Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R) kicked off the 2018 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) season in strong form, after topping the opening free practice session within the YMI Superbike Class. Up to 50 Superbike machines have entered for this weekend’s racing, the most in the modern era. The return of Troy Bayliss (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale R FE) also got off to a great start with the second fastest time.
The YMI Superbike Practice One threw up plenty of intrigue as the reigning YMI Superbike Champion, Waters blasted his way to the top of the time sheets. Waters’ title defence couldn’t have started better. The fastest time of the day for Waters was a 1:32.798.
Waters commenting; “It was a great result, but of course it’s only practice! I still had the same feeling as the final round of the 2017 season. Phil Tainton and the team have done a brilliant job to improve the bike for this first practice. I hope to keep this up for the remaining days. There’s still areas for improvement so we’ll keep pushing.”
Coming up in second place was none other than three time WorldSBK Champion Bayliss, showing a massive improvement from testing. The result has putting smiles on the faces of ASBK fans everywhere. Bayliss and his Desmosport Ducati could be in for a chance of fighting towards the top of the Qualifying timesheets for tomorrow, as he registered a very competitive 1:33.410.
Bayliss sharing; “It was a good first session and we’ve made changes to the Panigale to make it handle a lot better. I’m looking forward to more sessions tomorrow. If I can find more time in the areas where I’m struggling, I think we can up the pace even further.”
Up next in third position was last year’s Round 1 winner Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M). Falzon managed to win three YMI Superbike races back in 2017 at Round 1 and is well in contention to fight for victory in 2018. As a newly appointed Yamaha Racing Team Factory rider, Falzon posted a time of 1:33.657.
2016 YMI Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda, Honda CBR1000RR SP) set the fourth fastest time, followed by Yamaha enforcer Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) in fifth.
YMI Superbike gets back on track at 9:00 AM for Practice Two on Friday. Qualifying takes place at 13:40.
YMI Superbike Thursday Practice Top Ten Times
1. Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia, Suzuki GSX-R1000R) 1:32.798
2. Troy BAYLISS (Desmosport Ducati Ducati Panigale FE) 1:33.410
3. Daniel FALZON (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:33.657
4. Troy HERFOSS (Penrite Honda, Honda CBR1000RR SP) 1:33.662
5. Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:33.665
6. Glenn ALLERTON (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S1000 RR) 1:33.876
7. Michael JONES (Allsite Concrete Cutting, Kawasaki ZX-10R)
8. Michael BLAIR (Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:34.177
9. Bryan STARING (Kawasaki BC Performance, Kawasaki ZX10R) 1:34.344
10. Matt WALTERS (Swann Insurance Superbike, Kawasaki ZX-10) 1:34.471
Australian Supersport
Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R) was fastest for Thursday’s Australian Supersport practice session on his Kawasaki machine. Young Toparis will be pulling double duty this weekend, as he will also be competing as a wildcard in the WorldSSP class this weekend. Toparis lapping ‘The Island’ with a 1:37.515.
Toparis saying after the session; “Of course it’s good to be quickest again. It’s also great to get back into it after my crash the other day. We are just sorting out the difference from the WorldSSP bike to my ASBK Supersport 600, so it’s interesting to see. I think we are looking good heading into tomorrow and hopefully we can work it all out. We ended up fastest, so I am feeling really good going into tomorrow.”
Up next was Yamaha Factory rider, Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6) who rode the brand new YZF-R6 with great skill, posting a 1:37.536 to just miss out on the top position.
Giuseppe Scarcella (BCPerformance Junior Team, Kawasaki ZX6R) enjoyed his debut for the BCpeformance Junior Team. Scarcella once again joins ASBK, after a stint in WorldSSP last year. The Kawasaki rider managed a 1:38.615.
The top five was completed by Brendan Clarke (Champions Ride Days Race Team, Kawasaki ZX-6R) and Nic Liminton (Yamaha YZF-R6).
Fans can catch the Australian Supersport class at 8:20 AM for Free Practice Two, Qualifying will take place at 14:05 in the afternoon.
Australian Supersport Thursday Practice Top Ten Times
1. Tom TOPARIS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R) 1:37.515
2. Cru HALLIDAY (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:37.536
3. Giuseppe SCARCELLA (BCPerformance Junior Team, Kawasaki ZX6R) 1:38.615
4. Brendan CLARKE (Champions Ride Days Race Team, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:38.636
5. Nic LIMINTON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.713
6. Max CROKER (Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:39.663
7. Damon REES (Carl Cox Motorsports, Honda CBR600RR) 1:39.875
8. Broc PEARSON (Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:40.425
9. Aidan HAYES (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:40.501
10. Rhys BELLING (LXI Racing, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:40.910
Australian Supersport 300
It’s a new era for the Australian Supersport 300 class with Australia’s best road racing talent rising through the ranks, and 2018 looks like it will be no exception to the rule. This year the ‘Up To’ and ‘Over’ classes are no more, with all models battling it as one unified class.
Despite a red flag coming out during the session that halted preceding’s, Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja 300) kept a cool head and posted a 1:49.931 to come out fastest.
Tom Bramich (Nolan Helmets, Yamaha YZF-R3) was on top for the majority of the session, but Bayliss managed to set a late lap to shoot to the top of the timesheets. Bramich setting a 1:50.390.
Coming up in third position was young gun, Locky Taylor (LTR Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) with his time of 1:51.261.
Harry Khouri (Acid Racing, Yamaha R3 321) and Jarred Brook (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) completed the top five.
Action resumes for the Australian Supersport 300 at 8:40AM tomorrow morning for the second practice with Qualifying at 13:20PM.
Australian Supersport 300 Top Ten Provisional Times
1. Oliver BAYLISS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja 300) 1:49.931
2. Tom BRAMICH (Nolan Helmets, Yamaha R3 321) 1:50.390
3. Locky TAYLOR (LTR Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:51.261
4. Harry KHOURI (Acid Racing, Yamaha R3 321) 1:51.286
5. Jarred BROOK (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) 1:51.456
6. Zac LEVY (Puma RV’s Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:52.633
7. Ben BRAMICH (GOWMoto, KTM RC 390) 1:52.731
8. Luke POWER (Angel Wings, Kawasaki Ninja 300) 1:52.841
9. Seth CRUMP (Rock Oil, KTM RC 390) 1:52.928
10. Hunter FORD (Ford Brothers Racing, Yamaha R3 321) 1:53.052
YMF R3 Cup
Over in the YMF R3 Cup which joins the Australian WorldSBK Round as a support category this year, former Australian Moto3 Champion, Bramich was fastest managing to set a blistering 1:51.571.
Bramich saying; “For sure the bike is going well, we are using the same settings as we did at Phillip Island for the test the other week and we are building on our pace and hopefully tomorrow we can go faster. We still have a further Australian Supersport 300 practice session to come before qualifying.”
In second was rising star Locky Taylor, lodging a time of 1:51.601. Third was the son of former Australian Superbike Champion Jamie Stauffer, Max. Stauffer showing plenty of promise and adapting well to his YZF-R3 machine with a 1:52.116.
2017 podium placer Laura Brown (WNR, Yamaha YZF-R3) set the fourth fastest time, followed by Harry Khouri (Acid Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) to round out the top five.
The YMF R3 Cup action will resume at 8:00AM, with Qualifying concluding tomorrow’s action at 16:25.
YMF R3 Cup Top Ten Provisional Times
1. Tom BRAMICH (Nolan Helmets, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:51.571
2. Locky TAYLOR (LTR Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:51.601
3. Max STAUFFER (Chris Watson M-cycles, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:52.116
4. Laura BROWN (WNR, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:52.667
5. Harry KHOURI (Acid Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:52.873
6. Zac LEVY (Puma RV’S, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:53.930
7. Travis HALL (Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:54.104
8. Troy RYAN (Taree Motorcycles, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:54.335
9. Hunter FORD (Ford Brothers Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:54.464
10. Callum O’BRIEN (BANHAMS WA, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:54.567
It all concludes a very interesting day at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for Thursday practice. Stay tuned to all ASBK channels to see who comes out on top for Qualifying sessions tomorrow.
2018 ASBK Calendar
Round 1- WSBK, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC February 22 – 25
Round 2- Wakefield Park Raceway, Goulburn NSW March 16 – 18
Official ASBK Test, The Bend Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend, SA April 3-4
Round 3- The Bend Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend, SA April 19 – 22
Round 4- Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT June 28 – 1 July
Round 5- Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD August 17 – 19
Round 6- Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC September 7 – 9
Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14
Photos courtesy of Andrew Gosling – tbg sport