Opening round Superbike winner reverts to second YZF-R1 for Wakefield Park.
Image: Russell Colvin.
Phillip Island winner Aiden Wagner faces an up-hill challenge in round two of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) after smashing his primary race bike in practice one.
Wagner, who stunned by winning the opener and currently leads the ASBK premier class points, was forced to eject from his Landbridge Racing Yamaha at speed this morning.
The Queenslander returned to the circuit for practice two later in the afternoon, however his privateer team continued to work into the evening as they prepare a competitive back-up bike for the weekend’s remainder.
“Everything’s all good,” Wagner declared to CycleOnline.com.au. “There was a heap of riders coming out of pit-lane, sitting there and doing nothing – going about 30km/h as I came around turn one. I had nowhere to go, so it was either going to be bowling through the pack or going down by myself.
“I stood it up-right, went to the back-side of them and pulled the front brake as hard as I could, so I destroyed the bike that I wanted to race. We tried to use the other bike, but it had some teething issues and now we’re building another bike here. Looking forward to giving it another crack tomorrow.”
Wagner’s lap-time of 58.677s set in the opening session this morning placed him eighth overall on combined times, however he did drop to 13th on the charts in practice two. The third outing was cancelled due to rain in the area.
Maxwell and Falzon lockout top three as Toparis lodges fastest Supersport time.
Image: Russell Colvin.
Reigning champion Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) has topped Friday practice at Wakefield Park’s second round of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) in New South Wales.
Afternoon rainfall prompted majority of FP3 sessions to be declared, with dry conditions earlier in proceedings offering up the fastest times on the opening day of riding.
Number one plated Herfoss clocked the quickest time in FP2 with a lap of 57.455s, edging former champion Wayne Maxwell (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia), who wound up with a 57.754s time.
Yamaha Racing Team duo Daniel Falzon and Cru Halliday were third and fourth respectively with 57.757s and 57.916s times, while Mike Jones locked out the top five with a 58.116s lap in his DesmoSport Ducati homecoming.
Sixth through to 10th consisted of Josh Waters (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia), Alex Phillis (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia), Aiden Wagner (Yamaha) – who escaped injury in a heavy fall in FP1 – Bryan Staring (BCperformance Kawasaki) and Damon Rees (Honda).
In the Supersport category, it was points leader Tom Toparis (Landbridge Yamaha) who set the pace with a blistering time of 59.507s, finishing well ahead of second’s Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing), posting a best-lap of 1m0.471s.
Rounding out the top three was Broc Pearson (Yamaha) with a 1m00.565s lap, finishing the session narrowly quicker than Reid Battye (Team Suzuki Ecstar Australia) and Ty Lynch (Yamaha).
Image: Russell Colvin.
The Supersport 300 class was topped by Max Stauffer (Yamaha), Harry Khouri (Yamaha) and Ben Baker (Yamaha), while the Yamaha R3 Cup was also blitzed by Stauffer ahead of John Lytras (Yamaha) and Baker. The inaugural round of the Oceania Junior Cup saw Cros Francis (Yamaha) lodge the fastest time over Carter Thompson (Yamaha) and Jacob Roulstone (Yamaha).
Bikes will be back on-track tomorrow for qualifying and the first races of the weekend.
Triumph Australia has joined a global recall on a range of its 900cc and 1200cc Bonneville models over faulty electrics.
Canada was the first to recall the faulty bikes and some three weeks later the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published the official recall notice.
“The clutch cable may contact the main harness sheath, potentially causing damage to the wiring within the harness,” the notice says.
“If this condition occurs and remains undetected, it may lead to a loss of electrical power to various electrical circuits.
“As a consequence, headlight or indicator lighting may malfunction or engine power could be lost without warning, increasing the risk of a crash.”
Faulty recall
Street Scrambler
It is believed Australian distributors PS Importers contacted known owners a couple of weeks ago.
Typically, the ACCC has taken several weeks to issue the public recall notice, despite the urgency of the issue.
The recall affects model year 2016-19 Triumphs with the following VIN (Vehicle identification number) ranges:
Owners are asked to schedule an authorised Triumph Dealer “as soon as possible” to have the original faulty headstock tidy replaced with a new version, free of charge.
Bonneville T100
Bonneville recalls
The Bonneville range has been the subject of several recalls since they were introduced in 2016:
Even though manufacturers and importers usually contact owners when a recall is issued, the bike may have been sold privately to a rider unknown to the company.
Therefore, Motorbike Writer publishes all motorcycle and scooter recalls as a service to all riders.
If you believe there is an endemic problem with your bike that should be recalled, contact the ACCC on 1300 302 502.
To check whether your motorcycle has been recalled, click on these sites:
Practice two crash sees Maxima BMW S 1000 RR sent over pit wall.
Image: Russell Colvin.
Maxima BMW’s Ted Collins was unharmed in a major incident during free practice two this afternoon in round two of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK).
Collins crashed on the exit of the final turn at Wakefield Park, the highside causing his S 1000 RR to tumble over the pit wall and crash into the pit-lane entry.
It happened in the closing seconds of the session, however the Victorian was lucky to escape uninjured. He was quickly on his feet and climbed over the barriers himself, out of oncoming traffic at the end of practice.
“We put a new tyre right in the end of free practice two because my weakness lately has been qualifying, so we went out and for me that session was qualifying,” Collins said. “I was going out to do the best possible time that I possibly could.
“I honestly put together one of the best laps that I have ever put together in my life around here at Wakefield Park – it felt really good and I was able to push the Maxima BMW S 1000 RR to its limits.
“I got to the last corner and got on the throttle a bit too early than the lap I had before and unfortunately I lost the rear. I managed to catch it and for whatever reason after that it let go again and flicked me off.
“Luckily I’m fine, I’m just a bit banged around from the crash obviously, but other than that I’m fine. The Maxima BMW team will build me up another bike and we’ll be back out there this weekend.”
Collins completed Friday’s practice in 14th overall, his 59.417s lap-time coming in the second session prior to the fall. Rain fall soon afterwards appears to have ended the on-track action sooner than anticipated for this afternoon.
The YRT pairing of Daniel Falzon and Cru Halliday topped FP1 at Wakefield Park in dry and warming conditions under a cloudy sky. A gnat’s whisker separated the pair at the top, a 58.075 to Falzon and 58.093 for Halliday. Next best in the opening session was Mike Jones on the DesmoSport Ducati, standing in for the injured Troy Bayliss. Maxwell and Herfoss were P4 and P5 respectively.
YRT had tested here privately in the lead up to this round, electing not to join the rest of the field during the official ASBK Test here earlier this month. At that test it was Wayne Maxwell atop the timesheets with a 57.659, heading Herfoss’ 57.728. But talk was that Mike Jones had actually gone a couple of tenths quicker again, but did not have a transponder fitted to net an official time.
Aiden Wagner suffered a hefty tumble in FP1 here this morning, knocking himself and his machine around quite heavily. Wagner was P6 in the opening session ahead of Bryan Staring, Glenn Allerton and Josh Waters while Matt Walters rounded out the FP1 Top Ten.
Aiden Wagner – TBG Image
FP2 got underway at 1340 this afternoon and just as riders were really start to get down to business, a red flag put a temporary halt to proceedings. Sash Savin had gone down at turn two on his BMW and needed to be moved to safer ground.
Sash Savin – Image Rob Mott
Cru Halliday was the first rider to dip into the 57s when the action got underway again just before 1400. A 57.916 to Halliday, who this year makes his return to Superbike after dominating the 600 Supersport category last year for YRT. Shortly after his team-mate joined him in that bracket, a 57.919 to Falzon, making it a YRT 1-2 at the top with 14-minutes remaining in the 30-minute Superbike FP2 session.
Falzon then upped the game further, the young South Australian dropping in a 57.757 to top the charts.
Herfoss then put in a 57.846 to go P2, splitting the YRT men. A couple of minutes later Herfoss then shot to the top with a 57.455. Maxwell then went P2 with a 57.754, pushing the YRT duo back to P3 and P4.
A red flag then came out just as the session was coming to a close. Ted Collins crashed coming out of the last turn and pitched his BMW over the pit wall! The young Queenslander walked away fine, but it was one very spectacular and unprecedented accident…
Wayne Hepburn – NextGen BMW
“Ted was on a really good lap. We had our own sector splits, which he was about to drop a second and a half off his previous lap time. He simply asked too much of the bike on the exit of the last turn, which he admitted to. This resulted in Ted having a big highside. The Maxima BMW S 1000RR went over the fence, which was pretty spectacular. Thankfully, Ted was able to walk away from it uninjured which is the main thing. Unfortunately, this is motorcycle racing and these things happen. As I said, Ted is fine. The team has a bit of work to do to get him going again. I don’t believe we will get him going for the final session this afternoon, but we’ll have him right for tomorrow. Ted was doing everything which he was asked to do. However, he just got a little bit enthusiastic.”
Ted Collins machine ended up over the wall and in pit-lane! – Image Russ Colvin
The fastest recorded motorcycle lap time around Wakefield Park was a 57.182 set by Maxwell last year, will we see that beaten later this afternoon…? We thought that might be eclipsed later this afternoon in FP3 but then came the thunder and lightning! A massive downpour soaked the circuit shortly after 1500, and we would see no further quick times set today.
Teams scrambled to get the gear away from the cavalcade of water, and their power cables etc. to dry ground as the drains at the circuit failed to cope with the downpour
ASBK Superbike Friday Combined Times
Troy Herfoss – Honda 57.455
Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki 57.754
Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 57.757
Cru Halliday – Yamaha 57.916
Mike Jones – Ducati 58.116
Josh Waters – Suzuki 58.193
Alex Phillis – Suzuki 58.676
Aiden Wagner – Yamaha 58.677 (FP1)
Bryan Staring – Kawasaki 58.699
Damon Rees – Honda 58.760
Matt Walters – Kawasaki 58.839
Glenn Scott – Kawasaki 58.889
Glenn Allerton – BMW 58.916
Ted Collins – BMW 59.417
Sloan Frost – Suzuki 59.425
Lachlan Epis – Kawasaki 59.432
Mark Chiodo – Honda 59.435
Arthur Sissis – Suzuki 59.807
Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 60.455
Phil Czaj – Aprilia 61.079
Will Davidson – Yamaha 61.509
Michael Edwards – Yamaha 61.734
Hamish McMurray – Kawasaki 62.640
Paul Van der Heiden – BMW 63.360
Sash Savin – BMW 63.752
Supersport 600
Local Goulburn lad Tom Toparis dominated the season opener at Phillip Island, and was obviously be out to do the same this weekend in front of his home crowd.
There were a few young fellas out to try and stop that happening though. Oli Bayliss and Nic Liminton both on the early pace, a 61.238 to Toparis versus a 61.529 to Bayliss. Those times were expected to tumble in FP2 though, and that they did. Only a few minutes into FP2 though Nic Liminton stopped on track with a mechanical failure and the session was red flagged to check for any oil on the track. Oil was duly found and we had quite a delay while the track was cleaned. Liminton took no further part in FP2.
When action recommenced it was Oli Bayliss setting the pace. At 15-years-old, Oli is making fast progress and the team have been working very hard in the lead-up to this first year in Supersport to give him the opportunity to shine, and it is a chance he is grabbing with both hands. His level of commitment, as can be seen in this great shot by Rob Mott, can certainly never be questioned.
Oli Bayliss using all the track this morning at Wakefield Park – Image by Rob Mott
Times quickly started to drop further, Toparis the first man to dip under the magic minute mark, a 59.507 with ten minutes to go, a clear declaration of his intentions to dominate on home turf. And, it must be said, he does look in almost untouchable form. For the best of the rest to challenge him, they either need to make a significant step up, or Toparis needs to put a foot wrong.
The Supersport lap record was set here last year by Cru Halliday at 59.050s, will Toparis best it this weekend…?
Supersport 600 Friday Combined Times
Tom Toparis – Yamaha 59.507
Oli Bayliss – Yamaha 60.471
Broc Pearson – Yamaha 60.565
Reid Battye – Suzuyki 60.635
Ty Lynch – Yamaha 61.060
Nic Liminton – Yamaha 61.666 (FP1)
Aidan Hayes – Yamaha 61.675
Rhys Belling – Yamaha 61.736
Chris Quinn – Yamaha 62.039 (FP1)
Dallas Skeer – Suzuki 62.157
Sam Lambert – MV Agusta 62.184
Andrew Edser – Kawasaki 62.756
Jack Passfield – Yamaha 62.848
John Quinn – Triumph 64.501
Supersport 300
In the Supersport 300 ranks it was Max Stauffer setting the pace from Harry Khouri, both riders under the existing lap record.
Brandon Demmery returns to racing this weekend after that horrifying crash in the MotoGP support events at Phillip Island in 2017. Those injuries included a double compound fracture of the Tibia and Fibia, a compound fracture of the Femur, numerous break in his Pelvis, a broken right wrist, a torn bladder and an incredible amount of bruising. He was ninth in FP2 this morning at Wakefield Park and ended the day 11th on combined times.
Supersport 300 – Friday Combined Times
Max Stauffer – Yamaha 66.306
Harry Khouri – Yamaha 66.478
Ben Baker – Yamaha 66.572
Zac Levy – Yamaha 66.677
Travis Hall – Yamaha 66.828
Hunter Ford – Yamaha 66.834
Locky Taylor – Yamaha 66.844
John Lytras – Yamaha 66.916
Laura Brown – Yamaha 67.021
Senna Agius – Kawasaki 400 67.110
Brandon Demmery – Yamaha 67.313
Yanni Shaw – Kawasaki 400 67.460
Seth Crump – KTM 67.602
Kyle O’Connell – Yamaha 67.626
Luke Johnston – Yamaha 67.684
Mitch Kuhne – Yamaha 67.746
Zylas Bunting – Yamaha 67.887
Tristan Adamson – Yamaha 68.090
Callum O’Brien – Kawasaki 68.345
Bronson Pickett – Yamaha 68.927
Sidecars
Three-wheelers join the ASBK action this weekend in Goulburn with the Horsell Consulting backed sidecar category making their first appearance for the year.
The LCR outfit of Steven Bayliss and Aaron Wilson were the pacesetters today with a 67.243. The lap record for the category here at Wakefield Park is 65.309, and is expected to fall this weekend.
Sidecar Friday Combined Times
Bayliss/Wilson 67.243
Ford/Menzies 68.211
Joyce/Blackman 68.431
Collins/DeAngelis 68.831
Alton/Clancy 69.346
Clancy/Bonney 69.655
Edis/Schluter 71.766
Clancy/Dawson 72.035
Underwood/Ford 72.313
Turner/Turner 73.920
Judd/Spanknebel 74.932
YMF R3 Cup Friday Combined Practice Times
Stauffer 66.208
Lytras 66.368
Baker 66.762
Hall 66.829
Taylor 66.932
Brown 67.212
Khouri 67.263
O’Connell 67.338
Ford 67.339
Johnston 67.832
Demmery 67.849
Kuhne 68.042
Levy 68.098
Bunting 68.111
Adamson 68.305
Pickett 68.723
Oughtred 68.754
Roulstone 69.726
Smith 69.996
Agostini 70.217
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
The 2019 bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup roared into life for the first time ever at Wakefield Park today for the opening round of the new junior Road Race academy.
The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup features a field of ambitious young riders looking to become the first to claim an Oceania Junior Cup round, and make an initial claim for one of the five positions in the 2019 Asia Talent Cup Selection Event, and a potential place in the 2019 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event.
Inaugural electric-powered enduro sanctioned by FIM to take place in France.
Image: Supplied.
The FIM has confirmed the introduction of the inaugural E-Bike Enduro World Cup that will take place on 1-2 June 2019, as part of the Trophee de France E-VTT Enduro at Privas, France.
The electric-powered series will include two categories: Enduro1 (E1) – bikes equipped with a motor with a maximum rated continuous power of more than 250W without exceeding 45kph, and Enduro2 (E2) – also boasting a maximum continuous rated power of 250W that does not exceed 25kph.
Saturday’s opening day will utilise an urban prologue in the centre of the city, while Sunday’s main race will unfold in the surrounding hills. The main race will include three laps of approximately 25km per lap – comprising of the liaison route that will link the three special tests, that will vary in length.
These will be located in a nearby forest and will incorporate the local rocky terrain that will present its own technical challenges. Overall the course will look to test the E-Bikes’ technology plus physical condition and skills of the riders.
“I am particularly proud to announce the launch of our first E-Bike competition,” said FIM president Jorge Viegas. “Power assisted bicycles and electric powered cycles are not recent products and have long been part of the history of the FIM, as the vintage Indian motorcycle on display in our headquarters confirms.
“In fact the early motorcycles were much based on a bicycle frame with the addition of an engine, so the story has really returned back to the beginning of our evolution.
“We are convinced that E-Bike competitions have great potential and will allow young riders to participate in exciting new races. Also, we will soon announce another E-Bike competition to take place later this year.”
Track days to take place at Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park.
Image: Supplied.
Aprilia Australia has announced two of its Racers Days this April in celebration of the manufacturer’s new 2019 RSV41100RF and Tuono V41100 RF models.
The Aprilia Racers Days will take place on Monday, 8 April, at the world renowned Phillip Island circuit, and on Wednesday, 24 April, at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Not only will Aprilia owners and ticket holders have the chance to ride their motorcycles in a safe and controlled environment at these world class race tracks, they will also get a chance to see the exciting new range of Aprilia RSV4s and Tuono V41100s for the first time in Australia.
Full day track passes are available for the discounted price of $225, which includes a powered garage spot, six 15-20 min sessions on-track and access to suspension technicians and a tyre change service. Places are strictly limited and skill levels from novice to racer will be catered for. For more information, click here.
The Australian leg of the Women’s Riders World Relay 2019 has the most riders of any nation taking part, says Aussie relay ambassador Christi Hartwig (pictured above).
She says even though registrations have not officially opened for the relay which will pass through Australia in August/September, they already have 3500 Australian members.
The Women Riders World Relay is the idea of UK office manager and keen rider Hayley Bell, 27, to alert the motorcycle industry to the growing number of female riders.
Hayley Bell
“Women Riders World Relay is an opportunity to celebrate female motorcyclists and gain worldwide recognition, as well as to raise awareness of the fastest-growing segment of the motorsport industry,” she says.
It started at John O’Groats, Scotland, on February 27, 2019, and will be relaying a baton from woman to woman and from country to country over the next 12 months. More than 14,000 women have so far registered.
The women have since ridden through Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Portugal and Spain.
The baton arrives in Perth from Indonesia on August 25 and should receive a warm and enthusiastic welcome from Aussie women, says Christi.
“I have built a team to assist me, creating a route throughout Australia,” Christi says.
“I’m pleased it’s generating positive feedback. The women are excited, they want to ride!”
Christi last year became a moderator, team manager and tasker for the relay and is now the Ambassador for Australia.
“I’d like to unite, inspire and encourage female riders throughout Australia,” she says.
Relay with purpose
Hayley says she started the relay to show the motorcycles industry the female market that is “so blindly overlooked”.
“I’m tired of going into motorcycle stores and seeing four variations of pink leather jackets that look as though they have been thrown together as a half-arsed attempt after they have spent months creating fantastically designed men’s suits,” she says.
“I’m not preaching feminism, nor am I subjecting myself or our group to being labelled as ‘anti-man’.
Australian relay itinerary
Day 1: 25 August 2019, Perth to Norseman 772km;
Day 2: 26 August, Norseman – Nullarbor RH, 905km;
Day 3: 27 August, Nullarbor RH – Port Augusta,764km;
Day 4: 28 August, Port Augusta – Adelaide – Mildura, 702km;
Day 5: 29 August, Mildura – Bendigo – Melbourne, 553km;
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider broke his right foot at the end of January in a training incident, sidelining him for at least the first four rounds and resulting in increased talk of the Dutchman plotting an assault on the American pro circuit after being ruled out of grand prix title contention.
Today the Austrian manufacturer released a statement revealing Herlings will in fact remain in the world championship, with an anticipated return from injury scheduled for late April.
“Rehab has been going very well and I cannot wait to be back and to throw a leg over the bike again,” Herlings explained. “I want to be back at the GPs as quick as possible but we cannot say which race yet until I get some riding time.
“I’m also able to step-up my cycling and swimming now. For sure we’ll miss the next three rounds and we also don’t want to rush things and risk a set-back.”
KTM vice president of off-road added: “It is good to see that Jeffrey is making progress and we can perhaps see the end of this unfortunate injury that was so disruptive to our 2019 plans. It will be a big boost for us and the team to have Jeffrey back, fit and happy in MXGP. He is a very important rider for an important team for us in MXGP.”
The MXGP World Championship resumes for round two this weekend at Matterley Basin in Great Britain.
Legendary model set to arrive in Australia this September.
Image: Supplied.
Suzuki Motorcycles Australia has revealed pricing for the 2020 Katana, confirming the re-introduction of the legendary model will be priced at $18,990 ride away with 12 months registration ($17,490 plus ORC) and backed by Suzuki’s 24-month unlimited kilometre warranty.
Forged to perfection and polished to a magnificent radiance with sharp lines and design cues paying homage to the iconic 1981 GSX1100S Katana, the new Katana is destined to create a new legend.
The Katana symbolises Suzuki’s uncompromising commitment to craftsmanship and dedication to creating distinctive beauty including paying due respect to tradition while at the same time aiming to incorporate the latest advances in styling and technology.
With high demand and limited supply, Suzuki Motorcycles Australia introduced a premium buying experience for customers, by taking pre-orders exclusively online.
As an added bonus and gesture of Suzuki’s appreciation for customer commitment and patience, all customers who pre-order their new Katana online from the first shipment will also receive a bonus exclusive Katana themed Arai QV-Pro helmet, valued at $995 with their bike delivery.
Available in two colours, the iconic Metallic Mystic Silver and striking Glass Sparkle Black. The first shipment of 60 units is scheduled to arrive in Australia during September. Riders interested in securing their new Katana from the first shipment are encouraged to place their order now via www.store.suzukimotorcycles.com.au/katana.
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