The COVID-19 induced break from racing has been a blessing in disguise for Yamaha Racing Team’s, Aiden Wagner.
At the Official ASBK Test at Phillip Island in January, Wagner was one of the fastest riders on track but an accident left the Queenslander requiring surgery to his left thumb.
While he raced at the opening round, he admitted after the event he lacked feeling in his hand trying to wrestle his Yamaha R1 around the Island at over 300 km/h.
Aiden Wagner during testing at Phillip Island early this year – Image by Rob Mott
Wagner’s results were also hampered by electrical gremlins which significantly impacted power delivery throughout the weekend that hampered his pace.
After the first round, Wagner again had surgery on his hand and is now eager to get back in the hot seat onboard the YRT YZF-R1M.
“I’ve had three surgeries on it now, it’s been fused and now unfused. While I’m still recovering it’s pretty good, it’s stronger now and I can ride my bike, and I definitely have feeling in it again. It’s great getting the strength back, its quite a powerful part of your hand and I’ve got no numbness or residual pain which I had previously, and I can move my thumb like normal.
“I’ve been training hard and am doing exercises on my hand to continue to build up more strength. I’ve been riding on our property through rough terrain and doing breaking exercises to strengthen my hand more every afternoon after work on the farm with the Yamaha YZ 250 and it feels really good. It (COVID-19) has been such a bad thing, but for me its been a bit of a blessing that I could heal and get my hand back to normal and be fit and ready for the next round.
“Jumping on the Yamaha R1 and just holding the thing wide open, I can’t wait to get that adrenalin rush again – power sliding on that beast I’m pretty keen to do that. I believe once restrictions are lifted and borders re-open, we will be able to do some testing. It’s hard at the moment, because some of the team and team-mate Cru Halliday are down south in NSW and the rest of the team are here in Queensland. I’ve got all the 2020 parts now so it’s just finding the right settings for me and I can’t wait to hit the track.”
Aiden Wagner during testing at Phillip Island early this year – Image by TBG
The downtime has also seen Wagner expand his business interests buying land to further develop his family macadamia nut business.
“I’ve been working with my Dad’s company but have also started my new macadamia farm. I’ve worked on my grandparents farm since I was born, and I do a lot of work over there to help them out. I always liked the idea of it and definitely wasn’t planning on doing it now, but the perfect opportunity came up to expand the family business while I’m racing. It’s something I can keep on top of while I’m racing and is a good long-term business. Funnily enough, while some businesses have suffered during COVID we have been really busy doing double time.”
Aiden Wagner during testing at Phillip Island early this year – Image by Rob Mott
COVID-19 restrictions still has season 2020 on hold, but ASBK management are working hard to find COVID-safe solutions under the current State Government restrictions and hope to as soon as practical get the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, under way soon.
2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship Points
Halliday & Wagner to head YRT ASBK efforts in 2020
Aiden Wagner will join Cru Halliday as the two pilots locked in for the Yamaha Racing Team (YRT) to contest the 2020 Australian Superbike Championship, starting in February at Phillip Island.
Competing on the Yamaha YZF- R1M, Halliday and Wagner are primed for a successful season and already preparations have begun as both riders chase that elusive ASBK Superbike championship trophy.
Halliday continues his relationship with YRT for another season and after making huge strides forward in 2019, he is out for the ultimate prize in 2020. After winning the 600cc Supersport Championship in 2018, Halliday stepped back into the Superbike class in 2019 and instantly became a contender as he mixed it up with the more established names.
He led the championship at stages during 2019 on his way to claim fourth but feels he has learnt and grown from his experiences this season and that will put in him good shape heading into the 2020 season.
Cru Halliday
“It’s great to be back with the YRT crew and with the same bike and people that have been a big part of my racing in recent years. I have familiarity in everything around me and both the bike and myself has been developed to the point where I think winning the 2020 Superbike championship is a realistic and achievable goal. I gained valuable experience in 2019 and maybe the biggest thing is consistency and that every point is valuable. Mike won the championship this year with an average third place finish across the season, so you need to be up the front in every race of every round to be in contention. I know we have a great starting point with the Yamaha R1M and that YRT will continue to work hard and give me the best motorcycle on the track. We start racing again in February but I’m motivated and have already started training for a huge season ahead and can’t wait to be back on the grid and racing again.”
25-year-old Queenslander, Aiden Wagner, will join YRT for the 2020 season and keen to establish himself in the premier road racing division in Australia. Wagner was competing in Europe for the past few seasons before returning to Australia at the start of the 2019 Superbike Championship.
Wagner showed he had the speed to mix it up with the big names in the Australian Superbike Championship when in his only 2019 appearance at the opening round at Phillip Island, Wagner dominated proceedings, taking all three race wins and impressing with his aggressive, take no prisoners, style of racing.
Injuries hampered his results in recent years, but he took the majority of the 2019 season off to recover and rehab his injuries and is now 100 per cent fit and desperate to make the most of his opportunity with YRT.
Aiden Wagner
“I’m excited and proud to have come to an arrangement with the Yamaha Racing Team and look forward to working with an experienced and professional race team to take my racing to the next level. Last year when I returned to Australia, I wanted to race the Yamaha R1 as it was the bike I felt most comfortable on and now to get a reward to be on the factory team is amazing and takes a lot of pressure from my shoulders. All I have to worry about now is going fast and staying on.
“Its great that the team is also based here in Queensland near me so I can build a good relationship with everyone and believe this will be the start of a long and successful relationship for both myself and YRT. I started the championship strongly in 2019 before I got injured, but I’m now back to full fitness and my body is in good shape, so now my goal is to carry that throughout the season and do my best to secure the Superbike championship for Yamaha and myself in 2020.”
The 2020 Australian Superbike Championship gets underway at Philip Island when it is run in-conjunction with the first round of the World Superbike Championships on February 27 before moving through a seven round championship, finishing again at Phillip Island.
2020 ASBK Calendar
Round 1 – WSBK – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC 27 Feb – 1 March
Round 2 – Wakefield Park Raceway – Goulburn, NSW 27 – 29 March
Round 3 – The Bend Motorsport Park – Tailem Bend, SA 7 – 10 May *4 day *with Asia Road Race Championship (ARRC) & Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC)
Round 4 – Supercars – Barbagallo Raceway, Perth WA 15 – 17 May (Superbike Class Only)
Round 5 – Morgan Park Raceway – Warwick, QLD 7 – 9 August
Round 6 – Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla VIC 11 – 13 September
Round 7 – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Cowes VIC 2 – 4 October
Landbridge Transport and YRD backed Superbike Team set to contest 2020 Australian Superbike Championship with Aiden Wagner
Every time Aiden Wagner has stepped on a Superbike in Australia he has won races. From the very first time he rode a Superbike, as stand-in rider for an injured Jamie Stauffer at Eastern Creek a few years ago, Wagner won straight off the bat.
In 2014 Wagner had won the Australasian FX Supersport Championship thus when Stauffer was out injured early in 2015, Paul Free put the then 20-year-old Aiden on the Team Honda Racing Fireblade.
Wagner returned Free’s faith by stunning the cream of Australia’s Superbike riders. Wagner not only won the first ever Superbike race he contested, after having to fight his way through the field, but he also lowered the Sydney Motorsports Park lap record to 1m30.666s along the way…
Team Honda wanted to retain Wagner for the remainder of the season but the youngster had dreams of racing overseas, and chose to chase those dreams. That decision and the experiences that followed were costly, in more ways than one.
Wagner turned down that plum domestic ride in favour of putting some of his own funding and backing into a World Supersport campaign, with the Intermoto Express Team. On paper, at least, everything looked good. The bikes ridden by other riders in the squad, Lucas Mathias and PJ Jacobsen, had proven competitive. Countryman Andrew Pitt was in the team, and had helped orchestrate the deal to get Wagner on board. However, the team quickly fell apart and had all their motorcycles, truck and equipment seized by Czech Police. Wagner was left high and dry, and seriously out of pocket…
Pitt then managed to help get Wagner a seat on an FIM Superstock GSX-R1000 Suzuki at Portugal. He immediately impressed the team and was invited to stay on, but then a ride with Pedercini Kawasaki ride was put in front of him. He chose the Pedercini route but was taken out by his team-mate in his first outing and then landed at PTR Honda. A mount that proved uncompetitive.
Wagner then moved to the GRT Racing team on an exotic MV Agusta but the machine proved a little too exotic, it was a season plagued with problems.
For 2017 he signed again for the WSS, this time back on a Honda with Gemar Lorini. Things started out well with a seventh place at the season opener at Phillip Island, Wagner then backed up with an eighth place finish at the next outing in Thailand.
From the outside, things looked to be on the up, but during the fourth round at Assen Wagner seriously injured his shoulder. Aiden was only getting second-hand cast-off parts off his team-mate’s bike and the team were running out of money. It looked as though he was perhaps on a hiding-to-nothing so the Queenslander headed home for shoulder surgery and sat out the remainder of the year. Wagner also had a left knee reconstruction late in 2017.
In early 2018 Wagner did perform a fill-in role for PTR Honda at Phillip Island but was physically not able to ride at his potential. He then focussed on rebuilding his strength, riding motocross and also mentally recovering from what had been a sorely testing few years in Europe. The time away seemed to serve him well.
Wagner was back in domestic competition early in 2019 and again, his speed was stunning and the results came instantly. Wagner took pole at this year’s season opener with a 1m32.191s, almost half-a-second quicker than anyone.
Wayne Maxwell pipped him at the post for the win in the opening Superbike encounter by 0.147s, but the pair clashed in the second race.
Wagner and Maxwell touched as they negotiated turn 12, and it was Maxwell that came off second best, while Wagner went on to take the race win.
Aiden then went on to another victory in the final race of that weekend to win the round, and take the early lead in the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship.
It was an amazing comeback that ruffled the feathers of the ASBK Superbike regulars, and clearly announced that the 24-year-old was going to be a real contender for the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship.
Then ASBK went to Wakefield Park…
Wagner was baulked by a number of riders that left pit-lane right in front of him as he barreled down the Wakefield Park main straight at full pelt during Friday practice. He was left with nowhere to go, it was take out a number of riders from behind at 250 km/h, or head for the dirt. He chose the dirt, and it bit him hard.
The onus is on the riders leaving pit-lane to check the track is clear, and due to the wall almost all the way to the exit onto the main straight at Wakefield Park, it can be quite hard for riders to tell what is coming down the chute.
Wagner was left with one completely destroyed YZF-R1, while he himself was also well battered. Wagner tried to ride the opening Superbike race later that weekend at Wakefield Park but after three laps his shoulder popped as he hit the brakes for turn one. Game over. His shoulder now so badly damaged it was even popping out while he slept.
The young Queenslander was off for more shoulder surgery, this time around really major surgery.
Bone was cut from his pelvis to help rebuild his shoulder, and his humerus also had somewhat of a cut and shut job to aid in the shoulder reconstruction.
Now, four months on from that surgery, Wagner is now fighting his way back to full strength and fitness ahead of a full-on assault on the 2020 Australian Superbike Championship in a Landbridge Transport Superbike Team, complete with YRD backing.
He has been working hard with a physio as he moves towards regaining full movement in his shoulder, and expects to hit the gym early next month.
He is not permitted to ride until the end of the year, and will start out with training on a motocross bike before he takes to the tarmac again.
At this stage the new team, managed by Sam Costanzo, will be a single rider Superbike effort and, effectively, somewhat of a satellite Yamaha set-up with YRD backing under the Landbridge Racing banner.
Wagner is hoping to recreate the sort of team he had around him at the start of season 2019, and this time around will also have Sam Costanzo onboard pulling it all together and managing proceedings.
If his previous form is anything to go by, it is clear that Aiden Wagner will be fighting for the 2020 Australian Superbike Championship from a stronger base than ever come round one next season.
ASBK Round One winner Aiden Wagner was baulked by a number of riders that were, erroneously, let out of pit-lane right in front of him on Friday as he barreled down the Wakefield Park main straight at full pelt. He was left nowhere to go, it was take out a number of riders from behind at 250 km/h, or head for the dirt.
M.A. officials were apologetic, Wagner’s crew apoplectic.
The 24-year-old was left with one completely destroyed YZF-R1 as a result, Wagner himself also well battered.
Wagner has a history of shoulder injuries, and that tumble is sending him off to the surgeon for a major repair job.
His shoulder is now so badly damaged it is now even popping out while he sleeps.
Wagner tried to ride the opening Superbike race at Wakefield Park but after three laps his shoulder popped as he hit the brakes for turn one. And that was game over.
We spoke to Aiden at the circuit, his pain, both emotional and physical, clearly written across his face.
Trevor Hedge: I’m here with Aiden Wagner at Wakefield Park, he’s devastated after a crash on Friday, which saw some riders let out of pit straight erroneously, while he was belting down the straight, and unless he was going to take them out, he had to take evasive action. Unfortunately that left him on the ground with a destroyed R1 and a destroyed shoulder. He battled on during Saturday, during qualifying, qualifying seventh…
Aiden Wagner: “Yea it popped out [in qualifying], so I came in, popped it back in, went back out and qualified seventh. We tried every different method of taping and whatever we could try, to try and get the thing held in there, but the more it pops out the worse it’s getting and the worse it’s grinding. So yea, the only thing to do is go back to the surgeon.”
Trevor Hedge: You said it was even popping out asleep in bed?
Aiden Wagner: “Yep I was waking up a few times, and it was out, when the muscles relaxed at night. So I had to just put it back in. Really I was just trying to get through the Sunday.”
Trevor Hedge: About six laps in it popped out again?
Aiden Wagner: “About lap three it popped out, and let go, coming through Turn One I felt it pop out under the brakes, so I just had to sit up and wave my other hand to everyone, to say I was pulling out. There’s no other way I can go around it.”
Trevor Hedge: We expected you to be strong this season, with the bike you put together and the overall package and people behind you, you had the speed to challenge for the championship. You did that at Round 1, perhaps Round 1 proved it was worthwhile, coming back and having a crack. Even though like you say, it’s probably season done now.
Aiden Wagner: “That’s it, depending on how good recovery goes with the shoulder, if I can make it back to the last round, or even the second last round, and I can use that for testing for 2020… But I’ve just got to play it day by day, get home see the surgeon, ASAP and just go under the knife as soon as I can. As soon as we get that done, we’ll be on the mend, and can come back stronger and faster. We’ll definitely be back.”
Trevor Hedge: The other thing to take into account, is you’re a privateer effort, family funded with some sponsors. This is going to bugger you for work too, isn’t it?
Aiden Wagner: “Yep, I’m lucky to have a good family around me that I can work between the macadamia farm and soil testing, but I’ll be buggered for work, that’s for sure. I’m just lucky to have the family around me to support me through my recovery and help me to get back onto two wheels.”
Trevor Hedge: Alright mate, hope to see you back sooner rather than later, when you’re ready and strong, and ready to take it to the Superbike field once again.
The YRT pairing of Daniel Falzon and Cru Halliday topped FP1 at Wakefield Park in dry and warming conditions under a cloudy sky. A gnat’s whisker separated the pair at the top, a 58.075 to Falzon and 58.093 for Halliday. Next best in the opening session was Mike Jones on the DesmoSport Ducati, standing in for the injured Troy Bayliss. Maxwell and Herfoss were P4 and P5 respectively.
YRT had tested here privately in the lead up to this round, electing not to join the rest of the field during the official ASBK Test here earlier this month. At that test it was Wayne Maxwell atop the timesheets with a 57.659, heading Herfoss’ 57.728. But talk was that Mike Jones had actually gone a couple of tenths quicker again, but did not have a transponder fitted to net an official time.
Aiden Wagner suffered a hefty tumble in FP1 here this morning, knocking himself and his machine around quite heavily. Wagner was P6 in the opening session ahead of Bryan Staring, Glenn Allerton and Josh Waters while Matt Walters rounded out the FP1 Top Ten.
FP2 got underway at 1340 this afternoon and just as riders were really start to get down to business, a red flag put a temporary halt to proceedings. Sash Savin had gone down at turn two on his BMW and needed to be moved to safer ground.
Cru Halliday was the first rider to dip into the 57s when the action got underway again just before 1400. A 57.916 to Halliday, who this year makes his return to Superbike after dominating the 600 Supersport category last year for YRT. Shortly after his team-mate joined him in that bracket, a 57.919 to Falzon, making it a YRT 1-2 at the top with 14-minutes remaining in the 30-minute Superbike FP2 session.
Falzon then upped the game further, the young South Australian dropping in a 57.757 to top the charts.
Herfoss then put in a 57.846 to go P2, splitting the YRT men. A couple of minutes later Herfoss then shot to the top with a 57.455. Maxwell then went P2 with a 57.754, pushing the YRT duo back to P3 and P4.
A red flag then came out just as the session was coming to a close. Ted Collins crashed coming out of the last turn and pitched his BMW over the pit wall! The young Queenslander walked away fine, but it was one very spectacular and unprecedented accident…
Wayne Hepburn – NextGen BMW
“Ted was on a really good lap. We had our own sector splits, which he was about to drop a second and a half off his previous lap time. He simply asked too much of the bike on the exit of the last turn, which he admitted to. This resulted in Ted having a big highside. The Maxima BMW S 1000RR went over the fence, which was pretty spectacular. Thankfully, Ted was able to walk away from it uninjured which is the main thing. Unfortunately, this is motorcycle racing and these things happen. As I said, Ted is fine. The team has a bit of work to do to get him going again. I don’t believe we will get him going for the final session this afternoon, but we’ll have him right for tomorrow. Ted was doing everything which he was asked to do. However, he just got a little bit enthusiastic.”
The fastest recorded motorcycle lap time around Wakefield Park was a 57.182 set by Maxwell last year, will we see that beaten later this afternoon…? We thought that might be eclipsed later this afternoon in FP3 but then came the thunder and lightning! A massive downpour soaked the circuit shortly after 1500, and we would see no further quick times set today.
ASBK Superbike Friday Combined Times
Troy Herfoss – Honda 57.455
Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki 57.754
Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 57.757
Cru Halliday – Yamaha 57.916
Mike Jones – Ducati 58.116
Josh Waters – Suzuki 58.193
Alex Phillis – Suzuki 58.676
Aiden Wagner – Yamaha 58.677 (FP1)
Bryan Staring – Kawasaki 58.699
Damon Rees – Honda 58.760
Matt Walters – Kawasaki 58.839
Glenn Scott – Kawasaki 58.889
Glenn Allerton – BMW 58.916
Ted Collins – BMW 59.417
Sloan Frost – Suzuki 59.425
Lachlan Epis – Kawasaki 59.432
Mark Chiodo – Honda 59.435
Arthur Sissis – Suzuki 59.807
Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 60.455
Phil Czaj – Aprilia 61.079
Will Davidson – Yamaha 61.509
Michael Edwards – Yamaha 61.734
Hamish McMurray – Kawasaki 62.640
Paul Van der Heiden – BMW 63.360
Sash Savin – BMW 63.752
Supersport 600
Local Goulburn lad Tom Toparis dominated the season opener at Phillip Island, and was obviously be out to do the same this weekend in front of his home crowd.
There were a few young fellas out to try and stop that happening though. Oli Bayliss and Nic Liminton both on the early pace, a 61.238 to Toparis versus a 61.529 to Bayliss. Those times were expected to tumble in FP2 though, and that they did. Only a few minutes into FP2 though Nic Liminton stopped on track with a mechanical failure and the session was red flagged to check for any oil on the track. Oil was duly found and we had quite a delay while the track was cleaned. Liminton took no further part in FP2.
When action recommenced it was Oli Bayliss setting the pace. At 15-years-old, Oli is making fast progress and the team have been working very hard in the lead-up to this first year in Supersport to give him the opportunity to shine, and it is a chance he is grabbing with both hands. His level of commitment, as can be seen in this great shot by Rob Mott, can certainly never be questioned.
Times quickly started to drop further, Toparis the first man to dip under the magic minute mark, a 59.507 with ten minutes to go, a clear declaration of his intentions to dominate on home turf. And, it must be said, he does look in almost untouchable form. For the best of the rest to challenge him, they either need to make a significant step up, or Toparis needs to put a foot wrong.
The Supersport lap record was set here last year by Cru Halliday at 59.050s, will Toparis best it this weekend…?
Supersport 600 Friday Combined Times
Tom Toparis – Yamaha 59.507
Oli Bayliss – Yamaha 60.471
Broc Pearson – Yamaha 60.565
Reid Battye – Suzuyki 60.635
Ty Lynch – Yamaha 61.060
Nic Liminton – Yamaha 61.666 (FP1)
Aidan Hayes – Yamaha 61.675
Rhys Belling – Yamaha 61.736
Chris Quinn – Yamaha 62.039 (FP1)
Dallas Skeer – Suzuki 62.157
Sam Lambert – MV Agusta 62.184
Andrew Edser – Kawasaki 62.756
Jack Passfield – Yamaha 62.848
John Quinn – Triumph 64.501
Supersport 300
In the Supersport 300 ranks it was Max Stauffer setting the pace from Harry Khouri, both riders under the existing lap record.
Brandon Demmery returns to racing this weekend after that horrifying crash in the MotoGP support events at Phillip Island in 2017. Those injuries included a double compound fracture of the Tibia and Fibia, a compound fracture of the Femur, numerous break in his Pelvis, a broken right wrist, a torn bladder and an incredible amount of bruising. He was ninth in FP2 this morning at Wakefield Park and ended the day 11th on combined times.
Supersport 300 – Friday Combined Times
Max Stauffer – Yamaha 66.306
Harry Khouri – Yamaha 66.478
Ben Baker – Yamaha 66.572
Zac Levy – Yamaha 66.677
Travis Hall – Yamaha 66.828
Hunter Ford – Yamaha 66.834
Locky Taylor – Yamaha 66.844
John Lytras – Yamaha 66.916
Laura Brown – Yamaha 67.021
Senna Agius – Kawasaki 400 67.110
Brandon Demmery – Yamaha 67.313
Yanni Shaw – Kawasaki 400 67.460
Seth Crump – KTM 67.602
Kyle O’Connell – Yamaha 67.626
Luke Johnston – Yamaha 67.684
Mitch Kuhne – Yamaha 67.746
Zylas Bunting – Yamaha 67.887
Tristan Adamson – Yamaha 68.090
Callum O’Brien – Kawasaki 68.345
Bronson Pickett – Yamaha 68.927
Sidecars
Three-wheelers join the ASBK action this weekend in Goulburn with the Horsell Consulting backed sidecar category making their first appearance for the year.
The LCR outfit of Steven Bayliss and Aaron Wilson were the pacesetters today with a 67.243. The lap record for the category here at Wakefield Park is 65.309, and is expected to fall this weekend.
Sidecar Friday Combined Times
Bayliss/Wilson 67.243
Ford/Menzies 68.211
Joyce/Blackman 68.431
Collins/DeAngelis 68.831
Alton/Clancy 69.346
Clancy/Bonney 69.655
Edis/Schluter 71.766
Clancy/Dawson 72.035
Underwood/Ford 72.313
Turner/Turner 73.920
Judd/Spanknebel 74.932
YMF R3 Cup Friday Combined Practice Times
Stauffer 66.208
Lytras 66.368
Baker 66.762
Hall 66.829
Taylor 66.932
Brown 67.212
Khouri 67.263
O’Connell 67.338
Ford 67.339
Johnston 67.832
Demmery 67.849
Kuhne 68.042
Levy 68.098
Bunting 68.111
Adamson 68.305
Pickett 68.723
Oughtred 68.754
Roulstone 69.726
Smith 69.996
Agostini 70.217
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
The 2019 bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup roared into life for the first time ever at Wakefield Park today for the opening round of the new junior Road Race academy.
The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup features a field of ambitious young riders looking to become the first to claim an Oceania Junior Cup round, and make an initial claim for one of the five positions in the 2019 Asia Talent Cup Selection Event, and a potential place in the 2019 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event.
The first enthralling round of the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship is but a memory – a vivid one at that – and now the second round at Wakefield Park is nigh. Bracksy looks back and peers into the future of what is shaping up as a momentous weekend at the Wakefield Park circuit near Goulburn in NSW, March 22-24.
If Alvaro Bautista was akin to a cyclone engulfing the WSBK paddock at the opening round of that Championship, in the ASBK class, Aiden Wagner was an air-to-ground, below radar low level attack dropping a couple of 500lb HE incendiaries on the ASBK field at Phillip Island.
A few weeks previously, the 25-year-old Queenslander, on his privateer Landsbridge Transport Yamaha R1 used the official ASBK test to strafe the field with armour piercing shells to let everyone know, he is back, fully fit, ravenous for success, and he doesn’t give a rat’s arse about reputations.
He certainly ruffled a few feathers at the test. By the end of race two of the ASBK Superbike season on Saturday Feb 23 they were singed beyond recognition with his scorched earth, take no prisoners policy.
With his round one victory with Pole, two wins and a second, the snatching strap of tension has been ratcheted up a notch. Or, five.
The quality and intensity of the on-track competition easily eclipsed the demonstration put on by the lads of the World Superbike field and showed the parity between the different motorcycles in our domestic championship is very even.
The ASBK season was shaping up as a landmark year, even before Wagner bounced back in the paddock. Now he is here, look out. The anticipation going into round two is even more palpable than the season opener.
2019 is shaping up as the most competitive in many a year, as each season seems to increase in intensity and level of competition.
Round 1 Recap
So let’s have a recap of the opening round then a peer into the looking glass to see what this weekend has in store.
There was plenty of anticipation as the meeting got under way and Bayliss led the first session to continue his testing form, but his weekend was to soon unravel. In the afternoon qualifying session he had a monumental get off heading into turn four when he was distracted by a rider stricken on the edge of the track. The bike was basically obliterated in the cartwheeling that was reminiscent of his crash on a Ducati during the Australian Grand Prix of 2003.
Thankfully, this time he walked away to be able to relate soon after that he had cracked a finger on his left hand and the bike “was sent to heaven”.
In qualifying the prodigal son, Wagner grabbed the number one slot, one-thousandth of a second under Bayliss’s lap record, set at the final round last year. More importantly, he scored an extra championship point that goes with it to lead a Yamaha block out of the front row.
This year the extra championship point for Pole Position at each round could be more critical than ever in deciding the champion. Remember when since Shawn Giles was pipped in a countback with Josh Brookes in 2005…
The privateer gave a bloody nose to the Yamaha Racing Team duo of Superbike returnee, Cru Halliday, and his team mate in the official Yamaha team Daniel Falzon who made up the front row.
Wagner has some very astute people in his corner with Sam Costanzo, the principal of Landbrige Transport and Landbridge Racing. Sam has a fine reputation for preparing race machines while Adrian Monti is a very astute and analytical operator who knows how to set up a race bike, and probably more importantly, the understanding to translate what a rider is talking about to bike set-up.
Before the opening race of the year, many people were asking the annual question of how far into the opening race we’d get before some carnage would erupt. In the past couple of years the season has only reached Turn Four on the opening lap before the cauldron has boiled over. Last year it was Glenn Allerton who hightailed it out of the race as he launched himself high over the bars, nearly bringing rain and almost dragging Wayne Maxwell off his bike as he flew past him.
It is understandable as it’s over four months since the last race of 2018 and we all know the eagerness riders display and the red mist visor is also a deeper tinge than normal for the opening laps of the year. In recent years there has been a bit of drama at Turn Four.
Race 1 – Phillip Island
This year we had to wait a few laps for the first real jaw dropping moment but the opening laps of race one were absolutely manic. What we had been anticipating had been confirmed. This year will be a seven-round, street brawl.
Falzon jumped to the front off the line to lead for the opening corners but Bayliss took over heading into turn 10 and led the frantic first lap across the line from Maxwell and Falzon. After a very mediocre start, Wagner was back in seventh, just shading Waters, the octuplet separated by less than a second. It was on as they all spread across the track careering to the apex on their 200+hp machines like the charge of the Light Horse, fighting for track position.
Wagner was excellent in testing. Now we were witnessing what he could do in a race mixed up with the pack of gangsters in front of him as Wagner commenced his carving exhibition. He showed from the outset that he is not here for a free lunch and it wasn’t even lunchtime Sunday!
He was up to second by the end of the third lap managing to pop out in front while everyone else was having a dip at the passing game, particularly Bryan Staring on the Kawasaki BC Performance ZX-10RR as he scythed his way through on the Dunlop shod machine to be among the leading pack climbing from 10th on the grid.
Wagner took the lead on the fourth lap and held it until the final few corners as he and Bayliss, Maxwell, Halliday, Waters, and Staring keeping well in touch
The first jaw dropping moment of the year came at the start of the sixth lap. Wagner led the charge from Maxwell and Bayliss, the others not far adrift as they tipped into Doohan Corner at a head shaking, meteoric rate. Wagner had a couple of bike lengths over Maxwell with Bayliss taking a deeper, more outer line into turn one but his entry speed was a little quicker, or maybe Maxwell slowed a tad but it was j-u-s-t enough for the brake lever of TB#32 machine to touch the rear of Maxwell’s machine.
The front wheel locked, a puff of blue smoke and in a nano second, Bayliss was sliding on his arse at over 200 kays and another steed of the Desmo Sport Ducati stable went looking for directions to the Pearly Gates to join its sibling.
The crash looked innocuous enough considering the speed of his trajectory into the kitty litter. Coming to a tumbling halt after a less than elegant face plant, he sat there, legs spread and punched the ground in exasperation, jumped to his feet and wandered back to the pits.
Bayliss may have exited stage left but that didn’t halt the swashbuckling as Staring joined the fray in fifth behind Wagner, Maxwell, Halliday and Waters. Half race distance and it was on.
The sword clashing continued at every corner and while Wagner led across the line there was plenty of pushing and shoving scything, slicing and magnificent dicing many times a lap.
Less than a second separated the quintet as they commenced the final lap but back markers were looming. The snarling pack negotiated the first couple ok but Wagner was baulked by one over Lukey Heights into T10. Maxwell was his typical blue heeler self as he nipped the heels of the Queenslander.
Out of T11 Wagner jumped on the gas, the pack broke away slightly losing drive which allowed Maxwell the opportunity to storm past into the lead and take the win from Wagner, with Staring filling the last step on the podium after another determined ride from the 2010 ASBK champion to prove that he will be in the mix all year.
Wagner demonstrated in the opening stanza he has the goods to push for not only the privateer championship but the outright. He also has his own definitive style in riding a 1000cc machine at Phillip Island, riding more Supersport lines to carry corner speed. This was most evident at Turn 4 as he hung out very wide and swept across the track for a very late apex.
High corner approach had the others seemingly second guessing as if they tried to take an inside line there was a good chance that a collision may occur. In fact, it did happen with Halliday and Wagner touching with feet off the pegs, both lucky to stay aboard such was the hit.
His antics reminded us in the commentary booth of a philosophy of racing that 2002 Australian Supersport Champion, Shannon Johnson, uttered to explain some of his determined moves, “A front wheel has a three-and-a-half inch rim. If there is three and a half inches of track then there is enough room for me.”
What a scene setter for the year. The first World Superbike race soon after the opening leg was somewhat of an anti-climax compared to the cut and thrust of ASBK.
Maxwell had taken first blood, and was somewhat emotional in parc ferme as the 36-year-old had not expected to take the win. After recent years on Yamaha machinery, he was still not feeling fully comfortable on the GSX-R, saying the bike did not yet feel like his. Be interesting to see just how fast he goes when he does get back to that stage with familiarity on the Suzuki!
Bayliss injuries surface
We didn’t have to wait long for part two later the same afternoon. If the opening race was a scene setter, race two will be in the background for the rest of the season as well. The action was a carbon copy of the opening leg with a few more exclamation marks for good measure – albeit with one disappointing turn of events.
After his whoopsie of the first race Bayliss seemed fine and in his usual laconic way was circumspect with the turn of events of his two massive crashes in less than 24 hours, but ready to come out swinging.
Bayliss headed out on a hastily prepared machine, but on the sighting lap as he applied the front brake for the first time he realised that he could close the ring finger of his right hand, but couldn’t extend it. A torn tendon forced his exit from the rest of proceedings and the loss of plenty of potential points.
Race 2 – Phillip Island
Race two soon turned into a Maxwell vs Wagner vs Waters vs Halliday vs Falzon affair, with the others not far off. Falzon crashed at turn 10 losing the front which baulked those following, allowing the top four a gap over the likes of Staring, Mike Jones (K&R Hydraulics ZX-10R) and Troy Herfoss on the Penrite Honda who was struggling to stay in touch.
Wagner had complete faith in his front end in his desire to poke a wheel up the inside of the opposition and managed to hold his line. After a few laps the rear was starting to walk on him but he didn’t give a toss about what the rear was doing. He was right in the mix.
It all came down to the final lap dogfight. Again.
Hundredths of a second covered the top four and so typical of Phillip Island it all came down to the final four corners: setting up over Lukey Heights, a possible dive up the inside into MG Corner, then the drag through 11 and 12 to the line.
The last five hundred metres of the second Superbike race is now etched in history, but its repercussions may reverberate throughout the year. Maxwell had managed to get in front in the final set of corners and led Wagner, Waters and Halliday as they tipped into Turn 12.
Maxwell hung it up a little higher than usual leaving a bit of vacant bitumen. Wagner saw that lonely bit of bitumen as an invitation and reacted accordingly driving through – hugging the ripple strip, with Halliday and Waters line astern.
Kaa-boom! A clash as Wagner and Maxwell collided in the rush with Maxwell falling off the inside of the bike, cartwheeling into the track-side beach, spraying the gravel high.
Wagner kept it pinned as the carnage unfolded to take the flag from Halliday second and Waters third and a crater of destruction and controversy hot on their heels. Thankfully, Maxwell was soon on his feet and taking the long walk back to the pits from the outside of the track. Fuming.
Controversy
At race’s end, I descended down the stairs from the three-storey eyrie that is the commentary box in the control tower to head to park ferme to conduct the usual post race interviews. I had just emerged from the tower to pass a rapidly advancing and extremely arced-up, Phil Tainton from Team Ecstar Suzuki, who was charging up to race control to explain his point of view.
I hadn’t seen Phil like that in a long time. Hoo-ee, this has just taken the championship to another level.
There were plenty of words said from both sides and also the view of onlookers. Wagner claimed there was a gap. Maxwell claimed there wasn’t any room. Wagner was contrite and apologised to Maxwell for the incident but at the time it fell on deaf ears. Everyone else had their own opinion. Was there a gap or not?
Officials deemed it as a racing incident and no action was taken, much to the chagrin of some. Riders had different opinions with one telling me, “Tell them to stop sooking. It’s a racing incident. I’d rather be fighting for the lead and crashing than being back here where we are.” Touche!
Personally, I think it is fantastic for the intrigue and interest. It brought more international attention to the ASBK and many in the WSBK paddock were talking about it, including Jamie Whitham who thought it was fantastic. It made the opening WSBK race seem like a procession!
Whoever was right, or wrong, it brought back a statement that the great Ayton Senna said at the 1990 Australian F1 Grand Prix, “By being a racing driver you are under risk all the time. By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, we are competing to win. And the main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory, it’s not to come 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th. I race to win as long as I feel it’s possible. Sometimes you get it wrong. Sure, it’s impossible to get it right all the time. But I race designed to win, as long as I feel I’m doing it right.”
But that philosophy didn’t work out all that well for the Brazilian legend in the end did it…
Race 3 – Phillip Island
With the third and final race of the opening round held on Sunday morning, at least we could get our collective breath back over night. Lucky because race three left us all breathless. It was the race of the weekend.
Maxwell was battered and bruised after his 200 km/h+ get off the day before but his determination wasn’t lessened by any stretch. The anticipation was palpable.
Arthur Sissis stormed from 15th on the grid to grab the holeshot but was soon swamped as Waters led the first lap from Wagner and Falzon – the trio covered by 0.624 sec. Jones joined the fray on the next lap and created history by not only breaking the lap record but being the first rider to dip into a sub 1:32 with a corker of a lap to record 1:31.881!
The leading freight train was adding extra carriages as the laps went by. It became a quintet the next lap when Haliday chimed in, 0.753 sec adrift.
The passing moves had been stepped up especially at the frighteningly fast Hayshed where Jones was making it his corner, just like Jamie Stauffer did in the past, to dive up the inside accelerating through the apex.
Another couple of laps and there were seven carriages but none of them remained in the same place. It was mental the amount of positional changes and at two thirds race distance, seven bikes were covered by less than a second with Wagner and Jones taking turns to lead the end of consecutive laps.
Wagner made it two victories after getting the best of Jones by 0.317 sec (the largest gap over the three races), with Halliday in third, the trio separated by just 0.394 sec. A blink of the eye behind was Falzon, Waters and a very gallant Maxwell 0.933 away in sixth.
Over the three races you wouldn’t see as much carving in a dozen pubs for a Sunday roast! Enthralling. The total winning margin for the three races was an astronomical: 0.765!
Round 2 – Wakefield Park
What lies ahead this weekend? There are no similarities between Phillip Island and this weekend’s round at the tight twisty bumpy and extremely demanding Wakefield Park, except they are racetracks.
This weekend extreme tension is a given. How far before the tension is too much and something snaps is anyone’s guess but I reckon something will happen in qualifying in the fist fight for the extra championship point.
Herfoss will no doubt start as a favourite such is his affinity with the track and he will have an added incentive of making up for what was, in his and the team’s eyes, an extremely disappointing weekend at Phillip Island – a place that has never been too kind to him.
Maxwell has done well at the the track in recent years and the pair have split wins pretty evenly. Then there is Cru Halliday. He has had some memorable moments at the track and now he is back on a Superbike after his domination of last year’s Supersport title.
Don’t be surprised if he takes a victory as he is a true dark horse for this year’s title, as is his team mate, Falzon. The South Australian, who now works as a fully qualified paramedic, has a hunger for race wins and he may well bring a take-no-prisoners approach into the meeting as well
Unfortunately, Bayliss will be a non starter but that allows Mike Jones to be reunited with the Desmo Sport Ducati team as he has been drafted in to fly the flag in the absence of Troy.
Staring showed that he and the Kawasaki BC Perfomance ZX10 is not too far off the pace. The big question mark for him is whether the Dunlop tyres are up to the rigours of the 2.2km track? Could they even have a weather dependent advantage this weekend..? Saturday and Sunday are looking warm.
Then there are the riders with three Australian Superbike Championships in Glenn Allerton and Josh Waters. Allerton and the Next Gen Motosrports BMW team have had a challenging start to the year. Still awaiting delivery of the new HP4, they had a setback with going to Dunlops then returning to Pirelli. At the Island they were well off the mark but anyone who discounts Allerton does so at their peril.
The same must be said for Waters. After the disappointment of last year, the Gixxer and Waters look to be back to their rampaging best. Plus he now has a team mate that is out to claim another title, and we all know what they say about team mates.
Then there is Wagner. What he brings to the table has given the championship that bit of extra mongrel and disregard for reputations that the series has been aching for.
After his first round blitzkrieg the opposition will be more prepared to deal with what ever firepower Wagner throws their way. The arsenal of the opposition will be well stocked to defend the attacks.
Wakefield history
An interesting bit of trivia. In the past three years good mates, Maxwell and Herfoss have been the best performers at Wakefield, sharing the wins at three apiece. Herfoss has two second places to Maxwell’s one, with Herfoss’ worst result a fourth, while Maxwell has not fared quite as well overall, with an eighth and a DNF. Herfoss has also taken the last three pole positions. Herfoss’ points haul is 135 points compared to Maxwell on 108.
2019 ASBK Round One – Phillip Island Superbike Race Two
Wayne Maxwell narrowly got the better of Aiden Wagner at the final juncture of race one after the privateer had virtually led from start to finish. Troy Bayliss had been in that mix before tipping off at turn one, while Bryan Staring had got the better of Falzon, Halliday and Waters to claim the final step on the rostrum.
The riders and the teams would have all learned some lessons in that opening 12-lap bout, and then set about applying some tweaks to their machines. While the riders tweaked their own brain spaces ahead of the second of three 12-lap races that make up the opening round of ASBK 2019.
On the warm-up lap Troy Bayliss felt that the discomfort in his hand was going to make racing this bout dangerous for himself and the other riders, so he elected to park the DesmoSport Ducati for this one and watch from the sidelines. He broke a finger on his left hand on Friday, and suffered injuries to the middle finger on his right during this morning’s crash. He is booked in for surgery on Tuesday. TB and DesmoSport Ducati have put so much work in during the pre-season and will be gutted to walk away from here with no points.
Daniel Falzon again got a great launch off the line but it was Josh Waters that led the field through turn one from Troy Herfoss as they negotiated Southern Loop for the first time. At turn four Herfoss got in a little deep and lost a number of positions as Aiden Wagner moved up to second place behind Waters. Through turn 12 for the first time it was Waters, Wagner, Falzon, Maxwell, Herfoss, Jones and Halliday.
Aiden Wagner moved past Waters to take the lead as they entered turn two early on the second lap and immediately put the hammer down to try and get away from the pursuing pack. A big moment coming on to the main straight next time around though allowed Wayne Maxwell and Josh Waters to slip past Wagner and make it a Suzuki 1-2 up front. Daniel Falzon was right on the tail of that trio as Cru Halliday also then joined the party to make that top five fight a very close affair.
Wagner was back in the lead on the next lap but then got in way too hot at turn four, the two Suzuki riders somewhat baulked each other mid-turn also which robbed them of their chance to take advantage of Wagner’s mistake.
Wagner made almost exactly the same mistake on the next lap, and actually came together with Cru Halliday and nearly fell off his machine, but somehow gripped it haed enough to recover. Halliday had fared worse in the clash, losing a couple of positions and valuable track position.
Daniel Falzon had been in the hunt but fell unhurt at turn ten at half race distance. At the halfway mark of the race it was Maxwell from Wagner and Waters, that trio in close company, while Halliday tried to regain the ground he lost in that brush with Wagner. Halliday had actually set the fastest lap of the race in that first half, a 1m32.669, and had been the only man to dip into the 32s, but he had work to do in order to get back in touch with the leading trio in the closing laps.
Halliday did that work though and with 2.5 laps to go got the better of Waters on the run through MG Hairpin to move up to third place and maintained that position through 11 and 12 and right through to turn one to start the penultimate lap. Nothing separated the top four, they were all in with a chance of stealing victory. Lapped traffic though, and a lot of it, baulked them late on that lap, they negotiated it safely to start the final lap with Wagner leading from Maxwell, Halliday and Waters.
Wagner had the rear of his privateer Yamaha break away though which allowed Maxwell through as they negotiated the back of the circuit.
Wagner then went up the inside of Maxwell as they neogotiated turn 12, the pair touched, sending Maxwell tumbling through the kitty litter, and was then seen tearing off his glove and looking at his hand as he ran to the pit wall and to safety.
Thus a somewhat controversial win and early championship lead goes to Aiden Wagner from Cru Halliday and Josh Waters.
2019 ASBK Round One – Phillip Island Superbike Race One
After dominating qualifying privateer Queenslander Aiden Wagner lined up on pole position for the 2019 ASBK season opener alongside Factory YRT riders Cru Halliday and Daniel Falzon in what was an all-Yamaha front row to kick off the new season of competition.
Troy Bayliss had been very fast during the weekend but a big tumble yesterday had seen the Ducati man break a finger, and also break a Ducati…. He was on the second row alongside the Suzuki duo of Josh Waters and Wayne Maxwell.
They are away!
Daniel Falzon got a great run off the line to lead Bayliss through turn one for the first time with Wayne Maxwell third at Southern Loop ahead of Glenn Allerton and Cru Halliday.
Falzon maintained the lead through to turn four as Bayliss wrested a buckling Ducati 1299 V-Twin behind him. TB took the inside line to MG Hairpin and with it took the lead, a very wide entry to turn 12 did not seem to slow the big Ducati down one iota as he went on to stretch away from the field down the chute. Maxwell slipped past Falzon before turn one, and the South Australian was then swamped by Halliday, Staring and Wagner.
Troy Bayliss ran very wide at turn four, leaving the gate wide open and swinging in the breeze, Wayne Maxwell and Cru Halliday needed no second invitations and slipped past the three-time World Superbike Champ with ease. Things were still close, very close, only a second covering the top six with 10 laps to run in the 12 lap race.
Aiden Wagner then got Bayliss and Halliday to move up to second place, and then was on race leader Maxwell… Wagner got Maxwell on the entry to Southern Loop with nine laps to run. Bayliss was in third place, Halliday fourth, Staring fifth and Waters sixth.
Wagner was riding hard, the tail of his privateer Yamaha wagging through 12, then running into turn one very hot, he looked to be leaving nothing on the table. Behind him Maxwell was looking smooth and composed. Bayliss was still right there in third place, but was now looking more settled, playing a waiting game…
Troy Bayliss goes down!
Troy Bayliss was right with Maxwell and Wagner but tipped off the Ducati at turn one. He walked away looking none the worse for wear, he even had time to punch the ground in frustration as he slid along the tarmac… Along with the bike destruction earlier in the weekend this round was taking its toll on the race team budget already.
By half race distance the rear Pirelli of Wagner’s Yamaha was really starting to move around. Maxwell was still watching on from second place, Cru Halliday in third, that top trio had all dropped into the 1m32s, and joining them in that bracket and on track on the next lap was Bryan Staring and Josh Waters.
Wayne Maxwell took the lead on the run to turn one with four laps to run but Wagner got him straight back at Southern Loop. Wagner then very deep and sideways at turn four though allowed Maxwell an easy way back through to the lead. Wagner again takes the lead back at Siberia though and pastes Pirelli through Hayshed to maintain his advantage.
Bryan Staring starting to threaten
Bryan Staring had managed to ease away a little from Halliday and Waters to start closing on that leading duo. On the next lap though Halliday and Waters responded and got back to within striking distance of the Kawasaki man.
Maxwell was piling the pressure on Wagner, but giving him plenty of room at the same time, letting him know he was there, and forcing the much more luridly sideways Wagner to use all of that rear tyre in order to maintain his advantage.
Last Lap!
At the last lap board a single second covered Wagner, Maxwell, Staring, Halliday and Waters. Wagner maintained his advantage throughout the first half of the lap, through Siberia, Hayshed, MG, and still led Maxwell through turn 11, a big moment though at the end of turn 11 forced Wagner to get out of the throttle, that was costly and allowed Maxwell through to claim victory in what was an absolutely brilliant opening stanza for ASBK Superbike season 2019.
Wayne Maxwell takes first blood
Aiden Wagner a sensational second place and Bryan Staring clearly showing that himself and his Dunlop shod Kawasaki are also most definitely in the main game for ASBK 2019.
Cru Halliday was strong throughout, and along with Josh Waters, will be somewhat frustrated to miss the podium, however the pair still card good points from the season opener.
Daniel Falzon was a few seconds further back in sixth place but with a hefty advantage over seventh placed Glenn Allerton and eighth placed Mike Jones.
A very disappointing start to Troy Herfoss’ ASBK Title defence with ninth place. More importantly, the Penrite Honda man was never in the leading group at any stage of the race. Their so far troubled venture with the WorldSBK wildcard entry perhaps taking their eye off the ball in the main game somewhat.
Matt Walters rounded out the top ten in a highly creditable performance for the Cessnock Kawasaki rider ahead of young guns Ted Collins and Max Croker. The lap-times of that trio around 1.5-seconds off the pace of the leaders, but still an encouraging start to the season for them. Collins now has some experience under his belt and will now be expected to be a regular top ten rider.
The second 12-lap bout is scheduled for 1615 this afternoon, immediately after the opening 22-lap World Superbike race. The third 12-lapper will get underway after the World Superbike and Supersport warm-up sessions on Sunday morning at 1030.
2019 ASBK Round One – Phillip Island Superbike Qualifying
The Superbike qualifying schedule was changed today due to lapped traffic causing competitors problems during practice. Superbike competitors were split into two groups, each group with a ten-minute session to decide their places on the grid. The slower half of the field formed Group B who were on track at 1340, followed by the faster Group A at 1355. These changes pushed Supersport 600 qualifying back to 1415 while the Supersport 300 category will now qualify much later at 1655 this afternoon.
That split certainly helped the lapped traffic situation but riders were still battling for track position and a clear spot on the track at any one time.
FP2 pacesetter Aiden Wagner was baulked by Ted Collins early on his first fast lap, but one rider that had perhaps been most frustrated by traffic in FP2, YRT’s Daniel Falzon, did get some clear track and along with team-mate Cru Halliday they were both straight down in to the 1m32.5s.
Wagner though was quicker again, 1m32.191, a new outright ASBK Superbike lap record, and a Yamaha 1-2-3 front row lock-out for the opening ASBK round for season 2019.
Josh Waters heads the second row alongside Troy Bayliss and Wayne Maxwell. Bayliss had suffered a huge tumble in FP2 that destroyed one of his two big twin Panigales, breaking his finger in the process to add injury to insult.
Mike Jones was the final rider in the 1m32s ahead of Troy Herfoss who was eighth on 1m33.03. Glenn Allerton and Bryan Staring rounded out the top ten ahead of young guns Mark Chiodo and Ted Collins.
ASBK Phillip Island Superbike Lap Records
The previous ASBK Superbike pole record stood at 1m32.274 and was set by Wayne Maxwell on a Suzuki in 2013. The current race lap record also belongs to Maxwell, when he was on a Honda in 2009 he set a 1m32.316 to set the race lap benchmark around the circuit.
The opening Kawasaki sponsored ASBK Superbike race of season 2019 is slated to get underway at 1130 on Saturday morning with the second 12-lap bout scheduled for 1615 Saturday afternoon, immediately after the opening 22-lap World Superbike race. The third 12-lapper will get underway after the World Superbike and Supersport warm-up sessions on Sunday morning at 1030.
Troy Bayliss underlined his competitiveness for ASBK 2019 by dropping in a 1m32.478 late in the opening practice session yesterday afternoon, but this morning at Phillip Island Aiden Wagner went under that marker not once, but twice.
Wagner had been in control of the session with a 1m32.450, but that didn’t stop the Queenslander from lowering the benchmark again with a 32.320 on his final flying lap to really signal his determination to dominate ASBK Superbike on his return to competitive racing in this country.
ASBK Phillip Island Superbike Lap Records
The current ASBK Superbike pole record stands at 1m32.274 and was set by Wayne Maxwell on a Suzuki in 2013. The current race lap record also belongs to Maxwell, when he was on a Honda in 2009 he set a 1m32.316 to set the race lap benchmark around the circuit.
This mornings session was an expensive one for DesmoSport Ducati. Troy Bayliss made a mess of his 1299 Panigale R Final Edition at turn four, it was big enough for TB to be taken to the medical centre for checks. He has been cleared to race with his main ailment at this stage a painfully sore left hand, which hopefully gets better from here rather than worse. Bayliss was thus 13th in this session but remains second fastest on combined times.
Josh Waters in this session also underlined he is ready for battle. Wayne Maxwell has joined the team this year, and perhaps somewhat unfairly to Waters, it is Maxwell that seems to be the recognised title favourite heading in to season 2019. But this morning it was Josh with the upper hand, a 1m32.659 plays 1m32.788. Many will say yeah well there is nothing in it, but too many forget just how much of a mental game that top level Superbike racing is, and every little chip at your opposition adds up..
After a somewhat disastrous week for the Penrite Honda squad with no end of problems experienced trying to sort the machine they have prepared for their World Superbike wildcard, it was feared their eyes might have been taken off the more important ball, that being the start of their ASBK Title defence here this weekend. Finally some clear air for Herfoss and the squad this morning though with a 1m32.970 confirming their place in the game.
Cru Halliday was fifth quickest this morning, a 1m33.089 certainly competitive for the YRT rider who makes a return to Superbike competition this year after winning the Supersport Championship for the team last year.
Bryan Staring was the quickest Kawasaki this morning ahead of Mike Jones. Glenn Allerton was eighth on the NextGen BMW ahead of Daniel Falzon, the South Australian struggled to find any clear track in that session and frustrated by traffic. Ted Collins rounded out the top ten ahead of Matt Walters, the Cessnock Kawasaki rider the final pilot in the 1m33s.
ASBK Superbike Weekend Schedule
Competitors will be out on track at 1355 this afternoon for a 15-minute qualifying session. The opening Kawasaki sponsored ASBK Superbike race of season 2019 is slated to get underway at 1130 on Saturday morning with the second 12-lap bout scheduled for 1615 Saturday afternoon, immediately after the opening 22-lap World Superbike race. The third 12-lapper will get underway after the World Superbike and Supersport warm-up sessions on Sunday morning at 1030.
Toparis streets them in Supersport
In the Supersport ranks it was Tom Toparis setting the pace. The Goulburn youngster did not take part in Thursday’s session as he has had plenty of track time this week during his preparations for a World Supersport wildcard appearance this weekend. Toparis’ time a 1m35.422, streets ahead of the best of the rest with was headed by Nic Liminton from Callum Spriggs and Supersport debutante Oli Bayliss.