Yamaha 1-2 on the grid at Wakefield Park | Saturday round up

ASBK 2022 Round Three – Wakefield Park
Alpinestars Saturday Round Up #2

A few spots of precipitation had been falling ever so gently and sparsely in the lead up to the Saturday afternoon qualifying sessions here at Wakefield Park to keep people on their toes but then it turned into sunshine and warmth just at the right time.

Daniel Falzon’s troublesome Friday had saw the South Australian have to contest Q1 for the first time in his career. He would definitely want to ensure his graduation but only with the minimal amount of laps required to do so in order to have some rubber left for Q2, however, his competitors in the 15-minute session didn’t make it easy for him as the battle for promotion was hotly contested.

Mark Chiodo set the marker early on with a 58.158 and was comfortably ahead on that time for most of the session, it was not until a flurry of laps in the final minutes of the session saw his position threatened with Walters and Falzon getting close.  

Chiodo responded though with his first 57 of the weekend, a 57.932 to top the session ahead of Matt Walters (58.164) and Daniel Falzon booking his spot with a 58.175 on the eighth of his 11 laps. 

Max Stauffer sat out the session as he is feeling fairly battered and bruised from a tumble here yesterday afternoon.  He is unsure if he will ride tomorrow at this stage and if he does he will have to start from the back of the grid.

Alpinestars Superbike Q1

Alpinestars Superbike Q2

Q2 got underway at 1510 with a track temperature of just over 25-degrees under a cloudy sky.

It took the riders a little longer than I had expected for them to muster real pace with the quick times not coming until the riders had made their first stop in the pits. Maxwell putting in a 57.076 as the first shot across the bows and backed it up with a similar 57.093.

Mike Jones then responded with a 56.960 and then backed it up with a stunning 56.673, a new fastest lap of the weekend and qualifying lap record.  His YRT team-mate Cru Halliday almost matched him, a 56.774 for the #65 and with four-minutes remaining in the session it was a provisional YRT 1-2 fronting the grid.

And that is how it ended, a YRT 1-2 with Maxwell rounding out the front row on 57.006, three-tenths slower than he had managed yesterday.  A small problem on the bike held Maxwell back in that session but he wasn’t keen to elaborate on exactly what it was.

Troy Herfoss was seventh for most of the session but promoted himself up to P5 on his final lap as he inches closer and closer to the front runners.

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Bryan Staring put his fastest lap of the weekend in to head that second row on 57.104 ahead of Herfoss (57.201) while Josh Waters (57.303) took top BMW honours to round out that second row.

Arthur Sissis (57.364) heads row three alongside Glenn Allerton (57.571) and Lachlan Epis (57.641) while Mark Chiodo (58.019) completes the top ten ahead of Matt Walters (58.321) and Daniel Falzon (58.727).

Race one is scheduled to get underway at 1120 with the second 20-lap bout slated for 1510.

Alpinestars Superbike Q2

Alpinestars Superbike Combined Qualifying

Michelin Supersport

After an almost seven-year absence from any serious racing Sean Condon took pole position today in the Michelin Supersport category.  

Condon’s 59.300 in Q1 best John Lytras’ 59.462 and Ty Lynch’s 59.516 to take pole with all three riders on the front row setting their fastest time in the morning session.

Scott Nicholson heads the second row ahead of Tom Bramich and Tom Drane while Dallas Skeer will start from row three. 

Michelin Supersport Friday Combined

Dunlop Supersport 300 Race One

Glenn Nelson and Cameron Dunker quickly set about distancing themselves from the field in the opening Supersport 300 ten-lap encounter.  That pair had a second over their pursuers by the end of the opening lap and had stretched that advantage out to more than three-seconds by half-race distance. Nothing separated that pair throughout the entire race and only five-thousandths of a second was between them at the flag, but it was Dunker whose nose was in front at the chequered to claim the victory.

James Jacobs was the best of the rest ahead, crossing the line just ahead of Taiyo Aksu, Jonathan Nahlous, Hayden Nelson, Cameron Swain and Brodie Gawith. Liam Waters had also been in the second group but crashed out with three laps to run.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Race One Results

Dunlop Supersport 300 Qualifying

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

In qualifying, it was again Cameron Dunker who put his Yamaha R3 onto the pole with a time of 1:05.070 from Cameron Swain (1:05.695) with Hayden Nelson (1:05.763) rounding out the front row.

With a .6 second gap back to second, it was all about whether Dunker could break the shackles of towing around the other riders.

In race one, Dunker tried to slip the chain and head off into the distance. Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson grit their teeth and ducked low behind their screens and would not let Dunker get a gap.

At the midpoint of the race, the leading trio had ground out a five-second lead to guarantee that they would fill the podium spots, but the exact order was still up for grabs.

At the line, Dunker fulfilled his pace and promise by taking the win from Glenn Nelson with Hayden Nelson in third.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Race One  Results

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Qualifying

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

In qualifying one, Hudson Thompson’s seemingly unbeatable form took a hit when Harrison Watts put his R15 a scant .083 ahead. Marcus Hamod was just .158 behind the leader and .076 behind Thompson. It all added up to a must-watch race one.

..and it was. Five riders: Hudson Thompson, Harrison Watts, Marcus Hamod, Cameron Rende and Levi Russo all set sail for the finish line and were not taking passengers. This group were able to stretch their group lead while also fighting non-stop for the lead of the race. Trackside commentators Mark Bracks and Lachlan Mansell could barely keep up as the riders slipstreamed, dived in under brakes and otherwise diced for the lead. It was good, clean racing and it was riveting.

While the leading five were duking it out, some five or so seconds back another pack of six riders were similarly locked in combat. This group: Hunter Corney, Alexander Codey, Teerin Fleming, Sam Drane, Ryan Larkin and Bodie Paige also traded the lead of their group and as a result, were not able to get after the leading five.

As the laps ticked over, the leading quintet started to prepare themselves for the all-important track position for the final lap- and corner. As they rolled through the last corner, Harrison Watts was able to position himself perfectly and take the win from Thompson, Rende, Hamod, and Russo.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race One

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Combined Qualifying

TBC

Alpinestars Superbike Championship Points

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2022 ASBK Calendar