2019 ASBK
Round Four – Morgan Park
Images by TBG and Rob Mott
Kawasaki Superbike Race One
Mike Jones had earned pole position for today’s fourth round of the Motul/Pirelli sponsored Australian Superbike Championship at Morgan Park. A 1m12.609s on the big 1299 Ducati V-Twin also a new lap record for the 25-year-old Queenslander on Saturday afternoon in front of a strong local crowd.
Cru Halliday has been consistently fast across all sessions thus far this weekend as the YRT man again states his threat as a potential challenger for the ASBK Title this season.
Wayne Maxwell is always Mr Consistency. Even when his star does not shine as the brightest, it still always manages to be looming large, nobody every discounts his strength as a potential challenger.
Troy Herfoss has not looked as confident here this weekend. The Penrite Honda squad made their competitors almost look silly here last year, but it has not been smooth sailing for them here this time around. Herfoss’ main gripes have been about the lack of suppleness from the suspension over the bumps. He still managed to clock a 1m13.127s to qualify fourth, but while most of his competitors had put in lots of fast laps so far this weekend, Herf’ has only managed a handful of laps at anything like a speed that would threaten for a win today.
Next on the grid is Bryan Staring. You can’t mention the Western Australian this season without the subject turning to tyres as the BCperformance Kawasaki man is the only prime combatant on Dunlop rubber. That was the difference that allowed him to walk away from the rest of the field last time out at The Bend. He also walked away from that South Australian circuit as the new championship leader, by a single point over Halliday.
Daniel Falzon seemed fairly happy to keep his powder dry yesterday as he concentrated on saving his tyres for today. Tyre longevity is always the prime decider between hero and zero in the Australian Superbike class and it seems as though Falzon is playing the long game this weekend. Arm pump though a concern for the South Australian at this bumpy and physical three-kilometre lay-out.
Last year Josh Waters struggled here before staging a magnificent come back to form in the second race. He has not figured highly during practice and qualifying, but you know the Ecstar Suzuki crew would have been working hard overnight on a set-up that will give the marauder from Mildura a good chance here today.
In the middle of the third row is Aaron Morris. The 26-year-old is standing in for the injured Glenn Allerton on the NextGen BMW this weekend and has thus far put in a stand-out performance. He is a genuine podium threat today if the team have provided him with a set-up that looks after his rear Pirelli.
Qualifying ninth was Matt Walters while Mark Chiodo rounded out the top ten.
We are away!
Mike Jones launched the big Ducati off the line ahead of Troy Herfoss and Cru Halliday as Bryan Staring tussled with Daniel Falzon. A poor start to the race for Wayne Maxwell had the Ecstar Suzuki man languishing in seventh position with plenty of work to do.
Troy Herfoss took the lead from Mike Jones late on lap one but the Ducati man got him straight back. Herfoss looks like a different man here today than we witnessed on Friday and Saturday, but the Penrite Honda had no answer for that 1.3-litres of Ducati underneath Mike Jones as he walked back past the reigning champion as soon as there was a clear piece of tarmac in front of them.
YRT team-mates Daniel Falzon and Cru Halliday were tussling over third position before the South Aussie went down on lap three after a soft front-end lose saw him slide across the dirt. Mark Chiodo also went down.
Falzon’s demise promoted Bryan Staring up to fourth position but not for long, the Kawasaki man was then pushed again back to fifth as Maxwell started his march forward. Josh Waters was in the mix also and certainly still within podium contention at this stage of the race.
Herfoss was trying to make up for his horsepower deficit by going in deep and hard under brakes, but that was sometimes proving costly on exit and allowing Jones to eke out yet more ground. That front-end approach also of course bringing more risk with it, and with a championship on the line it was going to be interesting to see just how hard Herfoss was going to push his luck in order to try and stick with Jones and challenge for the win.
As this opening bout approached half-race distance Wayne Maxwell pushed his way past Troy Herfoss and to add further insult Cru Halliday then relegated the defending champ to fourth. Bryan Staring was all over the back of Herfoss and looking to push Herfoss back yet another position.
Up front Mike Jones was clocking low-mid 1m13s lap after lap but it was starting to look as though that might not be enough as Wayne Maxwell got the GSX-R1000 wound up and started closing a little on the Ducati. Coming with him was Cru Halliday but there was still only a little over two-seconds covering the entire top five with six laps to run.
Bryan Staring then got through on Herfoss. Would the Dunlop runner show a late race advantage once again and catch his rivals in the closing stages..? We know he has the fitness to last the distance…
It became apparent though as the race wore on that nobody had an answer for Mike Jones. The Ducati man had the package beneath him and the fitness to run the pace right to the flag. It was up to the rest to fight over the remaining steps on the rostrum.
Bryan Staring was looming large right on the tail of Halliday and Maxwell but then went down at AGV Corner after losing the front. That promoted Troy Herfoss up in to fourth position, but the Honda man was not in a position to challenge for a podium, he was now five-seconds off that battle.
The battle on track for second place though was still well and truly alive as Halliday nipped at the heels of Maxwell over the final couple of laps. Halliday had a look up the inside to try and take Maxwell but had to pull out of it and look for another opportunity. He couldn’t do it though and thought it safer to settle for yet another podium rather than risk a no-score, thus Maxwell took second place by a length from Halliday.
The race winner, a dominant victor, Mike Jones.
The new championship leader is Cru Halliday, albeit by a single point over Jones. Full championship standings can be found further down the page.
Troy Herfoss looked strong early on but then went out of the game in the latter half of the race before finishing fourth. Herfoss won’t be happy with that lack of competitiveness, as if not for the falls of others he would likely have been seventh in this bout. Still, he will be somewhat comforted by still bagging decent points as he keeps his championship defence alive.
Josh Waters nearly managed to close the Honda man down on the final lap but took fifth place. Waters had a clear ten-second buffer over Aaron Morris and Alex Phillis.
Kawasaki Superbike Race One Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Mike JONES (QLD) | Ducati 1299 FE | 0.000 |
| 2 | Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) | Suzuki GSXR-R | +2.164 |
| 3 | Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +2.276 |
| 4 | Troy HERFOSS (QLD) | Honda CBR SP | +8.517 |
| 5 | Josh WATERS (VIC) | Suzuki GSXR-R | +10.859 |
| 6 | Aaron MORRIS (NSW) | BMW S RR | +21.997 |
| 7 | Alex PHILLIS (VIC) | Suzuki GSXR-R | +22.247 |
| 8 | Matt WALTERS (NSW) | Kawasaki ZX10RR | +26.292 |
| 9 | Arthur SISSIS (SA) | Suzuki GSXR-R | +28.102 |
| 10 | Lachlan EPIS (NSW) | Kawasaki ZX10RR | +56.880 |
| 11 | Brian HOUGHTON (QLD) | Honda CBR RR | +1:08.833 |
| 12 | Bryan STARING (WA) | Kawasaki ZX10RR | +1:27.839 |
| DNF | Damon REES (NZ) | Honda CBR | +12 Laps |
| DNF | Daniel FALZON (SA) | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +14 Laps |
| DNF | Mark CHIODO (VIC) | Honda CBR SP | +14 Laps |
Australian Supersport Race One
Nic Liminton got a great jump from pole position to lead Reid Battye and Tom Toparis as they negotiated the first complex of turns. Liminton was keen to make a break and had his head down as Battye and Toparis gave chase.
Callum Spriggs started to challenge Toparis for third position on lap two as Corey Turner, Oli Bayliss and Broc Pearson tried to keep that leading quartet in sight.
Reid Battye seemed to be gathering strength as the race wore on, his Suzuki looking to ride the bumps around the back of the circuit much smoother than Liminton’s machine.
Nic Liminton out of the seat early on lap three which allowed Battye to sneak through and Toparis followed him to demote Liminton back to third place. Oli Bayliss also got Liminton a short time later as the youngster moved up to fourth.
On the next lap Corey Turner pushed Liminton back to fourth place as Battye and Toparis looked to be making a small break over their pursuers.
Toparis took the race lead as the race broached the halfway point. Tom looked to be able to take different cornering lines as he wished, without any real cost in speed, while Battye had the Ecstar Suzuki GSX-R600 was always on the seemingly perfect line in order to be competitive. Battye was hanging on to Toparis but it seemed like only a matter of time before Toparis would start to walk away on the new YZF-R6, if he made any mistakes though Battye would be right there and ready to pounce.
The battle for the final step on the rostrum was still hectic with Corey Turner, Oli Bayliss, Nic Liminton, Callum Spriggs and Broc Pearson all waging war.
Oli Bayliss got to the head of that battle of third place but then went wide, Corey Turner also followed him wide and did not manage to avoid the recovering Bayliss which sent the youngster off into the dirt. Oli showed some impressive dirt skills to rejoin the circuit without head-butting a tyre wall and rejoined the race in 11th place.
At the front Toparis had pulled away from Battye to the tune of 2.5-seconds with three laps to run. Disaster then struck the Suzuki man as he went down and out of the race, a terrible blow after an impressive ride from the Suzuki man.
The battle for third had now become a battle for second, and that war was still on in earnest, albeit a massive seven-seconds behind the race leader. Nic Liminton was leading that group but then some sort of problem struck the South Australian and he lost a few positions. That made the battle for second place now down to two, Broc Pearson and Callum Spriggs now the prime combatants.
Tom Toparis cruised to the chequered flag while Callum Spriggs managed to fend off the advances of Broc Pearson on the final lap to secure second position in what was an all Yamaha podium.
Corey Turner brought the 52Motorsports Honda home in fourth position ahead of Liminton and Chris Quinn.
Oli Bayliss did well to recover from his off-track excursion and work his way back up to seventh place by the flag ahead of Dallas Skeer and Avalon Biddle while Ty Lynch rounded out the top ten.
Australian Supersport Race One Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Tom TOPARIS (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Callum SPRIGGS (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +7.443 |
| 3 | Broc PEARSON (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +7.631 |
| 4 | Corey TURNER (QLD) | Honda CBR | +12.587 |
| 5 | Nic LIMINTON (SA) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +20.350 |
| 6 | Chris QUINN (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +21.778 |
| 7 | Oli BAYLISS (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +25.277 |
| 8 | Dallas SKEER (SA) | Suzuki GSXR 600 | +25.444 |
| 9 | Avalon BIDDLE (NZ) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +26.950 |
| 10 | Ty LYNCH (SA) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +29.064 |
| 11 | Aidan HAYES (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +32.234 |
| 12 | Jack PASSFIELD (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +35.552 |
| 13 | Andrew EDSER (NSW) | Kawasaki ZX6R | +1:05.556 |
| 14 | Jack HYDE (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +1:13.399 |
| 15 | Reid BATTYE (NSW) | Suzuki GSX-R | +2 Laps |
YMI Supersport 300 Race Two
Senna Agius managed to break away from the pursuing horde in the second Supersport 300 race of the weekend which left Hunter Ford, Zac Levy, Max Stauffer, John Lytras and Brandom Demmery to fight over the podium scraps.
As the race wore on that battle for second place amongst the Yamaha YZF-R3 had come down to a two-rider affair, Hunter Ford and Zac Levy the protagonists. Zac Levy and Hunter Ford crossed the line side-by-side and it came down to the electronic timing transponders to separate them by two-thousandths of a second!
Out front though Senna Agius was not going to be challenged on the new Ninja 400 Kawasaki and even had enough of an advantage to just button off in the closing laps. Thus the winning margin of 1.374-second not representative of the actual speed difference between Agius and his pursuers.
YMI Supersport 300 Race Two Results
| Pos | Rider | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Senna AGIUS (NSW) | Kawasaki EX 400 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Hunter FORD (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1.374 |
| 3 | Zac LEVY (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1.376 |
| 4 | Max STAUFFER (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +2.277 |
| 5 | John LYTRAS (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +2.469 |
| 6 | Brandon DEMMERY (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +4.370 |
| 7 | Harrison VOIGHT (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +8.431 |
| 8 | Yannis SHAW (NSW) | Kawasaki 400 | +8.528 |
| 9 | Seth CRUMP (QLD) | KTM RC 390 | +10.734 |
| 10 | Harry KHOURI (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +10.761 |
| 11 | Locky TAYLOR (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +12.522 |
| 12 | Travis HALL (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +22.115 |
| 13 | Luke JHONSTON (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +22.774 |
| 14 | Peter NERLICH (VIC) | Kawasaki 400 | +24.046 |
| 15 | Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +28.645 |
| 16 | Tristan ADAMSON (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +36.929 |
| 17 | Mitch KUHNE (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +45.567 |
| 18 | Tom NEWTON (NZ) | Kawasaki 400 | +48.462 |
| 19 | Josh HALL (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +48.919 |
| 20 | Ryan SMITH (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +51.155 |
| 21 | Laura BROWN (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +52.461 |
| 22 | Jacob HATCH (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +57.635 |
| 23 | Brad TRIVETT (NSW) | Kawasaki 300 | +57.696 |
| 24 | John BLENKIN (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +57.715 |
| 25 | Ryan MOSCARDINI (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +58.789 |
| 26 | Sarah FAIRBROTHER (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1:09.282 |
| 27 | Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1:10.753 |
| 28 | Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1:17.494 |
| 29 | Hayden STIFF (NSW) | Kawasaki 400 | +1:17.508 |
| 30 | Noel MAHON (VIC) | Kawasaki 400 | +1:17.894 |
| 31 | Josh ANDREWS (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1:26.370 |
| 32 | Gregory FARRELL (NSW) | Kawasaki 300 | 1 Lap |
| 33 | Jeremy CZMOK (VIC) | Yamaha R3 321 | 1 Lap |
| DNF | Callum O’BRIEN (WA) | Kawasaki 400 | 4 Laps |
| DNF | Kyle O’CONNELL (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | 8 Laps |
YMF R3 Cup Race Two
It was another crazy, exciting R3 Cup bout that kicked off the Sunday proceedings at Morgan Park this morning for round four of the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship.
John Lytras, that name always there, was going at it hammer-and-tong with Max Stauffer, Zac Levy, Harrison Voight, Hunter Ford, Brandon Demmery and Harry Khouri. That is not a turn one lap one description of the leading pack, but that group of eight riders were still tightly bunched as the race past the half-way point of its eight-lap distance.
The pack chopped, changed and cut each other over the final laps but at the chequered flag it was that young man John Lytras with his nose in front as Zav Levy and Harry Khouri completed the podium just ahead of Hunter Ford, with less than two-tenths of a second covering that top four at the stripe.
YMF R3 Cup Race Two Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | John LYTRAS (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Zac LEVY (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.012 |
| 3 | Harry KHOURI (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.133 |
| 4 | Harrison VOIGHT (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.571 |
| 5 | Hunter FORD (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.178 |
| 6 | Brandon DEMMERY (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +0.859 |
| 7 | Max STAUFFER (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1.177 |
| 8 | Travis HALL (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +2.147 |
| 9 | Luke JHONSTON (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | 11.974 |
| 10 | Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +12.026 |
| 11 | Kyle O’CONNELL (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +18.297 |
| 12 | Locky TAYLOR (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +18.338 |
| 13 | Tristan ADAMSON (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +18.611 |
| 14 | Ryan SMITH (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +18.623 |
| 15 | Mitch KUHNE (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +20.213 |
| 16 | Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +21.439 |
| 17 | Josh HALL (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +27.761 |
| 18 | Laura BROWN (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +37.481 |
| 19 | John BLENKIN (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +39.772 |
| 20 | Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +39.789 |
| 21 | Zak PETTENDY (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +41.351 |
| 22 | Ryan MOSCARDINI (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +42.015 |
| 23 | Sarah FAIRBROTHER (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +54.532 |
| 24 | Josh ANDREWS (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +54.605 |
| 25 | Hunter DIPLOCK (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1:09.603 |
| 26 | Lachlan O’BRIEN (NT) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +1:17.509 |
| DNF | Zylas BUNTING (NSW) / | Yamaha YZF-R3 | 2 Laps |
| DNF | Jeremy CZMOK (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | 6 Laps |
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Angus GRENFELL (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Glenn NELSON (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.669 |
| 3 | Max GIBBONS (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.679 |
| 4 | Marianos NIKOLIS (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.697 |
| 5 | Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +5.720 |
| 6 | Carter THOMPSON (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.837 |
| 7 | Tom DRANE (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.986 |
| 8 | Zak PETTENDY (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +13.929 |
| 9 | Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +13.954 |
| 10 | Thomas BROWN (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +13.986 |
| 11 | Jai RUSSO (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +14.030 |
| 12 | Varis FLEMING (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +15.163 |
| 13 | Alex KENWORTHY-JONES (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +18.570 |
| 14 | Patrick BOGNAR (VIC) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +23.438 |
| 15 | Lincoln KNIGHT (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +29.416 |
| 16 | Cormac BUCHANAN (NZ) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +29.488 |
| 17 | Hunter DIPLOCK (NSW) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +29.790 |
| 18 | Tom CONNORS (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +30.071 |
| 19 | Jamie PORT (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +30.345 |
| 20 | Toby JAMES (VIC) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +48.128 |
| 21 | Archie MCDONALD (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +1:34.467 |
| DNF | Lucas QUINN (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | 2 Laps |
| DNF | Natalie BARBATI (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | 3 Laps |
| DNF | Jacob HATCH (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | 5 Laps |
Source: MCNews.com.au