YMI Superbike Championship leader, Troy Herfoss is ready for Round 4 of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship after clocking the fastest lap in practice.
Herfoss continued his form with a lap of 1:06.033, followed closely by Troy Bayliss (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale) who registered a 1:06.198 to put himself right in the mix come qualifying tomorrow at Hidden Valley Raceway.
YMI Superbike
Herfoss is thrilled with the speed he found, rating it his best Friday of season 2018; “It was really good, probably one of the best Fridays we have had. We immediately found speed in the first session and got a really good understanding of where the bike is at. I’m pretty excited to see what I can get out the bike in one lap tomorrow, and this gives us great confidence for the weekend and we should be in the race come Sunday,” said Herfoss.
Bayliss looked very impressive on his Desmosport Ducati and its easy to tell he is despearte to claim a win here at Hidden Valley, with second on the time sheets overall.
After getting the monkey off his back and landing his new ride on the podium at the last round, Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) is in contention for another pole position at Darwin with a 1:06.294.
The man in green, Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-10R) has found the speed that got his season off to a flyer at Phillip Island, finishing with practice with a best time of 1:06.399.
Rounding out the top five is the man currently sitting in second place in the YMI Superbike points race, Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) who clocked a 1:06.494 but expect Maxwell to be ready when it comes to qualifying.
Many of the riders used today’s practice to find a rhythm on the Hidden Valley circuit but look for them to push into tomorrow and find extra pace as we enter qualifying.
Qualifying kicks off at 10:40am for session number one before the paddock is back out at 2:25pm, as the field contest to take out the inaugural Elite Roads Superbike Pole Position Award and book themselves a number one grid slot position.
YMI Superbike Friday Practice Top Ten Times
1. Troy HERFOSS (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR RR SP) 1:06.033
2. Troy BAYLISS (Desmosport Ducati, Ducati 1299 FE) 1:06.198
3. Daniel FALZON (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:06.294
4. Bryan STARING (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:06.399
5. Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:06.494
6. Glenn ALLERTON (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S RR) 1:06.514
7. Jamie STAUFFER (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R) 1:06.541
8. Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-RR) 1:06.620
9. Kyle BUCKLEY (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:07.050
10. Mark CHIODO (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-RR) 1:07.069
Kawasaki Supersport
Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R6) has sent a message to his Kawasaki Supersport competitors as he rocketed his Yamaha to the top of the time sheets at Hidden Valley Raceway during practice. Halliday clocked a best lap of 1:08.430, with Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R) sitting in second with a time of 1:08.547.
Halliday is looking for consistency this weekend, but feels confident heading into qualifying; “I would of liked to have gone a little bit quicker but we are taking this round a bit differently to The Bend. We are looking for consistency and I’m pleased with our race run in that final session. I’m pretty confident heading into qualifying tomorrow and then the races on Sunday,” finished Halliday.
Max Croker (Mat Mladin Racing, Suzuki GSX-R600) will take great confidence into the weekend’s racing, after stopping the clock at 1:09.226, coming off the back of a podium in the final race at The Bend Motorsport Park.
A return from WorldSSP back to ASBK has seen Lachlan Epis (ResponseRE, Kawasaki ZX-6R) finish practice in fourth position aboard his Kawasaki, registering a fastest lap of 1:09.361.
Rounding out the top five was Giuseppe Scarcella (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-6R) who will have to find some time during tomorrow’s qualifying, if he wants to push himself into that lead group.
The hot weather will play a big part in the weekend’s racing as the temperatures hit above 30 degrees and the track reaching 48 degrees throughout the day.
Today was a good hit out for the Kawasaki Supersport riders, but it gets serious tomorrow with qualifying kicking off at 9:25am and then again at 1:10pm.
Kawasaki Supersport Friday Practice Top Ten Times
1. Cru HALLIDAY (Yamaha Racing Team,YZF-R6) 1:08.430
2. Tom TOPARIS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:08.547
3. Max CROKER (Mat Mladin Racing, Suzuki GSX-R) 1:09.226
4. Lachlan EPIS (ResponseRE, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:09.361
5. Giuseppe SCARCELLA (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:09.958
6. Zac JOHNSON (Rebuilder, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.055
7. Damon REES (Carl Cox M-Sports, Honda CBR RR) 1:10.414
8. Scott NICHOLSON (NextGen Motorsports, Suzuki GSX-R) 1:10.452
9. Rhys BELLING (LXI Racing, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.756
10. Mick HEFFERAN (Quack Pest Control, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:10.797
Australian Supersport 300
Fastest in the highly competitive Australian Supersport 300 class was championship leader Tom Bramich (YRT, Yamaha YZF-R3). Despite a late tumble, Bramich continued his outstanding form and looks set once again to compete for victory. The Yamaha mounted rider managing a 1:18.443 in the brilliant conditions. The lap being the fastest recorded around this track for the 300 class.
Bramich sharing after the practice sessions; “We had a successful Friday practice here at Darwin. The positive sign is that we have managed to find a great setting and I’m fairly confident heading into qualifying and race one tomorrow. I managed to have a fair few laps by myself today to run race simulations, which has confirmed our strong pace. There are many fast riders out there and I had a look at their techniques to analyse how to go faster at this track. At the moment, it’s about focusing on myself.”
The former Red Bull Rookies Cup rider, Olly Simpson (Simpson Crash, Yamaha YZF-R3) continues to excel after making his return to ASBK, lodging the second fastest time. Perhaps a victory could be on the cards for Simpson, who is adapting quickly to the Australian championship.
Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja 300) had a productive day for his outfit managing to slot into third fastest on the timesheets. The result a positive step forward after a difficult round at The Bend. Keep an eye out for him to improve his pace throughout the duration of the weekend.
Another father son prodigy, Seth Crump (Rock Oil, KTM RC390) continues his rise through the ranks with the fourth fastest time. It will be interesting to see how the single cylinder KTM battles it out amongst the parallel twins of the Yamaha’s and Kawasaki’s.
Completing the top five was Harry Khouri (Acid racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) who has been one of the riders of the season so far. He currently resides in third in the championship.
Race one for the Australian Supersport 300 goes underway at 3:05pm local time tomorrow.
Australian Supersport 300 Friday Practice Top Ten Times
1. Tom BRAMICH (YRT, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:18.443
2. Olly SIMPSON (Simpson Crash, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:18.704
3. Oli BAYLISS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja 300) 1:18.888
4. Seth CRUMP (Rock Oil, KTM RC390) 1:19.133
5. Harry KHOURI (Acid racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:19.299
6. Hunter FORD (YRD, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:19.346
7. Tayla RELPH (Earmold Australia, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:19.398
8. Callum O’BRIEN (Banhams WA-Victoria, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:19.413
9. Locky TAYLOR (Shark Leathers, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:19.414
10. Zac LEVY (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3) 1:19.430
Tomorrow is the big qualifying day for Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway and its sure to be a thriller with five different classes battling it out for supremacy! Make sure to attend or check out the coverage on SBS, Foxsports or ASBK Livestream.