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

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. 

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

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.

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…

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.

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.

---

Source: MCNews.com.au

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.

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.

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. 

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

---

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.

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…

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

---

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

---

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

---

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

---

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.

---

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