Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters saved his best for last to take pole position at Sydney Motorsports Park
YRT duo Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton round out front row
Team Honda’s Bryan Staring and Troy Herfoss head row two
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Yamaha Motor Finance ASBK 2017 – Round Six – Sydney Motorsports Park
Daniel Falzon had topped the somewhat strange morning QP1 session where not many of the leading riders turned many laps. In fact, out of the front runners only Falzon and the two Honda men actually improved on their Friday times.
In the case of Herfoss and Staring that was a huge positive, as both men, particularly defending champion Herfoss, had really struggled for speed on Friday. The bikes were basically turned upside down for today, new suspension settings at both ends and some tuning of the engine braking control systems, allowed them to get back in the game today.
Daniel Falzon – JD Racing – Image by TBG
Just as had happened in QP1, very little unfolded in the early stages of the final 30-minute session that would decide the grid for tomorrow’s 2 x 14-lap contests.
In fact ten minutes into the session none of the top three had even turned a wheel. The reason? Tyre wear… Most of the riders would have tried a softer option on Friday to get a feel for it, but would have only ridden on the harder tyre that they will more likely race with tomorrow, in this morning’s session.
Josh Waters – Image by TBG
The first of the leading trio from QP1, Josh Waters, then exited pitlane to try and improve on his third place standing, the Suzuki man straight down to 1m31.06 on his first flying lap.
Josh Waters – Image by Half Light
The big improver was Robbie Bugden, presumably slotting softer option rubber in for the first time this weekend to shoot from 11th up to fifth, knocking almost a full-second off his QP1 time in the process.
At the halfway stage of the session provisional polesitter Daniel Falzon and second ranked Wayne Maxwell were still yet to lap the circuit. Matt Walters was out and circulating and at that halfway point shot from 10th to fifth, knocking 1.2-seconds off his QP1 best.
After simply circulating well off the pace for a few laps Waters then found some clear air and dropped the hammer to smash out a 1m30.726 to take that provisional pole position off Falzon and returned to the pits. Then both Falzon and Maxwell joined the circuit to declare game-on.
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Half Light
Bryan Staring was on a flyer with 13-minutes remaining, fastest through the first sector, as was Walters who was also on another flyer through the first sector, before curiously then returning to pitlane. Staring lost a tiny amount of time through the remaining two sectors but that lap still good enough to promote him up to second overall on the back of a 1m30.830 on what was his fourth lap of the afternoon.
Bryan Staring – Image by Half Light
Corey Turner then dropped almost 1.5-seconds off his previous best to catapult himself from outside the top ten into fifth place, ahead of Walters, Bugden and Allerton.
Falzon then went for it with eight-minutes remaining in the session. Six-hundredths of a second under at the first split, but lost a little through the middle and final sectors which meant the South Australian failed to improve on his morning benchmark.
Troy Herfoss then decided it was his time to shine and was quickest through sector two before crossing the stripe with a 1m30.83 to move up to second place just behind his #67 teammate.
Troy Herfoss – Image by Half Light
After a clearly frustrating Q1 Cru Halliday had the red mist on when with six minutes remaining he set a new fastest sector one time but then dropped half-a-second in sector two, still it had been enough to push him forward to fourth place ahead of Falzon and Maxwell. There were now five minutes to go…
Glenn Allerton then shot from tenth to second with a 1m30.765 just as Wayne Maxwell started his first serious flyer, and quickest man thus far Waters was also back into it. Maxwell was quickest through the first sector but failed to maintain that rage while Josh Waters smashed out a 1m30.464 to strengthen his position at the top of the timesheets.
Glenn Allerton – Image by Half Light
Maxwell though was on another flyer, quicker again through sector one, and this time maintained that pace through the second sector, 0.161 of a second up, then at the line stopped the clocks at 1m30.458 to pip Waters by six-thousandths of a second!
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Half Light
Waters responded, with a minute to go he was quickest at first split, quicker again at the second split then lowered the benchmark for the day to 1m30.197. There were now only 30-seconds remaining in the session…
Josh Waters – P1
“I’m really happy with today, to get the team and my first pole position for the year is awesome. Tomorrow’s two races are going to be tough for everyone I think but I hope the preparation we have done yesterday and today will help us.”
Josh Waters – P1 – Seen here with brother Brodie and Team Manager Phil Tainton – Image by TBG
That was it, job done for Waters and Team Suzuki. Wayne Maxwell will start tomorrow’s opening 14-lap bout alongside Waters and Glenn Allerton will round out that front row when the lights go out at 1100 tomorrow morning.
Wayne Maxwell – P2
“This second position is pretty good as a front row start is important for us. I have done a few practice starts and we seem to be able to get away pretty well. Tomorrow we’ll try and get away with the front guys and hopefully go with Josh (Waters), as he has been super-fast and consistent in every session today.
Wayne Maxwell – Image by TBG
“I believe our main battle will be with Josh. Throughout qualifying we changed the bike and it seems to be getting better. It’s now a lot better on the used tyres, which is important for us. We’ll just have to keep working away and get the tyre better and better as well as the Yamaha R1M and hopefully that will help us over race distance.”
Wayne Maxwell – Image by TBG
Glenn Allerton – P3
“It’s an amazing feeling to be up here. You just go through so many emotions when you have a massive injury like what I had. Then the doubts sets in… In saying that, I never doubted myself, but the doubt sets in with everyone around you. You always need a good team of people around you that trust you. I have had so much help from my family, friends and the entire Yamaha Racing Team. Kev (Marshall), and everyone in the team have always believed in me and that has really helped me to come back strong. Everyone has always been positive and aware of my injuries and are trying to help me.
Glenn Allerton – Image by TBG
“Today is a result of all that faith in me and I really want to thank everyone for sticking by me. Hopefully tomorrow I can deliver them a race win. Anything can happen. The races will be hard for me as its going to be a long race. I believe if I can get away with Wayne and Josh and get a gap on the rest of the field I can then hang with them, it’s possible I can get a win.”
Glenn Allerton – Image by Half Light
Bryan Staring heads row two alongside teammate Troy Herfoss and Yamaha supported privateer Cru Halliday.
Cru Halliday – Image by Half Light
Daniel Falzon heads row three alongside Corey Turner and fastest Kawasaki qualifier Matt Walters while Josh Hook rounds out the top ten ahead of Robbie Bugden and Michael Blair.
Josh Hook – Image by Half Light
Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike – Final Qualifying Results
Josh Waters – Suzuki 1m30.197
Wayne Maxwell – Yamaha 1m30.458
Glenn Allerton – Yamaha 1m30.765
Bryan Staring – Honda 1m30.830
Troy Herfoss – Honda 1m30.831
Cru Halliday – Yamaha 1m30.886
Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 1m30.909
Corey Turner – Ducati 1m31.055
Matt Walters – Kawasaki 1m31.187
Josh Hook – Ducati 1m31.366
Robert Bugden – Kawasaki 1m31.428
Michael Blair – Yamaha 1m31.692
Matthew Harding – Kawasaki 1m31.733
Alex Phillis – Yamaha 1m31.821
Kyle Buckley – Kawasaki 1m32.098
Beau Beaton – Ducati 1m32.297
Troy Guenther – BMW 1m32.414
Sloan Frost – Suzuki 1m32.611
Lachlan Epis – BMW 1m32.673
Mitch Levy – Yamaha 1m32.987
Adam Senior – Yamaha 1m33.771
Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 1m34.813
Trent Gibson – Yamaha 1m34.939
Aaiden Coote – Kawasaki 1m35.296
Joel Rhodes – Yamaha 1m36.628
Nathan Spiteri – Kawasaki 1m37.454
Rowan Smith – Kawasaki 1m37.852
Hamish McMurray -Kawasaki 1m39.831
Ashley Fleming – Aprilia 1m40.016
Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike – Final Qualifying Results Josh Waters – Suzuki 1m30.197 Wayne Maxwell – Yamaha 1m30.458 Glenn Allerton – Yamaha 1m30.765
Yamaha Motor Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Points Standings
Wayne Maxwell 193
Troy Herfoss 188
Robbie Bugden 172
Daniel Falzon 171
Josh Waters 170
Cru Halliday 154
Bryan Staring 131
Corey Turner 114
Mitch Levy 103
Beau Beaton 92
Motul Supersport 600 – Final Qualifying
Mark Chiodo continued his dominating form of the weekend thus far to top the final qualifying session for the Motul sponsored 600 Supersport category while Tom Toparis and Aaron Morris round out the front row.
Motul Supersport 600 – Final Qualifying Results Mark Chiodo – Triumph – 1m34.028 Tom Toparis – Kawasaki – 1m34.226 Aaron Morris – Yamaha – 1m34.465
Chiodo has taken pole position at every round this year bar one.
Mark Chiodo – Image by Half Light
Championship leader Ted Collins will start from the outside of second row and requires only mediocre results tomorrow in order to be crowned 2017 Australian Supersport Champion with a round still remaining.
The opening Supersport 12-lap race starts on Sunday at 1000 while the second bout is slated to commence at 1310.
Motul Supersport 600 – Final Qualifying Results
Mark Chiodo – Triumph – 1m34.028
Tom Toparis – Kawasaki – 1m34.226
Aaron Morris – Yamaha – 1m34.465
Sam Muldoon – Kawasaki – 1m34.547
Mason Coote – Yamaha – 1m34.671
Ted Collins – Suzuki – 1m34.887
Sam Condon – Yamaha – 1m34.954
Chris Quinn – Yamaha – 1m34.976
Hayden Spinks – Kawasaki – 1m35.571
Nic Liminton – Yamaha – 1m35.625
Cambridge Olivier – Yamaha – 1m35.759
Thomas Bryden – Yamaha – 1m35.939
Jordan Carlsson – Yamaha – 1m35.973
Jake Pruiti – Kawasaki – 1m35.982
Aidan Hayes – Kawasaki – 1m36.068
Rhys Belling – Yamaha – 1m36.234
Simon Rees – Kawasaki – 1m36.332
Mick Hefferan – Kawasaki – 1m36.705
Grant Davis – Kawasaki – 1m37.009
Mitch Rees – Honda – 1m37.609
Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 – Final Qualifying
KTM youngster Billy Van Eerde dominated the Supersport 300 final qualifying session in the absence of QP1 pacesetter Tommy Edwards. The latter of that pairing choosing to sit out the final session but his QP1 time still good enough to retain second spot on the grid.
Billy Van Eerde – Image by TBG
Yanni Shaw rounded out the front row while Jack Mahaffy leads row two from Oli Bayliss and Reid Battye.
Broc Pearson recovered well from his QP1 tumble to head the third row from Hunter Ford and Max Croker while Zac Levy rounded out the top ten ahead of Corey Briffa.
Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 – Final Qualifying Results
Billy Van Eerde – KTM – 1m43.506
Tommy Edwards – Yamaha – 1m44.023
Yanni Shaw – Kawasaki – 1m44.168
Jack Mahaffy – Yamaha – 1m44.278
Oli Bayliss – Kawasaki – 1m44.325
Reid Battye – Kawasaki – 1m44.330
Broc Pearson – Yamaha – 1m44.882
Hunter Ford – Yamaha – 1m45.073
Max Croker – KTM – 1m45.144
Zac Levy – Yamaha – 1m45.344
Corey Briffa – Yamaha – 1m45.606
Tom Bramich – Yamaha – 1m45.759
Locky Taylor – Yamaha – 1m46.010
Ben Bramich – Yamaha – 1m46.128
Brandon Demmery – Yamaha – 1m46.471
Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 – Race One
Billy Van Eerde capitalised on his pole position to blast his KTM RC390 from pole position and into the race lead from Tommy Edwards and Max Croker as Jack Mahaffy, Oli Bayliss and Broc Pearson gave chase.
Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 – Race One – Image by TBG
Van Eerde and Edwards crossed the stripe at the end of lap one side-by-side, both putting in 1m51s lap times from a standing start and then backed that up with 1m45s on their first flying lap of the 3.93km Eastern Creek circuit. The quickest rider on that second lap though was Broc Pearson who put in a 1m44.422 in sixth place to move ahead of Hunter Ford.
Max Croker upped his pace to make it a KTM 1-2 at the head of the field with six laps to go but was quickly gazumped by Edwards and Mahaffy to be shuffled down the order again. Reid Battye was the new fastest man on the circuit in fifth place just ahead of Oil Bayliss and Broc Pearson. Battye was quickest again next time around and moved up to fourth place.
Van Eerde was still pushing clear air out in front which saw the youngster recording one of the slowest trap speeds amongst the front runners but was still just managing to keep a couple of bike lengths ahead of his pursuers, the lead of which with three laps to go was Jack Mahaffy and Tommy Edwards, that duo battling each other hard while Oli Bayliss and Reid Battye looked to close in on them and wreck that party.
Oli Bayliss then put in a new fastest lap of the race to move up to third position, a 1m44.057 to the young Queenslander, and the pack started to tighten up once again.
At the last lap board Edwards was again all over the back of Van Eerde, just how the race had started, and for the run to the flag they were joined by Mahaffy, Bayliss, Croker, Battye, Levy and Ford, who had just put in a new fastest lap of the race, 1m32.975, to improve his chances on the final lap. Less than a second covering that top eight.
At the flag though it was young Billy Van Eerde the winner! The KTM youngster was never headed throughout the entire nine-lap race but certainly had to work for it. Oli Bayliss finished strongly to take second place at the flag, and the honour of being the first ‘Under 300cc’ machine home, while Tommy Edwards rounded out the overall podium.
Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 – Race One Results Billy Van Eerde – KTM Oli Bayliss – Kawasaki +0.262 (Under 300) Tommy Edwards – Yamaha +0.284
Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 – Race One Results
Billy Van Eerde – KTM
Oli Bayliss – Kawasaki +0.262 (Under 300)
Tommy Edwards – Yamaha +0.284
Jack Mahaffy – Yamaha +0.537
Max Croker – KTM +0.875
Zac Levy – Yamaha +1.126
Reid Battye – Kawasaki +1.581 (Under 300)
Hunter Ford – Yamaha +1.692
Yanni Shaw – Kawasaki +4.500 (Under 300)
Broc Pearson – Yamaha +8.967
Tom Bramich – Yamaha +11.990
Ben Bramich – Yamaha +11.993
Jarred Brook – KTM +19.975
Brandon Demmery – Yamaha +20.383
Locky Taylor – Yamaha +25.643
The Under 300cc podium headed by Reid Battye from Oli Bayliss and Yanni Shaw – Image by TBG
Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup – Final Qualifying Results
Jack Mahaffy took pole in the R3 Cup contest ahead of Tom Edwards and Hunter Ford.
Jack Mahaffy – Image by TBG
Jack Mahaffy 1m44.686
Tommy Edwards 1m45.264
Hunter Ford 1m45.884
Broc Pearson 1m45.971
Ben Bramich 1m46.695
Corey Briffa 1m46.980
Locky Taylor 1m47.361
Tayla Relph 1m48.078
Jonah Sita 1m48.640
Troy Ryan 1m49.097
Boyd Hocking 1m49.194
Andrew Hannan 1m50.751
Jake Brett 1m54.156
Chris Dobie 1m54.635
Jonathan Henderson 1m54.850
Keegan Pickering 1m57.329
Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup – Race One
Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup – Race One
Jack Mahaffy, Tommy Edwards and Hunter Ford quickly broke away from the pursuing pack in this one and with three laps to go that trio had more than three-seconds on Broc Pearson who was enagaged in battle over fourth with Corey Briffa.
Jack Mahaffy, Tommy Edwards and Hunter Ford quickly broke away from the pursuing pack
At the last lap board that leading trio were virtually side-by-side but it was Hunter Ford that took the advantage around the first few turns before Edwards slotted his nose in front around the back of the circuit and kept that advantage to the flag and took victory by 0.070 of a second over Ford while Mahaffy rounded out the podium a similar gnat’s whisker further behind. Broc Pearson fourth, Corey Briffa fifth.
Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup – Race One Results Tom Edwards Hunter Ford +0.070 Jack Mahaffy +0.122
Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup – Race One Results
Tom Edwards
Hunter Ford +0.070
Jack Mahaffy +0.122
Broc Pearson +5.997
Corey Briffa +7.426
Locky Taylor +22.749
Ben Bramich +22.795
Tayla Relph +37.567
Jonah Sita +37.573
Boyd Hocking +38.503
Moto3 / 125GP – Final Qualifying
Aussie Crane Trucks sponsored rider Dylan Whiteside topped the Moto3 second session with a 1m40.345 on the final of his ten laps but it was his 1m40.017 that earned him pole position ahead of Joel Kelso and the Ron Angel sponsored Dallas Skeer.
Dylan Whiteside
Scott Topping was the quickest 125 Grand Prix rider ahead of fellow Western Australian David Doughty.
Moto3 / 125GP – Final Qualifying Results
Dylan Whitewise – Moto3 – 1m40.017
Joel Kelso – Moto3 – 1m40.059
Dallas Skeer – Moto3 – 1m43.953
Scott Topping – 125GP – 1m47.112
David Doughty – 125GP – 1m48.633
Travis Hall – Moto3 – 1m48.878
Dave Manson – 125GP – 1m49.043
Taran Ocean – 125GP – 1m49.388
Jeremy Huddletone – 125GP – 1m49.542
Ross Taylor – Moto3 – 1m50.990
Mark Laing-Hughes – 125GP – 1m51.244
Nick Mathias – 125GP – 1m52.694
Moto3 / 125GP – Race One
Pole sitter Dylan Whiteside capitalised on that advantage to take the race lead when their first eight-lap encounter got underway at 1422 this afternoon at Sydney Motorsports Park. It quickly became a two horse race with Kelso joining Whiteside and running away from the field to the tune of almost five-seconds a lap.
Dylan Whiteside leads Joel Kelso early on in the opening Moto3 / 125GP race at Sydney Motorsports Park – Image by TBG
As the race broached the half way point Kelso dropped the hammer to set a new fastest lap of the race and claw himself right up on to the tailpipe of Whiteside’s Honda NSF250R. Both riders then put in 1m40.6s before then backing those up with 1m40.5s laps next time around before then going quicker again on the penultimate lap, a 1m40.071 to Whiteside and 1.40.159 to Kelso as they got the last lap board.
After a titanic tussle over the final 3.93km lap of the Eastern Creek circuit it was Whiteside in front by a nose at the chequered flag to take the victory ahead of Kelso. Dallas Skeer rounded out the podium 35-seconds behind that duo while Scott Topping was the first 125 GP machine home and fourth overall.
Moto3 / 125GP – Race One Results Dylan Whiteside – Moto3 Joel Kelso – Moto3 +0.028 Dallas Skeer – Moto3 +34.173 Image by TBG