Toparis tops Supersport time sheets
The first session of the Supersport class on Saturday saw Tom Toparis getting his year off to a good start, in what serves as a warm up for his racing season, which now also includes a wildcard entry in Round 1 of the FIM World Supersport Championship at the end of the month.
Toparis was in intimidating form as he set fastest time of the day on the Yamaha R6, his first outing for the marque after moving over from Kawasaki.
Right behind Toparis was Nicholas Liminton (Yamaha Motor Aust., Yamaha YZF-R6) in second and Aidan Hayes (Hayes Johnston Pty Ltd Chartered Accountants, Yamaha YZF-R6) in third place.
Oli Bayliss (Yamaha YZF-R6) was knocking on the door of the top group but couldn’t catch third placed Pearson, ending up fourth with a 1.37.840. Behind him was Reid Battye (Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R), seemingly getting more comfortable on the bike after a slow first session to finish fifth fastest.
If Tom Toparis was in intimidating form on Day 1, then on Sunday he proved he was untouchable. Already down into the 1:35’s by lunchtime, Toparis (1:35.295) pushed his Landbridge Yamaha almost two seconds clear of second placed Nic Liminton (1:37.273) who despite improving as the weekend progressed still didn’t have the pace to catch the World Supersport wild card rider.
After a weekend’s worth of trying, Oli Bayliss finally managed to crack the top three for the second and third sessions of the day despite reportedly clipping a stray bird whilst out on track. He finished the weekend in third position behind Liminton and Toparis in what was a superb improvement from yesterday.
Fighting it out for best of the rest all weekend was Broc Pearson and Reid Battye, who were consistently in the top five runners all weekend. Pearson ended the weekend on a 1:37.588 to leave him in fourth, while Battye could only manage a 1:38.142 which left him fifth.
Aidan Hayes and Territorian Sam Lambert managed to dip into the top five in the morning however couldn’t seem to match the top three for pace on a consistent basis. Pearson (1:37.588) ended up fifth and Lambert (1:38.134) ended the weekend in sixth.
Fastest Overall Top 10 Results
- Tom TOPARIS (Landbridge Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:35.295
- Nicholas LIMINTON (Yamaha Motor Aust. Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.273
- Oli BAYLISS (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.492
- Broc PEARSON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.588
- Reid BATTYE (Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R) 1:38.134
- Sam LAMBERT (Mv Agusta Aus-NZ, MV Agusta F3) 1:38.142
- Aidan HAYES (Hayes Johnston Pty Ltd Chartered Accountants, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.496
- Scott NICHOLSON (Traction Control Motorsport, Suzuki GSX-R) 1:39.013
- Ty LYNCH (Australian Outdoor Living, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:39.136
- Ryan TAYLOR (Arden Homes, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:39.182
YMI Supersport 300 / YMF R3 Cup
He’s new to the team and the bike, but nothing could stop Locky Taylor in taking out the fastest overall lap time in the YMI Supersport 300 and YMF R3 Cup classes on Saturday. Taylor clocked in a fastest time of 1:49.429, ahead of Seth Crump (Rockoil, KTM RC 390) who finishes Day One with the second fastest overall time of 1:49.768.
Third fastest overall was Callum O’Brien (BC Performance, Kawasaki Ninja 400), who featured consistently at the top of the leader board throughout the day. O’Brien finished Day One of the Official ASBK Test with a top lap time of 1:49.939.
Hot on the heels of O’Brien was Zac Levy (Demmery Motorsport, Yamaha R3 321), who clocked in a speedy time of 1:50.109. Rounding out the top five for the day was Luke Power (RTR, Yamaha R3 321) with a best time of 1:50.423.
On Day Two, coming out of the pits like a demon behind the handlebars, Seth Crump (Rockoil, KTM RC 390) took out the fastest lap time for the YMI Supersport 300 and YMF R3 Cup classes.
Crump clocked in a best time of 1:49.249, sitting pretty ahead of second place holder Locky Taylor (YRD, Yamaha R3 321) with a 1:49.429. Taylor continued his fantastic form from Saturday’s practice sessions, maintaining a cool head into today’s rising temperatures.
Third fastest for Sunday was Senna Agius (Kawasaki Ninja 400) with a time of 1:49.581. Agius has been riding comfortably with the leading pack all day, appearing in the top three places for each of his four practice sessions. Breathing down Agius’ neck and trailing by a mere .36 seconds was Max Stauffer (Yamaha, Yamaha R3 321), with the fourth fastest time of 1:49.617.
Rounding out the top five for Day Two was Callum O’Brien (BC Performance, Kawasaki Ninja 400) with a time of 1:49.939.
Fastest Overall Top 10 Results
- Seth CRUMP (Rockoil, KTM RC 390) 1:49.249
- Locky TAYLOR (YRD, Yamaha R3 321) 1:49.429
- Senna AGIUS (Kawasaki Ninja 400) 1:49.581
- Max STAUFFER (Yamaha, Yamaha R3 321) 1:49.617
- Callum O’BRIEN (BC Performance, Kawasaki Ninja 400) 1:49.939
- Luke POWER (RTR, Yamaha R3 321) 1:49.939
- Zac LEVY (Demmery Motorsport, Yamaha R3 321) 1:50.109
- Ben BAKER (Kawasaki Ninja 300) 1:50.823
- Harry KHOURI (Excite M-sports, Yamaha R3 321) 1:50.829
- Zylas BUNTING (Shark Leathers, Yamaha R3 321) 1:50.917
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
The first ever practice session for the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup kicked off on Saturday as the first time Motorcycling Australia’s Junior Road Race Academy program had ever taken to the track.
Damien Cudlin led the field out for their first two supervised laps before waving the field past and unleashing the 25 youngsters onto the Phillip Island circuit for the very first of their practice sessions.
The first untimed session gave the kids the chance to feel their way around the circuit and the bikes at their own pace, before the timing started and the young riders started to come to grips with how the bikes handled.
Fastest time of the day went to Lucas Quinn (2:15.668), ahead of Grenfell and Carter Thompson.
As the pitlane opened on Sunday and the sessions began the youngsters would crank the throttle wide open and swarm out of pit exit, anxious to make the most of every second of their fifteen minutes on track.
The action was akin to a mini Moto3 race, with bunches of six and seven riders having five lap long drafting chains exciting enough to draw a few of the top class riders out of the pit garages for a look at the action.
By the time the weekend finished it was Queensland’s Max Gibbons who came out on top, setting a impressive 2:14.375 to take fastest of the day, followed by Carter Thompson (2:14.835), Archie McDonald (2:14.897), New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan (2:14.957), and Angus Grenfell (2:15.082).
Rider coach Damien Cudlin was thrilled with the performance of the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup riders.
Damien Cudlin
“So far it’s been a really positive test, I think the kids have all really enjoyed themselves, they’ve learnt a whole lot. “They’ve really surprised me and I think a lot of people in the pitlane with how professional they’ve been and how well they’re riding already, so I’m even more excited to see them in their first race.”
The young racers’ next outing is at Wakefield Park, where the Junior Road Race Academy will go racing for real with the first-ever Oceania Junior Cup round joining Round 2 of ASBK. If this weekend’s performance is anything to go by, these young talented riders will be itching to be the first to stamp their name on the series and will be providing us with some absolutely thrilling racing.
Overall Fastest Top 10 Results
- Max GIBBONS bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:14.735)
- Carter THOMPSON bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:14.835)
- Archie McDONALD bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:14.897)
- Cormac BUCHANAN bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:14.957)
- Angus GRENFELL bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.082)
- Cros FRANCIS bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.202)
- Glenn NELSON bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.486)
- Lucas QUINN bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.668)
- Jamie PORT bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.681)
- Alex KENWORTHY-JONES bLU cRU Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.890)
The end of official testing sees the beginning of the countdown to Round 1 of the season, when we return to Phillip Island on 21-24 February 2019. Make sure you don’t miss it as the Australians join the world’s best Superbike racers for a thrilling weekend of superbike action for Round 1 of the FIM World Superbike Championship. Get your tickets now!
2019 ASBK Calendar
- Official ASBK Test – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC February 2 – 3
- Round 1- WSBK – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC February 21 – 24
- Round 2- Wakefield Park Raceway – Goulburn NSW March 22 – 24
- Round 3- The Bend Motorsport Park – Tailem Bend, SA April 26 – 28
- Round 4- Morgan Park Raceway – Warwick, QLD July 5 – 7
- Round 5- Winton Motor Raceway – Benalla, VIC September 6 – 8
- Round 6- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 4 – 6
- Round 7- Sydney Motorsport Park – Eastern Creek, NSW November 1 – 3
Source: MCNews.com.au