With track temperatures and anticipation at an all-time high, the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship put on a show for the crowds during Saturday's qualifying sessions.
Privateer racer, Daniel Falzon (JD Racing, Yamaha YZF-R1) will start from the number one grid marker for today’s Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance (YMI) Superbike races.
Falzon has demonstrated strong pace throughout all the practice sessions, and it was no surprise to see the Yamaha mounted rider on pole. Falzon quickly got down to work, posting a 1:06.055 for his fastest qualifying lap in Darwin’s sultry conditions.
However, Falzon was not without his challenger, Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSXR-1000R) who posted a 1:06.139 to finish only .084 of a second away and in second position.
Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1) completed the tantalising front row after building anticipation throughout the weekend. Maxwell’s fastest lap was a 1:06.236, and nipping at the heels of Falzon and Waters. It will be interesting to see how Maxwell will fare in the all-important races today when the lights go out.
Fourth and fifth positions belong to teammates Troy Herfoss (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team Honda CBR-1000SP2) and Bryan Staring (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team Honda CBR-1000SP2) as they rapidly adjust to their brand new Hondas. Herfoss came close to cracking the top three, but is still in a position of strength for today’s race. Staring also can’t be counted out of impressive surprise race results.
A few incidents peppered the final qualifying session this afternoon, when Beau Beaton (Racers Edge Performance, Ducati Pannigale 1199) crashed at turn six after an injury free low-side. The red flag was brought out shortly afterwards when Matthew Harding (K&R Hydrulics, Kawasaki ZX10R) over shot turn one, also without injury.
Notable performances were witnessed from Glenn Allerton (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1), who still managed to finish seventh on his mid-season comeback after injury. Rookie Superbike rider Corey Turner managed to stick with the pack, qualifying eighth on his Yamaha.
Quotes from the Riders
Daniel Falzon
“This whole weekend it’s been Josh Waters, Wayne Maxwell and myself, fighting towards the top, slightly ahead of all the others. I went out with ten minutes to go and planned it to perfection. Josh put in a fast lap in the dying minutes and I knew I had one shot to get the pole. It was a hectic lap, probably the most wild of my entire career! We put it all on the line to get that pole, that’s all that matters.”
Josh Waters
“That was a close qualifying session! I am really happy with the bike and the team, we do have the new spec bike, which has helped us get up there. Our main competition is very strong but I’m ecstatic to achieve the second place. We’ll see how we go on Sunday. It could be anyone’s game in top ten!”
Top Ten YMI Superbike Provisional Saturday Qualifying Results
1 Daniel FALZON (JD Racing, Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:06.055
2 Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSXR-1000R) 1:06.139
3 Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1) 1:06.236
4 Troy HERFOSS (Crankt Protein Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP2) 1:06.398
5 Bryan STARING (Crankt Protein Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP2) 1:06.533
6 Robert BUGDEN (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:06.539
7 Glenn ALLERTON (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1) 1:06.895
8 Corey TURNER (YRD Exhaust Prof, Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:06.941
9 Cru HALLIDAY (Yamaha Finance, Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:07.051
10 Michael BLAIR (Yamaha YRT, Yamaha YZF-R1) 1:07.448