2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike
Round Two – Wakefield Park
It had been a fairly relaxed atmosphere at Wakefield Park over the last two days but you could feel the tension start to ratchet up a little this morning as riders prepared for morning warm-up and teams tested some last minute tweaks. Some headed out to get some seat time on their spare bikes to ensure they are comfortable should they have to switch for any reason throughout the day.
The times were unusually quick in warm-up, both Maxwell and Herfoss running 57.2s, faster than they had managed during practice or qualifying. The lower track temperatures this morning perhaps a factor, but the pace was hot and the two were on track together, nose to tail at time, some head games being played and scenes being set…
Mike Jones also went quicker in warm-up than he had all weekend, a 57.58 to the DesmoSport Ducati man to clearly send a signal that he is still in this game and will not relinquish his title without a fight.
Cru Halliday and Aiden Wagner were also in the 57s this morning. Halliday was very strong at the season opener and is the qualifying lap record holder here in both Superbike and Supersport, so he certainly can’t be discounted.
The likes of Glenn Allerton, Bryan Staring and Josh Waters all are eminently qualified to also be in that mix. Between them, that trio have seven of the last twelve Australian Superbike Championship Titles… Fair pedigree there you might say… In fact, every ASBK Superbike Champion since 2008 is on the grid here today..
We saw the race lap record repeatedly smashed in the Supersport bout, would we see the same in Superbike?
Kawasaki Superbike Warm-up
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | Wayne MAXWELL | Ducati V4R | 57.263 |
2 | Troy HERFOSS | Honda CBR | +0.020 |
3 | Mike JONES | Ducati V4R | +0.318 |
4 | Cru HALLIDAY | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +0.387 |
5 | Aiden WAGNER | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +0.448 |
6 | Glenn ALLERTON | BMW S RR | +0.815 |
7 | Bryan STARING | Kawasaki ZX10R | +1.173 |
8 | Josh WATERS | Suzuki GSXRR | +1.325 |
9 | Arthur SISSIS | Suzuki GSXRR | +1.577 |
10 | Lachlan EPIS | Suzuki GSXRR | +1.754 |
11 | Jed METCHER | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +2.461 |
12 | Glenn SCOTT | Kawasaki ZX10R | +2.512 |
13 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha R1 | +3.221 |
14 | Chandler COOPER | Honda CBR | +3.798 |
15 | Giuseppe SCARCELLA | Ducati Panigale | +4.251 |
16 | Brendan McINTYRE | Suzuki GSXRR | +4.254 |
17 | Michael EDWARDS | Yamaah YZF-R1M | +4.390 |
18 | Nathan SPITERI | Suzuki GSXRR | +4.443 |
Kawasaki Superbike Race One
Troy Herfoss scored the holeshot and immediately pulled a couple of bike lengths on arch nemesis Wayne Maxwell while Glenn Allerton and Bryan Staring were right in there also.
Herfoss ran wide in the final turn at the end of lap one which allowed Maxwell to move through to the lead, the first mistake for the race is made by Herfoss. The Penrite Honda though was all over Maxwell and looked to have so much more speed. Allerton was right there also as that leading trio started to break away a little from Staring, Halliday, Jones, Waters and Wagner.
Herfoss was showing Maxwell a wheel here and there and looked to have superior drive but Maxwell had enough front end confidence to hold him at bay on corner entry. Still, it looked clear that Herfoss had more pace.
13 laps to run and Herfoss all over Maxwell while Allerton ran a little deep into turn one which saw him lose touch with that duo. Herfoss up the inside of Maxwell to take the lead, Maxwell gets him back at the next turn, Herfoss gets the lead back again at the next turn… It was on!
Maxwell up the inside again, that dust-up allowing Allerton to close right back on their tails. Herfoss doesn’t look quite as stable under brakes as Maxwell. A 57.389 to Allerton for a new fastest lap of the race and a new race lap record.
Cru Halliday ran wide and was forced to relinquish fourth place to Mike Jones and Bryan Staring also swept through to push Halliday back to sixth place just ahead of his YRT team-mate Aiden Wagner.
Herfoss led across the stripe with ten laps to run as both himself and Maxwell stretched away from Allerton once again. Staring was two-seconds behind Allerton and still had Mike Jones for company.
Wayne Maxwell then sat in behind Herfoss and did not challenge for the lead for the ensuing laps. Maxwell had gone into this race with a significant 27-point buffer over Herfoss. Thus the Boost Ducati rider only needs to follow Herfoss home in all four races this weekend and he would still be crowned champion. The smarter move indeed if not able to match Herfoss for outright pace to sit in behind and try and force the Penrite Honda into a mistake…
The battle for fourth place really started to hot up with four laps to run, the protagonists Staring, Jones and Halliday while Wagner was within striking distance also. Jones and Staring dusting each other up at every opportunity.
Last lap board and Herfoss led Maxwell by six-tenths while Allerton was a further six-second behind in third place. Nothing changed in that equation across the final lap, Herfoss taking the first blood from Maxwell and Allerton on the podium.
Bryan Staring won the tussle for fourth place as Cru Halliday got the better of Aiden Wagner who pushed Mike Jones back to seventh on the run to the line.
Wayne Maxwell retains the series lead, his buffer over Cru Halliday now 20-points, while Herfoss moved up to third place in the standings, 22-points behind Maxwell. 76-points still up for grabs this weekend so still completely wide open… But Herfoss won head game number one….
Race two is scheduled for 1415 this afternoon and rain is on the way…. Forecasts predict a 90 per cent chance of 10-20 mm of rain later today. The precipitation is predicted to start around 1500, thus we might just beat the storm, or we might not…. Â
Kawasaki Superbike Race One Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | Troy HERFOSS | Honda CBR | 17m23.104 |
2 | Wayne MAXWELL | Ducati V4R | +0.728 |
3 | Glenn ALLERTON | BMW S RR | +7.397 |
4 | Bryan STARING | Kawasaki ZX10R | +10.877 |
5 | Cru HALLIDAY | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +11.117 |
6 | Aiden WAGNER | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +11.282 |
7 | Mike JONES | Ducati V4R | +11.534 |
8 | Josh WATERS | Suzuki GSXRR | +22.167 |
9 | Arthur SISSIS | Suzuki GSXRR | +24.464 |
10 | Jed METCHER | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +31.164 |
11 | Glenn SCOTT | Kawasaki ZX10R | +32.647 |
12 | Lachlan EPIS | Suzuki GSXRR | +46.384 |
13 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha R1 | +46.565 |
14 | Brendan McINTYRE | Suzuki GSXRR | +52.847 |
15 | Chandler COOPER | Honda CBR | +1 Lap |
16 | Michael EDWARDS | Yamaah YZF-R1M | +2 Laps |
17 | Nathan SPITERI | Suzuki GSXRR | Retired |
18 | Giuseppe SCARCELLA | Ducati Panigale | Retired |
Kawasaki Superbike Championship Points Standings
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Wayne MAXWELL | 96 |
2 | Cru HALLIDAY | 76 |
3 | Troy HERFOSS | 74 |
4 | Bryan STARING | 66 |
5 | Josh WATERS | 64 |
6 | Glenn ALLERTON | 49 |
7 | Mike JONES | 49 |
8 | Arthur SISSIS | 49 |
9 | Jed METCHER | 44 |
10 | Daniel FALZON | 41 |
11 | Aiden WAGNER | 37 |
12 | Glenn SCOTT | 26 |
13 | Linden MAGEE | 25 |
14 | Matt WALTERS | 24 |
15 | Max CROKER | 23 |
16 | Brendan McINTYRE | 21 |
17 | Sloan FROST | 21 |
18 | Beau BEATON | 17 |
19 | Josh HAYES | 11 |
20 | Lachlan EPIS | 9 |
21 | Luke JHONSTON | 8 |
22 | Chandler COOPER | 6 |
23 | Michael EDWARDS | 5 |
24 | Giuseppe SCARCELLA | 5 |
25 | Matthew TOOLEY | 5 |
26 | Dean HASLER | 4 |
27 | Nathan SPITERI | 1 |