Glenn Allerton on top after Friday practice at Morgan Park ASBK

ASBK 2024
Round Four- Morgan Park

Cru Halliday got out of the right side of bed today, topping FP1, then also topping FP2. The top eight riders were all in the 13s in FP2 as the pace picked up. Halliday led the way ahead of Allerton, Pearson, Sissis, Jones, Staring, Waters, and Max Stauffer, the final rider in the 13s during FP2.

Anthony West had been in the 13s in FP1 but must have been concentrating on long runs during FP2, he was quickly back into the 13s when FP3 got underway.

It really warmed up here at Morgan Park this afternoon after our foggy start. A beautiful sunny 20-degree ambient had seen the track warm to over 30-degrees by the time Superbike competitors hit the track for the third and final 35-minute session of the day just before 1540 this afternoon.

Some of the big hitters took their time to join the fray in FP3. The YRT pairing of Mike Jones and Cru Halliday were some of the last. Still, it was championship leader Josh Waters who left pit lane last, the McMartin Ducati rider cutting a few laps before returning to the pits without setting any quick times.

At the halfway point of the session Glenn Allerton was on top with a 1m13.610 but it was crowded over the next few tenths with seven riders in the 13s. Cru Halliday’s 1m13.311 from FP2 still had him on top on combined times ahead of Allerton’s 1m13.343 in FP2, and Broc Pearson’s 1m13.523 also in FP2.

Things started to heat up in the final half of FP3, though. Josh Waters was down to 1m13.412 after heading back out again. He then immediately backed that up with a 1m13.776, followed by a 1m13.612 before returning to the pits.

Arthur Sissis had been pretty impressive in FP2, getting down to a 1m13.542 to go fourth quickest on a circuit he doesn’t have much experience at. And if there is a track you need experience at in order to be competitive, it is this one, as it is quite technical and very bumpy, and it really, really pays to know exactly where those bumps are… The South Australian improved to 1m13.143 in FP3 to go top on combined times with just under ten-minutes remaining in the session. The Stop & Seal bike is also pretty new to Arthur; he only rode it for the first time during the previous round at Queensland Raceway.

Broc Pearson had a huge crash here two weeks ago and is still very sore from that tumble. That didn’t stop him from improving to second on combined times with just on five-minutes left in the session, also in the 1m13.1s, a 1m13.182. Broc’s second-placed ranking only lasted seconds though as Cru Halliday crossed the stripe to best them all with a 1m13.119 to put himself back on top.

Glenn Allerton then returned fire with a 1m12.917, the first 12 of the day, pushing Cru back to second with just over three-minutes left in the session.

That marker stood the test of time. Glenn Allerton finishes the opening day of practice here at Morgan Park on top.

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Cru Halliday second and Arthur Sissis third.

In the dying seconds of FP3 Mike Jones demoted Broc Pearson from fourth to fifth by two-hundredths of a second. With Josh Waters sixth on 1m13.257 it was tight at the top, just over three-tenths covers the top six at the end of day one.

We can expect a lot more tomorrow and on Sunday from not only those six riders, but also from Anthony West, Max Stauffer and Bryan Staring.

Stauffer was very fast here during testing a few weeks ago but is struggling to adapt back to the Pirelli tyres and ASBK bike after more recently logging plenty of laps testing for the Suzuka 8 Hour on a very different bike and tyres.  His young team-mate Cam Dunker is also capable of much more but this track is hard work on a Superbike when a litre machine is still pretty new to you.

Mike Jones set the qualifying lap record here last year at 1m12.079. The Queenslander also set a new race lap record that weekend. That benchmark to beat is 1m12.079. Will we see an 11 this weekend…? Superbike competitors will be back on track at 1025 on Saturday morning for FP4 ahead of Qualifying, which will get underway at 1435. The opening 16-lap race is scheduled for 1125 on Sunday morning, while the second and final bout of the round will start at 1505.

Superbike Friday Combined Practice Times

ASBK Superbike Championship Points

Supersport

Supersport competitors picked up their pace markedly in FP2 thanks to a 31-degree track temperature, almost 15-degrees warmer than they experienced in FP1.

The session was also interrupted for some time after Archie McDonald’s YZF-R6 divulged its lifeblood into the belly pan of the Stop & Seal machine.

I promised Robbie I wouldn’t use the Stop & Seal pun for the leak to be plugged, but I lied; there you go…

The cause of the leak was down to the cam cover on the machine not being appropriately secured when it was reinstalled after the M.A. camshaft technical inspections held at the previous round. That is down to Stop & Seal, though, not M.A., as putting the machine back together is the team’s responsibility.

Archie McDonald was on a high note  recently breaking through for his first victory in the Stock ECh category at the Portimao FIM Junior GP event but the oil leak in FP2, followed by a crash at turn six in FP3 has the normally bubbly Archie looking pretty disconsolate this afternoon. He has never ridden this track before, is still learning where the bumps are, and there are a lot of them, and had just really got his head around riding on the Pirelli tyres in Europe only to come back to Australia and change tack again to ride to the Michelin rubber that the Stop & Seal team use. The recently turned 18-year-old hopes to turn things around tomorrow.

Championship leader Jonathan Nahlous topped the FP2 session with a 1m15.564 ahead of Hayden Nelson, Olly Simpson, Tom Toparis and FP1 pacesetter Jack Favelle.

Tom Toparis got wound up in the final session to top the day but Jonathan Nahlous was still right on his tail, less than a tenth separated them at the end of proceedings.

Third outright on Friday went to Hayden Nelson on the Landscape Supplies Kawasaki ahead of the hugely experienced Olly Simpson.

Supersport competitors will be on track early on Saturday. Their first qualifying session is scheduled for 0930, followed by final qualifying at 1310. So, an early start and an early finish. Race one is scheduled for 1025 on Sunday morning, followed by the second 14-lap contest at 1400.

Supersport Friday Combined Practice Times

Supersport Championship Points

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Supersport 300 Championship Points

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bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Friday Combined Practice Times

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2024 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar

• Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 23-25
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 22-23
• Round 3: Queensland Raceway, QLD Apr 26-28
• Round 4: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD Jul 12-14
• Round 5: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC Sept 7-8
• Round 6: One Raceway, NSW Oct 4-6
• Round 7: The Bend Motorsports Park, SA Nov 8-10