Tag Archives: 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Mike Jones wins 2019 ASBK Title with R2 victory at SMP

2019 Australian Superbike Championship

Round 7 – SMP

The ASBK Finale – Part Two


ASBK Superbike Race Two

Race one was an exciting battle that ended up going down to the wire between Mike Jones and Troy Herfoss. 

It was the Ducati man that had the power to take the victory but the Penrite Honda looked incredibly strong around the corners, even when the tyres were shot, Herfoss looked to have supreme confidence as the Fireblade SP slithered around underneath him. 

Daniel Falzon was very strong early on before losing the front at turn nine and going out of contention. Maxwell was also strong in the first half of the race but ultimately lost pace as the race progressed and his tyres were cooked.

Bryan Staring and Cru Halliday never really figured in the fight but were never far off, so close, but yet so far. The gap at the flag was five-seconds but it was only in the last two laps that gap had been that large and if they managed to improve their set-up between races were likely to be a larger factor in this final battle that would decide the war.

Only half-a-point between Herfoss as they lined up on the line. The forecast thunderstorms were still yet to appear and it looked like we would have a fully dry race to decide the championship.

Wayne Maxwell led the field through turn one from Herfoss while Jones had a brilliant start from the third row to be up to third place by turn two and tussling with Herfoss on exit, the Penrite Honda man making the Ducati pilot stand the bike up a little on exit to avoid contact.  Falzon fourth, Halliday fifth, Waters sixth, Staring seventh.

Mike Jones overtook Herfoss down the main straight and held on to that position through turn one and then stood Maxwell up at turn two in an aggressive pass.  Herfoss then got Jones on the change of direction between turns four and five, holds on around the back of the circuit, Jones looks up the inside at turn nine but no need to take any risk, he can just wait for the main straight and pull the trigger on that big 1299 Ducati and blow past him on the straight, which is exactly what happened.

Jones held on to that lead for the entire next lap but closely shadowed by Herfoss throughout. Maxwell was right behind them in third, Halliday and Falzon still in close touch also.

By half-race distance Maxwell had started to lose touch with that leading duo and was starting to come under attack from Cru Halliday.

Herfoss was continuing to shadow Jones for the next couple of laps before going up the inside at turn one with five laps to go.

Jones came back at him a lap later but ran wide and Herfoss took the lead right back. Again on the next lap the move happened at turn two, this time Herfoss in a little deep and Jones allowed through to the lead with just under three laps to run.

Wayne Maxwell had drifted back to fifth but Staring then went down, promoting Maxwell back up fourth. Cru Halliday was a somewhat lonely third place.

Jones and Herfoss side by side at turn two with just under two laps to run, Herfoss through at turn three and into the lead, Jones looks up the inside at turn four but can’t do it.

Last lap board and Herfoss led past it but Jones powered up the inside to take the lead into turn one, the Ducati man holds sway at turn two, maintains the lead at turn three and four. Herfoss takes him on change of direction and leads down to turn seven, Jones up the inside at turn eight, Herfoss up the inside at nine but can’t stop it, he runs wide, Jones now left with an easy run to the line and with it the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship.

What a finale, what a championship. Roll on season 2020!

ASBK Superbike Race Two Results / Standings

  1. Mike Jones 
  2. Troy Herfoss +1.050s
  3. Cru Halliday +8.119s

Final 2019 ASBK Superbike Points

  1. Mike Jones 286.5
  2. Troy Herfoss 281
  3. Wayne Maxwell 273
  4. Cru Halliday 256

Source: MCNews.com.au

Jones takes opening victory at SMP | Leads Herfoss by 0.5-pts…

2019 Australian Superbike Championship

Round 7 – SMP

The ASBK Finale – Part One


Troy Herfoss made it clear of his intentions to get right down to business with the Penrite Honda man putting in a series of 1m30s laps in morning warm-up, the best of which was a 1m30.280s.

Mike Jones was the only other man to record more than one lap in the 1m30s while Wayne Maxwell put in a best of 1m30.9s. 

There also appeared to be a bit of gamesmanship or head games already unfolding during warm-up. Herfoss shadowing Jones for much of the session, it was unclear if the DesmoSport Ducati man knew he was being shadowed…

Jamie Stauffer had got out the right side of bed with a 1m31.020s in warm-up his fastest lap of the weekend. The McMartin Racing Team obviously making some progress overnight with their K-Tech suspension. 

Bryan Staring was on the pace also with a 1m31.109s while YRT team-mate Cru Halliday and Daniel Falzon were both under 1m31.5s.

ASBK Superbike Morning Warm-Up Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Troy HERFOSS  Honda CBR SP 1m30.280
2 Mike JONES  Ducati FE +0.031
3 Wayne MAXWELL  Suzuki GSXR +0.713
4 Jamie STAUFFER Ducati V4R +0.740
5 Bryan STARING  Kawasaki ZX10RR +0.829
6 Cru HALLIDAY  Yamaha YZF-R1 +1.084
7 Daniel FALZON  Yamaha YZF-R1 +1.200
8 Josh WATERS  Suzuki GSXR +1.597
9 Mark CHIODO Honda CBR SP +1.655
10 Damon REES Honda CBR SP +1.874
11 Arthur SISSIS Suzuki GSXR +2.048
12 Matt WALTERS Kawasaki ZX10RR +2.182
13 Glenn ALLERTON BMW S RR +2.333
14 Lachlan EPIS Kawasaki ZX10R +2.438
15 Alex PHILLIS  Suzuki GSXR +2.500
16 Sloan FROST Suzuki GSXR 3.297
17 Ben BURKE  Kawasaki ZX10RR +3.311
18 Brendan MCINTYRE Suzuki GSXR +4.763
19 Nathan SPITERI Suzuki GSXR +6.791
20 Michael EDWARDS  Yamaha YZF-R1 +6.846

ASBK Superbike Race One

The ambient temperature had already passed 30-degrees and track temperatures were heading towards 45-degrees as the tension rose around Sydney Motorsports Park this morning. 

A full season of training effort by the riders, a year of machine preparation and tuning by the teams, all coming down to one final day of competition to decide who would be the ASBK Superbike Champion. 

Some red flag incidents on Sunday morning in support category races had allowed the nerves to build further and further ahead of the 13-lap opening Superbike bout that finally got underway at 1153, half-an-hour behind schedule. 

Falzon got a good jump off pole position but Wayne Maxwell was the early race leader, Falzon second, Herfoss third, Staring fourth and Jones fifth.

Mike Jones moved past Staring to take fourth late on lap one and Falzon took the lead from Maxwell out of turn one early on the second lap.  Jones then got Herfoss to move up to third place.

The Penrite Honda man was already asking more from his rear tyre than it could cope with as he tried to get back past Jones. Herfoss then put stupendous loads on his front tyre through turns one and two as he battled hard to stay in touch. 

Maxwell went up the inside of Falzon to take the lead with ten laps to run. Herfoss lost close touch with the leading trio down the straight but then made all that ground back up into turn one. 

Jones took second place from Falzon at turn four to move up to second place. Herfoss quickly followed suit to push the South Australian back to fourth place. Bryan Staring and Cru Halliday were also not far behind.

Mike Jones through to the lead at turn nine with nine laps to go. Daniel Falzon then slid out of the race at the same point.

Mike Jones, Wayne Maxwell, Troy Herfoss, the top three in the championship and the top three in this race… Eight laps to go…  Staring looked strong in fourth and we know how those Dunlops hang in all the way to the chequered flag. Cru Halliday was in fifth, and still close enough to work his way into the podium fight if he had enough tyre left at the end. 

Little changed over the next few laps apart from Staring and Halliday starting to creep towards that leading trio.

Herfoss up the inside of Maxwell around the back of the circuit with 4.5 laps to run… Jones had a half-a-second buffer now and it would be interesting to see if the Penrite Honda man had any tyre left to mount a late challenge. He had been sliding around since the opening lap so if asked to predict I would have said it was highly doubtful he would have enough rubber left to hang on to a podium, let alone challenge for a win. 

Herfoss though left nothing in the locker in his quest to try and chase that Ducati. With two laps to go he had narrowed the gap down to under three-tenths and showing how inaccurate my prediction had been. Herfoss simply didn’t look to care as that Fireblade SP danced around underneath him, obviously comfortable with the set-up of the bike when grip was gone.

Herfoss was all over the back of Jones around the back of the circuit for the final time, you could tell how much he wanted it, but ultimately it was Jones that took the win. Power was perhaps the telling factor in that battle.

Wayne Maxwell had run out of tyre and in the closing laps was behing shadowed by both Bryan Staring and Cru Halliday, but just managed to keep them at bay for the final step on the podium. 

ASBK TBG Round SMP SBK R Podium Jones Herfoss Maxwell
ASBK SMP Superbike Race One Podium – TBG Image

With 13-laps left this afternoon to decide the title, Jones will take a half-point lead into that final battle to decide the war. Herfoss the man in second. Maxwell five-points further back in third.

And rain is expected this afternoon… 

ASBK Superbike Race One Results / Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

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

ASBK 2019 | Season recap as we head to SMP finale

Round 7 – Sydney Motorsports Park

Looking back on ASBK 2019 ahead of the SMP finale

By Chris Plumridge and TH


We are down to the wire! After six breath-taking rounds, the final instalment of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship season takes place at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend. A venue that has seen many championships decided over the years.

In a dream scenario for the fans, 51-points are up for grabs, with six riders sitting under that magical margin between themselves and the championship. It’s looking like becoming a superb end to an epic season of close, hard-fought racing.

“But help!” you might say. “I’ve been living (under a rock/in the Amazon/on the Moon) and haven’t been watching the ASBK (this year/since the 90s/ever) because I’ve been too busy watching (MotoGP/Supercars/Reruns of Whose Line is it Anyway). How do I get up to speed?”

Well, shame on you, dear reader, but never fear! With so much action from the previous six rounds, I think even the most seasoned fan still needs some time to sit back and recap.

The current state of play is thus: Six rounds down and only one to go. Six riders with a mathematical chance of taking the chocolates, five of them previous ASBK champions, representing five different manufacturers.

Penrite Honda’s Troy Herfoss is the current points leader, defending champ, and coming off a momentum-boosting victory in the single non-championship Aussie Superbike hit-out at the Phillip Island MotoGP on the weekend, so he’s looking good.

ASBK TBG Round Phillip Island Troy Herfoss TBG Sunday
Troy Herfoss took the ASBK Championship lead at Phillip Island’s round six in early October – Image; 2019 by TBG

Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia’s Wayne Maxwell sits second, having returned to the factory Suzuki from Yamaha for 2019: he won the championship for Suzuki in 2013 and will be looking to repeat that success.

Wayne Maxwell won the 2013 Australian Superbike Championship on a GSX-R1000 Suzuki
Wayne Maxwell won the 2013 Australian Superbike Championship on a GSX-R1000 Suzuki ;image 2013

Desmosport Ducati’s Mike Jones returned to the ASBK full-time in 2019, ostensibly as an injury replacement for Troy Bayliss, but the 25-year-old quickly became a championship contender in his own right. Fiercely competitive right from the season opener on a borrowed privateer Kawasaki he has rewarded the faith put in him by DesmoSport Ducati in spades.  Jones has also won an Australian Superbike Championship before, but in that 2015 season competition was thin, with Jones sometimes taking pole by two-second, as most of Australia’s best were racing in a rival series. This season things are different, all the best riders are racing in ASBK and the competition has never been more closely and hotly contested. The Queenslander will be hungry to make 2019 his year. 

Mike Jones crowned 2015 ASBK Champion at Symmons Plains
Mike Jones was crowned 2015 ASBK Champion at Symmons Plains, but it was a year where the top level competition was racing elsewhere…. Image; 2015

Those guys find themselves in the box seat for the title, which would be a tantalising prospect if it was just a three-way fight in the final round. But there’s one more factor at play to ensure this weekend’s decider will be downright unmissable: weather. The Bureau has predicted hot, sticky and very wet conditions to hit Western Sydney just as the ASBK hits the business end of the two-race schedule planned for this weekend. It wouldn’t take much in those stormy conditions, for one or more of the top riders to suffer a DNF that would then invite one of the outside contenders to steal the championship at the final juncture… Stranger things have happened…


Eastern Creek SMP Weather Forecast

Weather EasternCreek Novb
The weather will play a big part in proceedings this weekend…

Chief among those looking to upset the party is Yamaha Racing Team’s Cru Halliday. The YRT man led the championship for much of the series this year despite not having won a race, thanks to metronomic consistency and his ability to keep it rubber-side down when his rivals couldn’t. But his only crash of 2019 came at the worst possible time, meaning Cru will have to rely on some bad luck striking the top three to have a real shot at championship glory.

ASBK Rnd Morgan Park RbMotoLens SBK Race Grid Cru HALLIDAY
Cru Halliday has been in consistently strong form all year – Image by Rob Mott

2012 champ, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Josh Waters has been close but no cigar all year. While struggling to match the pace demonstrated by team-mate Maxwell, the 32-year-old from Mildura has still been scoring good results and steadily building a championship points total that still sees him in with a chance of becoming the first rider in history to claim four Australian Superbike Championship victories…

Josh Waters - ASBK Champion 2009
Josh Waters took his first ASBK Superbike crown in 2009. He also won the championship in 2012 and 2017 – Here is an image from 2009

And don’t factor out Bryan Staring.  His Dunlop-shod BCperformance Kawasaki is the hot ticket when the Pirelli runners start to search for grip, particularly in hot conditions, and we are in for some hot conditions this weekend. The Western Australian is fitter than ever and is always hungry for results. If he has the prime set-up at SMP this weekend he will be a factor in the championship. He is also a previous Australian Superbike Champion, not only in Superbike, but also in Australian Supersport and Australian 125 Grand Prix. 

ASBK Tas R
Bryan Staring pictured here in 2010 on his way to winning the Australian Superbike Championship ;image 2010

With so much action through 2019, and even more coming in 2020, including a planned round alongside the Virgin Australia Supercars in Perth, now’s the time to jump on the bandwagon and act like you knew all about ASBK before it was cool. Got it? Good.

Now you’re up to speed, let’s take a moment, new fans and hard-core ones alike, to recap and catch up on the six rounds leading up to the 2019 title decider.


Round 1: Phillip Island World SBK
Maxwell vs. Wagner

If the Aussie Superbike fans could have crafted the perfect opening round of the 2019 season, even they wouldn’t have dreamed of the excitement that Round 1 of the ASBK provided. Close racing action that put counterparts from the Superbike World Championship to shame got the crowds on their feet and would best be summed up in three words: Maxwell vs. Wagner.

ASBK Round Phillip Island SBK Saturday Rob Mott Aiden WAGNER start
Aiden Wagner made his presence felt back on the ASBK scene immediately with pole position – Image Rob Mott

Both racers began the season with something to prove. Aiden Wagner (Landbridge Racing Yamaha) returned to the ASBK from World Supersport to play the Great Aussie Privateer Battler against the factory teams. While veteran Maxwell had made the return to Suzuki after a stint with Yamaha. Maxwell and Wagner topped the timesheets at the Island in testing and qualifying respectively, setting the scene for something special as the races got underway.

Wagner looked set for a fairy-tale pole-to-flag victory in Race 1, only to be denied by a false neutral in the very last corner that let a fast-closing Maxwell slip through and claim the race by a hair.

ASBK Round Phillip Island SBK Saturday Rob Mott Wayne MAXWELL Places Parc
2019 ASBK Superbike Round One Race One Results
1. Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki
2. Aiden Wagner – Yamaha +0.147
3. Bryan Staring – Kawasaki +0.320

With positions reversed in Race 2 later that afternoon and Maxwell leading Wagner into the final turn, the second-placed privateer wasn’t going to let this one slip away as well. Maxwell tried to defend the apex, Wagner came through anyway, there was a touch and down Maxwell went – sending him cartwheeling into the gravel and out of the race, while Wagner went on to claim a controversial victory.

ASBK Round Phillip Island SBK Saturday Rob Mott Wayne Maxwell Crash
Aiden Wagner wins – Wayne Maxwell tumbles – Image Rob Mott – ASBK Round One 2019

The highlight reels ended with Maxwell striding up to Parc Ferme and reminding the victorious Wagner: “I’ve got a long memory…”. What a start to the year!


Round 2: Wakefield Park
Herfoss untouchable in his home town.

Defending ASBK champion Troy Herfoss returned to his winning ways at Wakefield after a difficult weekend at Phillip Island where he had combined ASBK with World Superbike wild-card duties. There were no such worries at the Southern NSW circuit; the Goulburn native’s only concern was the number of locals looking to wish him well as they cheered for their hometown hero.

ASBK TBG ASBK Round Wakefield Park SBK R Sunday Start TBG
Wakefield Park ASBK 2019 – Image by TBG

Round One winner Wagner’s season looked to be over in practice thanks to a shoulder injury incurred when he crashed trying to avoid slow riders exiting the pits. One 2019 story-line ended before it had really begun.

Herfoss didn’t disappoint the partisan crowd, taking both races despite challenges from Maxwell and Yamaha Racing Team’s Cru Halliday. A red-flag affected Race 2 didn’t provide the battle that the early action had promised, but the local boy’s clean-sweep still ensured the record crowds went home happy.

ASBK TBG ASBK Round Wakefield Park SBK Sunday Round Winner Troy Herfoss A
Troy Herfoss had a renewed spring in his step after Wakefield, after a less than stellar start to the season at P.I. – Image by TBG

Round 3: The Bend
Where did that Kawasaki come from?

ASBK joined the Asia Road Racing Championship at Tailem Bend for Round 3 for another international double-header. Kawasaki BCperformance’s Bryan Staring was in for a busy weekend, pinch-hitting in the ARRC for Kawasaki Team Thailand in addition to his commitments with the ASBK. Eyes were on Staring as a litmus test for the quality of the Australian domestic series – would he be able to keep pace with the best of Asia?

ASBK Round The Bend SA SBKRace Wayne Maxwell Cru Halliday Bryan Staring Mike Jones TBG
ASBK 2019 – The Bend

Word in the pits early in the weekend hinted that the usually ultra-quick Pirelli tyres were not coping with the highly abrasive Bend tarmac, and that the more conservative Dunlops would likely be the tyres to be on come the closing laps on race day. This presented a problem for most competitors, who struggled to get their tyres to last the distance, but not for the only Dunlop-shod team in the ASBK paddock: Kawasaki BCperformance.

ASBK ASBK Round The Bend Pirelli Dunlop Tyres Jones Staring
Bryan Staring’s Dunlop on the left, the Pirelli on Mike Jones’ DesmoSport Ducati on the right as pictured after race two at The Bend – Image by TH

Not only did Staring and his crew clean-sweep the three ASBK races, but they helped their counterparts at Kawasaki Team Thailand to a win and a second place in the two ARRC races as well.

ASBK TBG ASBK Round The Bend Bryan Staring TBG Sat
Bryan Staring was dominant at The Bend – TBG Image

The stellar performance meant Staring shot to the lead of the ASBK championship and picked up a couple more Asia Road Racing appearances for the following rounds in Thailand and Suzuka with his new Thai best friends.


Round 4: Morgan Park
Maxwell comes good.

The ASBK headed North for the winter to Queensland’s Morgan Park for the championship’s biggest round in terms of spectator numbers providing a great atmosphere for teams and fans alike.

ASBK Rnd Morgan Park RbMotoLens Starts
2019 Australian Superbike Championship – Morgan Park – Image by Rob Mott

The “MAD MIKE JONES #46” banner draped across the approach to Turn 3 left no room for misunderstanding that the locals were cheering for a Queensland winner.

ASBK TBG ASBK Round Morgan Park Mike Jones TBG
Mike Jones – Morgan Park – TBG Image

Jones himself took pole position and Race 1 by 2.1 seconds, but it wasn’t his most impressive performance of the weekend. That was reserved for Race 2 where Jones put on an overtaking masterclass after a rare mistake on Lap 1. Jones seemed to out-brake himself, running through the grass and resuming the race at the back of the field, leaving him scything his way through the field on the Ducati as he sought to pull a decent race result (and the championship lead) out of the fire. Maxwell won that second race ahead of Herfoss, but Jones did enough to get the dusty Ducati to a well-deserved podium position.

ASBK Rnd Morgan Park RbMotoLens SBK Race Podium Troy HERFOSS Wayne MAXWELL Mike JONES
Morgan Park Race Two ASBK 2019 Podium – Image by Rob Mott

Jones left home turf leading the championship by a paltry three points, with five manufacturers in the top five positions as the championship really hotted up.

ASBK Rnd Morgan Park RbMotoLens SBK Race Parc Ferme Mike JONES
Mike Jones – Morgan Park ASBK 2019 – Image by Rob Mott

Round 5 Winton
Is that rain?

Controversy reigned (or should that be rained?) supreme once again at Winton, where after a weekend full of variable conditions it would be the North-Eastern Victorian weather that had the final say.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R rd Restart Start Wayne Maxwell Leads
Winton ASBK Superbike – Image by Rob Mott

Wayne Maxwell took out Race 1 ahead of polesitter and championship leader Jones, with Troy Herfoss recovering from a pair of crashes early in the weekend to secure the final podium position after starting twelfth.

ASBK TBG ASBK Round Winton Herfoss TBG
Troy Herfoss – TBG Image

A frustrating sequence of start, crash, red flag, start, crash, red flag saw the race reduced to ten laps as the skies threatened and the race was declared wet- though as the field took to their second full race re-start slicks were still the sensible option. Jones and Maxwell looked to gap the field on the opening few laps before the rain finally set in and the leaders put their hands up- judging the track too damp for slicks.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R rd Restart Mikes Jones hand up
Mike Jones intimating that he thought the race should be stopped due to worsening conditions – Image by Rob Mott

Herfoss clearly didn’t think so, charging past Jones and Maxwell to take what he thought was the lead- only to see the race red-flagged for the third and final time.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R rd Restart Troy Leads Leads Mikes hand up
Troy Herfoss certainly didn’t think that the race should be stopped after it had already been declared wet – Image by Rob Mott

The results were taken back to the previous lap, leaving Jones the winner ahead of Maxwell with Herfoss in third and furious at the decision. Half points were awarded for Race 2, meaning Maxwell retained the round victory and Jones retained the championship lead.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R rd Parc Ferme Mikes Jones Wayne Maxwell Troy Herfoss
Herfoss not impressed with the red flag call – Image by Rob Mott

Round 6: Phillip Island
The game changes once again

The championship returned to the Island for the second time this season, however with Wagner still recovering from shoulder surgery there would be no repeat of the first-round head-to-head.

MotoGP Australia Phillip Island RbMotoLens ASBK Race Start Herfoss Leads
Phillip Island – ASBK Round Six 2019 – Image by Rob Mott

But perhaps more enticingly, Jones, Herfoss and Maxwell put on a three-way battle for victory throughout the weekend, the Honda rider overcoming some poor form at the Island of late to take the battle right up to the Suzuki and Ducati.

ASBK TBG Round Phillip Island Troy Herfoss TBG Sunday
Phillip Island – ASBK Round Six 2019 – Image by TBG

If it’s possible for a competition to get more unpredictable, then it did at the Island. Cru Halliday, despite not having won a race in 2019 was second in the championship thanks to metronomically consistent good results. But one misjudgement while passing team-mate Daniel Falzon at MG was all it took to near-ruin a season’s worth of good work: his only DNF for 2019 bumping him back down to fourth.

ASBK TBG Round Phillip Island Cru Halliday TBG Sunday
Cru Halliday had been close to the top and keeping clean all season but at Phillip Island his championship charge hit a hiccup – TBG Image

Maxwell took Race 1 ahead of Herfoss and Jones, but the biggest news story of the weekend was yet to come. Jones, Maxwell and Herfoss were having a ding-dong battle at the front of the field and at just over half-distance the race was looking like an all-time classic. But Maxwell and Jones touched coming through Honda corner, Jones crashed out and crashed straight back to third in the championship chase.

ASBK TBG Round Phillip Island SBK Round Podium TBG Sunday
ASBK Round Six Podium 2019 – TBG Image

Suddenly Herfoss, who got the better of Maxwell in a nail-biter by just shy of three-hundredths-of-a-second, was leading the championship and is now in the box seat to defend his title at Sydney Motorsport Park.

ASBK Rnd Phillip Island SatAM Troy Herfoss
Troy Herfoss – Penrite Honda

Round 7 Sydney Motorsport Park
Who knows?

You could probably write a stack of headlines on little slips of paper, throw them into a hat, pick one out and you’d have as good a chance as any of predicting what we’ll be talking about on the Monday after the finale…. Herfoss successfully defends ASBK Title. Maxwell Wins on Suzuki Return. Jones and Ducati On Top. Maybe something else? All we know is that our Aussie Superbikes are providing some of the best motorcycle racing on the planet right now, and you’d be a fool to miss what’s left to come in 2019.

ASBK Rnd Phillip Island RbMotoLens SBK Q Parc Ferme BIkes
Image by Rob Mott

Australian Superbike Standings

Pos Name Total
1 Troy HERFOSS 241
2 Wayne MAXWELL 238
3 Michael JONES 236.5
4 Cru HALLIDAY 222
5 Josh WATERS 216
6 Bryan STARING 211.5
7 Matt WALTERS 160.5
8 Daniel FALZON 156
9 Alex PHILLIS 131
10 Arthur SISSIS 106.5
11 Mark CHIODO 105
12 Damon REES 98.5
13 Glenn SCOTT 90
14 Lachlan EPIS 85
15 Glenn ALLERTON 82
16 Aiden WAGNER 71
17 Sloan FROST 60
18 Ted COLLINS 49
19 Aaron MORRIS 40
20 Brendan McINTYRE 32
21 Philip CZAJ 31
22 David BARKER 27
23 Max CROKER 27
24 Dean HASLER 15
25 Matt TOOLEY 15
26 Evan BYLES 13
27 Jamie STAUFFER 10
28 Brian HOUGHTON 10
29 Kyle BUCKLEY 9
30 Nathan SPITERI 8
31 Michael EDWARDS 5
32 Adam SENIOR 5
33 Paul VAN DER HEIDEN 4
34 Trent GIBSON 3
35 Ryan YANKO 3
36 Will DAVIDSON 2

Australian Supersport Standings

Pos Name Total
1 Tom TOPARIS  350
2 Broc PEARSON 246
3 Nic LIMINTON 208
4 Aidan HAYES 191
5 Oliver BAYLISS 181
6 Dallas SKEER 161
7 Reid BATTYE 142
8 Jack PASSFIELD 141
9 Ty LYNCH 141
10 Rhys BELLING 118
11 Chris QUINN 109
12 Avalon BIDDLE 101
13 Callum SPRIGGS 89
14 John QUINN 76
15 Jack HYDE 67
16 Luke MITCHELL 65
17 Andrew EDSER 64
18 Richie DIBBEN 48
19 Zac JOHNSON 37
20 Scott NICHOLSON 31
21 Timothy DONNON 28
22 Dylan WHITESIDE 26
23 Samuel LAMBERT 22
24 Callum O’BRIEN 18
25 Brodie MALOUF 18
26 Ryan SELLEN 17
27 Chandler COOPER 17
28 Corey TURNER 16
29 Ben LIEBIG 14
30 Matt CRANMER 13
31 Luke SANDERS 13
32 Bronson PICKETT 12
33 Daniel LEONARD 5
34 Oscar DAVISON 1

Source: MCNews.com.au

Wayne Maxwell wins Winton ASBK Superbike opener

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton – Round 5 – Sunday 

Kawasaki Superbike Race One

Mike Jones put down the fastest ever lap around Winton by a motorcycle to secure pole position on Saturday afternoon to claim what could prove to be a vital championship point if this series goes down to the wire. After this fifth round at Winton the series moves to Phillip Island for the penultimate contest in early October, before the championship decider at Sydney Motorsports Park over the first weekend in November.

Wayne Maxwell and Cru Halliday have showed good form all weekend and complete the front row. Daniel Falzon headed the second row alongside Mark Chiodo and Josh Waters.

Herfoss went down the road twice on Saturday. The second fall was due to a problem with a replaced brake master cylinder/lever that saw the defending ASBK Superbike Champion left with no front brake as he hurtled towards turn ten.

ASBK Rnd RbMotoLens Herfoss Crash
Troy Herfoss goes down at turn 10 as Q2 got underway – Image by Rob Mott

A scary incident for Herfoss and one that cost him dearly, leaving him way down the grid in 12th place. The Penrite Honda man had a successful morning warm-up that buoyed his spirits ahead of today’s 16-lap Superbike opener.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R Grid Mike jones
Mike Jones was on pole position – Image by Rob Mott

As the riders formed up on the grid they were on a track that for the first time all weekend actually had a ‘little’ bit of temperature in it.

Wayne Maxwell got a great run off the line but a wheelie cost him a little and allowed Mike Jones to take the lead into the esses for the first time. Arthur Sissis, as always, got a brilliant start to fire through to third place ahead of Falzon and a determined looking Bryan Staring.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R Jones Maxwell Sissis
Winton ASBK Race One gets underway – Image by Rob Mott

Cru Halliday had not started well but early on lap two he was on the back of Falzon and looking to challenge for fourth place. Herfoss was now up to eighth place.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens Halliday Morris Herfoss
Cru Halliday, Arthur Sissis and Troy Herfoss – Image by Rob Mott

Halliday took fourth place from Falzon early on lap three and set out after Sissis who had maintained that third place over the opening few laps.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens Jones Maxwell
Mike Jones leads Wayne Maxwell – Image by Rob Mott

Maxwell set a new race lap record on lap two, a 1m20.221s besting the 1m20.365s set by Jones on the same lap. The pace was not maintained on lap three and the gap between the pair was just under half-a-second with 13 laps to run. 

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens Jones Maxwell
Mike Jones leads Wayne Maxwell – Image by Rob Mott

Maxwell made his move into the esses over the back of the circuit early on lap four. Jones returned serve later on that lap to regain the lead.

Mark Chiodo had a tumble at turn nine.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R Wayne Maxwell leads Mike Jones
Wayne Maxwell leads Mike Jones – Image by Rob Mott

Wayne Maxwell again made a move at the back esses to take the lead once more. Jones has so much more drive onto the main straight but the Suzuki comes on strong in the top end and Maxwell squeezed Jones a little before they tipped into turn one with ten laps to run to maintain the race lead. Jones also seemed to display an advantage on the entry in to the final double right-hander every lap, a fact that he might try to keep hidden from Maxwell until that final run to the chequered flag….

Troy Herfoss had moved up to fourth place and with nine laps to run was now all over the back of Cru Halliday. 

Mike Jones took the lead into turn one as the race broached the halfway mark. Maxwell tried to follow Jones into the final complex of turns and went in way too deep, again highlighting the advantage Jones has in that final sector of the circuit. Maxwell gathered it up but lost a couple of tenths in the process. The Suzuki man then clawed that ground back over the course of the following lap.

Maxwell took the lead yet again on the entry to the esses over the back of the circuit, forcing Jones to sit the Ducati up a little as Maxwell gets in up the inside before they drop the bikes on to the right-hand side of the tyre.  

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R Wayne Maxwell leads Mike Jones
Wayne Maxwell leads Mike Jones – Image by Rob Mott

Troy Herfoss moved up to third place with four laps to run but the Yamaha man was not going to give up easily.

Maxwell dropped in a 1m20.633s lap to eke away from Jones on that lap. With three laps to run Maxwell now had a full-second advantage over Jones. The Ducati man had run out of grip in the closing stages of the race. 

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R Wayne Maxwell
Wayne Maxwell broke away in the later stages of the race – Image by Rob Mott

Maxwell’s advantage at the last lap board had gone out to 1.5-seconds and the Suzuki man had the clear advantage and Jones would have to settle for second place.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R Parc Ferme Wayne Maxwell Mike jones
Mike Jones and Wayne Maxwell in Parc Ferme – Image by Rob Mott

Troy Herfoss managed to break away from Halliday to secure the final step on the rostrum in a great ride from 12th on the grid. 

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK R Parc Ferme Mike Jones Wayne Maxwell Troy Herfoss
Kawasaki Superbike Race One Results
1 Wayne MAXWELL (VIC)  Suzuki GSXRR 21m41.745
2 Mike JONES (QLD)  Ducati 1299 FE +1.861
3 Troy HERFOSS (QLD)  Honda CBR SP +5.852

Kawasaki Superbike Race One Results

Pos Name Bike Time/Gap
1 Wayne MAXWELL (VIC)  Suzuki GSXRR 21m41.745
2 Mike JONES (QLD)  Ducati 1299 FE +1.861
3 Troy HERFOSS (QLD)  Honda CBR SP +5.852
4 Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 +8.777
5 Josh WATERS (VIC) Suzuki GSXRR +15.312
6 Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R1 +15.329
7 Bryan STARING (WA) Kawasaki ZX10R +19.667
8 Matt WALTERS (NSW)  Kawasaki ZX10RR +20.243
9 Alex PHILLIS (VIC)  Suzuki GSXR +23.665
10 Arthur SISSIS (SA) Suzuki GSXRR +24.370
11 Damon REES (NZ)  Honda CBR +42.485
12 Kyle BUCKLEY (QLD Kawasaki ZX10R +44.643
13 Aaron MORRIS (NSW)  BMW S RR +46.583
14 Lachlan EPIS (NSW) / Kawasaki ZX10R +51.887
15 Mark CHIODO (VIC)  Honda CBR SP +1m11.145
DNF Brendan McINTYRE (NSW) Suzuki GSXR 5 Laps

Kawasaki Superbike Championship Points

Pos Name Total
1 Michael JONES 205
2 Cru HALLIDAY 200
3 Bryan STARING 190
4 Troy HERFOSS 187
5 Wayne MAXWELL 183
6 Josh WATERS 173

Motorsports TV Supersport Race One

Reid Battye led the field through the esses as the opening Supersport bout got underway but poleman Tom Toparis squeezed underneath him at the apex of the exit of the esses, that forced Battye a little wide off the racing line. The Suzuki man held the throttle on but his trajectory took him out to a dirtier part of the circuit where his rear tyre then slid luridly and catapulted Battye over the bars in an old-fashioned high-side, his GSX-R600 tumbling behind him. The stricken bike then caused a chain reaction which skittled yet more riders and bikes, leaving what used to be the old Winton start-finish line resembling a war zone that had just been smashed with incendiaries!

Amazingly all the riders were up and okay, a lucky escape from what could have been a truly nasty state of affairs. Nic Liminton copped the brunt of it and did not make the re-start, nor did Battye.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SS R Tom TOPARIS
Tom Toparis leads – Image by Rob Mott

At the re-start it was Toparis that led the field away as Broc Pearson, Ty Lynch and Oli Bayliss gave chase.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SS R Tom TOPARIS
Toparis leads Pearson – Image by Rob Mott

Toparis’ confidence on the cool track and cool tyres was clear from the off. Through the tight back section of the track his pursuers looked a little on tenterhooks but Toparis just pitched the bike on its side and the difference was telling.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SS R Tom TOPARIS
Tom Toparis – Image by Rob Mott

Oli Bayliss looked to have more faith in his front tyre than Broc Pearson and squeezed through to take second place late on the second lap.

Bayliss streaked away from Pearson and over the course of the third lap pulled back more than half-a-second on Toparis. An awesome 1m23.602s more than a full-second quicker than his qualifying lap, and only a tenth off Toparis’ pole lap. Just when it looked as though he was going to really cause Toparis some problems the fire looked to go out on the Cube Racing YZF-R6. While negotiating the esses, and now almost within lunging distance of Toparis, Bayliss pulled off the racing line with machinery problems. The youngster understandably distraught at his fate but he is a resilient character and when it comes to racing the 16-year-old is already a very much focused racer and will be buoyed with his improved pace and hot to trot for the second Supersport race later in the day.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SS R Oli Bayliss
Oli Bayliss at least had a chair to watch on from, little consolation for a disappointed youngster – Image by Rob Mott

The early exit of Bayliss robbed us of what looked as though it would be a great battle and Toparis could then simply cruise to victory without having to take any risks.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SS R Broc PEARSON
An important race for Broc Pearson in his quest for second place in the Australian Supersport Championship – Image by Rob Mott

Broc Pearson a clear second place and benefitting greatly from the absence of Bayliss, Liminton and Battye as that quartet are battling for second place in the Supersport category. A 20-point score for Pearson while Bayliss, Liminton and Battye take no score enough to propel Pearson up to second place in the championship with an eight-point buffer over Liminton.

Ty Lynch took the final spot on the rostrum with a handy advantage over Dallas Skeer who took fourth place by a nose over Aidan Hayes. Avalon Biddle was a somewhat lonely sixth ahead of Chris Quinn and Jack Passfield.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SS R Parc FermeTom TOPARIS Broc PEARSON Ty LYNCH
Motorsports TV Supersport Race One Results
1 Tom TOPARIS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 17m01.838
2 Broc PEARSON (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +5.765
3 Ty LYNCH (SA)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +7.887

Motorsports TV Supersport Race One Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Tom TOPARIS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 17m01.838
2 Broc PEARSON (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +5.765
3 Ty LYNCH (SA)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +7.887
4 Dallas SKEER (SA) Suzuki GSXR +12.127
5 Aidan HAYES (NSW Yamaha YZF-R6 +12.328
6 Avalon BIDDLE (NZ)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +17.243
7 Chris QUINN (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +23.189
8 Jack PASSFIELD (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 +23.273
9 Rhys BELLING (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +28.794
10 Jack HYDE (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R6 +36.900
11 Chandler COOPER (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6 +48.617
DNF Oli BAYLISS (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6 9 Laps
DNF Ryan SELLEN (NSW)  Kawasaki ZX6R 9 Laps

Motorsports TV Supersport Championship Points

Pos Name Total
1 Tom TOPARIS 274
2 Broc PEARSON 196
3 Nic LIMINTON 188
4 Oliver BAYLISS 161
5 Reid BATTYE 142
6 Aidan HAYES 140
7 Dallas SKEER 130
8 Chris QUINN 100
9 Ty LYNCH 97
10 Jack PASSFIELD 94

YMF R3 Cup Race Two

Hunter Ford capitalised on his pole position to lead the field away but Max Stauffer quickly moved into the lead but early on lap to Hunter Ford and Luke Johnston pushed Stauffer back to third place. In that early leading group was also Brandon Demmery, Locky Taylor and Zac Levy.

The tussle between those six riders continued through the race and it was Hunter Ford that took the victory by a nose over Max Stauffer with Brandon Demmery completing the podium a few bike lengths behind that duo.

YMF R3 Cup Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Hunter FORD (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 12m26.724
2 Max STAUFFER (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +0.052
3 Brandon DEMMERY  Yamaha YZF-R3 +0.483
4 Luke JHONSTON  Yamaha YZF-R3 +0.615
5 Zac LEVY (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +1.082
6 Locky TAYLOR (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +1.720
7 Tristan ADAMSON (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R3 +16.958
8 Ryan SMITH (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +18.184
9 Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +18.190
10 Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 +24.687
11 John LYTRAS (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R3 +24.948
12 Zylas BUNTING (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +25.873
13 Archie McDONALD (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +34.368
14 Zak PETTENDY (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +38.812
15 Jacob HATCH (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 +38.937
16 Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +43.457
17 Josh NODEN (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +58.144
18 Jeremy CZMOK (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +1m06.941
19 Matt RINDEL (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 +1m12.737
20 Patrick BOGNAR (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 +1m29.148
21 Dominic FLETCHER (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 +1m31.345
22 Hunter DIPLOCK (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 +1m40.821
DNF Harry PARKER (NZ)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +1 Lap

YMF R3 Cup Points

Pos Name Total
1 Hunter FORD 151
2 John LYTRAS 149
3 Zac LEVY 141
4 Max STAUFFER 133
5 Brandon DEMMERY 128
6 Locky TAYLOR 121

YMI Supersport 300 Race Two

Yannis Shaw was the early race leader ahead of Max Stauffer and Seth Crump. Crump gazumped Stauffer to move up to second place and on the second lap pushed past Shaw to take the race lead on the KTM. 

Shaw took the race lead back with six laps to run and Hunter Ford then pushed Crump further back to third. Ford then took the race lead with five laps to run. Brandon Demmery had been marching his way through the field and by half-race distance had tagged on to the back of that leading group. 

It was a great tussle all the way to the line but it was the Bridgestone shod 400 Kawasaki ridden by Yannis Shaw that got to the chequered flag first while Hunter Ford pipped Brandom Demmery out of second place by a nose at the line.

YMI Supersport 300 Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Yannis SHAW (NSW)  Kawasaki EX 400 13m58.289
2 Hunter FORD (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +0.273
3 Brandon DEMMERY (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +0.291
4 Max STAUFFER (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +1.561
5 Luke POWER (VIC)  Kawasaki EX 400 +1.579
6 Luke JHONSTON (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 +5.105
7 Zac LEVY (QLD) Yamaha R3 321 +5.212
8 Locky TAYLOR (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 +5.456
9 Peter NERLICH (VIC) / TCN Racing Kawasaki EX 300 +5.580
10 Seth CRUMP (QLD) KTM RC390 390 +7.980
11 Senna AGIUS (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 +11.306
12 John LYTRAS (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 +17.922
13 John QUINN (VIC)  Kawasaki EX 400 +18.189
14 Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 +18.420
15 Ben BURKE (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 +18.558
16 Matt RINDEL (VIC) Yamaha R3 321 +18.664
17 Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) Yamaha R3 321 +19.806
18 Ryan SMITH (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +31.322
19 Zylas BUNTING (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 +31.478
20 Zak PETTENDY (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 +48.813
21 Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 +48.883
22 Noel MAHON (VIC) Kawasaki EX 400 +53.056
23 Josh NODEN (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 +1m00.743
24 Jeremy CZMOK (VIC) Yamaha R3 321 +1m00.769
25 Craig WHITE (NSW)  Kawasaki EX 400 +1m29.883
26 Greg FARRELL (NSW) Kawasaki EX 300 +1m30.069
DNF Tristan ADAMSON (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 2 Laps
DNF Dominic FLETCHER (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 2 Laps
DNF Harry PARKER (NZ) / Race Center Yamaha R3 321 5 Laps

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two 

Angus Grenfell was off like a scalded cat and quickly streaked away to a handy lead over Archie McDonald. Left to tussle over the remaining step on the rostrum was Tom Drane, Glenn Nelson, Carter Thompson and Marianos Nikolis.

With three laps to go McDonald looked to have thought his second position was a little too safe and was closed down by the pursuing pack. Drane was through to second place with a lap and a half to run and adding further insult were Glenn Nelson and Jacob Roulstone who also pushed past McDonald on the final lap.

Grenfell a clear and undisputed victory by four-seconds while Tom Drane was the best of the rest in second while Glenn Nelson rounded out the podium.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 Angus GRENFELL (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 10m37.515
2 Tom DRANE (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 +3.730
3 Glenn NELSON (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R15 +3.902
4 Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +4.243
5 Archie McDONALD (VIC Yamaha YZF-R15 +4.393
6 Max GIBBONS (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R15 +4.463
7 Carter THOMPSON (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +4.474
8 Marianos NIKOLIS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 +4.616
9 Jacob HATCH (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 +4.686
10 Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) Yamaha YZR-R15 +5.394
11 Cros FRANCIS (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +5.437
12 Patrick BOGNAR (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +21.039
13 Jamie PORT (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +21.561
14 Zak PETTENDY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 +31.510
15 Lucas QUINN (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R15 +34.748
16 Varis FLEMING (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R15 +35.270
17 Jai RUSSO (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 +36.168
18 Cormac BUCHANAN (NZ Yamaha YZF-R15 +41.316
19 Tom CONNORS (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +41.368
20 Hunter DIPLOCK (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 +43.576
21 Lincoln KNIGHT (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +46.069
22 Toby JAMES (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 +46.243
23 Dominic FLETCHER (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 +59.361

Sidecar Race Three Results 

Pos Riders Class Time/Gap
1 Corey TURNER / Danyon TURNER (QLD)  F1 12m25.755
2 Howard FORD / Lee MENZIES (NSW) F1 +28.438
3 Patrick CLANCY / Stephen BONNEY (VIC)  F2 +40.382
4 Bruce COLLINS / Peter DEANGELIS (VIC)  F2 +49.797
5 Jero JOYCE / Corey BLACKMAN (WA) F1 +53.265
6 Mick ALTON / Chrissy CLANCY (NSW) F2 +55.285
7 Damien EDIS / Melanie SCHLUTER (VIC) F2 +1:04.218
8 John CLANCY / Warren GRUBB (VIC) F2 +1:08.754
9 Declan BEARE / Noel BEARE (VIC)  F1 +1:12.651
10 Simon REYNOLDS / Kathryn WARNE (NSW)  F2 +1:13.200
11 Matthew BROWN / Nathan ASTILL (NSW) / Brown Dog Racing F2 1 Lap
12 Roy WILLIAMS / Amanda WILLIAMS (VIC) F2 1 Lap
DNF Phil UNDERWOOD / Stephen FORD (QLD)  F1 2 Laps
DNF Matthew McKINNON / Tracey BRYAN (NSW) F2 3 Laps
DNF Jeff BROWN / Darren SHELDRICK (NSW)  F1 8 Lap

Source: MCNews.com.au

Mike Jones smashes Winton lap record for ASBK pole

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton – Round 5 – Saturday Report

Dark menacing clouds loomed large on the horizon above Winton Motor Raceway as competitors readied for final qualifying in the Kawasaki sponsored Superbike class. 

Suzuki’s Wayne Maxwell had topped proceedings on Friday (Link), where riders only got one dry session all day, but it was Cru Halliday (Yamaha) that topped the Saturday morning ‘Timed Practice’ session (Link).  Troy Herfoss suffered a hefty tumble during the morning session but escaped injury in the fall.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK Troy HERFOSS Crashed bike
Troy Herfoss crashed on Saturday morning – Image by Rob Mott

The new look Saturday format for 2019 sees Superbike competitors out for a 35-minute ‘Timed Practice’ session. The times from that session decided the nine riders that automatically qualified for the Q2 session. The riders from tenth back in the Timed Practice session then had to fight it out in a Q1 session, with the top three in that session then being promoted into Q2, making for a final 12-rider tussle over the first four rows of the grid.

While the ambient temperature had only notched up another two-degrees, to 13-degrees, the track temperature had come up a little more, from 18-degrees this morning to a still cool, but much more amenable 23-degrees when Superbike riders hit the track for the final qualifying sessions. A brief shower 60-minutes earlier during the closing stages of the Supersport qualifying session had dampened the track, but the surface had cleaned up nicely when riders filed out of pit-lane at 1500 for the 15-minute Q1 session. 

Alex Phillis topped the session early on and was never headed. Aaron Morris then mounted a late charge to push himself inside the crucial top three and managed to displace not only Kyle Buckley but also Matt Walters. Thus Phillis, Morris and Walters progressed through to the Q2 session in their quest for a top-ten grid position. 

Superbike QP1 Results

  1. Alex Phillis – Suzuki – 1m22.209s Q1
  2. Aaron Morris – BMW 1m22.410s Q1
  3. Matt Walters – Kawasaki 1m22.518s Q1
  4. Kyle Buckley – Kawasaki 1m23.034s Q1
  5. Damon Rees – Honda 1m23.243s Q1
  6. Glenn Allerton – BMW 1m23.276s Q1
  7. Lachlan Epis – Kawasaki 1m23.624s Q1
  8. Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 1m25.726s Q1
  9. Hamish McMurray – Kawasaki 1m31.459s Q1

Superbike QP2

Daniel Falzon was the first man out on track in Q2 closely followed by Troy Herfoss. But the Penrite Honda man went down once again! Herfoss went down at turn 10, losing the front and sliding all the way into the tyre wall without even completing a lap. The defending champion was quickly up and made his way across the main straight with a slight limp in order to get back to the pits and his spare bike. I am not sure if any penalty will be levied on him for crossing the hot track during the session…

Wayne Maxwell was the early leader in Q2 with a 1m20.828s and that time stood until their was five minutes left in the session, when Daniel Falzon came from being nowhere all weekend to catapult his #25 into provisional pole!

Maxwell responded though, dropping in a 1m20.422s to move back up in to the #1 spot. Halliday then put in a 1m20.501s to push Falzon back to third.

Herfoss exited pit-lane on the spare bike with less than three-minutes remaining in the session. He would get only one or perhaps two flying laps to try and propel himself up from 12th in the order… He couldn’t manage it and will start tomorrow’s 16-lap races from 12th on the grid. It will be take no prisoners into turn one tomorrow with an angry Herf’ out to make amends when the lights go out! 

Jones cranks out a 1m19s!

Jones goes to the top of the charts with a stunning 1m19.994s on the 1299 Panigale Final Edition, the fastest ever lap by a motorcycle around this Winton Motor Raceway circuit. 

Maxwell will start alongside him in P2 with Cru Halliday rounding out the front row.

Daniel Falzon heads the second row ahead of Mark Chiodo and Josh Waters.

Arthur Sissis front the third row alongside Bryan Staring and Alex Phillis.

The key to a fast lap here seemingly coming in the final sector of the circuit. So many times today riders have put in storming first and second sectors, but fast final sectors were few and far between. 

That single point earned for pole position today by Jones could prove crucial if this series goes down to the wire.  After this fifth round at Winton the series moves to Phillip Island for the penultimate contest in early October, before the championship decider at Sydney Motorsports Park over the first weekend in November. 

The opening 16-lap bout for this Winton round is scheduled to get underway at 1125 on Sunday morning, followed by the second and final bout at 1410 Sunday afternoon. 

Superbike Qualifying Results

Pos Name Bike Time
1 Mike JONES (QLD) Ducati 1299 FE 1m19.994
2 Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Suzuki GSXRR 1m20.353
3 Cru HALLIDAY (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R1 1m20.501
4 Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R1 1m20.785
5 Mark CHIODO (VIC) Honda CBR SP 1m20.920
6 Josh WATERS (VIC)  Suzuki GSXRR 1m20.929
7 Arthur SISSIS (SA)  Suzuki GSXRR 1m21.481
8 Bryan STARING (WA)  Kawasaki ZX10R 1m21.487
9 Alex PHILLIS (VIC)  Suzuki GSXR 1m21.742
10 Matt WALTERS (NSW)  Kawasaki ZX10RR 1m21.973
11 Aaron MORRIS (NSW) BMW S RR 1m22.109
12 Troy HERFOSS (QLD)  Honda CBR SP 1m22.520
13 Kyle BUCKLEY (QLD)  Kawasaki ZX10R 1m23.034
14 Damon REES (NZ) Honda CBR 1m23.243
15 Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) BMW S RR 1m23.276
16 Lachlan EPIS (NSW) Kawasaki ZX10R 1m23.624
17 Brendan McINTYRE (NSW) Suzuki GSXR 1m25.726
18 Hamish McMURRAY (NSW) Kawasaki ZX10RR 1m31.459

Supersport

Tom Toparis did not need to turn a wheel in Saturday’s afternoon’s QP2 session, his 1m23.503s from QP1 was looking very safe but the Goulburn teenager headed out of pit-lane as the 25-minute final qualifying session entered its second half. Toparis then reeled off another couple of 1m23.5s to underline his pace.

Reid Battye improved his time markedly in the second session to move up to P2, demoting Nic Liminton to third place on the grid. The South Australian though reclaimed that P2 late in the session just before rain started falling, putting paid to the chance of any further improvements. Chandler Cooper a victim of the rain, putting his YZF-R6 into the fence late in the session. 


Supersport Qualifying Results

Pos Name Bike Time
1 Tom TOPARIS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m23.503
2 Nic LIMINTON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m24.093
3 Reid BATTYE (NSW) Suzuki GSXR 1m24.257
4 Broc PEARSON (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m24.510
5 Oli BAYLISS (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m24.741
6 Ty LYNCH (SA)  Yamaha YZF-R6 1m25.323
7 Chris QUINN (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R6 1m25.681
8 Jack HYDE (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R6 1m25.702
9 Dallas SKEER (SA)  Suzuki GSXR 1m25.749
10 Richie DIBBEN (NZ)  Suzuki GSXR 1m25.799
11 Aidan HAYES (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m25.862
12 Avalon BIDDLE (NZ)  Yamaha YZF-R6 1m26.093
13 Chandler COOPER (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m26.679
14 Jack PASSFIELD (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m26.758
15 Rhys BELLING (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6 1m27.007
16 Ryan SELLEN (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R 1m28.625

YMI Supersport 300 Race One

Max Stauffer capitalised on his pole position to lead the 30-rider field through the challenging Winton esses for the first time in the opening nine-lap bout for the YMI Supersport 300 category. 

Stauffer built a small gap early on and stretched that out to a full-second over the first couple of laps. As the race progressed though the chasing horde slowly reduced that gap and with five laps to go Yannis Shaw and Seth Crump had closed right onto the tail of Stauffer’s YZF-R3. 

Shaw hit the lead for the first time as they started the fourth-from-last lap. Crump then pushed Stauffer back to third later on that same lap and the three-way tussle was on in earnest. In previous battles Stauffer had proven to have some wily racecraft that belies his tender years, would he come out on top once again and extend his championship lead?

At the last lap board it was Shaw leading from Crump and Stauffer with only three-tenths covering that triumvirate. Hunter Ford then joined the party early on the final lap and Zac Levy came along for the ride! Lapped traffic was also becoming a factor in what was turning into a very exciting final lap.

Shaw with the advantage into the final double right-hander and it is Shaw on the 400 Kawasaki that gets to the chequered flag first, Seth Crump second and Max Stauffer rounded out the podium by a bike length over a late charging Hunter Ford. 

YMI Supersport 300 Race One Results

Pos Name Machine Time/Gap
1 Yannis SHAW (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 14m00.505
2 Seth CRUMP (QLD) KTM RC390 390 +0.060
3 Max STAUFFER (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 +0.252
4 Hunter FORD (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +0.366
5 Zac LEVY (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 +1.308
6 Luke JHONSTON (NSW)  Kawasaki EX 400 +2.016
7 Ben BAKER (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +2.112
8 Luke POWER (VIC) / Proworx Racing Kawasaki EX 400 +5.287
9 Brandon DEMMERY (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 +5.299
10 Locky TAYLOR (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 +6.660
11 Senna AGIUS (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 +19.899
12 John LYTRAS (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 +20.166
13 Peter NERLICH (VIC) Kawasaki EX 300 +23.355
14 Ben BURKE (NSW)  Kawasaki EX 400 +30.439
15 Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +30.496
16 Tristan ADAMSON (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R3 +30.654
17 Matt RINDEL (VIC) Yamaha R3 321 +31.178
18 Reece OUGHTRED (VIC) Yamaha R3 321 +36.500
19 Ryan SMITH (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +36.678
20 John QUINN (VIC) Kawasaki EX 400 +37.244
21 Zylas BUNTING (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 +38.292
22 Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 +1m03.912
23 Josh NODEN (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 +1m12.290
24 Zak PETTENDY (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 +1m16.480
25 Noel MAHON (VIC) Kawasaki EX 400 +1m17.133
26 Jeremy CZMOK (VIC)  Yamaha R3 321 +1m17.432
27 Craig WHITE (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 +1m36.263
28 Greg FARRELL (NSW)  Kawasaki EX 300 +1 Lap
29 Dominic FLETCHER (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 +1 Lap
DNF Harry PARKER (NZ) Yamaha R3 321 +6 Laps

YMI Supersport 300 Qualifying Results

Pos Name Bike Time
1 Max STAUFFER (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 1m33.530
2 Yannis SHAW (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 1m33.554
3 Luke JHONSTON (NSW)  Kawasaki EX 400 1m34.197
4 Seth CRUMP (QLD)  KTM RC390 390 1m34.242
5 Ben BAKER (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 1m34.279
6 Hunter FORD (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 1m34.408
7 Luke POWER (VIC)  Kawasaki EX 400 1m34.474
8 Senna AGIUS (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 1m34.683
9 Brandon DEMMERY (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 1m34.900
10 Peter NERLICH (VIC) Kawasaki EX 300 1m34.935
11 Locky TAYLOR (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 1m35.101
12 John LYTRAS (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 1m35.240
13 Zac LEVY (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 1m35.643
14 Ben BURKE (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 1m35.995
15 John QUINN (VIC)  Kawasaki EX 400 1m36.774
16 Reece OUGHTRED (VIC)  Yamaha R3 321 1m36.777
17 Tristan ADAMSON (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m36.834
18 Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 1m37.462
19 Harry PARKER (NZ)  Yamaha R3 321 1m37.862
20 Matt RINDEL (VIC)  Yamaha R3 321 1m38.053
21 Ryan SMITH (NSW) Yamaha R3 321 1m38.306
22 Zylas BUNTING (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 1m39.351
23 Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD)  Yamaha R3 321 1m40.025
24 Zak PETTENDY (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 1m42.277
25 Craig WHITE (NSW) Kawasaki EX 400 1m42.441
26 Jeremy CZMOK (VIC)  Yamaha R3 321 1m42.713
27 Josh NODEN (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m43.118
28 Greg FARRELL (NSW) Kawasaki EX 300 1m43.126
29 Noel MAHON (VIC)  Kawasaki EX 400 1m43.221
30 Dominic FLETCHER (NSW)  Yamaha R3 321 1m45.350

YMF R3 Cup Qualifying

Pos Name Bike Time
1 Max STAUFFER (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m32.699
2 Ben BAKER (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m32.936
3 Hunter FORD (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m33.312
4 Brandon DEMMERY (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m33.499
5 Locky TAYLOR (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m33.747
6 Luke JHONSTON (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m34.046
7 Zac LEVY (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m34.108
8 John LYTRAS (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m34.364
9 Tristan ADAMSON (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m35.508
10 Matt RINDEL (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m35.617
11 Harry PARKER (NZ) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m36.038
12 Ryan SMITH (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m36.039
13 Reece OUGHTRED (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m36.200
14 Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m36.283
15 Zylas BUNTING (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m36.524
16 Archie McDONALD (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m38.286
17 Zak PETTENDY (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m38.641
18 Jacob HATCH (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m39.565
19 Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m39.647
20 Josh NODEN (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m40.868
21 Dominic FLETCHER (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m41.681
22 Jeremy CZMOK (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R3 1m42.447
23 Patrick BOGNAR (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m45.867
24 Jamie PORT (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R3 1m46.377

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race One

Angus Grenfell ran away with the opening bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup bout on Saturday afternoon. Sprinting away from the field right from the off and then pulling away every lap on his way to a clear five-second victory.

Left to contest the minor spoils were Archie McDonald, Tom Drane and Carter Thompson. Jacob Roulstone joined that party late in the race but it was McDonald and Drane that scored the final two steps on the rostrum in what was a photo finish across the line.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race One Results

  1. Angus Grenfell
  2. Archie McDonald +4.519s
  3. Tom Drane +4.523s
  4. Carter Thompson +4.603s
  5. Jacob Roulstone +4.722s
  6. Glenn Nelson +7.433s
  7. Max Gibbons +7.458s
  8. Cros Francis +

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Qualifying

Pos Name Bike Time
1 Angus GRENFELL (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m46.350
2 Carter THOMPSON (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m46.395
3 Jacob ROULSTONE (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m46.504
4 Glenn NELSON (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m46.794
5 Archie McDONALD (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m46.976
6 Tom DRANE (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m47.011
7 Max GIBBONS (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m47.110
8 Marianos NIKOLIS (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m47.123
9 Reece OUGHTRED (VIC)  Yamaha YZR-R15 1m47.252
10 Jacob HATCH (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m47.510
11 Cros FRANCIS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m47.875
12 Zak PETTENDY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m47.961
13 Patrick BOGNAR (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m48.498
14 Jamie PORT (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m49.258
15 Varis FLEMING (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m51.183
16 Jai RUSSO (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m51.329
17 Hunter DIPLOCK (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m51.332
18 Lucas QUINN (QLD)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m52.098
19 Dominic FLETCHER (NSW)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m52.447
20 Lincoln KNIGHT (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m52.719
21 Tom CONNORS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m52.949
22 Cormac BUCHANAN (NZ) Yamaha YZF-R15 1m54.097
23 Toby JAMES (VIC)  Yamaha YZF-R15 1m54.808
24 Natalie BARBATI (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R15 2m30.081

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

  • Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
  • Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
  • Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

Maxwell tops mixed conditions on Friday at Winton

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton – Round Five – Friday Practice

Things are tight at the top ahead of this weekend’s fifth round of the Australian Superbike Championship. Less than 30-points currently separate the top six in the championship with Mike Jones leading Cru Halliday by a single point.

After the conclusion of this weekend there will be only two rounds remaining and this fifth round will make or break the championship aspirations of a few of the prime contenders. 

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens Bryan Staring
Bryan Staring – Image by Rob Mott

First practice this morning saw the heavens open just prior to the 1040 start time. As a result most of the field kept themselves and their powder dry for the remaining 2 x 30-minute sessions this afternoon. Only Bryan Staring and Lachlan Epis bothered to head out to get wet in the deluge, and both ended up crashing in the sketchy conditions.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK Lachlan EPIS
Lachlan Epis found the limits of grip in the wet morning conditions

Things were dry early in the afternoon for the second session and this time around the Superbike field got down to business proper/ They knew that there was chance that this could be the only dry track time they would get before Sunday’s 2 x 16-lap races. 

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK FP Troy HERFOSS
Troy Herfoss was quickly on the pace when FP2 got underway

Troy Herfoss was quick out of the blocks as was Cru Halliday and Wayne Maxwell.

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK FP Cru HALLIDAY
Cru Halliday – Image by Rob Mott

Ultimately it was the #47 that ended the session on top with a 1m21.499s today’s benchmark. 

ASBK TBG Round Winton Wayne Maxwell TBG
Wayne Maxwell

Halliday’s quickest time of 1m21.724s came on the final of his 17 laps during the session to displace Herfoss from that second spot on the leader-board. 

ASBK TBG Round Winton Mike Jones TBG
Mike Jones – TBG Image

Mike Jones was the only other rider in the 21s and had more than half-a-second on fifth placed Josh Waters. 

ASBK Rnd Winton RbMotoLens SBK FP Josh WATERS
Josh Waters – Image by Rob Mott

Alex Phillis pretty much destroyed a GSX-R1000R today, he is fine but his wallet took a hefty impact… 

Alex Phillis Crash Winton
An expensive afternoon for Alex Phillis…

A heavy shower then completely soaked the entire Winton venue ahead of the third and final practice session of the day. Even if riders get back on track late this afternoon none of them are going to better the times set in FP2.

Superbike Friday Times

  1. Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki 1m21.499s
  2. Cru Halliday – Yamaha 1m21.724s
  3. Troy Herfoss – Honda 1m21.851s
  4. Mike Jones – Ducati 1m21.995s
  5. Josh Waters – Suzuki 1m22.649s
  6. Bryan Staring – Kawasaki 1m23.060s
  7. Alex Phillis – Suzuki 1m23.888s
  8. Glenn Allerton – BMW 1m24.505s
  9. Matt Walters – Kawasaki 1m24.908s
  10. Aaron Morris – BMW 1m24.985s
  11. Mark Chiodo – Honda 1m25.059s
  12. Arthur Sissis – Suzuki 1m25.114s
  13. Kyle Buckley – Kawasaki 1m25.124s
  14. Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 1m26.724s
  15. Damon Rees – Honda 1m27.165s
  16. Lachlan Epis – Kawasaki 1m27.244s
  17. Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 1m30.101s
  18. Ted Collins – BMW 1m31.399s
  19. Hamish McMurray – Kawasaki 1m32.677s

Supersport Friday Times

  1. Tom TOPARIS (NSW) Yamaha 1:27.677
  2. Ty LYNCH (SA) Yamaha 1:33.425
  3. Aidan HAYES (NSW) Yamaha 1:33.910
  4. Rhys BELLING (VIC) Yamaha 1:35.129
  5. Chris QUINN (NSW) Yamaha 1:37.650
  6. Ryan SELLEN (NSW) Kawasaki 1:42.926
  7. Andrew EDSER (NSW) Kawasaki 1:44.296
  8. Avalon BIDDLE (NZ) Yamaha 1:44.638
  9. Chandler COOPER (VIC) Yamaha 1:55.043

Supersport 300 Friday Times

  1. Yannis Shaw – Kawasaki 400 1m35.481s
  2. Luke Johnston – Kawasaki 400 1m38.383s
  3. Luke Power – Kawasaki 400 1m39.118s
  4. Brandon Demmery – Yamaha 1m39.612s
  5. Senna Agius – Kawasaki 400 1m39.640s
  6. Reece Oughtred – Yamaha 1m39.941s
  7. Peter Nerlich – Kawasaki 300 1m39.989s
  8. Harry Parker – Yamaha 1m40.605s
  9. Ben Burke – Kawasaki 400 1m41.280s
  10. Hunter Ford – Yamaha 1m41.396s
  11. John Lytras – Yamaha 1m41.627s
  12. Stephany Kapilawi-James Yamaha 1m43.324s
  13. John Quinn – Kawasaki 400 1m43.382s
  14. Seth Crump – KTM 1m44.078s
  15. Ryan Smith – Yamaha 1m44.168s

YMF R3 Cup Friday Times

  1. Max Stauffer 1m36.486s
  2. Luke Johnston 1m36.624s
  3. Ben Baker 1m37.107s
  4. Locky Taylor 1m37.857s
  5. Hunter Ford 1m38.715s
  6. Brandon Demmery 1m39.482s
  7. John Lytras 1m39.542s
  8. Harry Parker 1m40.442s
  9. Jacob Roulstone 1m41.604s
  10. Tristan Adamson 1m41.855s

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Friday Times

  1. Angus Grenfell 1m50.592s
  2. Lucas Quinn 1m51.060s
  3. Archie McDonald 1m51.327s
  4. Tom Drane 1m51.568s
  5. Cros Francis 1m51.746s
  6. Jacob Roulstone 1m51.914s
  7. Reece Oughtred 1m52.046s
  8. Jamie Port 1m52.124s
  9. Zak Pettendy 1m52.674s
  10. Carter Thompson 1m54.392s

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

  • Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
  • Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
  • Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

Maxima BMW aiming to get back on track at Winton ASBK

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Maxima BMW Set for titanic tussle in rural Victoria


Round five of the seven-round Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) gets underway this weekend at the tight and technical country Victorian venue of Winton and a new look Maxima BMW squad are hoping to get back on track in the best way possible with a great points haul.

Glenn Allerton was forced to sit on the sidelines at the previous Morgan Park round due to wrist injuries, but the three-time champ will make his long-awaited return to top flight competition this weekend.

ASBK Winton Test Allerton
Glenn Allerton

At the recent two-day Winton test Allerton focused on getting his #14 BMW S 1000RR and himself ready for battle. He is going in while still a little wounded, and was searching for a suspension set-up that would help ease the load on his troublesome wrist. 

Glenn Allerton

“The physiotherapy after the test has definitely helped with the inflammation in the joint, and apart from the small teething issues we had, the team and I made some big steps forward in terms of suspension. I really feel like the changes we made over the two days benefitted me quite a lot. I’m sure at the end of the three practice sessions come Friday, we will have a good setting heading into Saturday’s qualifying and the races for Sunday.”

ASBK Winton Test Allerton
Glenn Allerton

Aaron Morris heads into his third Australian Superbike Championship start in the premier class with confidence after a solid weekend at Morgan Park Raceway in July and a positive test at Winton two weeks ago.

“Once I got the hang of Winton at the test, I actually started to really enjoy the circuit,” explained Morris. “At first, I didn’t really know what to expect, but in the end, it was a lot of fun aboard the Maxima BMW S 1000RR, it’s quite technical and flowing. The team and I walked away from the test in a positive state of mind. In saying that, we know we still have a little bit of pace to find. I’m not too stressed, as we have three thirty-minute practice sessions on Friday to try a few more things on the bike and get a few more laps around the circuit. I believe we’ll be in for the hunt come qualifying and the races.”

ASBK Winton Test Morris
Aaron Morris

With two Australian Superbike round starts under his belt now, Morris also explained that he now understands more about what he can get out of both himself and the overall bike setup.

ASBK Winton Test Morris
Aaron Morris

“Obviously I knew my fitness had to step up to another level before I went into round four, which I have been working on very hard at late. But the main thing I took from Morgan Park, which I can apply to this weekend, is just understanding what the bike does from the start of the race, compared to the end of the race. I feel a lot more confident about the races from here on in the rest of the season, so I’m expecting to be able to deliver good results for the Next Gen Motorsports team and their sponsors,” concluded the 27-year-old.

ASBK Winton Test Morris
Aaron Morris

Maxima BMW’s Team Manager, Wayne Hepburn is optimistic about this weekend for both Allerton and Morris.

“The test at Winton Motor Raceway proved two things; one, Glenn is getting closer to full fitness every day, which is a credit to him and his hunger to keep fighting on to achieve good results and two; Aaron keeps getting faster and faster every time he gets on the bike,” said Hepburn.

Hepburn also explained that Maxima BMW’s Chief Technical Officer Shane Kinderis is back for this round after returning from race duties overseas.

“While the team generally know which direction to go in regards to machine set-up, it will certainly help that little bit more having Shane back for the round so he can ‘sprinkle that last bit of fairy dust’ over the bikes.”

ASBK Winton Test Allerton Morris
Aaron Morris and Glenn Allerton

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

  • Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
  • Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
  • Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

Mike Jones on form heading into Winton ASBK Round 5

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton Motor Raceway – Round 5 Preview


Mike Jones has announced he’s all set for the return of the Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship to Winton Motor Raceway next weekend (September 6-8), where the rider will be looking to extend his one-point championship lead on the DesmoSport Ducati, with three remaining rounds left to run.

Mike Jones currently sits on 184-points, a point ahead of Cru Halliday, while Bryan Staring sits in third on 176-points. Troy Herfoss currently sits fourth with 169-points, with Wayne Maxwell a further 11-points behind completing the top five, with Josh Waters a single point further back.

ASBK Rnd Winton Preview Mike Jones
Mike Jones – 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Championship leader Jones is upbeat heading into Round 5 at Winton, sharing, “I’m riding better than I ever have.” Here’s what he had to say ahead of Round 5.


What’s been the reasons behind your good form that sees you sitting atop the ASBK Championship table?

MJ: It’s a combination of things, but it’s mostly down to DesmoSport Ducati team’s effort because I’ve got a group of guys who are just as committed and passionate as I am. I think I’m riding better than I ever have and I put that down to the past two seasons riding in the Spanish Championship. It’s helped me develop as a rider and I’m at the top of my game. Additionally, in my opinion, I believe I’m on the best bike in the field.

How tough has the competition been in the ASBK Championship in 2019?

MJ: It’s the toughest it’s ever been! I didn’t foresee the Championship being so close and it’s one of the closest Championships we’ve had in Australian Superbikes. It’s great for the riders, and the spectators, too.

ASBK Rnd Winton Preview Mike Jones
Mike Jones – 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

What do you need to do well for the remainder of the season to give yourself the best chance of winning the Championship?

MJ: I just need to be on top of my game every time I hit the track because everyone is really racing well. Both the team and I need to give 100 per cent, and I believe we’ve done that, so we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.

What does the future hold for you?

MJ: Ultimately, my goal is to race in the World Superbikes, and it’s been a goal since I was a kid. Winning the Australian Championship is very beneficial for assisting me to get a ride overseas. Right now, though, the market is very tough over there and there’s not a lot of positions available, so I’m just taking one step at a time. The way I’m riding in ASBK I’m very comfortable here in Australia, but we’ll see what the final result is in the Championship. We’re in a results-based industry, so we’ll see how we go at the end of the year.

ASBK Winton Test RMimage Mike JONES
Mike Jones – 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship – Image by Rob Mott

What do you do away from the track in your personal time?

MJ: When I’m away from the track my focus is still heavily on racing. I spend my time training on a bicycle and at the gym trying to stay fit. I also love to have fun with my girlfriend, family and friends because they ease my mind and take my entire focus off the motorbike.

Tickets are now on sale for Spokes.com.au presents Round 5 of 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship at Winton Motor Raceway from September 6-8. Head to ASBK.com.au (link) for more info or to purchase.

ASBK Rnd Morgan Park RbMotoLens SBK Race Mike JONES pit lane after race
Mike Jones – 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship – Image by Rob Mott

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

  • Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
  • Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
  • Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au