Mike Jones, 2015 Australian Superbike Champion, has been a familiar face at previous pre-season tests in the past few years before venturing overseas.
This year he was again in attendance at the recent ASBK Test session at Phillip Island, onboard a Kawasaki ZX-10R on loan from Matt Harding.
Jones has committed to doing the opening round of the ASBK at Phillip Island but, unlike the last three years, has no immediate plans beyond that in regards to where he will be racing for season 2019.
We caught up with him over the weekend for a brief chat.
Mike Jones Interview
Phillip Island, Official ASBK Test 2019
MCNews: First up what were you doing here?
Mike Jones: I’m having a ride around, I’m doing the ASBK test here in preparation for Round 1 of the ASBK. That’s the plan at the moment.
Mike Jones at Phillip Island in 2018 – Image by TBG Sport
MCNews: So what happens after Round 1 in two weeks time?
Mike Jones: Not too sure, haven’t got anything solid yet, I’m still looking at options overseas as I don’t currently have anything right now. So that’s the position I’m in.
MCNews: You’ve been pretty up and down since you won the championship in 2015.
Mike Jones: I won the Australian Championship 2015 then raced for Desmosport Ducati 2016, and that was a tough year. The Ducati was new to the whole team so we had, I spose you’d say, teething problems. That made things quite tough, but we showed some potential there on the Ducati and Troy helped me get a ride with the Aruba.it Ducati team in the European Superstock 1000 Championship in 2017, I had a reasonable year there. For a year racing in Europe, I was fifth overall in the Championship, which was a pretty solid overall effort.
Mike Jones in the FIM Stock 1000 Championship in 2017
“Then with the Superstock 1000 championship being discontinued it meant I was looking for a ride elsewhere, so then I changed completely to a different manufacturer, different tyre, different team, different tracks, so everything was brand new again, and I still finished fourth overall in the Spanish Championship. So while it may seem up and down, it’s still been progressing upwards in my opinion, and I feel like I’ve been showing some strong results over there, on the podium in Europe and Spain, that for me has been pretty good.
“Right at the moment I’ve come to a point where, it seems like a lot of the teams are really struggling for budget and asking the riders for budget, so trying to get the budget together is the most difficult thing right now. Especially because I’ve been in the position where I haven’t really had to bring budget to a team, so I’m not really prepared for that.”
MCNews: So the first question they ask is how much money have you got?
Mike Jones: “And my answer is I have nothing, as I’ve been paid enough to live, but not enough to go racing with your team.”
Mike Jones at the 2018 Australian MotoGP round – Image by AJRN
MCNews: Is it looking more and more that you’re going to be doing ASBK?
Mike Jones: “Yeah, it seems that way right at the moment. Racing in the Australian Superbike Championship, but I’m still looking and trying to race overseas.”
MCNews: Where’s the strongest option at the moment?
Mike Jones: “Probably Asia at the moment, I’m looking in Asia and it might be possible, there’s possibly something there.
Mike Jones at the Phillip Island Official ASBK Test – Image by Rob Mott
McNews: And what about the two days here?
Mike Jones: “I had a good weekend, we’re riding KNR Hydraulics Kawasaki, one of Matt Harding’s bikes, so it’s a first time for me today on that bike, and we tried a bunch of different stuff for geomoetry and suspension, a few small electronic changes, but we made progress all day. I started to get comfortable on the bike, so it’s been a really good first day and I feel like if we continue on this path, with the progress we’re making, there shouldn’t be any reason I can’t be competitive at the first round here.”
MCNews: All the best in whatever you do mate, it would be good to see you mixing it up down here.
MJ: “You never know!”
The first round of the Australian Superbike Championship will be held alongside the opening round of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island 22-24 February.
Kawasaki Superbike – Phillip Island Test – Merged classification
Eighteen riders started the ASBK Supersport test, with Oli Bayliss making the step up to the Supersport category this year, but no one could get near last year’s class runner-up, as Tom Toparis totally dominated all bar one of the eight sessions.
Toparis has left the Cube Racing Team where he’s been since he started road racing. After his years racing Kawasaki’s in both the 300 class and Supersports, Tom will be Yamaha mounted this year, basically doing it alone in a family run affair with a few sponsors like Landbridge Racing.
Tom Toparis
“It’s been a good weekend, for the first time at the Island on the Aussie Supersport bike. It’s good to get out and do some laps and learn. The bike’s really smooth and I think that’s the most important thing.”
Tom Toparis – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
The youngster from Goulburn (NSW) will also be doing a Wild Card in the Supersport World Championship at Phillip Island later this month on an up-specced Yamaha R6 which should give him a great opportunity to step up the leader board after his experience in the event last year, when he finished 14th in the race.
It was Tom’s first outing on the new bikes at the test and so there was a lot of setting up to be done to adapt to the characteristics of the Yamaha after his years on the Kawasaki.
Tom Toparis
“The new Yamaha R6 is just really smooth, straight out of the box. The chassis is a lot more… a bit more like a Moto3 bike. It feels a lot stiffer and a lot more race orientated and a lot more aggressive, the styling of it. The brakes are good, we can make the tyre last for a long time, which is really good. We just have to make a few decisions about what we’re going to run. We’re just messing around with a few little things, we went pretty fast this morning. We’ll see how we go and hopefully my little mate Oli won’t beat me anytime soon. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks to test the WorldSBK, I just rode it around today, no tyres or anything to get a bit of a feel for that too…”
Tom Toparis – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
Second fastest was South Australian Nic Liminton, also Yamaha mounted. It’s a welcome return for Liminton as he was sidelined for most of last year as he battled – and overcame – testicular cancer. It’s a confronting moment for a teenager, as it would have been an extremely difficult time for the close knit Liminton family but thankfully he is back to full health, and keener than ever to get on track again racing.
Nic Liminton – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
His times were slightly off his PB around the track as they are fine tuning their new Yamaha’s but understandably Nic is just over the moon to be back riding and racing in a few weeks, after his reality check of 2018.
Nic Liminton
“We had a lot to get through as we set up the new bikes back but I am so happy with where we are right now. I am just so happy to be back getting ready to race a full season. This is my first time ever on the new Yamaha R6. The suspension we’re still dealing with, hopefully we’ll get it all sorted by the race, but at the moment – the Ohlins – if we can get it dialed in, I reckon we can have a very good race. We had a base setting on the suspension at the start and we thought that was going to be amazing, but we changed a few things and we’ve got it to a pretty good point now. With a few more practice sessions we’ll be in a better place. Track time is definitely a bit of an issue, we don’t have much of it, compared to some of the other riders, so we’ll just try and learn as quick as possible and then hope the race is going to be good. Top three is where I want to be, I think Tom’s in a league of his own at the moment, but if we can slowly close the gap through each round to him, I want to be where he is by sometime this year. That’s the goal.”
Nic Liminton – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
We know the kid can ride but it was still a bit of a surprise to see Oli Bayliss third fastest over the two days. Ok, he has had a few sessions at Morgan Park on the 600 to get a handle on it but coming to Phillip Island is an entirely different bunch of coconuts.
Oli Bayliss – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
The last time he rode there was on a 300 Proddie bike with massively different lap times, so it was a huge challenge but he took it in his stride and was only two-tenths off Liminton’s best time, with plenty of more experienced Supersport pilots behind him. Broc Pearson, also on a Yamaha, was less than a tenth of a second off, in fourth fastest, snapping at his heels.
Oli Bayliss
“We’re still getting used to the track, we’ve ridden the bike four times, but on this track zero, so the first day actually surprised me. I didn’t realise we were going to go this fast, but I’m absolutely loving it, and it’s a great track to ride, and so much fun. I didn’t think I was going to get going this fast so early on. I was here three months ago and we were doing 1:49s and now we’re doing 1:37s, so it’s like a 12 second, 13 seconds difference and it’s just different to get used to how much more power it has than the 300. The weekend was very good. Very, very, very, very good! It was really helpful and it’s given me a lot of confidence going into the race. Our times weren’t bad, we were third or fourth overall and we are getting there. Hopefully practice at the race meeting we can crack a 36, maybe even a 35. It’s going to be hard, but with a bit of help, with another rider being towed along and a few other changes to the bike – I’m losing a bit of top speed, so if we can get all of those problems sorted out, hopefully we can go a bit faster. I’ve three of my best mates out there, Tom [Toparis], Ty [Lynch] and Broc [Pearson], so it’s going to be weird racing them all, but also going to be really fun. Hopefully we can still be friends after the finish, if shit happens!”
Oli Bayliss – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
Pearson who was fourth fastest, was his usual rapid self but a big get off at Turn One towards the end of day one slowed things down a bit, as on day two he never quite got to the times of the previous day and on his own admission says that he always has trouble with the track.
Broc Pearson – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
Broc Pearson
“We started off Day One really good, and I think I prepared well for this season, I’m a lot fitter and a lot more flexible. Yesterday morning started really well, I missed the first session due to some electrical issues, but we got out there in the second one. Instantly I was into good times, so I was really confident. Leading into the last session I was first on the times at about the middle mark of the session and went back out and had a new set of tyres and was pretty confident to go a bit faster. I ended up making a mistake in Turn 1 and had a bit of a fall, and then Day Two just hasn’t gelled so much. I sort of get over that kind of stuff and don’t get effected but I think I found a bit of a limit yesterday that was like hitting a wall today, getting to a speed that I couldn’t really pass. So I think I just need to work on a few things with my riding, I don’t think it’s mental or physical, it’s just time on the bike, which I don’t get much off. So hopefully we can get a bit of that between now and end of the month.”
Broc Pearson – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
Another debutant in the class is the 2017 Australian Supersport 300cc Champion, Reid Battye, returning to the domestic title chase after a disastrous season in Europe last year. After winning the title Reid had high hopes of competing in the Supersport 300 World Championship that Tom Edwards competed in, but a botch up with registering for the over-subscribed grid saw the teenager left out in the cold and living in Italy.
Reid Battye – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
He returned to Australia half way through the year and so has not had much riding but was impressive in his first outing on the new Suzukis and was fifth. Like Bayliss, Battye will definitely be a threat once he gets more in tune with the bikes and he has the added bonus of Phil Tainton fettling his bikes between meetings. Expect him to give it a big shake
Reid Battye – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
Just adrift of Battye was Sam Lambert who has had an on-again off-again relationship with the class in recent years but in that time has proven to be one that is in the upper part of the field but has lacked the budget to complete a full season. Let’s hope the Northern Territorian can stick around for the entire season as the sound of the MV Agusta he is riding on full noise is just majestic, and he is not too far off the pace.
While Toparis may have had a distinct edge in lap times over the others the difference in times between second (Liminton) and seventh (Aiden Hayes) was just over a second, and the rest were close behind.
Tom Toparis lead the time sheets by a hefty margin- ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
Add a few more that were not at the test and others that are rising through the ranks like Scott Nicholson (who is in his own team this year); Aiden Hayes who is hoping to contest the entire season; as well as Ty Lynch who is gaining advice from Jed Metcher to improve his performances; Rhys Belling; Jack Passfield; Dallas Skeer; and the ever competitive Chris Quinn, and the 2019 Supersport category will have plenty of spice to compliment the other classes.
Supersport Combined Practice Times – 2019 ASBK PI Test
The first session of the Supersport class on Saturday saw Tom Toparis getting his year off to a good start, in what serves as a warm up for his racing season, which now also includes a wildcard entry in Round 1 of the FIM World Supersport Championship at the end of the month.
Toparis was in intimidating form as he set fastest time of the day on the Yamaha R6, his first outing for the marque after moving over from Kawasaki.
Tom Toparis – Image by TBG
Right behind Toparis was Nicholas Liminton (Yamaha Motor Aust., Yamaha YZF-R6) in second and Aidan Hayes (Hayes Johnston Pty Ltd Chartered Accountants, Yamaha YZF-R6) in third place.
Oli Bayliss (Yamaha YZF-R6) was knocking on the door of the top group but couldn’t catch third placed Pearson, ending up fourth with a 1.37.840. Behind him was Reid Battye (Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R), seemingly getting more comfortable on the bike after a slow first session to finish fifth fastest.
If Tom Toparis was in intimidating form on Day 1, then on Sunday he proved he was untouchable. Already down into the 1:35’s by lunchtime, Toparis (1:35.295) pushed his Landbridge Yamaha almost two seconds clear of second placed Nic Liminton (1:37.273) who despite improving as the weekend progressed still didn’t have the pace to catch the World Supersport wild card rider.
Tom Toparis – Image by Rob Mott
After a weekend’s worth of trying, Oli Bayliss finally managed to crack the top three for the second and third sessions of the day despite reportedly clipping a stray bird whilst out on track. He finished the weekend in third position behind Liminton and Toparis in what was a superb improvement from yesterday.
Fighting it out for best of the rest all weekend was Broc Pearson and Reid Battye, who were consistently in the top five runners all weekend. Pearson ended the weekend on a 1:37.588 to leave him in fourth, while Battye could only manage a 1:38.142 which left him fifth.
Aidan Hayes and Territorian Sam Lambert managed to dip into the top five in the morning however couldn’t seem to match the top three for pace on a consistent basis. Pearson (1:37.588) ended up fifth and Lambert (1:38.134) ended the weekend in sixth.
Fastest Overall Top 10 Results
Tom TOPARIS (Landbridge Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:35.295
Nicholas LIMINTON (Yamaha Motor Aust. Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.273
Oli BAYLISS (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.492
Broc PEARSON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.588
Reid BATTYE (Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R) 1:38.134
Sam LAMBERT (Mv Agusta Aus-NZ, MV Agusta F3) 1:38.142
Scott NICHOLSON (Traction Control Motorsport, Suzuki GSX-R) 1:39.013
Ty LYNCH (Australian Outdoor Living, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:39.136
Ryan TAYLOR (Arden Homes, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:39.182
YMI Supersport 300 / YMF R3 Cup
He’s new to the team and the bike, but nothing could stop Locky Taylor in taking out the fastest overall lap time in the YMI Supersport 300 and YMF R3 Cup classes on Saturday. Taylor clocked in a fastest time of 1:49.429, ahead of Seth Crump (Rockoil, KTM RC 390) who finishes Day One with the second fastest overall time of 1:49.768.
Locky Taylor – Image by TBG
Third fastest overall was Callum O’Brien (BC Performance, Kawasaki Ninja 400), who featured consistently at the top of the leader board throughout the day. O’Brien finished Day One of the Official ASBK Test with a top lap time of 1:49.939.
Hot on the heels of O’Brien was Zac Levy (Demmery Motorsport, Yamaha R3 321), who clocked in a speedy time of 1:50.109. Rounding out the top five for the day was Luke Power (RTR, Yamaha R3 321) with a best time of 1:50.423.
On Day Two, coming out of the pits like a demon behind the handlebars, Seth Crump (Rockoil, KTM RC 390) took out the fastest lap time for the YMI Supersport 300 and YMF R3 Cup classes.
Seth Crump – Image by TBG
Crump clocked in a best time of 1:49.249, sitting pretty ahead of second place holder Locky Taylor (YRD, Yamaha R3 321) with a 1:49.429. Taylor continued his fantastic form from Saturday’s practice sessions, maintaining a cool head into today’s rising temperatures.
Third fastest for Sunday was Senna Agius (Kawasaki Ninja 400) with a time of 1:49.581. Agius has been riding comfortably with the leading pack all day, appearing in the top three places for each of his four practice sessions. Breathing down Agius’ neck and trailing by a mere .36 seconds was Max Stauffer (Yamaha, Yamaha R3 321), with the fourth fastest time of 1:49.617.
Rounding out the top five for Day Two was Callum O’Brien (BC Performance, Kawasaki Ninja 400) with a time of 1:49.939.
The first ever practice session for the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup kicked off on Saturday as the first time Motorcycling Australia’s Junior Road Race Academy program had ever taken to the track.
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup – Image by TBG
Damien Cudlin led the field out for their first two supervised laps before waving the field past and unleashing the 25 youngsters onto the Phillip Island circuit for the very first of their practice sessions.
The first untimed session gave the kids the chance to feel their way around the circuit and the bikes at their own pace, before the timing started and the young riders started to come to grips with how the bikes handled.
Fastest time of the day went to Lucas Quinn (2:15.668), ahead of Grenfell and Carter Thompson.
As the pitlane opened on Sunday and the sessions began the youngsters would crank the throttle wide open and swarm out of pit exit, anxious to make the most of every second of their fifteen minutes on track.
The action was akin to a mini Moto3 race, with bunches of six and seven riders having five lap long drafting chains exciting enough to draw a few of the top class riders out of the pit garages for a look at the action.
By the time the weekend finished it was Queensland’s Max Gibbons who came out on top, setting a impressive 2:14.375 to take fastest of the day, followed by Carter Thompson (2:14.835), Archie McDonald (2:14.897), New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan (2:14.957), and Angus Grenfell (2:15.082).
Rider coach Damien Cudlin was thrilled with the performance of the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup riders.
Damien Cudlin
“So far it’s been a really positive test, I think the kids have all really enjoyed themselves, they’ve learnt a whole lot. “They’ve really surprised me and I think a lot of people in the pitlane with how professional they’ve been and how well they’re riding already, so I’m even more excited to see them in their first race.”
The young racers’ next outing is at Wakefield Park, where the Junior Road Race Academy will go racing for real with the first-ever Oceania Junior Cup round joining Round 2 of ASBK. If this weekend’s performance is anything to go by, these young talented riders will be itching to be the first to stamp their name on the series and will be providing us with some absolutely thrilling racing.
Overall Fastest Top 10 Results
Max GIBBONS bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:14.735)
Carter THOMPSON bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:14.835)
Cros FRANCIS bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.202)
Glenn NELSON bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.486)
Lucas QUINN bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.668)
Jamie PORT bLU cRU Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.681)
Alex KENWORTHY-JONES bLU cRU Yamaha YZF-R15 (2:15.890)
The end of official testing sees the beginning of the countdown to Round 1 of the season, when we return to Phillip Island on 21-24 February 2019. Make sure you don’t miss it as the Australians join the world’s best Superbike racers for a thrilling weekend of superbike action for Round 1 of the FIM World Superbike Championship. Get your tickets now!
2019 ASBK Calendar
Official ASBK Test – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC February 2 – 3
Round 1- WSBK – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC February 21 – 24
Round 2- Wakefield Park Raceway – Goulburn NSW March 22 – 24
Round 3- The Bend Motorsport Park – Tailem Bend, SA April 26 – 28
Round 4- Morgan Park Raceway – Warwick, QLD July 5 – 7
Round 5- Winton Motor Raceway – Benalla, VIC September 6 – 8
Round 6- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 4 – 6
Round 7- Sydney Motorsport Park – Eastern Creek, NSW November 1 – 3
ASBK season 2019 kicked off today as competitors blew out the cobwebs and got down to business on the first of a tw-day test being staged across this weekend, February 2-3, at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.
Early indications are that this year will again be another step up. With live TV and live streaming to the world, ASBK has been getting stronger and the line-ups throughout the classes, as well as the introduction of the Oceania Rookies Cup for the juniors, sees the championship is in the healthiest state it has been in for quite some time.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of who was fastest and who did what, lets take a look at how the Superbike field will shape up as there has been many rider movements in the off season, as well as a few newcomers, with a few returning for another dip in the premier class.
Cru Halliday #65
For those that came in late, lets have a look at how the major protagonists will face off in the battle for championship glory in what is anticipated to be a stellar and intensely contested year of road racing.
The ones with the targets on their back are defending champions Penrite Honda, after Troy Herfoss claimed the number #1 plate in 2018 for the second time in three years.
In 2018 the Penrite squad was primarily a one-rider outfit, although ex-Moto3 pilot and speedway rider, Arthur Sissis was under the Penrite pit tent from Morgan Park onwards. However for this year the team has expanded to a two-rider outfit from the get go, with Mark Chiodo joining the team after a rookie Superbike year with Team Ecstar Suzuki alongside Josh Waters.
Troy Herfoss
“We were down here on Wednesday for a ride day but it was really too busy to do anything too much, but at the end of the day we got done what we wanted to do and that was run the bike in with a new engine, make sure that things were working. We ticked that box and now we are here for the official ASBK test today and went really well. Compared to this time last year we are light years ahead. I was fast and consistent and we are on the race tyre. The results from today are no reflection of where everyone is at. I am sixth fastest today but I am pretty confident that in reality we are a lot further up the order than that when it comes to race pace so we’ll see how things pan out. I was 8th here last year and I won the first race of the year, so I think everyone gets a bit carried away.”
Troy Herfoss
With a larger team comes more staff, and the vastly experienced Stewart Winton has been appointed as Mark’s crew chief, with Tiger Clay also in the young Victorians corner once again. Chiodo impressed last year and went oh-so-close to claiming the “Rookie of the Year” title.
With Chiodo’s departure from Suzuki late last year it appeared that Ecstar Suzuki might only field on rider for season 2019, with the rumours suggesting that whoever finished the better in the championship between Josh Waters and Wayne Maxwell, would get the ride.
However after a fair bit of negotiation, and the can being kicked for a bit more coin by the concerned parties, the Team Ecstar Suzuki unit will remain a two-rider team with Maxwell joining Waters in what makes for a most competitive pairing of team mates. While they are good mates, on the track there is fierce competition and this is certainly going to be one aspect of ASBK 2019 that will be enthralling to witness as the seven round series unfolds.
Maxwell’s is currently hampered by a shoulder injury suffered in a cycling crash in Adelaide. His broken collarbone only operated on nine days ago, but he will be strong enough by the season opener.
Wayne Maxwell
“The day was good. We had a day here before Christmas where I ran the bike for 10 laps like Josh had the bike at the last round with his particular tyres. Then we tried the new tyre. Everything felt different for Josh and I the but then I had no real idea as I didn’t want to have an opinion on something I didn’t know about. We’ve come back here for the first official day on the bike and started where we left off, then went around in circles trying stuff. It’s been good for me because I have no previous expectation of how good the bike was or what the bike is supposed to be. I am getting to know the GSX-R again and its getting better at every roll out. The rear tyre is definitely… the middle is higher so I guess it has got less contact patch in the middle, and the edges are the same so it falls away different. The front tyre is bigger overall, so it changes the bike quite a lot. It’s a matter of getting a direction on paper, what it says compared to what the rider feels. Try one direction, if it doesn’t work come back in the other direction, and then find somewhere in the middle.”
Wayne Maxwell
Waters returns to race with his favourite numeral, #21, after Troy Bayliss – who used his old WSBKnumber in his return to domestic racing, — offered it back to Josh late last year after the championship had been decided at the penultimate round at Winton (Vic)
Bayliss will revert to the very first number he used in Australian road racing, the number 32 gracing the front of this Ducati, a number also made famous by another Aussie legend Robbie Phillis.
Bayliss had a stellar return to domestic racing last year aboard the Desmo Sport Ducati machine, winning a couple of races and was more often than not on the podium during the year as he finished third overall behind Herfoss and runner-up, Wayne Maxwell.
Troy Bayliss will ride the same v-twin Panigale R 1299 Final Edition in the opening rounds of the series before the team beds down the new V4R in to competitive race trim.
Troy Bayliss
“We’ll race these ones until the other one is faster than these ones. First up we have to get fairings, pipes and a few other bits and pieces. What is sitting in the back of truck (V4 R) is a road bike. It’s like having the keys to something you can’t use. We could sort of half do it but we could shoot ourselves in the foot. We haven’t got enough things if something goes wrong, and then if that happens you are riding between two different motorcycles and we know these old girls are pretty good. Everything is going very well. We are happy with the start. We hit the ground running and feel fit and healthy. Today was pretty hot and slimy so I’m happy with how we are doing, considering its pretty greasy and windy out there. Always after lunch its slower, so I am pretty happy with where we are going.”
Troy Bayliss
With the departure of Maxwell from the Yamaha Racing Team, the way was made clear for Australian Supersport Champion Cru Halliday to return to the Superbike class alongside Daniel Falzon, the South Australia returning for his second year at YRT.
The Next Gen Motorsport squad will again run three-times Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton, and hopefully his year they Sydneysider can remain injury free after his last two seasons have been plagued by broken bones.
Allerton will be aboard the old faithful BMWS1000RR until the HP4 arrives, which may be at the second round but more than likely the third round at Tailem Bend in April. The major change for the Next Gen Team in 2019 is the switch to Dunlop tyres.
In the BCPerformance Kawasaki outfit Bryan Staring returns for a second year with the team and will be joined by Lachlan Epis, who replaces Kyle Buckley.The team will continue its association with Dunlop for 2019.
There is plenty of movement in the privateer ranks too, with a few more joining the fray to add to what is already a healthy field of entries.
Stepping up from the Supersport category, where he finished third overall behind Halliday and Tom Toparis, will be Max Crocker on the Mat Mladin Racing GSX-R1000R.
Making his debut in the Superbike ranks of ASBK will be Queenslander Aiden Wagner in a one-man privateer outfit. In the last few years Wagner has had his fair share of injury woes but now that he is back to full fitness he will be one to keep an eye on.
Aiden Wagner #28 – Expect to see podiums from him, privateer or not…
Technically, it is not his first foray into racing a Superbike as he had a ride on the Team Honda machine in the Formula Xtreme Australasian Superbike Championship at Eastern Creek a few years ago, where he made a stunning debut to top all comers before heading overseas in what proved to be a costly mistake.
Alex Phillis will be on a fully-supported satellite Team Suzuki Ecstar machine. 2018 Rookie of the Year, Arthur Sissis will also be Suzuki mounted, along with multiple New Zealand Superbike Champion Sloan Frost who returns for a full season.
Others in the fray include Ted Collins who returns to the Next Gen Motorsports BMW Team beside Allerton, and will no doubt be more competitive after his rookie season last year.
And that’s not forgetting lads who will be knocking on a Top Ten spot at every outing, the likes of Kawasaki-mounted Glenn Scott giving it a crack again, while Matt Walters can also score top results when in form.
So, what happened on Day One of Superbike testing for season 2019?
There were four sessions each for the Superbike Supersport, Supersport 300 and the Oceania Rookies Cup for the young pups .
In the Superbike category there were 25 riders on track, made up of eight Suzukis, five Yamahas, four Kawasakis, three BMW, two each of Honda and Ducati and a sole Aprilia RSV4.
Bragging rights as the chequered flag came out for the big boys went to Wayne Maxwell , with Bayliss in second and Staring third followed by Waters and Wagner. Herfoss was in sixth with Falzon, Halliday, Allerton, and Chiodo rounding out the top ten, just over a second separating them. The top 18 covered by just three-seconds.
Ted Collins and Bryan Staring
Another rider in attendance was Mike Jones, who stillhas not finalised plans for this year as he hope to secure a ride overseas, but there is also a real possibility of the Queenslander competing in the series that he won back in 2015.
Maxwell was the only rider to do a sub 1:33 during the day with a time of 1:32.913 in the final moments of the last session, but there is more to the story than lap times. While admitting that he was still feeling some effects of the shoulder injury, he also had put in a soft tyre for the end of the final session. In the previous session on more regular tyres, his fastest time was over a full second slower.
Herfoss was fastest in the opening session from Waters and Maxwell but Bayliss was atop for the next two sessions. TB was also well in the hunt for overall honours before being pipped by Maxwell by less than a tenth-of-a-second.
The consistency of Balyiss was impressive. In sessions 2, 3 and 4 the differences in his fastest laps was less than a tenth. Making that fact all the more remarkable was the ride in air and track temperatures across those sessions, and how the condition of the track dropped off later in the day, along with an increasing headwind.
But this test will prove to be two days of finding set-ups for each particular team as Pirelli and Dunlop have both brought in new spec tyres, every rider that was questioned came back with similar thoughts.
The new Pirelli tyres are now larger with more contact patch with an extra 5mm added to the surface width of both the front and rear tyres. These new characteristics change the steering into and the rive out of corners, and all riders were still trying to find the balance between steering and drivability.
Dave Fuller – Pirelli
“We have larger tyres for this season, a 125/70 front compared to a 120 and the rear is 265 up from 260mm (that is the surface measurement across the total arc of the rear tyre, thus your conventional off the rack sizing can’t really be comapred). Being a new tyre the smart operators are getting onto it now to try and work out a set-up for the new rubber. Some are flatter and some are higher in the rear, sometimes putting a bit more spring in the back, but pretty flat layout seems to be favourite at the moment as they have to be careful not to get too much wheelspin. Smart guys are chipping away and getting onto it. I think for the very hot conditions, and we had the classic here last week so it’s pretty greasy, I think the guys are doing a commendable job. Wayne did a 32.9 and that’s still pretty damn fast. There are no super sticky ones, Wayne just used a sticky one. These are the homologated tyres for the season so it is pretty important for us to have a good test and see everyone reasonably happy. Some guys are on the fence still trying to work out the previous grip over these new tyres. We will still have the SCX’s front and rear – the slightly smaller size – available from last year so there are options for them.”
GSX-R mounted riders have won almost half the Australian Superbike Championships contested this century, and in 2019 Suzuki are determined to add to that tally by fielding one of the strongest two-rider outfits ever to line up for an Australian Superbike Team.
Wayne Maxwell
Current rider Josh Waters has three ASBK Superbike Championships to his name (2009-2012-2017), and joining him in the Team Suzuki Ecstar squad for 2019 is long-time rival, and 2013 Australian Superbike, Champion Wayne Maxwell.
Wayne Maxwell won the 2013 Australian Superbike Championship on a GSX-R1000 Suzuki
That 2013 Superbike Championship for Maxwell was won on a Suzuki GSX-R1000, and he is aiming to repeat that feat in season 2019.
Wayne Maxwell
“I’m very excited to be joining Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia for the next two years. Last time Suzuki and I were paired together proved to be very successful, winning my first Australian Superbike championship. I’m really looking forward to getting back on the GSX-R1000, I know how fast and competitive the GSX-R is having raced against it the last few years, I’m super excited to get to work with Phil, Warren and the rest of the team on repeating our 2013 success.”
Wayne Maxwell won the 2013 ASBK Superbike Championship when he last rode for Suzuki.
The 36-year-old only this year broke his own ASBK Superbike outright pole lap record at Phillip Island that had stood since 2013, when that same weekend then 30-year-old took the Superbike Title for Suzuki by 34-points over Glenn Allerton.
Wayne Maxwell celebrates taking Superpole on the GSX-R1000 at Phillip Island in 2013
Suzuki are also working on a third, semi-satellite rider, for ASBK 2019 and soon hope to announce that signing too. Our tip for the gig is Alex Phillis.
Mat Mladin is taking young Max Croker up to the Superbike ranks in 2019 for his maiden season with the big boys.
Honda recently announced that Mark Chiodo would join 2018 ASBK Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss at Penrite Honda.
In 2019 Cru Halliday will step back up from Supersport to a Superbike ride at YRT alongside Daniel Falzon.
Glenn Allerton will line up again for NextGen BMW on an all-new S 1000 RR. Ted Collins may also have a seat on the BMW again next season.
Kawasaki look to have young Lachlan Epis joining Bryan Staring in the BCperformance squad.
And then of course there is that fella who will be turning up again on a red bike, three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss…
Troy Bayliss – Image Colin Rosewarne
An ASBK pre-season test will be held at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on February 2-3.
2019 ASBK Calendar
ASBK Test – Phillip Island, VIC February 2 – 3
Round 1 – WSBK – Phillip Island, VIC February 21 – 24
Round 2 – Wakefield Park, Goulburn NSW March 22 – 24
