2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship
Round One – Phillip Island
Superbike Race Three

By Trevor Hedge

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The speed of the Ducati V4 R has rivals scratching their heads here this weekend. The opinion of the riders on other motorcycles is that the Ducati is so fast that it is in a different race.

Herfoss quoted Maxwell’s quotes published in our Race Two report where the Boost Mobile Ducati rider complained of not being yet to access a Motec ECU to unlock more potential of his V4 R.

Troy Herfoss Instagram story quoting Maxwell’s quotes published on MCNews.com.au after race two on Saturday

Obviously the post was made due to the incredulous reaction by Herfoss at Wayne’s call for more improvements on the Ducati, combined with a bit of banter.  Below are Herfoss’ quotes after the opening bout on Saturday.

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Troy Herfoss talking to MCNews.com.au after race one

“What did I learn from the race? I learnt that Wayne’s not the man to beat. When you’re one-second faster than anyone and then you can’t drop anyone in the race, that’s not winning.”

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This is going to be one little war of words that is going to be amusing to watch. Herfoss is expected to remain on the previous model Fireblade for at least the next couple of rounds as shipments of the new Fireblade are still some time away, and the time to prepare a race machine from the new platform is very limited.

If the WorldSBK Honda machines are anything to go by though, the new Fireblade is going to be very fast. Bautista has been the fastest through the speed traps here all week and set a new WorldSBK record speed here this weekend at 327 km/h on the new Honda…

But who would raise their game to take the challenge to Maxwell today..?

The closest in the previous bouts was Cru Halliday. The YRT man is looking strong while Josh Waters is smiling and happy with the speed being mustered from his new privateer effort.

Mike Jones has a V4 R beneath him and is still adapting to the new bike after racing the big 1299 to the ASBK Championship Title in 2019.

Bryan Staring had shown some glimpses of speed and Allerton has displayed some promise on the new BMW.

Daniel Falzon is making progress on his adaption to Dunlop rubber and was not far off podium pace in the first contests of the weekend…

Aiden Wagner would be looking to turn around his troublesome weekend to leave here on a positive note while Matt Walters had been impressive on the Cessnock Kawasaki and looked capable to upset some of the regular front runners.

Race Three away

Wayne Maxwell scored the holeshot and led Cru Halliday, Josh Waters, Troy Herfoss, Glenn Allerton and Bryan Staring through Southern Loop for the first time.  Mike Jones had a shocking start and was ninth early on the opening lap but had worked his way up to seventh by the end of lap one.

Allerton showed Herfoss a wheel to try and steal fourth place into turn one but the Penrite Honda man held on to maintain that position.

The front runners all recorded low 1m32s on their first flying lap but no changes in the order had taken place amongst the leading quartet.  Jones though was continuing his march forward through the field and by lap three was looking for a way around Allerton. A mistake by the BMW man, running a little wide, opened the door for Jones and he piloted the DesmoSport Ducati right through it to take that fifth place.

Aiden Wagner’s disappointing weekend was not turning around, the Queenslander ran wide at turn four and lost around ten positions before he rejoined the race way down in 16th place.

Superbike Race Three – TBG Image

Herfoss was starting to lose touch with the leading trio as the race approached the halfway mark. Maxwell looked in control up front as Halliday and Waters chased that Boost Mobile Ducati hard.

Both Mike Jones and Bryan Staring were lapping quicker than Herfoss in the second half of the race and it looked as though that pair would close in on the Penrite Honda before the final lap. Jones had caught Herfoss way before the final lap though and took fourth place from Herfoss with four laps to run. It looked like a matter of time before Staring would push Herfoss further back to sixth.

Halliday and Waters were still doggedly pursuing the Boost Mobile Ducati of Maxwell.  With three laps to run Cru Halliday was inching closer and closer to the Ducati, the gap down to three-tenths.

The leaders started to encounter lapped traffic as they started the penultimate lap. Halliday had been baulked on the final lap in the previous encounter but this time around Maxwell was tripped up more than Halliday on their initial contact with a back-marker.

Josh Waters had now lost touch with the leading duo but Halliday was still all over Maxwell as they got the last lap board.

Maxwell though had enough left in the bag to keep Halliday at bay and took the chequered flag with a number of bike lengths over the YRT man.

Superbike Race Three Results
Maxwell
Halliday +0.752
Waters +3.923

Josh Waters a good third place finish, 2.5-seconds further behind, while Jones recovered from a shocking start to claim good points in fourth.

Staring and Herfoss were battled over fifth position on the final lap and the Honda man just held on to win that tussle.

Wagner crashed at turn two on the final lap to draw a line under a very difficult weekend for the Queenslander.

Superbike Race Three Results
Maxwell
Halliday +0.752
Waters +3.923

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A perfect 76-point haul from the season opener for Wayne Maxwell and the new Boost Mobile Ducati Team.

Cru Halliday was rewarded with 60-points for his trio of second place finishes which Josh Waters completed the round podium with his 51-point haul.

Bryan Staring’s 49-point swag from his 4-4-6 results good enough to edge Herfoss from fourth place by a single point.

Daniel Falzon can take plenty of positives away from the weekend. A puncture cost him time during qualifying and then an oil leak in the final bout had him somewhat nursing the JD Racing Yamaha home but he still earned a highly creditable 41-points from the weekend.  Fellow South Australian Arthur Sissis was another somewhat quiet achiever with a 37-point haul.

That issue heading towards the grid that ruled him out of the opening race, despite turning out to be a non-issue, was costly for defending champion Mike Jones. He showed increasing speed all weekend though, and demonstrated the pace in the final stanza to run with the leaders but a poor start robbed him of that chance.

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ASBK next heads to Wakefield Park late this month, the Goulburn circuit playing host to the series over the March 27-29 weekend.

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2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship
Round One – Phillip Island
Superbike Race Three Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	Wayne MAXWELL	V4R	18m38.013	309
2	Cru HALLIDAY	YZF-R1	+0.752	307
3	Josh WATERS	GSXRR	+3.923	303
4	Mike JONES	V4R	+5.570	309
5	Troy HERFOSS	CBR RR	+7.800	303
6	Bryan STARING	ZX10R	+7.834	310
7	Glenn ALLERTON	S RR	+14.613	309
8	Daniel FALZON	YZF-R1	+17.108	303
9	Arthur SISSIS	GSXRR	+20.239	313
10	Matt WALTERS	ZX10RR	+22.113	313
11	Jed METCHER	GSXRR	+27.315	303
12	Linden MAGEE	S RR	+36.297	302
13	Sloan FROST	GSXR	+37.151	303
14	Max CROKER	GSXR	+37.551	309
15	Beau BEATON	V4R	+37.641	309
16	Brendan McINTYRE	GSXR	+58.850	293
17	Glenn SCOTT	ZX10R	+1m02.378	304
18	Matthew TOOLEY	YZF-R1	+1m06.633	291
19	Dean HASLERn	S RR	+1m08.886	294
20	Nathan SPITERI	GSXRR	+1m09.095	292
21	Evan BYLES	ZX10R	+1m09.189	293
22	Adam SENIOR	YZF-R1	+1m19.088	287
23	Aiden WAGNER	YZF-R1	+1m21.431	313
24	Dominic DE LEON	ZX10R	+1m27.938	291
25	Michael EDWARDS	YZF-R1M	+1m37.581	294
26	Hamish McMURRAY	ZX10RR	1 Lap	273

2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship Points

Pos	Name	Machine	Pole	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Wayne MAXWELL	Ducati V4R	1	25	25	25	76
2	Cru HALLIDAY	Yamaha		20	20	20	60
3	Josh WATERS	Suzuki		18	15	18	51
4	Bryan STARING	Kawasaki		17	17	15	49
5	Troy HERFOSS	Honda		16	16	16	48
6	Daniel FALZON	Yamaha		14	14	13	41
7	Arthur SISSIS	Suzuki		15	10	12	37
8	Mike JONES	Ducati			18	17	35
9	Jed METCHER	Suzuki		12	11	10	33
10	Glenn ALLERTON	BMW		5	12	14	31
11	Linden MAGEE	BMW		10	6	9	25
12	Matt WALTERS	Kawasaki			13	11	24
13	Max CROKER	Suzuki		9	7	7	23
14	Aiden WAGNER	Yamaha		13	9		22
15	Sloan FROST	Suzuki		8	5	8	21
16	Beau BEATON	Ducati		7	4	6	17
17	Glenn SCOTT	Kawasaki		4	8	4	16
18	Brendan McINTYRE	Suzuki		6	3	5	14
19	Josh HAYES	Yamaha		11			11
20	Matthew TOOLEY	Yamaha		1	1	3	5
21	Giuseppe SCARCELLA	Ducati		3	2		5
22	Dean HASLER	BMW		2		2	4
23	Nathan SPITERI	Suzuki				1	1

2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Manufactureres Points

Pos	Name	Pole	1	2	3	Total
1	Suzuki		68	51	61	180
2	Yamaha		59	44	36	139
3	Ducati	1	35	49	48	133
4	Kawasaki		21	38	30	89
5	BMW		17	18	25	60
6	Honda		16	16	16	48

Source: MCNews.com.au

ASBK Supersport Race Two

Images Rob Mott

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Oli Bayliss had broke through for his first Supersport win on Saturday morning in what was a close run affair. Bayliss scored the win from Toparis by a nose while Nic Liminton and Tom Edwards also crossed the line within the same second to make for a close finishing quartet.

The second ten-lap bout got underway a little behind schedule at 1730 Saturday afternoon.

Oli Bayliss scored the holeshot ahead of Toparis and that pair immediately started to build a lead over Nic Liminton and Jack Hyde.

Toparis moved through to the race lead and the Aussie Supersport Champion and young Oli Bayliss swapped the lead a multiple times over the next few laps.

Behind them Max Stauffer was making a great Supersport debut, recording a new fastest lap of the race to get the better of Edwards and Passfield before then stretching away from that pair a little as he tried to bed down that P3.

Passfield and Liminton though maintained the rage and closed back up on Stauffer to make for a tight tussle over third place,.

With four laps to run Toparis was trying to eke a small gap over Bayliss but the young Queenslander was not letting the Goulburn based champ get away from him.

At the last lap board Toparis led Bayliss by a bike length.  Five-seconds behind them that titanic tussle for P3 was still being waged between Passfield, Stauffer and Liminton.

Toparis held on to the chequered flag for victory from Bayliss but he had to put a 1m36.053 fastest lap of the race on the final circuit to get the better of Bayliss.

Max Stauffer the victor in that second battle for the final step on the rostrum.

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ASBK Supersport Race Two Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	Tom TOPARIS	YZF-R6	16m11.819	258
2	Oli BAYLISS	YZF-R6	+0.263	258
3	Max STAUFFER	YZF-R6	+5.675	267
4	Jack PASSFIELD	YZF-R6	+5.738	263
5	Nic LIMINTON	YZF-R6	+6.056	258
6	Jack HYDE	YZF-R6	+11.292	262
7	Tom EDWARDS	YZF-R6	+15.614	269
8	Ted COLLINS	GSXR	+18.001	264
9	Rhys BELLING	YZF-R6	+18.232	261
10	Broc PEARSON	YZF-R6	+18.328	261
11	Dallas SKEER	GSXR	+19.463	266
12	Aidan HAYES	YZF-R6	+19.619	265
13	Ty LYNCH	YZF-R6	+22.740	260
14	Luke MITCHELL	YZF-R6	+34.601	259
15	Ryan TAYLOR	YZF-R6	+36.418	262
16	Chris QUINN	YZF-R6	+43.139	258
17	Mitch KUHNE	YZF-R6	+45.140	263
18	Darren McGRATH	ZX6R	+1m05.380	255
19	Andrew EDSER	ZX6R	+1:05.985	261
20	Stephany J-JAMES	YZF-R6	+1m39.414	251
DNF	Patrick LI	YZF-R6	7 Laps	243
DNF	Brodie MALOUF	YZF-R6	10 Laps	207

ASBK Supersport Points

Pos	Name	Machine	Pole	R1	R2	Total
1	Oli BAYLISS	Yamaha	1	25	20	46
2	Tom TOPARIS	Yamaha		20	25	45
3	Nic LIMINTON	Yamaha		18	16	34
4	Max STAUFFER	Yamaha		15	18	33
5	Jack HYDE	Yamaha		16	15	31
6	Tom EDWARDS	Yamaha		17	14	31
7	Rhys BELLING	Yamaha		14	12	26
8	Ted COLLINS	Suzuki		12	13	25
9	Broc PEARSON	Yamaha		13	11	24
10	Dallas SKEER	Suzuki		10	10	20
11	Aidan HAYES	Yamaha		11	9	20
12	Jack PASSFIELD	Yamaha			17	17
13	Ty LYNCH	Yamaha		9	8	17
14	Luke MITCHELL	Yamaha		8	7	15
15	Ryan TAYLOR	Yamaha		7	6	13
16	Chris QUINN	Yamaha		6	5	11
17	Mitch KUHNE	Yamaha		3	4	7
18	Darren McGRATH	Kawasaki		4	3	7
19	Brodie MALOUF	Yamaha		5		5
20	Andrew EDSER	Kawasaki		2	2	4
21	Stephany KAPILAWI-JAMES	Yamaha		1	1	2

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship
Round One – Phillip Island
Superbike Race Two

By Trevor Hedge

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Wayne Maxwell (Boost Mobile Ducati) looked to have had to work for his victory in the opening 12-lap bout of the Australian Superbike Championship earlier today at Phillip Island, but his rivals were not so sure…

Just how much Maxwell had controlled the opening bout would be revealed on Saturday afternoon in the second of the three 12-lap encounters that make up round one of the 2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship.

ASBK riders formed up on the grid after witnessing Toprak Razgatlioglu win a breath-taking first WorldSBK race of season 2020. The WorldSBK race distance almost double that of the ASBK competition, and with the Pirelli runners in ASBK running the exact same rubber as the WorldSBK competitors, there should be no problems in regards to tyre longevity over only 12-laps.

This morning Dunlop’s Josh Waters (Suzuki) and Bryan Staring (Kawasaki) finished in third and fourth respectively, while the Michelin shod Penrite Honda of Herfoss took fifth. That suggests that nobody is enjoying any real significant advantage on the rubber front in these cool conditions at Phillip Island today. The track temperature though had crept up a few degrees since the morning bout, now registering 32.5-degrees.

Defending champion Mike Jones was all fired up ahead of this second encounter for the day, which for him was his first! The DesmoSport Ducati had a little fuel coming out of the over-flow line as he went to form up on the grid for race one which saw him have to pull off onto the grass and miss the start of the race. Jones and the Gold Coast based team gutted at seeing their rider having to start his title defence firmly on the back foot.

Aiden Wagner clashed with Glenn Allerton in the opening bout and thus both had their potential curtailed so it would be interesting to see what they could bring to the table this time around.

Cru Halliday was very strong in the first race and ran Maxwell closest, would he be able to get the better of the #47 this time around?

Josh Waters seemed almost genuinely surprised to be on the podium in the opening bout and that would have the Mildura based three-time champ full of confidence ahead of this second 12-lap distance. And a confident Josh Waters makes for a very strong Josh Waters…

Daniel Falzon is back in his South Australian family run outfit this year and looked strong enough this morning to challenge for a podium, should the cards fall his way.

Matt Walters was running inside the top six and looking strong until the chain failed on his Cessnock Kawasaki and robbed him of a strong start to the season in the opening race.

American Superbike legend Josh Hayes had some brake problems rob him of his potential in the first bout and was fired up ahead of this second contest…

Race Two is away!

Wayne Maxwell led the field into turn one ahead of Josh Waters, Cru Halliday and Troy Herfoss. Mike Jones fifth ahead of Bryan Staring, Glenn Allerton and Daniel Falzon.

Herfoss got stood up at MG Hairpin by Mike Jones as the Ducati man took fourth place. Bryan Staring then looked up the inside of Herfoss at turn one as they started lap two and relegated the Penrite Honda further back to sixth.

Josh Hayes went down and out of the race.

This time around Maxwell was making a break, a 1m32.677 on the next lap saw him pull a second out on the field.

Herfoss was now building speed, through on Staring and then Jones to move back up to fourth place. Then the Honda man went through on Waters to move up to third position and started pulling away from that group.

Maxwell was leading Halliday by a second, with Herfoss equidistant back in third but now being chased hard by Jones and Staring.

Herfoss, Jones and Staring three-wide heading towards turn one but coming out the other side it was Staring with his nose in front of that pack as they fought over P3.

Aiden Wagner was in 11th place and would also be subjected to a jump-start penalty to make for a difficult debut round for the YRT rider.

Cru Halliday had managed to chase down Wayne Maxwell and with eight laps to run was only a couple of lengths behind the Ducati.

The battle for third place was broadening… Joining Staring, Herfoss, Jones was once again Waters, while Daniel Falzon and Matt Walters were also now looking to join that party and make it a six-way tussle.

Up front Halliday was still keeping Maxwell honest and that pair were more than six-seconds ahead of that busy war being waged over third place with five laps still to run.

The action continued to be all in that battle for third place as they tussled over track position and placings at almost every turn. At the last lap board Jones was third and Herfoss fourth, all battling hard.

Halliday was right behind Maxwell on the final lap, shadowing the Ducati man throughout, right on his tail through Hayshed… Perhaps trying to line something up for Lukey Heights but the YRT man ran wide and his shot at victory was gone with that mistake.

Wayne Maxwell the winner to make it two-from-two, Halliday a strong second place while Jones took third by a nose from Staring and Herfoss.

That final battle for third place though unfolded ten-seconds behind that leading duo. That difference will be deeply concerning those riders ahead of tomorrow’s third and final 12-lap race of the ASBK Superbike weekend. That third bout scheduled to take place at 1030 on Sunday morning.

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Wayne Maxwell – P1

“The bike worked flawlessly again, it’s a full credit to everyone from Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech. The suspension, the balance, Pirelli with the tyre – without the support of all the partners that makes it hard to make it happen. This is just the reward for the hard work we’ve put in at the start of the year. I guess it depends on what we’re restricted by at the moment, because Motorcycling Australia won’t let us have an ECU to (get more out of the bike). At the moment we’re controlled by them, so I’m unsure. We’ve got a lot more to give but until we can get some updated parts, we can only race with the bike that we’ve got.”

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Cru Halliday – P2

“Mate that was absolutely everything (we had). I saw the gap happen between Josh and Wayne, to be honest, I know it was a decent sized gap but I didn’t want to panic because if I had panicked I would have over-rode the bike. I just slowly chipped away at him- usually it’s hard to lead a race so I just used Wayne as a mark and got to him. It’s probably easier closing the gap than actually passing because he’s a very good defensive rider and he’s a lot faster than me in the first part of the circuit. I did catch him in 1 but the rest he’s a lot quicker. I was going to go for a move around Lukey and MG but just pushed too hard- that’s what you’ve gotta do to try and get past him,

“He’s riding good, looks like the Ducati’s working well for him. But what can I say about my R1? This thing’s a hoot to ride, this 2020 model and I can’t thank the team enough. I’m really enjoying riding Phillip Island for the first time ever because I’ve got a package that really works for this track and works for me. If you don’t have a package under you that flows around here, this place can be a nightmare. I’m glad that we’ve got the right setup and we’re pointing in the right direction and I’m looking forward to the third race.

“To be honest I didn’t change one thing on the bike then, and I’m not going to change anything on the bike for tomorrow. You can see by the results we are up there, it’s just a matter of getting past him- that’s a whole other story. I’ll go home and think about it, but everyone can be beat.

“The (Ducati V4) is a lot faster, but hey, I’m not one to complain about power. With racing you get the lucky draw sometimes. They come out with a fast bike and Wayne’s team got on that bike this year, good luck to him, he gets that advantage. My bike has come out with a lot more power than last year’s model and I’m pumped with that. Not as fast as the Ducati but I think we’ve got some better aspects on the R1 than the Ducati. I think our bike handles a lot better than that, but time will tell. It’s only Race 2 of round 1, we’ve got Wakefield Park and the tighter tracks coming up. It looks like around the back here I’m faster than Wayne so we’ll see what happens. He could come out swinging in the next one and smoke us all and prove me wrong, so…”

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Mike Jones – P3

“At the start of Race 1 I pulled up onto the grid for the race start, and the marshals seemed to think that there was a possible leak on the bike, some sort of fluid leak, and told me I couldn’t start the race. It wasn’t til afterwards that we realised that there was no leak from the motorbike, but regardless we weren’t able to start the race and we weren’t able to get any points from it, so that was quite a disappointment. But in saying that our full focus was on the next race and trying to maximise ourselves in that one.

“Coming back in Race 2 made a reasonably good start, progressed my way up a few positions, and overall had a really solid battle and finished in third position, so it was quite an exciting race.

“The V4R is actually quite a rider-friendly bike to first get on, and that’s quite confidence-inspiring, to jump on something that feels good straightaway, it’s a race-bred machine. In terms of pushing the bike to the complete limit and getting the most out of it, we’re not quite there yet. But it won’t be long and we’ll be there. It’ll just be a matter of track time and setup with the motorbike. Just finding the right setting that works well for me and my riding style, and of course just adapting myself to that bike- it’s a completely different motorcycle to the bike that I rode last year.”

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2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship
Round One – Phillip Island
Superbike Race Two Results

Pos	Name	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	Wayne MAXWELL	V4R	18m42.496	301
2	Cru HALLIDAY	YZF-R1	+1.178	303
3	Mike JONES	V4R	+10.087	301
4	Bryan STARING	ZX10R	+10.133	301
5	Troy HERFOSS	CBR RR	+10.175	303
6	Josh WATERS	GSXRR	+10.319	300
7	Daniel FALZON	YZF-R1	+10.724	307
8	Matt WALTERS	ZX10RR	+13.789	310
9	Glenn ALLERTON	S1K RR	+22.095	306
10	Jed METCHER	GSXRR	+22.145	301
11	Arthur SISSIS	GSXRR	+22.275	306
12	Aiden WAGNER	YZF-R1*	+29.815	306
13	Glenn SCOTT	ZX10R	+37.854	303
14	Max CROKER	GSXR	+38.105	303
15	Linden MAGEE	S1K RR	+38.458	295
16	Sloan FROST	GSXR	+38.672	298
17	Beau BEATON	V4R	+46.199	303
18	Brendan McINTYRE	GSXR	+56.295	285
19	Giuseppe SCARCELLA	1199	+1m05.829	292
20	Matthew TOOLEY	YZF-R1	+1m08.587	280
21	Dean HASLER	S RR	+1m13.984	284
22	Dominic DE LEON	ZX10R	+1m14.237	287
23	Nathan SPITERI	GSXRR	+1m14.734	284
24	Evan BYLES	ZX10R	+1m15.183	285
25	Adam SENIOR	YZF-R1	+1m27.301	278
26	Hamish McMURRA	ZX10RR	+1 Lap	268
27	Michael EDWARDS	YZF-R1M	+1 Lap	290
DNF	Josh HAYES	YZF-R1	11 Laps	298

*(With ten second penalty)

2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship Points

Pos	Name	Bike	Pole	R1	R2	Total
1	Wayne MAXWELL	Ducati V4R	1	25	25	51
2	Cru HALLIDAY	Yamaha		20	20	40
3	Bryan STARING	Kawasaki		17	17	34
4	Josh WATERS	Suzuki		18	15	33
5	Troy HERFOSS	Honda		16	16	32
6	Daniel FALZON	Yamaha		14	14	28
7	Arthur SISSIS	Suzuki		15	10	25
8	Jed METCHER	Suzuki		12	11	23
9	Aiden WAGNER	Yamaha		13	9	22
10	Mike JONES	Ducati			18	18
11	Glenn ALLERTON	BMW		5	12	17
12	Max CROKER	Suzuki		9	7	16
13	Linden MAGEE	BMW		10	6	16
14	Matt WALTERS	Kawasaki			13	13
15	Sloan FROST	Suzuki		8	5	13
16	Glenn SCOTT	Kawasaki		4	8	12
17	Beau BEATON	Ducati		7	4	11
18	Josh HAYES	Yamaha		11		11
19	Brendan McINTYRE	Suzuki		6	3	9
20	Giuseppe SCARCELLA	Ducati		3	2	5
21	Matthew TOOLEY	Yamaha		1	1	2
22	Dean HASLER	BMW		2		2

2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Manufacturer Points

Pos	Name	Pole	R1	2	Total
1	Suzuki		68	51	119
2	Yamaha		59	44	103
3	Ducati	1	35	49	85
4	Kawasaki		21	38	59
5	BMW		17	18	35
6	Honda		16	16	32

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship
Round One – Phillip Island
Superbike Race One

By Trevor Hedge

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Wayne Maxwell had dominated pre-season testing and did the same here during qualifying to earn pole position for today’s opening round of the 2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship.

Wayne Maxwell on pole – Image by Rob Mott

Next to him on the front row was Cru Halliday and Josh Waters while Glenn Allerton headed the second row alongside Troy Herfoss and Mikes Jones.

The riders formed up on the grid in front of a quite reasonable and still building World Superbike crowd under skies that were a little overcast but did not look as though they would threaten rain. Famous last words and all that…

Mike Jones though failed to form up on the grid..The DesmoSport Ducati was on the grass with fluid escaping from the defending champion’s V4R.. His race over before it begun… When inspected after the race had started it looked as though it was actually a false alarm and the Ducati had been ready to race…

Josh Waters had the best clutch hand off the line and held his line heading towards one with Wayne Maxwell right behind him. Bryan Staring had started well and was up to third.

ASBK Race One gets underway at P.I. – TBG Image

Halliday up the inside of Staring to take third place at turn four but the Kawasaki man got him straight back. Herfoss was then up to fourth and ahead of Halliday, while Maxwell got the better of Waters to take the lead late on the opening lap.

Maxwell leads Waters and a busy ASBK Superbike pack – Image by Rob Mott

Cru Halliday stole fourth place back from Herfoss as they started lap two, the two swapping elbows and paint as they tussled for position at almost every turn.

Maxwell was still leading from Waters but he was not breaking away. Herfoss was up to third and then took second place from Waters as the Penrite Honda man put his head down to try and prevent Maxwell from breaking away.

Halliday then moved up to third place, relegating Waters back to fourth. The fastest man on track though was Aiden Wagner, the YRT man had started from the fifth row but a 1m32.290 on lap three had helped push him up to seventh position behind Glenn Allerton. Only two-seconds covered that top seven with nine-laps to run.

Maxwell leads Halliday and Waters – Image by Rob Mott

Herfoss through to the lead at Siberia! There is life in the old Fireblade yet!

The pack then tightened up even further. Herfoss leading Maxwell, Halliday, Waters, Staring, Allerton and Wagner the leading protagonists.

Maxwell used the power of the Ducati and a great run through turn 12 to move back through to the race lead. Halliday then pushed Herfoss back to third place.

Maxwell leads Halliday, Herfoss and Waters – Image by Rob Mott

Glenn Allerton and Aiden Wagner had a coming together and it was the BMW that came off worse with Allerton losing a number of positions. Wagner also lost some ground and the leading group was now down to five…

Herfoss very wide at turn one, perhaps a false neutral… Slipping back to fourth place with seven laps to run. He did very well to gather it up and not run off the circuit but the mistake did lose him plenty of time and his chance to fight for the win…

Maxwell leading Halliday – Image by Rob Mott

Cru Halliday was all over Wayne Maxwell around the back of the circuit but could not put a pass on the Ducati. Josh Waters had closed right up on the pair before a big slide through the Hayshed cost the Suzuki man some time.

Maxwell had a glance over his shoulder at MG Hairpin to look at Halliday. It was now down to this two and Josh Waters as Bryan Staring had started to lose touch with that trio. Herfoss had lost a number of positions, the Honda was down to eighth place behind Arthur Sissis, Daniel Falzon and Matt Walters.

Who would have enough tyre left to claim the win….

The top riders were still running mid 1m32s and torturing their rear tyres at that pace.

With three laps to go Josh Waters was now starting to struggle to match the late race pace of Maxwell and Halliday. Could the YRT man have the set-up and throttle hand to triumph over Maxwell and the Ducati…?

Halliday looked great around the back of the circuit and on corner entry but the combination of Maxwell and the Ducati through turns 11 and 12 looked almost unbeatable.

Matt Walters was running an absolutely brilliant fifth place on the Kawasaki but then he snapped a chain with two laps to go in a shocking blow for the Cessnock privateer.

Last lap board and Maxwell led Halliday by three-tenths but Halliday again closed in the corners. Maxwell a small mistake at turn one gave Halliday a sniff… Lapped traffic was also going to be a factor..

Halliday’s chance gone at turn four after getting baulked by lapped traffic. The YRT man playing it safe and the long game as he knew he had second wrapped up and was not wanting to gamble that 20 points away.

Maxwell the victor, his first race on the Ducati a great success. Wayne said after the race that he had controlled it from the front and always had it in hand. Some of Maxwell’s competitors are of the same opinion. From their close quarters combat hot seat some expressed thoughts that Maxwell was doing it easy on the Ducati, despite it not looking quite that simple from the sidelines. Wayne laid the boot in via his post race comments to further try and demoralise his competititors, the mental game on in earnest…

Halliday a strong fighting second place and Josh Waters proving the pace of his new privateer team with a highly creditable podium.

Waters stoked with his start to the season and finishing as the top Dunlop runner.

ASBK Race One Podium – Image Rob Mott

Bryan Staring was seven-seconds behind the race winner in fourth place but with ten-seconds over the Michelin shod Herfoss. The Penrite Honda man had got the better of Sissis, Falzon and Wagner to claim a fighting fifth place finish at the flag.

The second 12-lap bout of the weekend is scheduled to get underway at 1615 while the third and final contest is slated for 1030 on Sunday morning.

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Wayne Maxwell – P1

“An awesome package, the bike was flawless and to get the first win for the V4R in Australia just shows how good the bike is.

“Behind the scenes Craig, endless hours to prepare an immaculate bike, we’ve seen the other Ducati stop and they’re the factory team so it shows you’ve got to know what you’re doing with the Ducati.

Wayne Maxwell congratuled by his family – Image by Rob Mott

“To Adrian that engineered the bike to make sure the chassis was good, massive thanks to him.

Wayne Maxwell congratulated by long time supporter Steve Thibou – Image by Rob Mott

“I was concentrating on not making mistakes, we’re having a few issues with back-shifting because we can’t change the electronics at all as yet, so when the tyre got warm it was spinning harder and the bike thought I was going to over-rev it so it wouldn’t let me shift gears. It’s a bit of a nightmare, so it’s something that we’re going to have to work on.”

Wayne with Adrian Monti – Image Rob Mott

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Cru Halliday – P2

“When this place works for you it works really well, and when you don’t really have a good set-up it’s the worst place on earth. I think we’ve got a good package under us so that’s why I’m having fun with it.

“I think I used a lot of energy just to get back onto (Wayne), I was pushing the front a lot going through turn one cause I had a fair bit of corner speed on Wayne through there.

“There was some times there where he’d gap me and I’d force the issue to catch back up, which used a lot of tyre and then it would happen again the next lap, like a see-saw.

“He rode well too, didn’t make many mistakes I think he just made one little bobble out of Honda there, but at that time I was a bit back in the pack so I had other issues to take care of!

“This new 2020 Yamaha is feeling good under my feet so we’re looking forward to the next one.”

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Josh Waters – P3

“Little bit shocked, extremely happy! It was a difficult race, I got a little bit tired at the end so that was my fault, but I haven’t been able to put in the effort that I think my other competitors have in the lead up. But no excuse, everyone was in the same race. A huge thanks to everyone who believed in me and the guys that are supporting me.

“I was happy riding around thinking “how cool is this!”, so it’s good to enjoy it again. I’ve got a small team but a good little team. We made an improvement from yesterday and we’ll keep trying to make it better.”

Troy Herfoss – P5

“I made a mistake and went off the track, and I really get angry when I make mistakes. I hit a false neutral into turn 1 and I lost the group a little bit, and again into Turn 2 I hit a false neutral and went off the track. From that point you’re not in the race.

“What did I learn from the race? I learnt that Wayne’s not the man to beat. When you’re one-second faster than anyone and then you can’t drop anyone in the race, that’s not winning. It looked like he had to really work for that race, and what I saw of Wayne was a really conservative rider.

“I don’t compare myself to the Ducati V4 R, I compare myself to myself and in general, I feel really good on the bike. The intensity I can ride at, I know, is good enough to win.”

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2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship
Round One – Phillip Island
Superbike Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	Wayne MAXWELL	V4R	18m40.847	305
2	Cru HALLIDAY	YZF-R1	+0.848	308
3	Josh WATERS	GSXRR	+2.889	304
4	Bryan STARING	ZX10R	+7.547	303
5	Troy HERFOSS	CBR RR	+17.010	300
6	Arthur SISSIS	GSXRR	+17.263	305
7	Daniel FALZON	YZF-R1	+17.397	309
8	Aiden WAGNER	YZF-R1	+17.485	308
9	Jed METCHER	GSXRR	+25.268	303
10	Josh HAYES	YZF-R1	+27.142	300
11	Linden MAGEE	S1K RR	+39.697	298
12	Max CROKE	GSXR	+39.736	301
13	Sloan FROST	GSXR	+46.159	302
14	Beau BEATON	V4R	+49.072	300
15	Brendan McINTYRE	GSXR	+52.902	289
16	Glenn ALLERTON	S1K RR	+56.395	314
17	Glenn SCOTT	ZX10R	+56.894	300
18	Giuseppe SCARCELLA	1199	+57.679	293
19	Dean HASLER	S1K RR	+1m04.432	289
20	Matthew TOOLEY	YZF-R1	+1m10.792	287
21	Nathan SPITER	GSXRR	+1m11.358	287
22	Dominic DE LEON	ZX10R	+1m12.224	290
23	Evan BYLES	ZX10R	+1m12.994	289
24	Adam SENIOR	YZF-R1	+1m26.253	276
25	Michael EDWARDS	YZF-R1M	+1 Lap	286
DNF	Matt WALTERS	ZX10RR	3 Laps	317
DNF	Hamish McMURRAY	ZX10RR	4 Laps	265

Source: MCNews.com.au

ASBK Supersport Race One

With Chris Plumridge & TH – Images Rob Mott

“Oliver Bayliss get over here and hug your mother!”

“Oliver Bayliss get over here and hug your mother!”

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Those were the words issued with strident purpose and obvious joy as Oli’s mother Kim arrived alongisde Parc Ferme and demanded the attention of her son after he had just broken through for his maiden victory in the opening 10-lap Australian Supersport race of the weekend here at Phillip Island this morning.

Bayliss claimed the victory in a last-lap dash to the line with 2019 Champion Tom Toparis (Benro Racing Yamaha), in what is a huge weekend for the youngster combining ASBK with his World Supersport Wild Card appearance.

Oli Bayliss

“It was really good. We got pole yesterday and we won that race just then. Hopefully the championhip can go on from there. It was a hard race and everyone was struggling for rear grip, so that just made it a little bit more interesting. Getting a win is always good, now we have Timed Practice for World Supersport, so hopefully we can go on from there. On the last lap (Toparis) pulled a few tenths on me and then he made a mistake out of turn 11, and I just got him at the line, so it was a good race. I only saw Jack and Tom, and I know Tom was going to do something on the last few laps, and I sort of knew where he could pass me and I used that to my advantage.”

Oli Bayliss

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Bayliss started from his first ever Australian Supersport pole position, a great start to what is a busy weekend for the teenager.

Australian Supersport Race One

Toparis had re-emerged this morning after a nasty high-side in qualifying yesterday, reporting overnight that his foot got caught in the chain and he was lucky not to be seriously hurt.

Aussie Supersport opener gets underway early on Saturday morning at Phillip Island

Fortunately Toparis received only minor injuries and took his place in second on the grid alongside Bayliss on pole, and Jack Passfield (Stay Upright Yamaha) in third.

Supersport riders negotiate turn one as the race gets underway

It was a great start for Bayliss to convert his pole position into a hole-shot into Turn 1. Passfield was looking to come up the inside into Honda corner, despite Oli having issues running wide through Siberia he managed to hold onto the lead.

Toparis had fallen back to fourth position but the top five was Bayliss, Passfield, Jack Hyde(SSS Developments Yamaha), Toparis and Nic Liminton (Yamaha), with a two-tenths gap back to Tom Edwards (Bikebiz Yamaha).

Passfield was now having multiple looks at Bayliss through Turns 3 and 4, with Toparis getting past Hyde through Siberia, and Liminton not going away.

A hectic start to the Aussie Supersport opening race at P.I. on Saturday morning

Down the main straight Passfield was able to move out of Bayliss’ slipstream to have another crack at the lead and this time made it stick. He would lead on lap 3, Bayliss back to second and Toparis in third. The leading trio now had a small gap back to Hyde in fourth, with Liminton and Edwards next, and another gap back to Max Stauffer who was having a great run in his first ASSP appearance in seventh.

Passfield leads a tight group of Aussie Supersport riders at turn four

Bayliss and Passfield started trading the lead between themselves with Toparis sitting behind, and in the second group Jack Hyde tried to make a move up the inside of Liminton who was forced wide.

Toparis made a huge move on lap six to try for second around the outside at Stoner Corner to set the move up at Turn 4, but couldn’t make it stick. Bayliss ran wide at Siberia again but managed to maintain the lead, not for long though as Passfield was back through down the main straight. The lead group of three was now a second ahead of the second group and were free to fight for the win amongst themselves.

Bayliss leads Passfield and Toparis

Suddenly Jack Passfield was tumbling down the timing screens, crashed at Turn 6, a devastating result for Passfield who has shown great speed this weekend.

Toparis made his move at Turn 1 on lap 9, finally claiming the lead. Bayliss was not going away though.

Toparis through on Bayliss

With one to go Toparis was still in front, Bayliss close behind and Liminton third. Edwards behind him and then Hyde having rejoined ahead of Stauffer.

Bayliss had a look up the inside into Turn 1 on the final lap but couldn’t make it stick.

Nic Liminton had taken advantage of the scrap and had now closed in, looking to launch a sneak attack from third, taking Edwards and Hyde with him.

As they raced towards the chequered flag they were side by side and over the line it was Bayliss by a hair to take his first Australian Supersport victory.

Bayliss the victor from Toparis and Liminton

Race 2 for Motorsports TV Australian Supersport is this afternoon at 1715, as part of the Yamaha Finance Round of the 2020 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship weekend at Phillip Island.

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ASBK Supersport Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	Oli BAYLISS	YZF-R6	16m13.415	269
2	Tom TOPARIS	YZF-R6	+0.037	273
3	Nic LIMINTON	YZF-R6	+0.708	267
4	Tom EDWARDS	YZF-R6	+0.976	274
5	Jack HYDE	YZF-R6	+1.526	267
6	Max STAUFFER	YZF-R6	+7.291	273
7	Rhys BELLING	YZF-R6	+10.169	271
8	Broc PEARSON	YZF-R6	+14.439	270
9	Ted COLLINS	GSXR	+14.518	265
10	Aidan HAYES	YZF-R6	+15.268	267
11	Dallas SKEER	GSXR	+15.335	272
12	Ty LYNCH	YZF-R6	+21.836	267
13	Luke MITCHELL	YZF-R6	+28.472	268
14	Ryan TAYLOR	YZF-R6	+28.646	268
15	Chris QUINN	YZF-R6	+28.691	271
16	Brodie MALOUF	YZF-R6	+48.342	269
17	Darren McGRATH	YZF-R6	+53.213	258
18	Mitch KUHNE	YZF-R6	+55.818	262
19	Andrew EDSER	ZX6R	+1m03.725	265
20	Stephany K JAMES	YZF-R6	+1m19.552	262
DNF	Jack PASSFIELD	YZF-R6	3 Laps	265
DNF	Patrick LI	YZF-R6	4 Laps	256

Source: MCNews.com.au