2019 ASBK
Round Four – Morgan Park
Images by TBG and Rob Mott
Superbike Race Two
Nobody had an answer for Mike Jones in the opening stanza this weekend (Link), but competitor teams would now have a lot more data to try and fine tune their set-up ahead of this afternoon’s second 16-lap Superbike bout.
Race one had also seen the championship tighten up even further. Cru Halliday had taken the championship lead this morning by a single point, while Mike Jones had moved up to second place. A fall for previous championship leader Bryan Staring late in the opening race was costly, but the Kawasaki man remounted to cross the line in last position. With only 12 finishers that last position still netted him nine championship points to help limit the damage to his title aspirations.
We are away!
The lights went out to start the second and final 16-lap bout at Morgan Park just before 1430 this afternoon and it was race one winner Mike Jones that blasted hardest off the line. The front Pirelli of the big 1299 Ducati pawing the air as he led the field towards turn one.
Daniel Falzon had a brilliant start and was quickly on the back of Jones, but a couple of corners in to the race the Ducati man ran off the circuit! Jones got all out of shape under brakes and had to let the anchors off and run off in order to stay upright.
Troy Herfoss made short work of Daniel Falzon, as did Wayne Maxwell, and it quickly became a battle between these two foes as they started lap two. Maxwell sneaked past Herfoss to take the lead and their tussle then allowed Falzon back into the game. Also joining the party was Cru Halliday and Josh Waters.
Mike Jones had re-joined the race at the back of the pack and put his head down, reeling off fastest laps of the race more than half-a-second quicker than the race leaders. By lap four he had worked his way back up to seventh place and was closing in on Bryan Staring.
Aaron Morris’ encouraging debut with BMW then ended on a sour note, with a NextGen S 1000 RR turned upside down in the in-field. Still, a brilliant weekend for Morris that certainly gave the squad some heart and something to cheer for after a tumultous season thus far that had brought them little reward.
Up front Maxwell and Herfoss had started pulling away from third placed Halliday. The YRT man now had his hands full with not only team-mate Falzon, but also Josh Waters and Bryan Staring. Mike Jones was still lapping faster than everyone and by half-race distance the Queenslander had joined that party. The win was looking out of Jones’ grasp, but a podium was still a distinct possibility.
The DesmoSport Ducati man dispensed with Falzon as he slotted the 1299 Final Edition up the inside of the YRT machine into turn one with seven laps to run. Next target Waters… He got him in an identical move on the next lap to move up to fifth. Next target Staring… The Kawasaki man was a little bit harder to pass but it was job done two laps later, despite Jones running wide and almost off the circuit once again… Next target Halliday… And there it is, Jones up to third place with two laps to go.
Bryan Staring though was determined to try and put that BCperformance Kawasaki on the podium. Jones was not to be denied though and managed to keep Staring at bay to the chequered flag.
Wayne Maxwell and Troy Herfoss are lucky that Jones made that early mistake, as the pace the local man showed after recovering from that error was strong enough to indicate that he likely would have walked away from that duo to another clear victory. But Jones made a mistake, they didn’t.
That marks Maxwell’s first victory since the championship opener. Herfoss put his nose in front early on the final lap but Maxwell had the corner speed to simply sweep back past and deny the reining champion the victory.
That win also earned Maxwell the round win by a single point over Jones, Herfoss taking third overall.
Those results close the championship chase up even tighter!
Mike Jones the championship leader by a single point over Cru Halliday. Bryan Staring only seven-points further back, with Herfoss another seven-points behind in fourth place. That win promotes Wayne Maxwell into fifth in the championship by a single point over team-mate Josh Waters. Every single one of those aforementioned riders have Australian Road Race Championships under their belt, and any one of them could still lift the Title this year as things are wide open as we next head to Winton Motor Raceway in September for round five of the Motul/Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships. Bring it on!
Superbike Race Two Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) | Suzuki GSXR-R | 0.000 |
| 2 | Troy HERFOSS (QLD) | Honda CBR SP | +0.375 |
| 3 | Mike JONES (QLD) | Ducati 1299 FE | +3.585 |
| 4 | Bryan STARING (WA) | Kawasaki ZX10RR | +3.812 |
| 5 | Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +4.999 |
| 6 | Josh WATERS (VIC) | Suzuki GSXR-R | +5.269 |
| 7 | Daniel FALZON (SA) | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +9.444 |
| 8 | Arthur SISSIS (SA) | Suzuki GSXR-R | +25.093 |
| 9 | Matt WALTERS (NSW) | Kawasaki ZX10RR | +25.874 |
| 10 | Alex PHILLIS (VIC) | Suzuki GSXR-R | +40.432 |
| 11 | Lachlan EPIS (NSW) | Kawasaki ZX10RR | +44.093 |
| 12 | Damon REES (NZ) | Honda CBR | +44.380 |
| 13 | Mark CHIODO (VIC) | Honda CBR SP | +53.706 |
| 14 | Brian HOUGHTON (QLD) | Honda CBR RR | +1:10.525 |
| DNF | Aaron MORRIS (NSW) | BMW S RR | +12 Laps |
Supersport Race Two
Nic Liminton and Reid Battye took their turns battling with Nic Liminton in the first of the Supersport bouts but eventually it was Toparis that got the upper hand before then streaking away to a clear victory. Would any one have an answer for Toparis this afternoon…? Or would the Goulburn teenager’s 48-point championship lead increase further…?
Reid Battye scored the holeshot on the Ecstar Suzuki and led the field through the first turns as Toparis and Liminton gave chase. Toparis getting a much better start this time around and immediately challenging for the lead. It was not until lap three though that Battye relinquished the lead to Toparis. While Toparis was never really threatened from thereon in he never managed to really break away from Battye.
Behind Toparis the battle for second place was hotting up though as Nic Liminton closed on Battye while Callum Spriggs and Oli Bayliss also tried to join that party. Spriggs put in the fastest lap of the race on lap five to close on Nic Liminton and challenge the young South Australian for third place. A couple of laps later Liminton ran in was too deep which gave Reid Battye plenty of breathing space. The Suzuki man though made his own mistake and lost a number of positions, drifting all the way back to sixth place.
Those mistakes from Liminton and Battye had promoted Callum Spriggs up to a clear second place, while Oli Bayliss was in a relatively lonely third place. The top three now were really strung out while Broc Pearson was doing his best to try and close down Oli Bayliss in order to steal the final step on the podium.
Pearson sneaked past Bayliss early on the final lap, but Bayliss got back around him and put his head down on the final lap to make that podium his.
Callum Spriggs a strong second place in another of his rare appearance these days in the competition.
Tom Toparis leaves Queensland with a 61-point lead in the Australian Supersport Championship. It must be said that Toparis did it relatively easily, while his main rivals made their mistakes trying to match his pace.
Supersport Race Two Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Tom TOPARIS (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Callum SPRIGGS (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +3.087 |
| 3 | Oli BAYLISS (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +4.511 |
| 4 | Broc PEARSON (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +4.991 |
| 5 | Corey TURNER (QLD) | Honda CBR | +12.016 |
| 6 | Reid BATTYE (NSW) | Suzuki GSX-R | +16.126 |
| 7 | Chris QUINN (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +19.384 |
| 8 | Nic LIMINTON (SA) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +19.804 |
| 9 | Dallas SKEER (SA) | Suzuki GSXR 600 | +21.487 |
| 10 | Aidan HAYES (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +26.457 |
| 11 | Jack PASSFIELD (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +31.829 |
| 12 | Ty LYNCH (SA) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +35.658 |
| 13 | Avalon BIDDLE (NZ) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +39.818 |
| 14 | Andrew EDSER (NSW) | Kawasaki ZX6R | +1:14.156 |
| 15 | Jack HYDE (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +1 Lap |
Supersport 300 Race Three
Senna Agius once again quickly established himself as the man to beat. Agius on the new 400 Kawasaki immediately streaked away from the chasing Yamaha YZF-R3 horde. Agius built a massive 2.5-second lead on the opening lap and the field never managed to reel any of that gap back in over the remainder of the race.
The battle for second place though was insane! Harry Khouri, Zac Levy, Harrison Voight, Max Stauffer, Hunter Ford, Seth Crump, Yannis Shaw and Brandon Demmery all swapping and changing at almost every turn in what was a titanic battle over the remaining steps on the rostrum. Winning that battle for second place was Championship leader Max Stauffer from Harrison Voight with Harry Khouri missing out on a podium by a gnat’s whisker.
Max Stauffer remains in the lead of the Supersport 300 Championship but Agius has trimmed his buffer down to 28-points after what has been a dominant weekend for the 14-year-old. Full championship standings can be found further down the page.
Supersport 300 Race Three Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Senna AGIUS (NSW) | Kawasaki EX 400 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Max STAUFFER (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +4.952 |
| 3 | Harrison VOIGHT (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +4.968 |
| 4 | Harry KHOURI (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +4.973 |
| 5 | Hunter FORD (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +5.148 |
| 6 | Zac LEVY (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +5.412 |
| 7 | Yannis SHAW (NSW) | Kawasaki EX 400 | +5.476 |
| 8 | Brandon DEMMERY (NSW) / | Yamaha R3 321 | +5.527 |
| 9 | Seth CRUMP (QLD) | KTM RC 390 | +8.245 |
| 10 | Luke JHONSTON (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +22.260 |
| 11 | Peter NERLICH (VIC) | Kawasaki EX 400 | +22.293 |
| 12 | Tristan ADAMSON (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +22.359 |
| 13 | Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +22.487 |
| 14 | Kyle O’CONNELL (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +25.966 |
| 15 | Travis HALL (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +27.358 |
| 16 | Ryan SMITH (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R3 | +28.474 |
| 17 | Tom NEWTON (NZ) | Kawasaki EX 400 | +37.454 |
| 18 | Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) | Yamaha R3 321 | +42.304 |
| 19 | Josh HALL (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +42.354 |
| 20 | Laura BROWN (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +46.487 |
| 21 | Jacob HATCH (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +46.538 |
| 22 | John BLENKIN (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +47.294 |
| 23 | Brad TRIVETT (NSW) | Kawasaki EX 300 | +47.927 |
| 24 | Mitch KUHNE (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +52.080 |
| 25 | Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +52.730 |
| 26 | Ryan MOSCARDINI (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +58.106 |
| 27 | Sarah FAIRBROTHER (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +59.453 |
| 28 | Noel MAHON (VIC) | Kawasaki EX 400 | +1:11.957 |
| 29 | Jeremy CZMOK (VIC) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1:13.885 |
| 30 | Josh ANDREWS (NSW) | Yamaha R3 321 | +1:17.345 |
| 31 | Gregory FARRELL (NSW) | Kawasaki EX 300 | +1:17.434 |
| 32 | Hayden STIFF (NSW) | Kawasaki EX 400 | +1:23.471 |
| 33 | John LYTRAS (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +2 Laps |
| DNF | Locky TAYLOR (QLD) | Yamaha R3 321 | +3 Laps |
YMF R3 Cup Race Three
TBC
YMF R3 Cup Race Three Results
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Three
TBC
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Three Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Angus GRENFELL (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +0.018 |
| 3 | Carter THOMPSON (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +0.838 |
| 4 | Archie MCDONALD (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.857 |
| 5 | Tom DRANE (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.898 |
| 6 | Glenn NELSON (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +5.932 |
| 7 | Marianos NIKOLIS (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +6.143 |
| 8 | Max GIBBONS (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +6.238 |
| 9 | Lucas QUINN (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +6.558 |
| 10 | Thomas BROWN (QLD) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +11.602 |
| 11 | Zak PETTENDY (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +11.641 |
| 12 | Jacob HATCH (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +11.673 |
| 13 | Varis FLEMING (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +13.586 |
| 14 | Jai RUSSO (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +13.886 |
| 15 | Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +13.910 |
| 16 | Lincoln KNIGHT (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +30.075 |
| 17 | Hunter DIPLOCK (NSW) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +30.127 |
| 18 | Cormac BUCHANAN (NZ) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +30.199 |
| 19 | Jamie PORT (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +30.823 |
| 20 | Patrick BOGNAR (VIC) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +37.848 |
| 21 | Tom CONNORS (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +38.383 |
| 22 | Toby JAMES (VIC) | Yamaha YZR-R15 | +55.030 |
| DNF | Alex KENWORTHY-JONES (NSW) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +2 Laps |
| DNF | Natalie BARBATI (VIC) | Yamaha YZF-R15 | +4 Laps |
Superbike Masters Race Two
Alex Pickett blasted the big FZR1000 off the line ahead of Saturday race victor John Allen on the TZ750 two-stroke Yamaha.
Pickett kept that lead until three laps from the end when the big four-stroke Yamaha went into a monumental tank-slapper coming on to the main straight that almost launched him into orbit but somehow young Alex managed to hang on to it. Must have reminded him of his Isle of Man exploits! It broke the bolt-in lock-stops off the FZR1000!
That moment allowed John Allen through to the lead before going on to take the win by 1.5-seconds.
Superbike Masters Race Two Results
| Pos | Name | Machine | Gap |
| 1 | John ALLEN (QLD) | Yamaha TZ 750 | 0.000 |
| 2 | Alexander PICKETT | Yamaha FZR 1000 | 1.507 |
| 3 | Murray CLARK (QLD) | Suzuki GSXR | 17.951 |
| 4 | Mark McVEIGH (NSW) | Yamaha FZR 1000 | 46.575 |
| 5 | Scott WEBSTER (VIC) | Suzuki GSX 1200 | 47.255 |
| 6 | Gregory JAMES (NSW) | Honda CB 1100 R | 59.704 |
| 7 | Mark RODDA (NSW) | Suzuki GS 1000 S | 1:01.567 |
Superbike Masters Race Three
TBC
Superbike Masters Race Three Results
TBC
Source: MCNews.com.au