The second and final day of the Official Pre-Season Test of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) is now in the books. Finishing off the day on the top of the timesheets was Glenn Allerton who has returned to the NextGen Motorsports Team. The result putting himself in a great position heading into Round 1 alongside the WorldSBK Australian Round, 22-25 February at the very same track, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
With only a 22-day turnaround until the ASBK season begins, riders and teams will need to assess all the data from the test for a competitive Round 1 weekend.
YMI Superbike
Three-time-ASBK Champion, Glenn Allerton (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S1000RR) stamped his authority on the competition during day two of the test, setting his fastest lap, a 1:32.728 very late in the final YMI Superbike session. Allerton dethroning Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-10R) from finishing on top. Staring managing a 1:32.761. The Official ASBK Test being a very successful outing for Allerton and Staring who have both changed teams for 2018.
Allerton sharing “It’s a great feeling to return to NextGen Motorsports on the BMWS1000RR and come out on top. I knew we had all the pieces of the puzzle to come out as fastest but we just had to work our way through the windy conditions. I just had to make sure I put in a consistent lap through all sectors. Last year was tough with the injury and a change of team. It didn’t go my way. People may think on the sidelines “Can he still do the job, is he hurt?” I know deep down that I can and I will always believe in myself. I will work as hard as I can and show what I can do.”
In third position was reigning Champion, Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R) who got his title defense off to a solid start. Waters was not far off the fastest lap of Allerton with a 1:32.838.
2015 YMI Superbike Champion, Mike Jones was fourth fastest who took part in the test to hone his skills. Jones showing, he can mix it with the best of them despite a late entry into the Official Test with his registered time of 1:33.158, which was good enough to top the third practice session overall.
After finishing on top yesterday, Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) fell down the order slightly into fifth but he has shown enough to suggest he will be a contender for the title once again. The ‘Wayne Train’ putting in a 1:33.160.
Fastest Provisional Overall Times:
1. Glenn ALLERTON (NextGen Motorsports, BMWS1000RR) 1:32.728
2. Bryan STARING (BCperformance, ZX-10R) 1:32.761
3. Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia, GSX-R1000R) 1:32.838
4. Mike JONES (Kawasaki ZX10R) 1:33.158
5. Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) 1:33.160
6. Daniel FALZON (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) 1:33.244
7. Michael BLAIR (Michael Blair Racing, Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:33.633
8. Troy HERFOSS (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP) 1:33.745
9. Matthew WALTERS (Swann Insurance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:33.754
10.Troy BAYLISS (Desmosport Ducati, Ducati 1299 Panigale Final Edition) 1:33.950
Kawasaki Supersport
After the announcement that Kawasaki Australia would be the naming rights sponsor for the Kawasaki Supersport class, Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, ZX-6R) managed to lodge the fastest time in class, a 1:36.354. The Cube Racing rider, set his fastest time on day one. Toparis is all set up for a crack at the championship in 2018. Toparis had a crash during the third session today.
Toparis saying after the last session today; “The stack earlier in the day definitely set us back. So we managed to get the other bike out. This is really the first time I’ve ridden two different bikes back to back. I’m really excited to be back for Round 1 and this extra time on the track should hold us in good stead for Round 1.”
In second position was WorldSSP rider, Lachlan Epis (ResponseRE, Kawasaki ZX-6R) also remained in second position with his time of 1:36.354.
Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R6) completed the top three overall times on his return with the Yamaha Racing Team as a factory rider. With Tom ‘E-Gun’ Edwards
and Nic Liminton coming fourth and fifth respectively.
Fastest Provisional Overall Times:
1. Tom TOPARIS (Cube Racing, ZX-6R) 1:36.354
2. Lachlan EPIS (ResponseRE, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:36.378
3. Cru HALLIDAY (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:36.474
4. Tom EDWARDS (Bikebiz, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.220
5. Nic LIMINTON (YRD, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.425
6. Giuseppe SCARCELLA (BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:37.794
7. Broc PEARSON (Yamaha, YZF-R6) 1:38.242
8. Damon REES (Tony Rees Motorcycles, Honda CBR600RR) 1:38.268
9. Brendan CLARKE (Champion’s Performance Centre, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:38.712
10. Rhys BELLING (LXI Racing, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.929
Australian Supersport 300 / YMF R3 Cup
Fastest overall was once again Tom Bramich for the combined Australian Supersport 300 / YMF R3 Cup sessions. Bramich setting his fastest flying lap in the last session, a 1:50.561. Bramich was very pleased with the progress made over the course of the test and made critical changes to the bike to put himself in a top position.
Bramich saying; “Today was an even better day. Fortunately, we had less windy conditions and I had my main mechanic here to help me out. We’ve made some setup changes and I feel we’ve made a big step. We changed a lot to do with rider position with the handlebars and I felt more comfortable. I can’t wait for Round 1 to get underway!”
After a great end to his 2017 campaign, Hunter Ford (YRD Yamaha, YZF-R3) was second quickest. 1:50.918 was Ford’s fastest lap being a further 0.357 off the pace of, Bramich.
Young gun, Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja 300) finished third overall in the timesheets for Cube Racing Team. Tom’s brother, Ben Bramich (GowMoto, KTM RC 390) finished fourth, while Harry Khouri (Acid Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) made a big step up from yesterday to move into the top five.
Fastest Provisional Overall Times:
1. Tom BRAMICH (Yamaha, YZF-R3) 1:50.561
2. Hunter FORD (YRD Yamaha, YZF-R3) 1:50.918
3. Oliver BAYLISS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki, Ninja 300) 1:50.996
4. Ben BRAMICH (GowMoto, KTM RC 390) 1:51.715
5. Harry KHOURI (Acid Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:51.870
6. Seth CRUMP (Rock Oil, KTM RC 390) 1:51.983
7. Jarred BROOK (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) 1:52.232
8. Max STAUFFER (Chris Watson Motorcycles, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:52.578
9. Laura BROWN (WNR, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:54.359
10. Corey BRIFFA (Alex Cudlin Motorsports, KTM RC 390) 1:54.543
Now that the Pre-Season Official Test has concluded, it’s all systems go for ASBK to kickoff for Round 1 alongside the WorldSBK Australian Round, 22-25 February. With plenty of exciting competition, it’s all to play for in 2018 with too many contenders to name. ASBK is ready to go racing!