 | 8.50 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | FP1 | 20 mins |
| 9.00 | 9.30 | Motorsports TV Supersport | FP1 | 30 mins |
| 9.40 | 10.05 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | FP1 | 25 mins |
| 10.15 | 10.50 | Alpinestars Superbike | FP1 | 35 mins |
| 11.00 | 11.20 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | FP1 | 20 mins |
| 11.30 | 11.50 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | FP2 | 20 mins |
| 12.00 | 12.30 | Motorsports TV Supersport | FP2 | 30 mins |
| 12.30 | 12.50 | Lunch – ASBK Pillion Rides | 20 mins | |
| 12.50 | 13.15 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | FP2 | 25 mins |
| 13.25 | 14.00 | Alpinestars Superbike | FP2 | 35 mins |
| 14.10 | 14.30 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | FP2 | 20 mins |
| 14.40 | 15.00 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | FP3 | 20 mins |
| 15.10 | 15.40 | Motorsports TV Supersport | FP3 | 30 mins |
| 15.50 | 16.15 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | FP3 | 25 mins |
| 16.25 | 17.00 | Alpinestars Superbike | FP3 | 35 mins |
| 17.10 | 17.30 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | FP3 | 20 mins |
| Saturday 4th December | ||||
| 9.00 | 9.20 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | Q1 | 20 mins |
| 9.30 | 10.00 | Motorsports TV Supersport | Q1 | 30 mins |
| 10.10 | 10.30 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | Q1 | 20 mins |
| 10.40 | 11.20 | Alpinestars Superbike | Practice | 40 mins |
| 11.30 | 11.50 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | Q1 | 20 mins |
| 12.00 | 12.20 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | Q2 | 20 mins |
| 12.20 | 13.00 | Lunch – ASBK Pillion Rides | 40 mins | |
| 13.00 | 13.20 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | Q2 | 20 mins |
| 13.30 | 14.00 | Motorsports TV Supersport | Q2 | 30 mins |
| 14.10 | 14.30 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | Q2 | 20 mins |
| 14.40 | 14.50 | ASBK TV Track Time | Media | 10 mins |
| 14.50 | 15.10 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | R1 | 7 Laps |
| 15.20 | 15.35 | Alpinestars Superbike | Q1 | 15 mins |
| 15.35 | 15.50 | ASBK Promotional Session | Promotional | 15 mins |
| 15.50 | 16.05 | Alpinestars Superbike (Top 12) | Q2 | 15 mins |
| 16.15 | 16.35 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | R1 | 5 Laps |
| 16.45 | 17.05 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | R1 | 6 Laps |
| Sunday 5th December | ||||
| 8.30 | 8.35 | Dunlop Supersport 300 & Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | WUP | 5 mins |
| 8.45 | 8.50 | Motorsports TV Supersport | WUP | 5 mins |
| 9.00 | 9.05 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | WUP | 5 mins |
| 9.15 | 9.25 | Alpinestars Superbike | WUP | 10 mins |
| 9.35 | 9.55 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | R2 | 6 Laps |
| 10.05 | 10.35 | Motorsports TV Supersport | R1 | 9 Laps |
| 10.45 | 11.05 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | R2 | 7 Laps |
| 11.15 | 11.55 | Alpinestars Superbike (Replayed at 1230hrs) | R1 | 11 Laps |
| 12.05 | 12.25 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | R2 | 5 Laps |
| 12.25 | 13.10 | Lunch – ASBK Pitlane Walk | 45 mins | |
| 13.10 | 13.30 | Dunlop Supersport 300 | R3 | 7 Laps |
| 13.40 | 14.10 | Motorsports TV Supersport | R2 | 9 Laps |
| 14.20 | 15.00 | Alpinestars Superbike | R2 | 11 Laps |
| 15.10 | 15.30 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | R3 | 5 Laps |
| 15.40 | 16.00 | Yamaha Finance R3 Cup | R3 | 6 Laps |
| After Race | ||||
| 16.15 | 17.00 | ASBK 2021 Champions Photo Shoot | Straight | |
| 17.30 | 18.30 | ASBK 2021 Awards Ceremony | Building | |
ASBK TV and LiveStream Schedule
For fans unable to make it to The Bend this weekend (and there’s still time, tickets and championships-to-be-decided reasons to go!), we have options…
ASBK fans from all over the world can enjoy all the live racing action from the comfort of their own home this weekend from the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul Grand Finale at The Bend Motorsport Park.
ASBK TV official Free-to-Air broadcast partner SBS have stepped up to provide ASBK fans the opportunity to catch the livestream action from Saturday via their exclusive broadcast platform SBS On-Demand.
SBS has long been the home of great motorsport and in 2021 they have again provided ASBK race fans with both Live Free-to-Air coverage and the opportunity to catch all the action via SBS On-Demand after each round. At no cost to join, ASBK fans simply need to jump on and subscribe to SBS On-Demand.
The ASBK Championship comes to massive conclusion on Sunday and ASBK TV have all the angles covered with Free-to-Air coverage on SBS HD, SBS On-Demand or via Fox Sports Australia from 12.30pm – 3.30pm (Australian Central Daylight Times).
New Zealand race fans can catch the action on Sky Sport NZ who continue to broadcast every round of ASBK to fans across the ditch.
From the comfort of home, or on mobile devices, SBS will provide free to air coverage, and Fox Sports Australia and Sky Sport NZ will ensure pay TV viewers won’t miss a minute of the action.
Live race coverage will include the Alpinestars Superbike, Motorsports TV Supersport, Dunlop Supersport 300, Yamaha Finance R3 Cup and the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, plus race fans will get no shortage of behind the scenes features.
Fans across the nation and around the world can also go to www.asbk.com.au and watch up to the live ASBK TV Live Stream on Sunday.
Exclusive Live telecast of the Grand Finale of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, can be seen:
Saturday 4th December
ASBK Livestream Telecast 10.30am – 5.00pm (ACDT = SA time)
- Exclusive telecast on SBS On-Demand
Sunday 5th December
ASBK Live TV Telecast 12.30pm – 3.30pm (ACDT = SA time)
- SBS HD
- Fox Sports Australia
- Sky Sport NZ
- SBS On-Demand
Sunday 5th December
ASBK Livestream Telecast 9.30am – 4.00pm (ACDT = SA time)
Check your local guides for times and more information.
Keep up to date with the latest news on the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul via www.asbk.com.au and following ASBK on Facebook and Instagram.
Source: MCNews.com.au