ASBK 2023
Round Five – Morgan Park Raceway
Free Practice Two
The quickest out of the blocks in the FP1 session this morning had been Troy Herfoss and Mike Jones, followed by Broc Pearson and Anthony West. Even the fastest time though was more than a second away from the qualifying lap record, set here last year by Wayne Maxwell at 1m12.562s. That gap was always going to narrow this afternoon.
As I walked through the pits ahead of this second 35-minute practice session almost every Superbike had a revalved or resprung shock going in, or new forks springs, and sometimes both ends were being changed. It is no secret that Morgan Park Raceway is overdue for a resurfacing, and every single rider and team are spending a lot of time and effort to try and set-up their motorcycle to remain supple over the bumps.
Those with the most recent and extensive track knowledge are also tweaking their cornering lines to avoid the worst of the ripples in the tarmac.
Josh Waters just wants to cut laps as he didn’t race here last year and has less recent circuit knowledge than most. Bryan Staring was in a somewhat similar situation and also looking to tune the MotoGO Yamaha to ride the bumps much better.
While the general consensus is that the Phillip Island spec’ Pirelli rear will be the primary choice for the two 16-lap bouts on Sunday, many riders were also using this session to evaluate other options. The track temperature on race day will be the final metric they will measure their decisions against, with the softer option being ruled out if the track temperature is cool. The opening bout is slated for 1125 on Sunday morning with the second contest scheduled for 1505, thus the track temperature is likely to be quite different from the morning compared to the afternoon. While we are just nudging 20-degrees here for FP2 today at 1315, conditions are likely to be a few degrees warmer when qualifying takes place tomorrow at 1535. The current forecast for Sunday are for tops in the low-mid 20s.
As riders rolled out of pitlane for the penultimate 35-minute practice session the track temperature had just passed 35-degrees, but clearly some parts of the circuit were warmer than others. Competitors wasted no time and were all on track as soon as the session got underway, Mike Jones the last rider to join the circuit.
Mike Jones bested his morning marker of 1m13.511 on his third lap, dropping in a 1m13.454, before then reeling off a 1m12.880 to send a shot across the bows of his competitors.
The DesmoSport Ducati squad have been trying a more modern European approach to bike set-up this season, softer in the front and higher in the rear than what ASBK competitors have traditionally run. They have pegged that back a little today, treading the middle ground between the two somewhat, the changed approach looks to be reaping dividends. Pearson was the second rider of the day to dip into the 12s, a 1m12.929 on his seventh lap, 15-minutes into the session, evidence that progress is being made.
Cru Halliday then came from nowhere to join the 12s club with a 1m12.967 to go P3 with 15-minutes to run.
With ten minutes remaining in FP2 it was still Jones, Pearson, Halliday, with that triumvirate the only riders in the 12s. That situation remained the same five-minutes later but then Herfoss leapfrogged them all with a 1m12.801 on his 17th lap of the session to go P1. Prior to that the Penrite Honda man had put in plenty of low 1m13s to underline his potential. That marker stood right through to the chequered flag, Herf’ topping the session ahead of Jones, Pearson and Halliday.
Much of the rest of the field made good strides forward in this session. Josh Waters improving by more than a second. Glenn Allerton was testing different tyres in this session but like Bryan Staring and Arthur Sissis also made strides forward. Anthony West improved slightly after what had been a strong start to the day in FP1.
Max Stauffer and Ted Collins have much speed to find as they are somewhat behind the eight-ball, two-seconds off the front runners pace, so that pair will be expecting to make significant progress this afternoon.
Riders have one more crack at it today, a 35-minute FP3 session scheduled to get underway at 1555.
Morgan Park Superbike FP2 Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | Troy HERFOSS | Honda CBR RR | 1m12.801 |
2 | Mike JONES | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +0.079 |
3 | Broc PEARSON | Ducati P-gale V4R | +0.128 |
4 | Cru HALLIDAY | Yamaha YZF-R1M | +0.166 |
5 | Josh WATERS | Ducati P-gale V4R | +0.368 |
6 | Glenn ALLERTON | BMW M RR | +0.795 |
7 | Anthony WEST | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +0.831 |
8 | Bryan STARING | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +1.088 |
9 | Arthur SISSIS | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +1.164 |
10 | Max STAUFFER | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +1.954 |
11 | Ted COLLINS | BMW M RR | +2.097 |
12 | Scott ALLARS | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +4.009 |
13 | Eddie LEESON | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +5.012 |
14 | Joshua SODERLAND | Ducati P-gale V4R | +5.287 |
15 | Michael EDWARDS | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +5.658 |
16 | Paris HARDWICK | Kawasaki ZX10R | +6.096 |
17 | Michael KEMP | Yamaha YZF-R1 | +8.514 |
Superbike Championship Points
Pos | RIder | Bike | Points |
1 | Josh WATERS | Ducati | 220 |
2 | Troy HERFOSS | Honda | 212 |
3 | Mike JONES | Yamaha | 161 |
4 | Glenn ALLERTON | BMW | 160 |
5 | Cru HALLIDAY | Yamaha | 145 |
6 | Bryan STARING | Yamaha | 130 |
7 | Ted COLLINS | BMW | 129 |
8 | Broc PEARSON | Ducati | 122 |
9 | Arthur SISSIS | Yamaha | 113 |
10 | Max STAUFFER | Yamaha | 106 |
11 | Matt WALTERS | Aprilia | 99 |
12 | Paris HARDWICK | Kawasaki | 70 |
13 | Anthony WEST | Yamaha | 68 |
14 | Scott ALLARS | Yamaha | 62 |
15 | Michael KEMP | Yamaha | 60 |
16 | Jack DAVIS | Suzuki | 41 |
17 | Michael EDWARDS | Yamaha | 19 |
18 | Eddie LEESON | Yamaha | 19 |
19 | Mark CHIODO | Honda | 16 |
20 | Josh SODERLAND | Ducati | 15 |
21 | Dominic DE LEON | Kawasaki | 13 |
22 | Nicholas MARSH | Yamaha | 12 |
23 | Albert BAKER | Yamaha | 12 |
24 | Leanne NELSON | Kawasaki | 4 |
Morgan Park Supersport FP2 Times
John Lytras continued to set the pace as the temperatures rose just after lunch at Morgan Park but Scott Nicholson closed the gap.
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | John LYTRAS | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1m15.623 |
2 | Scott NICHOLSON | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.174 |
3 | Ty LYNCH | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.407 |
4 | Hayden NELSON | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.425 |
5 | Olly SIMPSON | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.547 |
6 | Cameron DUNKER | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.578 |
7 | Dallas SKEER | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.721 |
8 | Glenn NELSON | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.922 |
9 | Tom BRAMICH | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +0.965 |
10 | Jonathan NAHLOUS | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +1.310 |
11 | Jack PASSFIELD | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +1.584 |
12 | Jake FARNSWORTH | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +1.691 |
13 | Jack FAVELLE | Honda CBR RR | +1.746 |
14 | Luca DURNING | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +2.344 |
15 | Declan CARBERRY | Suzuaki GSX-R | +2.687 |
16 | Ben BAKER | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +3.204 |
17 | Tarbon WALKER | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +3.306 |
18 | Reece OUGHTRED | Yamaha YZF-R6 | +3.628 |
Supersport Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Bike | Total |
1 | Olly SIMPSON | Yamaha | 119 |
2 | Ty LYNCH | Yamaha | 116 |
3 | Cameron DUNKER | Yamaha | 109 |
4 | Jack PASSFIELD | Yamaha | 92 |
5 | Tom BRAMICH | Yamaha | 86 |
6 | Scott NICHOLSON | Yamaha | 84 |
7 | John LYTRAS | Yamaha | 84 |
8 | Hayden NELSON | Yamaha | 83 |
9 | Dallas SKEER | Yamaha | 82 |
10 | Sean CONDON | Yamaha | 70 |
11 | Jack FAVELLE | Honda | 53 |
12 | Harrison VOIGHT | Yamaha | 51 |
13 | Reece OUGHTRED | Yamaha | 51 |
14 | Glenn NELSON | Yamaha | 51 |
15 | Ben BAKER | Yamaha | 51 |
16 | Jake FARNSWORTH | Yamaha | 49 |
17 | Mitch SIMPSON | Yamaha | 40 |
18 | Tarbon WALKER | Yamaha | 39 |
19 | Declan CARBERRY | Suzuki | 37 |
20 | Luke SANDERS | Yamaha | 31 |
21 | Luca DURNING | Yamaha | 26 |
22 | Jonathan NAHLOUS | Yamaha | 25 |
23 | Hunter FORD | Kawasaki | 25 |
24 | Jake SENIOR | Yamaha | 19 |
25 | Aiden WAGNER | Yamaha | 15 |
26 | Brendan WILSON | Yamaha | 13 |
27 | Noel MAHON | Yamaha | 5 |
28 | Morgan McLAREN-WOOD | Yamaha | 3 |
Supersport 300 Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Bike | Total |
1 | Brandon DEMMERY | Yamaha | 187 |
2 | Brodie GAWITH | Yamaha | 162 |
3 | Marcus HAMOD | Yamaha | 154 |
4 | Cameron SWAIN | Yamaha | 143 |
5 | Jai RUSSO | Yamaha | 142 |
6 | Casey MIDDLETON | Kawasaki | 135 |
7 | Henry SNELL | Yamaha | 133 |
8 | Cooper ROWNTREE | Yamaha | 106 |
9 | Joshua NEWMAN | Kawasaki | 94 |
10 | Lincoln KNIGHT | Yamaha | 82 |
11 | Valentino KNEZOVIC | Yamaha | 80 |
12 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha | 79 |
13 | Sam PEZZETTA | Yamaha | 77 |
14 | Jordy SIMPSON | Yamaha | 66 |
15 | Harrison WATTS | Yamaha | 57 |
16 | Ryan LARKIN | Yamaha | 55 |
17 | Calvin MOYLAN | Kawasaki | 47 |
18 | Tara MORRISON | Kawasaki | 36 |
19 | Steve SFORZIN | Kawasaki | 25 |
20 | Ryder GILBERT | Yamaha | 23 |
21 | Will NASSIF | Yamaha | 19 |
22 | Lachlan LOW | Yamaha | 15 |
23 | Daley MILLS | Kawasaki | 9 |
24 | Brock QUINLAN | Kawasaki | 8 |
25 | Peter NERLICH | Kawasaki | 7 |
26 | Abbie CAMERON | Yamaha | 6 |
Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
1 | Brandon DEMMERY | Yamaha | 124 |
2 | Cameron SWAIN | Yamaha | 122 |
3 | Brodie GAWITH | Yamaha | 106 |
4 | Marcus HAMOD | Yamaha | 103 |
5 | Henry SNELL | Yamaha | 100 |
6 | Jai RUSSO | Yamaha | 91 |
7 | Sam PEZZETTA | Yamaha | 80 |
8 | Cooper ROWNTREE | Yamaha | 77 |
9 | Ryan LARKIN | Yamaha | 70 |
10 | Valentino KNEZOVIC | Yamaha | 66 |
11 | Jordy SIMPSON | Yamaha | 53 |
12 | Lincoln KNIGHT | Yamaha | 51 |
13 | Harrison WATTS | Yamaha | 50 |
14 | Will NASSIF | Yamaha | 37 |
15 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha | 33 |
16 | Lachlan LOW | Yamaha | 30 |
17 | Ryder GILBERT | Yamaha | 30 |
18 | Abbie CAMERON | Yamaha | 20 |
19 | William HUNT | Yamaha | 14 |
bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Championship Standings
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Bodie PAIGE | 118 |
2 | Valentino KNEZOVIC | 108 |
3 | Haydn FORDYCE | 105 |
4 | Riley NAUTA | 98 |
5 | Archie SCHMIDT | 87 |
6 | John PELGRAVE | 84 |
7 | Hunter CORNEY | 83 |
8 | Jed FYFFE | 77 |
9 | Rikki HENRY | 75 |
10 | Jake PAIGE | 60 |
11 | Ella McCAUSLAND | 52 |
12 | Elijah ANDREW | 45 |
13 | Hunter CHARLETT | 43 |
14 | Rossi McADAM | 39 |
15 | Isaac AYAD | 38 |
16 | Oscar LEWIS | 37 |
17 | Alexander CODEY | 31 |
18 | Nixon FROST | 30 |
19 | Ethan JOHNSON | 29 |
20 | Nikolas LAZOS | 17 |
Morgan Park ASBK Schedule
Friday 14th July | ||||
Time | Class | Event | Duration | |
1405 | 1420 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | FP2 | 15 mins |
1425 | 1450 | SSP300 | FP3 | 25 mins |
1455 | 1525 | Supersport | FP3 | 30 mins |
1530 | 1550 | R3 Cup | FP3 | 20 mins |
1555 | 1630 | Superbike | FP3 | 35 mins |
1635 | 1650 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | FP3 | 15 mins |
Saturday 15th July | ||||
Time | Class | Event | Duration | |
0900 | 0925 | SSP300 | Q1 | 25 mins |
0930 | 1000 | Supersport | Q1 | 30 mins |
1005 | 1025 | R3 Cup | Q1 | 20 mins |
1030 | 1110 | Superbike | FP4 | 40 mins |
1115 | 1135 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | Q1 | 20 mins |
1140 | 1205 | SSP300 | Q2 | 25 mins |
1205 | 1255 | ASBK Paddock Show & Autographs Podium & Paddock | 50 mins | |
1255 | 1315 | R3 Cup | Q2 | 20 mins |
1320 | 1350 | Supersport | Q2 | 30 mins |
1350 | 1405 | ASBK Pillion Rides | Trackside | 15 mins |
1405 | 1425 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | Q2 | 20 mins |
1430 | 1500 | Supersport 300 | R1 | 10 Laps |
1505 | 1525 | Alpinestars Superbike | Q1 | 20 mins |
1535 | 1550 | Alpinestars Superbike (Top 12) | Q1 | 15 mins |
1550 | 1600 | ASBK TV Time | Media 1 | 10 mins |
1600 | 1620 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | R1 | 6 Laps |
1625 | 1645 | R3 Cup | R1 | 8 Laps |
Sunday 16th July | ||||
TIme | Class | Event | Duration | |
0900 | 0905 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup | WUP | 5 mins |
0910 | 0915 | Supersport | WUP | 5 mins |
0920 | 0925 | SSP300 | WUP | 5 mins |
0930 | 0940 | Alpinestars Superbike | WUP | 10 mins |
0945 | 0950 | R3 Cup | WUP | 5 mins |
1000 | 1020 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup ^ | R2 | 6 Laps |
1025 | 1055 | Supersport | R1 | 14 Laps |
1100 | 1120 | SSP300 | R1 | 10 Laps |
1125 | 1205 | Alpinestars Superbike *^ (Replayed on SBS) | R1 | 16 Laps |
1215 | 1235 | R3 Cup | R2 | 8 Laps |
1235 | 1330 | Lunch – ASBK Paddock Party | Paddock | 55 mins |
1330 | 1350 | bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup * | R3 | 6 Laps |
1400 | 1430 | Supersport | R2 | 14 Laps |
1435 | 1455 | SSP300 | R3 | 10 Laps |
1505 | 1550 | Alpinestars Superbike * | R2 | 16 Laps |
1600 | 1620 | R3 Cup | R3 | 8 Laps |
Morgan Park ASBK Entry List
Superbike Entry List
Number | Rider | Bike |
1 | Mike Jones | Yamaha |
4 | Broc Pearson | Ducati |
11 | Eddie Leeson | Yamaha |
13 | Anthony West | Yamaha |
14 | Glenn Allerton | BMW |
17 | Troy Herfoss | Honda |
21 | Josh Waters | Ducati |
27 | Max Stauffer | Yamaha |
28 | Joshua Soderland | Ducati |
29 | Ted Collins | BMW |
31 | Scott Allars | Yamaha |
37 | Michael Edwards | Yamaha |
61 | Arthur Sissis | Yamaha |
64 | Michael Kemp | Yamaha |
65 | Cru Halliday | Yamaha |
67 | Bryan Staring | Yamaha |
72 | Paris Hardwick | Kawasaki |
Supersport Entry List
Number | Rider | Bike |
1 | John Lytras | Yamaha |
3 | Cameron Dunker | Yamaha |
9 | Glenn Nelson | Yamaha |
12 | Luca Durning | Yamaha |
20 | Jonathan Nahlous | Yamaha |
21 | Tarbon Walker | Yamaha |
33 | Jack Favelle | Honda |
39 | Scott Nicholson | Yamaha |
42 | Jack Passfield | Yamaha |
44 | Tom Bramich | Yamaha |
45 | Olly Simpson | Yamaha |
49 | Jake Farnsworth | Yamaha |
72 | Ben Baker | Yamaha |
85 | Ty Lynch | Yamaha |
86 | Dallas Skeer | Yamaha |
121 | Reece Oughtred | Yamaha |
220 | Declan Carberry | Suzuki |
279 | Hayden Nelson | Yamaha |
Supersport 300 Entry List
Number | Rider | Bike | |
11 | Brandon Demmery | Yamaha | |
12 | Henry Snell | Yamaha | |
13 | Marcus Hamod | Yamaha | |
14 | Harrison Watts | Yamaha | |
15 | Daley Mills | Kawasaki | |
17 | Joshua Newman | Kawasaki | |
20 | Casey Middleton | Kawasaki | |
25 | Brodie Gawith | Yamaha | |
26 | Cameron Swain | Yamaha | |
27 | Calvin Moylan | Kawasaki | |
32 | Jai Russo | Yamaha | |
33 | Jordan Simpson | Yamaha | |
46 | William Hunt | Yamaha | |
51 | Samuel Pezzetta | Yamaha | |
63 | Keegan Prass | Kawasaki | |
65 | Will Nassif | Kawasaki | |
68 | Ryan Larkin | Yamaha | |
72 | Ryder Gilbert | Yamaha | |
87 | Brock Quinlan | Kawasaki | |
95 | Tara Morrison | Kawasaki | |
222 | Lincoln Knight | Yamaha |
Yamaha R3 Cup Entry List
Number | Rider | Bike | |
11 | Brandon Demmery | Yamaha | |
12 | Henry Snell | Yamaha | |
13 | Marcus Hamod | Yamaha | |
14 | Harrison Watts | Yamaha | |
25 | Brodie Gawith | Yamaha | |
26 | Cameron Swain | Yamaha | |
32 | Jai Russo | Yamaha | |
33 | Jordan Simpson | Yamaha | |
46 | William Hunt | Yamaha | |
51 | Samuel Pezzetta | Yamaha | |
65 | Will Nassif | Yamaha | |
68 | Ryan Larkin | Yamaha | |
72 | Ryder Gilbert | Yamaha | |
222 | Lincoln Knight | Yamaha |
bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Entry List
Number | Rider | Bike | |
11 | Nikolas Lazos | Yamaha | |
16 | Rossi McAdam | Yamaha | |
17 | Haydn Fordyce | Yamaha | |
18 | Elijah Andrew | Yamaha | |
20 | Isaac Ayad | Yamaha | |
23 | Jed Fyffe | Yamaha | |
26 | Oscar Lewis | Yamaha | |
31 | Ethan Johnson | Yamaha | |
36 | Rikki Henry | Yamaha | |
37 | Alexander Codey | Yamaha | |
40 | Hunter Corney | Yamaha | |
42 | Riley Nauta | Yamaha | |
43 | John Pelgrave | Yamaha | |
55 | Jake Paige | Yamaha | |
61 | Ella McCausland | Yamaha | |
69 | Archie Schmidt | Yamaha | |
73 | Hunter Charlett | Yamaha | |
74 | Bodie Paige | Yamaha |
2023 ASBK Calendar
2023 ASBK Calendar | |||
Round | Circuit | Location | Date |
R5 | Morgan Park Raceway | QLD | Jul 14-16 |
R6 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | VIC | Oct 27-29 |
R7 | The Bend Motorsport Park | SA | Dec 1 – 3 |