Wayne Maxwell takes pole position at Phillip Island
Mark Chiodo takes Supersport Pole
2017 ASBK content brought to you by Dunlop Motorcycle Tyres
YMF ASBK 2017 – Round Seven – Phillip Island
Troy Herfoss set the QP1 pace this morning with a late 1m32.851 to take provisional pole ahead of Wayne Maxwell, Josh Waters and Bryan Staring while Daniel Falzon had rounded out the top five narrowly ahead of Glenn Allerton and Josh Hook.
Josh Hook – Image by TBG
Conditions were similar to that of this morning when the Superbikes headed out for their final 30-minute qualifying session at 1440 this afternoon, right on schedule. The sky was overcast, the track dry and clean, but the wind was perhaps a little less blustery this time around.
With only six-points separating Herfoss and Waters, and Wayne Maxwell and Robbie Bugden still in with reasonable chances at the championship, the single point earned for pole position today could prove absolutely crucial in deciding who will be crowned ASBK Champion tomorrow.
Josh Waters – Image by Half Light
As had happened a few times late in QP1, Maxwell had run a scintillatingly fast first sector, well under that achieved by Herfoss on his way to provisional pole this morning, only to then lose that ground and more through the back sections of the circuit. Josh Waters also did the same early in this final qualifying session, clearly the strength of Herfoss and the Honda is through the middle sections of the 4.45km Phillip Island circuit.
Josh Waters – Image by Half Light
On Waters’ fourth lap the Suzuki man narrowly improved on his QP1 time but remained second quickest on combined time, his new marker 1m33.187.
Matt Walters was the next rider in the top ten to improve his standing, a decent improvement on his QP1 time but not enough to move him further up the order on combined times.
Matt Walters – Image by Half Light
Josh Hook’ Ducati stopped at turn five with 17-minutes remaining in the session due to electrical gremlins.
Cru Halliday improved his combined standing from tenth to fifth with a 1m33.907, just as the 30-minute session entered its second half.
Cru Halliday – Image by Half Light
Jed Metcher then improved his standing by a massive 1.5-seconds to move up to tenth on combined times.
Jed Metcher – Image by Half Light
Matt Walters strung a good lap together to move from eighth up to sixth only for Falzon to then put in a flyer catapulting himself not only past Walters, but also the entire field! Putting the JD Racing YZF-R1 on provisional pole.
Daniel Falzon – Image by Half Light
Falzon’s final sector the absolute standout, that machine really hooking up through 11 and driving hard through 12 to carry great speed on to the main straight, setting new weekend benchmark of 1m32.781. Not quite as quick as the 32.742 he recorded at the opening round of the series here back in February, but still good enough to top the field with ten-minutes remaining in the session.
Daniel Falzon – Image by TBG
Glenn Allerton then put in a flyer to move up to third quickest, relegating Maxwell to fourth but then seconds later Maxwell crossed the stripe clocking a 1m32.587 to promote himself up into provisional pole. Falzon then set a 1m32.600 to go oh so close to pushing Maxwell back once again.
Glenn Allerton – Image by Half Light
Bryan Staring then moved up to third place, pushing his teammate back to fifth, and Allerton sixth.
Maxwell then put in another absolutely identical 1m32.857, two absolute scorchers back to back and the fastest domestic Superbike laps around Phillip Island in recent years.
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Half Light
The only quicker domestic time around Phillip Island had been set by Maxwell on a Suzuki, when the track was in slightly better condition back in 2013, that benchmark a 1m32.274. Still today’s 1m32.587 good enough to take pole position ahead of Falzon and Waters.
Bryan Staring – Image by Half Light
Bryan Staring heads the second row alongside teammate Troy Herfoss while Glenn Allerton rounds out that second row. Herfoss failed to improve his morning marker this afternoon, the defending champion and series leader slightly baulked by another rider on his fast lap this afternoon.
Troy Herfoss – Image by Half Light
Robbie Bugden’s lack of pace today is quite worrying, but he is still somewhat of a dark horse for tomorrow. Particularly as wet weather is forecast and the consensus seems to be that Dunlop’s wet tyres are perhaps a little better than the Pirelli options used by his championship rivals.
Robbie Bugden – Image by Half Light
The first of Sunday’s 2 x 12-lap races is scheduled to get underway tomorrow at 1305 with the second and final race of the season slated to commence at 1520.
Rain is forecast for tomorrow, with the heaviest falls predicted to drop around 1500 Sunday afternoon. Coinciding with the championship deciding Superbike race slated for 1520, a front row qualifying position a handy advantage helping riders to stay out of the spray early on in the race if that deluge arrives on time tomorrow. Let alone, of course, the absolutely vital single championship point awarded to Wayne Maxwell here this afternoon.
Wayne Maxwell
“It’s great to be able to claim my second pole position of the year, which now draws us to within 14-points of the championship lead.”
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Half Light
“Tomorrow is now more than achievable. We are going to have to come out with the Yamaha R1M and try and win both races and put ourselves in a championship winning position. We went with the same strategy as we normally go with, which is running the hard tyre then at the end, we put the softer option in. Thankfully it had enough grip to deliver the lap time required to score pole position.
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Half Light
“I’m really happy to get pole position. Massive thanks to everyone at Yamaha Racing Team. Warren [Monson], Jamie [Plumb], Kev [Marshall], Jeff [Dillon] and everyone else. It’s been a real team effort throughout the whole year. This pole position is not a massive psychological thing for me, but it does give you that extra boost. It’s more about the single championship point. For me, average starts this year means I’m on the front row. Even if I get a bit of an average start it will still mean I’ll be around the top three. If that is the case we can still try and press on and make the most of tomorrow’s races.”
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Half Light
YMI Superbike Qualifying
Wayne Maxwell 1m32.587 – Yamaha
Daniel Falzon 1m32.600 – Yamaha
Josh Waters 1m32.740 – Suzuki
Bryan Staring 1m32.850 – Honda
Troy Herfoss 1m32.851 – Honda
Glenn Allerton 1m33.145 – Yamaha
Cru Halliday 1m33.907 – Yamaha
Matt Walters 1m33.957 – Kawasaki
Alex Phillis 1m34.052 – Yamaha
Michael Blair 1m34.125 – Yamaha
Josh Hook 1m34.146 – Ducati
Corey Turner 1m34.244 – Ducati
Robert Bugden 1m34.316 – Kawasaki
Jed Metcher 1m34.352 – Yamaha
Beau Beaton 1m34.381 – Ducati
Mitch Levy 1m34.565 – Yamaha
Ted Collins 1m34.781 – BMW
Sloan Frost 1m34.882 – Suzuki
Aiden Coote 1m35.942 – Kawasaki
Kyle Buckley 1m36.855 – Kawaskai
David Barker 1m37.180 – Kawasaki
Adam Senior 1m37.205 – Yamaha
Trent Gibson 1m38.009 – Suzuki
Brendan McIntyre 1m38.570 – Suzuki
Ben Stronach 1m38.927 – Yamaha
Scott McGregor 1m39.456 – Yamaha
Matt Barton 1m40.323 – Honda
Keith Harrison 1m45.136 – Kawasaki
YMI Superbike Qualifying Wayne Maxwell 1m32.587 – Yamaha Daniel Falzon 1m32.600 – Yamaha Josh Waters 1m32.740 – Suzuki
YMI Superbike Championship Standings
Troy Herfoss 226
Josh Waters 220
Wayne Maxwell 212
Robbie Bugden 201
Daniel Falzon 188
Cru Halliday 183
Bryan Staring 151
Corey Turner 138
Mitch Levy 119
Michael Blair 114
Beau Beaton 111
Glenn Allerton 96
Troy Guenther 88
Josh Hook 87
Kyle Buckley 83
Supersport 600 Qualifying
Sam Condon, Mason Coote and Chris Quinn all improved their Q1 times quite quickly in the second and final 25-minute qualifying session at Phillip Island this afternoon.
Late in the session though Mark Chiodo dropped in a 1m35.330 to best Toparis’ 1m35.648 from yesterday, and 35.871 from this morning.
Mark Chiodo took Supersport pole position at Phillip Island today – Image by Half Light
With the clock counting down the dying minutes Toparis headed out on circuit to try and reclaim that pole position but the Gourlburn based teenager did not quite manage it, thus Chiodo will start from pole tomorrow.
Supersport 600 Qualifying Times Mark Chiodo 1m35.330 – Triumph Tom Toparis 1m35.871 Q1 – Kawasaki Mason Coote 1m37.628 – Yamaha
We mentioned yesterday that Toparis’ time was a new Supersport lap record at Phillip Island, that time of course well bested today by Chiodo in that pole lap. However, some clarification is required as while both Toparis and Chiodo’s laps are better than Shannon Johnson’s practice/qualifying lap record from 2009, they are slower than Bryan Staring’s race lap record of 1m35.200, which he recorded in the MotoGP support races in 2009.
Tom Toparis – Image by Half Light
This is one of those rare instances where the race lap record is actually faster than the qualifying lap record, and Staring’s 1m35.200 still stands as the fastest domestic Supersport lap at Phillip Island. However, Chiodo’s 1m35.330 today is the new Supersport qualifying lap record.
Supersport 600 Qualifying Times
Mark Chiodo 1m35.330 – Triumph
Tom Toparis 1m35.871 Q1 – Kawasaki
Mason Coote 1m37.628 – Yamaha
Sam Condon 1m37.910 – Yamaha
Chris Quinn 1m38.242 – Yamaha
Ryan Taylor 1m38.367 Q1 – Yamaha
Aidan Hayes 1m38.633 Q1 – Kawasaki
Jordan Carlsson 1m38.784 Q1 – Yamaha
Mitch Rees 1m38.831 – Honda
Rhys Belling 1m38.947 – Yamaha
Cambridge Olivier 1m39.546 – Yamaha
Sam Muldoon 1m40.147 Q1 – Kawasaki
Mick Hefferan 1m40.469 – Kawasaki
Brian Houghton 1m40.787 – Honda
Ryan Sellen 1m41.394 – Kawasaki
Patrick Li 1m41.649 – Kawasaki
Jake Pruiti 1m41.801 Q1 – Kawasaki
Tom Toparis – Image by Half Light
Supersport 300 Race One
The predominantly pint-sized young maniacs that make up the Supersport 300 ranks of ASBK this year were in fine form this afternoon at Phillip Island when the first of their 3 x 8-lap contests got underway at 1410 on a dry and clear track under cloudy skies.
Supersport 300 Race One – Image by TBG
Reid Battye was engaged in that battle of young psycopaths but came off second best in a turn-two scuffle on the second lap. Zac Levy and Jarred Brook also victims early on in that second lap. Mahaffy managed to rejoin the race at the back of the 43-rider pack but it was day done for Battye and Brook.
Jack Mahaffy goes down at turn four – Image by TBG
Up front poleman Max Croker was coming under incessant attacks from Tom Bramich, Tom Edwards, Billy Van Eerde, Hunter Ford and Oli Bayliss.
It was the last rider in that aforementioned group that set a new fastest lap of the race as he worked his way forward in that group, with two laps to run Bayliss then moved into the race lead but still less than a second covered that entire top six.
Oli Bayliss – Image by Half Light
Bayliss held the advantage at the last lap board but Van Eeerde then moved into the race lead as they negotiated the early parts of the final lap.
Tommy Edwards and Tom Bramich – Image by Half Light
Tom Bramich then took his turn at the front with Hunter Ford moving up to second. Van Eerde then pushed his way back through to second and Croker pushed Ford further back to fourth, and Bayliss was fifth.
At the chequered flag it was Tom Bramich with his nose in front of Oli Bayliss while Billy Van Eerde rounded out the podium in what proved to be yet another thriller for this exciting category of racing.
Supersport 300 Race One Results
Tom Bramich – Yamaha
Oli Bayliss +0.184 – Kawasaki
Billy Van Eerde +0.253 – KTM
Max Croker +0.288 – KTM
Hunter Ford +0.329 – Yamaha
Tom Edwards +13.511 – Yamaha
Locky Taylor +13.693 – Yamaha
Broc Pearson +14.090 – Yamaha
Yanni Shaw +14.244 – Kawasaki
Ty Lynch +14.358 – Yamaha
Rogan Chandler +15.218 – Yamaha
Seth Crump +15.242 – KTM
Brandon Demmery +15.243 – Yamaha
Tayla Relph +15.302 – Yamaha
Jonah Sita +21.931 – Yamaha
Supersport 300 Race One Results – Over 300 Tom Bramich – Yamaha Billy Van Eerde +0.253 – KTM Max Croker +0.288 – KTM Supersport 300 Race One Results Under 300cc Oli Bayliss +0.184 – Kawasaki Yanni Shaw +14.244 – Kawasaki
Supersport Over 300 Championship Points
Billy Van Eerde 296
Tom Bramich 278.5
Tom Edwards 278
Supersport 300 Qualifying
Max Croker 1m48.804 – KTM
Tom Edwards 1m48.821 – Yamaha
Zac Levy 1m49.619 – Yamaha
Jack Mahaffy 1m49.643 – Yamaha
Oli Bayliss 1m49.880 – Kawasaki
Reid Battye 1m50.080 – Kawasaki
Tom Bramich 1m50.241 – Yamaha
Ty Lynch 1m50.713 – Yamaha
Hunter Ford 1m50.764 – Yamaha
Billy Van Eerde 1m50.782 – KTM
YMF R3 Cup Race One
The opening R3 Cup bout went down to the wire between Tommy Edwards, Hunter Ford and Jack Mahaffy. At the chequered flag it was Edwards that won the day by a nose, Ford second and Mahaffy third.
Less than five-hundredths of a second separated those podium finishers as they crossed the line.
YMF R3 Cup Race One Results Tom Edwards Hunter Ford +0.015 Jack Mahaffy +0.042
YMF R3 Cup Race One Results
Tom Edwards
Hunter Ford +0.015
Jack Mahaffy +0.042
Locky Taylor +12.208
Ben Bramich +22.034
Troy Ryan +22.063
Jonah Sita +22.516
Dan Thomas +22.526
Tayla Relph +22.781
Jack Passfield +32.561
Laura Brown +32.644
Harry Khouri +32.677
Andrew Hannan +42.185
Ross Beames +46.238
Callum O’Brien +55.072
Boyd Hocking +56.410
Jake Brett +76.797
YMF R3 Cup Qualifying
Tom Edwards 1m49.671
Jack Mahaffy 1m50.036
Hunter Ford 1m50.412
Locky Taylor 1m52.068
Tayla Relph 1m52.933
Ben Bramich 1m53.218
Ty Lynch 1m53.227
Sita 1m53.713
Jack Passfield 1m53.797
Dan Thomas 1m53.829
Tom Edwards – Image by TBG
Moto3 / 125 GP Race One
Race One for the Moto 3 / 125GP of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) was won by Dylan Whiteside (Aussie Crane Trucks, Honda NSF250R) at the Spokes.com.au presents Round 7 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. A red flag after four completed laps brought an early end to proceedings.
Whiteside took pole position in the second qualifying session for today’s race in the Moto 3 / 125GP class. Backing up the pace he set in yesterday’s practice sessions.
It would be Whiteside to get the hole shot into Turn One but he would have Joel Kelso (JDS Moto, Honda NSF250R) for company for the duration of the race. The two battled back and forth until a red flag was brought out due to a crash at Turn One Involving Peter McFarlane (Fastline GP Racing, Honda RS 125). Racing was declared after 4 laps and half points were awarded.
Whiteside and Kelso did not manage to finish the race, with another incident on the final lap, who were declared first and second due to the race being reverted back to the 4 lap distance.
Taran Ocean (B-spoke Design, Honda RS 125) was the fastest of the 125cc runners in fifth position. The fastest lap of the race went to Kelso with a 1:43.179.
Dave MANSON (Fastline GP Racing, Aprilia/Honda RSW/RS)
Mark LAING-HUGHES (Fastline GP Racing, Yamaha TZ 125)
David DOUGHTY (Fastline GPRacing, Aprilia RS)
Jeremy HUDDLESTONE (B spoke Design, Honda RS125)
Mark DEJONG (Mustard Bikes, Honda RS 125)
Moto3 / 125 GP Race One Results
Sidecar Race One
The Horsell Consulting Round 4 of the 2017 Australian F1 & F2 Sidecar Championship kicked off at the end of qualifying day and thrilled attendees at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the Spokes.com.au presents Round 7 of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) with an eight lap race to remember.
Race One started at 16:10 PM in the afternoon after Duncan Rogers / Rodney Bell (Ashburton Service Ctr F1 LCR GSXR) 1:45.931 took pole position in the morning’s qualifier.
The circulation saw a four-way battle playout on the tarmac as the outfits thundered around the long sweeping Island circuit.
Taking the victory would be Dave BOUGHEN / Lok O’KANE (F1, Suzuki GSXR) with Duncan ROGERS / Rodney BELL (Ashburton Service Ctr, F1, LCR GSXR) 3.393 seconds further back. Bruce COLLINS / Peter DEANGELIS (Breeze Logistics Australia, F2, LCR 600) finished in third, finishing a further 31.555 seconds behind. Fourth on the world famous circuit was Howard FORD / Lee MENZIES (B Beard Concreting, Suzuki GSXR), both showing great pace. The first F2 to cross the line when the flag droped was Bruce COLLINS / Peter DEANGELIS (Breeze Logistics Australia, F2, LCR 600) in third outright.
F2 Sidecars Race winners Collins and DeAngeles were victorious the F2 class, stating on the podium; “Racing was great and there was nothing left out there on track! We kept it nailed the whole way around. That was some of the best racing yet! Mick and Chrissy were tight as always and the Irving was putting up a great fight too.”
F1 Sidecars class leaders Dave Boughen and Lok O’Kane were delighted in their result today winning F1 class and outright for Race One. Boughen sharing; “We got away quickly off the line, even on cold tyres and we managed to stay out in front out of traffic. We even had time to look around a bit to see who was around!”
Dave BOUGHEN / Lok O’KANE (F1, Suzuki GSXR)
Duncan ROGERS / Rodney BELL (Ashburton Service Ctr, F1, LCR GSXR)
Bruce COLLINS / Peter DEANGELIS (Breeze Logistics Australia, F2, LCR 600)
Howard FORD / Lee MENZIES (B Beard Concreting, Suzuki GSXR)