2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton – Round 5 – Sunday 

Kawasaki Superbike Race One

Mike Jones put down the fastest ever lap around Winton by a motorcycle to secure pole position on Saturday afternoon to claim what could prove to be a vital championship point if this series goes down to the wire. After this fifth round at Winton the series moves to Phillip Island for the penultimate contest in early October, before the championship decider at Sydney Motorsports Park over the first weekend in November.

Wayne Maxwell and Cru Halliday have showed good form all weekend and complete the front row. Daniel Falzon headed the second row alongside Mark Chiodo and Josh Waters.

Herfoss went down the road twice on Saturday. The second fall was due to a problem with a replaced brake master cylinder/lever that saw the defending ASBK Superbike Champion left with no front brake as he hurtled towards turn ten.

A scary incident for Herfoss and one that cost him dearly, leaving him way down the grid in 12th place. The Penrite Honda man had a successful morning warm-up that buoyed his spirits ahead of today’s 16-lap Superbike opener.

As the riders formed up on the grid they were on a track that for the first time all weekend actually had a ‘little’ bit of temperature in it.

Wayne Maxwell got a great run off the line but a wheelie cost him a little and allowed Mike Jones to take the lead into the esses for the first time. Arthur Sissis, as always, got a brilliant start to fire through to third place ahead of Falzon and a determined looking Bryan Staring.

Cru Halliday had not started well but early on lap two he was on the back of Falzon and looking to challenge for fourth place. Herfoss was now up to eighth place.

Halliday took fourth place from Falzon early on lap three and set out after Sissis who had maintained that third place over the opening few laps.

Maxwell set a new race lap record on lap two, a 1m20.221s besting the 1m20.365s set by Jones on the same lap. The pace was not maintained on lap three and the gap between the pair was just under half-a-second with 13 laps to run. 

Maxwell made his move into the esses over the back of the circuit early on lap four. Jones returned serve later on that lap to regain the lead.

Mark Chiodo had a tumble at turn nine.

Wayne Maxwell again made a move at the back esses to take the lead once more. Jones has so much more drive onto the main straight but the Suzuki comes on strong in the top end and Maxwell squeezed Jones a little before they tipped into turn one with ten laps to run to maintain the race lead. Jones also seemed to display an advantage on the entry in to the final double right-hander every lap, a fact that he might try to keep hidden from Maxwell until that final run to the chequered flag….

Troy Herfoss had moved up to fourth place and with nine laps to run was now all over the back of Cru Halliday. 

Mike Jones took the lead into turn one as the race broached the halfway mark. Maxwell tried to follow Jones into the final complex of turns and went in way too deep, again highlighting the advantage Jones has in that final sector of the circuit. Maxwell gathered it up but lost a couple of tenths in the process. The Suzuki man then clawed that ground back over the course of the following lap.

Maxwell took the lead yet again on the entry to the esses over the back of the circuit, forcing Jones to sit the Ducati up a little as Maxwell gets in up the inside before they drop the bikes on to the right-hand side of the tyre.  

Troy Herfoss moved up to third place with four laps to run but the Yamaha man was not going to give up easily.

Maxwell dropped in a 1m20.633s lap to eke away from Jones on that lap. With three laps to run Maxwell now had a full-second advantage over Jones. The Ducati man had run out of grip in the closing stages of the race. 

Maxwell’s advantage at the last lap board had gone out to 1.5-seconds and the Suzuki man had the clear advantage and Jones would have to settle for second place.

Troy Herfoss managed to break away from Halliday to secure the final step on the rostrum in a great ride from 12th on the grid. 

Kawasaki Superbike Race One Results

Kawasaki Superbike Championship Points

Motorsports TV Supersport Race One

Reid Battye led the field through the esses as the opening Supersport bout got underway but poleman Tom Toparis squeezed underneath him at the apex of the exit of the esses, that forced Battye a little wide off the racing line. The Suzuki man held the throttle on but his trajectory took him out to a dirtier part of the circuit where his rear tyre then slid luridly and catapulted Battye over the bars in an old-fashioned high-side, his GSX-R600 tumbling behind him. The stricken bike then caused a chain reaction which skittled yet more riders and bikes, leaving what used to be the old Winton start-finish line resembling a war zone that had just been smashed with incendiaries!

Amazingly all the riders were up and okay, a lucky escape from what could have been a truly nasty state of affairs. Nic Liminton copped the brunt of it and did not make the re-start, nor did Battye.

At the re-start it was Toparis that led the field away as Broc Pearson, Ty Lynch and Oli Bayliss gave chase.

Toparis’ confidence on the cool track and cool tyres was clear from the off. Through the tight back section of the track his pursuers looked a little on tenterhooks but Toparis just pitched the bike on its side and the difference was telling.

Oli Bayliss looked to have more faith in his front tyre than Broc Pearson and squeezed through to take second place late on the second lap.

Bayliss streaked away from Pearson and over the course of the third lap pulled back more than half-a-second on Toparis. An awesome 1m23.602s more than a full-second quicker than his qualifying lap, and only a tenth off Toparis’ pole lap. Just when it looked as though he was going to really cause Toparis some problems the fire looked to go out on the Cube Racing YZF-R6. While negotiating the esses, and now almost within lunging distance of Toparis, Bayliss pulled off the racing line with machinery problems. The youngster understandably distraught at his fate but he is a resilient character and when it comes to racing the 16-year-old is already a very much focused racer and will be buoyed with his improved pace and hot to trot for the second Supersport race later in the day.

The early exit of Bayliss robbed us of what looked as though it would be a great battle and Toparis could then simply cruise to victory without having to take any risks.

Broc Pearson a clear second place and benefitting greatly from the absence of Bayliss, Liminton and Battye as that quartet are battling for second place in the Supersport category. A 20-point score for Pearson while Bayliss, Liminton and Battye take no score enough to propel Pearson up to second place in the championship with an eight-point buffer over Liminton.

Ty Lynch took the final spot on the rostrum with a handy advantage over Dallas Skeer who took fourth place by a nose over Aidan Hayes. Avalon Biddle was a somewhat lonely sixth ahead of Chris Quinn and Jack Passfield.

Motorsports TV Supersport Race One Results

Motorsports TV Supersport Championship Points

YMF R3 Cup Race Two

Hunter Ford capitalised on his pole position to lead the field away but Max Stauffer quickly moved into the lead but early on lap to Hunter Ford and Luke Johnston pushed Stauffer back to third place. In that early leading group was also Brandon Demmery, Locky Taylor and Zac Levy.

The tussle between those six riders continued through the race and it was Hunter Ford that took the victory by a nose over Max Stauffer with Brandon Demmery completing the podium a few bike lengths behind that duo.

YMF R3 Cup Race Two Results

YMF R3 Cup Points

YMI Supersport 300 Race Two

Yannis Shaw was the early race leader ahead of Max Stauffer and Seth Crump. Crump gazumped Stauffer to move up to second place and on the second lap pushed past Shaw to take the race lead on the KTM. 

Shaw took the race lead back with six laps to run and Hunter Ford then pushed Crump further back to third. Ford then took the race lead with five laps to run. Brandon Demmery had been marching his way through the field and by half-race distance had tagged on to the back of that leading group. 

It was a great tussle all the way to the line but it was the Bridgestone shod 400 Kawasaki ridden by Yannis Shaw that got to the chequered flag first while Hunter Ford pipped Brandom Demmery out of second place by a nose at the line.

YMI Supersport 300 Race Two Results

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two 

Angus Grenfell was off like a scalded cat and quickly streaked away to a handy lead over Archie McDonald. Left to tussle over the remaining step on the rostrum was Tom Drane, Glenn Nelson, Carter Thompson and Marianos Nikolis.

With three laps to go McDonald looked to have thought his second position was a little too safe and was closed down by the pursuing pack. Drane was through to second place with a lap and a half to run and adding further insult were Glenn Nelson and Jacob Roulstone who also pushed past McDonald on the final lap.

Grenfell a clear and undisputed victory by four-seconds while Tom Drane was the best of the rest in second while Glenn Nelson rounded out the podium.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Two Results

Sidecar Race Three Results 

Source: MCNews.com.au

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton – Round 5 – Saturday Report

Dark menacing clouds loomed large on the horizon above Winton Motor Raceway as competitors readied for final qualifying in the Kawasaki sponsored Superbike class. 

Suzuki’s Wayne Maxwell had topped proceedings on Friday (Link), where riders only got one dry session all day, but it was Cru Halliday (Yamaha) that topped the Saturday morning ‘Timed Practice’ session (Link).  Troy Herfoss suffered a hefty tumble during the morning session but escaped injury in the fall.

The new look Saturday format for 2019 sees Superbike competitors out for a 35-minute ‘Timed Practice’ session. The times from that session decided the nine riders that automatically qualified for the Q2 session. The riders from tenth back in the Timed Practice session then had to fight it out in a Q1 session, with the top three in that session then being promoted into Q2, making for a final 12-rider tussle over the first four rows of the grid.

While the ambient temperature had only notched up another two-degrees, to 13-degrees, the track temperature had come up a little more, from 18-degrees this morning to a still cool, but much more amenable 23-degrees when Superbike riders hit the track for the final qualifying sessions. A brief shower 60-minutes earlier during the closing stages of the Supersport qualifying session had dampened the track, but the surface had cleaned up nicely when riders filed out of pit-lane at 1500 for the 15-minute Q1 session. 

Alex Phillis topped the session early on and was never headed. Aaron Morris then mounted a late charge to push himself inside the crucial top three and managed to displace not only Kyle Buckley but also Matt Walters. Thus Phillis, Morris and Walters progressed through to the Q2 session in their quest for a top-ten grid position. 

Superbike QP1 Results

1. Alex Phillis – Suzuki – 1m22.209s Q1
2. Aaron Morris – BMW 1m22.410s Q1
3. Matt Walters – Kawasaki 1m22.518s Q1
4. Kyle Buckley – Kawasaki 1m23.034s Q1
5. Damon Rees – Honda 1m23.243s Q1
6. Glenn Allerton – BMW 1m23.276s Q1
7. Lachlan Epis – Kawasaki 1m23.624s Q1
8. Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 1m25.726s Q1
9. Hamish McMurray – Kawasaki 1m31.459s Q1

Superbike QP2

Daniel Falzon was the first man out on track in Q2 closely followed by Troy Herfoss. But the Penrite Honda man went down once again! Herfoss went down at turn 10, losing the front and sliding all the way into the tyre wall without even completing a lap. The defending champion was quickly up and made his way across the main straight with a slight limp in order to get back to the pits and his spare bike. I am not sure if any penalty will be levied on him for crossing the hot track during the session…

Wayne Maxwell was the early leader in Q2 with a 1m20.828s and that time stood until their was five minutes left in the session, when Daniel Falzon came from being nowhere all weekend to catapult his #25 into provisional pole!

Maxwell responded though, dropping in a 1m20.422s to move back up in to the #1 spot. Halliday then put in a 1m20.501s to push Falzon back to third.

Herfoss exited pit-lane on the spare bike with less than three-minutes remaining in the session. He would get only one or perhaps two flying laps to try and propel himself up from 12th in the order… He couldn’t manage it and will start tomorrow’s 16-lap races from 12th on the grid. It will be take no prisoners into turn one tomorrow with an angry Herf’ out to make amends when the lights go out! 

Jones cranks out a 1m19s!

Jones goes to the top of the charts with a stunning 1m19.994s on the 1299 Panigale Final Edition, the fastest ever lap by a motorcycle around this Winton Motor Raceway circuit. 

Maxwell will start alongside him in P2 with Cru Halliday rounding out the front row.

Daniel Falzon heads the second row ahead of Mark Chiodo and Josh Waters.

Arthur Sissis front the third row alongside Bryan Staring and Alex Phillis.

The key to a fast lap here seemingly coming in the final sector of the circuit. So many times today riders have put in storming first and second sectors, but fast final sectors were few and far between. 

That single point earned for pole position today by Jones could prove crucial if this series goes down to the wire.  After this fifth round at Winton the series moves to Phillip Island for the penultimate contest in early October, before the championship decider at Sydney Motorsports Park over the first weekend in November. 

The opening 16-lap bout for this Winton round is scheduled to get underway at 1125 on Sunday morning, followed by the second and final bout at 1410 Sunday afternoon. 

Superbike Qualifying Results

Supersport

Tom Toparis did not need to turn a wheel in Saturday’s afternoon’s QP2 session, his 1m23.503s from QP1 was looking very safe but the Goulburn teenager headed out of pit-lane as the 25-minute final qualifying session entered its second half. Toparis then reeled off another couple of 1m23.5s to underline his pace.

Reid Battye improved his time markedly in the second session to move up to P2, demoting Nic Liminton to third place on the grid. The South Australian though reclaimed that P2 late in the session just before rain started falling, putting paid to the chance of any further improvements. Chandler Cooper a victim of the rain, putting his YZF-R6 into the fence late in the session. 

Supersport Qualifying Results

YMI Supersport 300 Race One

Max Stauffer capitalised on his pole position to lead the 30-rider field through the challenging Winton esses for the first time in the opening nine-lap bout for the YMI Supersport 300 category. 

Stauffer built a small gap early on and stretched that out to a full-second over the first couple of laps. As the race progressed though the chasing horde slowly reduced that gap and with five laps to go Yannis Shaw and Seth Crump had closed right onto the tail of Stauffer’s YZF-R3. 

Shaw hit the lead for the first time as they started the fourth-from-last lap. Crump then pushed Stauffer back to third later on that same lap and the three-way tussle was on in earnest. In previous battles Stauffer had proven to have some wily racecraft that belies his tender years, would he come out on top once again and extend his championship lead?

At the last lap board it was Shaw leading from Crump and Stauffer with only three-tenths covering that triumvirate. Hunter Ford then joined the party early on the final lap and Zac Levy came along for the ride! Lapped traffic was also becoming a factor in what was turning into a very exciting final lap.

Shaw with the advantage into the final double right-hander and it is Shaw on the 400 Kawasaki that gets to the chequered flag first, Seth Crump second and Max Stauffer rounded out the podium by a bike length over a late charging Hunter Ford. 

YMI Supersport 300 Race One Results

YMI Supersport 300 Qualifying Results

YMF R3 Cup Qualifying

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race One

Angus Grenfell ran away with the opening bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup bout on Saturday afternoon. Sprinting away from the field right from the off and then pulling away every lap on his way to a clear five-second victory.

Left to contest the minor spoils were Archie McDonald, Tom Drane and Carter Thompson. Jacob Roulstone joined that party late in the race but it was McDonald and Drane that scored the final two steps on the rostrum in what was a photo finish across the line.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race One Results

1. Angus Grenfell
2. Archie McDonald +4.519s
3. Tom Drane +4.523s
4. Carter Thompson +4.603s
5. Jacob Roulstone +4.722s
6. Glenn Nelson +7.433s
7. Max Gibbons +7.458s
8. Cros Francis +

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Qualifying

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

• Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
• Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
• Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton – Round Five – Friday Practice

Things are tight at the top ahead of this weekend’s fifth round of the Australian Superbike Championship. Less than 30-points currently separate the top six in the championship with Mike Jones leading Cru Halliday by a single point.

After the conclusion of this weekend there will be only two rounds remaining and this fifth round will make or break the championship aspirations of a few of the prime contenders. 

First practice this morning saw the heavens open just prior to the 1040 start time. As a result most of the field kept themselves and their powder dry for the remaining 2 x 30-minute sessions this afternoon. Only Bryan Staring and Lachlan Epis bothered to head out to get wet in the deluge, and both ended up crashing in the sketchy conditions.

Things were dry early in the afternoon for the second session and this time around the Superbike field got down to business proper/ They knew that there was chance that this could be the only dry track time they would get before Sunday’s 2 x 16-lap races. 

Troy Herfoss was quick out of the blocks as was Cru Halliday and Wayne Maxwell.

Ultimately it was the #47 that ended the session on top with a 1m21.499s today’s benchmark. 

Halliday’s quickest time of 1m21.724s came on the final of his 17 laps during the session to displace Herfoss from that second spot on the leader-board. 

Mike Jones was the only other rider in the 21s and had more than half-a-second on fifth placed Josh Waters. 

Alex Phillis pretty much destroyed a GSX-R1000R today, he is fine but his wallet took a hefty impact… 

A heavy shower then completely soaked the entire Winton venue ahead of the third and final practice session of the day. Even if riders get back on track late this afternoon none of them are going to better the times set in FP2.

Superbike Friday Times

1. Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki 1m21.499s
2. Cru Halliday – Yamaha 1m21.724s
3. Troy Herfoss – Honda 1m21.851s
4. Mike Jones – Ducati 1m21.995s
5. Josh Waters – Suzuki 1m22.649s
6. Bryan Staring – Kawasaki 1m23.060s
7. Alex Phillis – Suzuki 1m23.888s
8. Glenn Allerton – BMW 1m24.505s
9. Matt Walters – Kawasaki 1m24.908s
10. Aaron Morris – BMW 1m24.985s
11. Mark Chiodo – Honda 1m25.059s
12. Arthur Sissis – Suzuki 1m25.114s
13. Kyle Buckley – Kawasaki 1m25.124s
14. Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 1m26.724s
15. Damon Rees – Honda 1m27.165s
16. Lachlan Epis – Kawasaki 1m27.244s
17. Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 1m30.101s
18. Ted Collins – BMW 1m31.399s
19. Hamish McMurray – Kawasaki 1m32.677s

Supersport Friday Times

1. Tom TOPARIS (NSW) Yamaha 1:27.677
2. Ty LYNCH (SA) Yamaha 1:33.425
3. Aidan HAYES (NSW) Yamaha 1:33.910
4. Rhys BELLING (VIC) Yamaha 1:35.129
5. Chris QUINN (NSW) Yamaha 1:37.650
6. Ryan SELLEN (NSW) Kawasaki 1:42.926
7. Andrew EDSER (NSW) Kawasaki 1:44.296
8. Avalon BIDDLE (NZ) Yamaha 1:44.638
9. Chandler COOPER (VIC) Yamaha 1:55.043

Supersport 300 Friday Times

1. Yannis Shaw – Kawasaki 400 1m35.481s
2. Luke Johnston – Kawasaki 400 1m38.383s
3. Luke Power – Kawasaki 400 1m39.118s
4. Brandon Demmery – Yamaha 1m39.612s
5. Senna Agius – Kawasaki 400 1m39.640s
6. Reece Oughtred – Yamaha 1m39.941s
7. Peter Nerlich – Kawasaki 300 1m39.989s
8. Harry Parker – Yamaha 1m40.605s
9. Ben Burke – Kawasaki 400 1m41.280s
10. Hunter Ford – Yamaha 1m41.396s
11. John Lytras – Yamaha 1m41.627s
12. Stephany Kapilawi-James Yamaha 1m43.324s
13. John Quinn – Kawasaki 400 1m43.382s
14. Seth Crump – KTM 1m44.078s
15. Ryan Smith – Yamaha 1m44.168s

YMF R3 Cup Friday Times

1. Max Stauffer 1m36.486s
2. Luke Johnston 1m36.624s
3. Ben Baker 1m37.107s
4. Locky Taylor 1m37.857s
5. Hunter Ford 1m38.715s
6. Brandon Demmery 1m39.482s
7. John Lytras 1m39.542s
8. Harry Parker 1m40.442s
9. Jacob Roulstone 1m41.604s
10. Tristan Adamson 1m41.855s

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Friday Times

1. Angus Grenfell 1m50.592s
2. Lucas Quinn 1m51.060s
3. Archie McDonald 1m51.327s
4. Tom Drane 1m51.568s
5. Cros Francis 1m51.746s
6. Jacob Roulstone 1m51.914s
7. Reece Oughtred 1m52.046s
8. Jamie Port 1m52.124s
9. Zak Pettendy 1m52.674s
10. Carter Thompson 1m54.392s

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

• Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
• Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
• Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Maxima BMW Set for titanic tussle in rural Victoria

Round five of the seven-round Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) gets underway this weekend at the tight and technical country Victorian venue of Winton and a new look Maxima BMW squad are hoping to get back on track in the best way possible with a great points haul.

Glenn Allerton was forced to sit on the sidelines at the previous Morgan Park round due to wrist injuries, but the three-time champ will make his long-awaited return to top flight competition this weekend.

At the recent two-day Winton test Allerton focused on getting his #14 BMW S 1000RR and himself ready for battle. He is going in while still a little wounded, and was searching for a suspension set-up that would help ease the load on his troublesome wrist. 

Glenn Allerton

“The physiotherapy after the test has definitely helped with the inflammation in the joint, and apart from the small teething issues we had, the team and I made some big steps forward in terms of suspension. I really feel like the changes we made over the two days benefitted me quite a lot. I’m sure at the end of the three practice sessions come Friday, we will have a good setting heading into Saturday’s qualifying and the races for Sunday.”

Aaron Morris heads into his third Australian Superbike Championship start in the premier class with confidence after a solid weekend at Morgan Park Raceway in July and a positive test at Winton two weeks ago.

“Once I got the hang of Winton at the test, I actually started to really enjoy the circuit,” explained Morris. “At first, I didn’t really know what to expect, but in the end, it was a lot of fun aboard the Maxima BMW S 1000RR, it’s quite technical and flowing. The team and I walked away from the test in a positive state of mind. In saying that, we know we still have a little bit of pace to find. I’m not too stressed, as we have three thirty-minute practice sessions on Friday to try a few more things on the bike and get a few more laps around the circuit. I believe we’ll be in for the hunt come qualifying and the races.”

With two Australian Superbike round starts under his belt now, Morris also explained that he now understands more about what he can get out of both himself and the overall bike setup.

“Obviously I knew my fitness had to step up to another level before I went into round four, which I have been working on very hard at late. But the main thing I took from Morgan Park, which I can apply to this weekend, is just understanding what the bike does from the start of the race, compared to the end of the race. I feel a lot more confident about the races from here on in the rest of the season, so I’m expecting to be able to deliver good results for the Next Gen Motorsports team and their sponsors,” concluded the 27-year-old.

Maxima BMW’s Team Manager, Wayne Hepburn is optimistic about this weekend for both Allerton and Morris.

“The test at Winton Motor Raceway proved two things; one, Glenn is getting closer to full fitness every day, which is a credit to him and his hunger to keep fighting on to achieve good results and two; Aaron keeps getting faster and faster every time he gets on the bike,” said Hepburn.

Hepburn also explained that Maxima BMW’s Chief Technical Officer Shane Kinderis is back for this round after returning from race duties overseas.

“While the team generally know which direction to go in regards to machine set-up, it will certainly help that little bit more having Shane back for the round so he can ‘sprinkle that last bit of fairy dust’ over the bikes.”

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

• Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
• Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
• Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship

Winton Motor Raceway – Round 5 Preview

Mike Jones has announced he’s all set for the return of the Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship to Winton Motor Raceway next weekend (September 6-8), where the rider will be looking to extend his one-point championship lead on the DesmoSport Ducati, with three remaining rounds left to run.

Mike Jones currently sits on 184-points, a point ahead of Cru Halliday, while Bryan Staring sits in third on 176-points. Troy Herfoss currently sits fourth with 169-points, with Wayne Maxwell a further 11-points behind completing the top five, with Josh Waters a single point further back.

Championship leader Jones is upbeat heading into Round 5 at Winton, sharing, “I’m riding better than I ever have.” Here’s what he had to say ahead of Round 5.

What’s been the reasons behind your good form that sees you sitting atop the ASBK Championship table?

MJ: It’s a combination of things, but it’s mostly down to DesmoSport Ducati team’s effort because I’ve got a group of guys who are just as committed and passionate as I am. I think I’m riding better than I ever have and I put that down to the past two seasons riding in the Spanish Championship. It’s helped me develop as a rider and I’m at the top of my game. Additionally, in my opinion, I believe I’m on the best bike in the field.

How tough has the competition been in the ASBK Championship in 2019?

MJ: It’s the toughest it’s ever been! I didn’t foresee the Championship being so close and it’s one of the closest Championships we’ve had in Australian Superbikes. It’s great for the riders, and the spectators, too.

What do you need to do well for the remainder of the season to give yourself the best chance of winning the Championship?

MJ: I just need to be on top of my game every time I hit the track because everyone is really racing well. Both the team and I need to give 100 per cent, and I believe we’ve done that, so we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.

What does the future hold for you?

MJ: Ultimately, my goal is to race in the World Superbikes, and it’s been a goal since I was a kid. Winning the Australian Championship is very beneficial for assisting me to get a ride overseas. Right now, though, the market is very tough over there and there’s not a lot of positions available, so I’m just taking one step at a time. The way I’m riding in ASBK I’m very comfortable here in Australia, but we’ll see what the final result is in the Championship. We’re in a results-based industry, so we’ll see how we go at the end of the year.

What do you do away from the track in your personal time?

MJ: When I’m away from the track my focus is still heavily on racing. I spend my time training on a bicycle and at the gym trying to stay fit. I also love to have fun with my girlfriend, family and friends because they ease my mind and take my entire focus off the motorbike.

Tickets are now on sale for Spokes.com.au presents Round 5 of 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship at Winton Motor Raceway from September 6-8. Head to ASBK.com.au (link) for more info or to purchase.

2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championships Calendar

• Round 5: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC – 6-8 September 2019
• Round 6: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC – 4-6 October 2019
• Round 7: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW – 1-3 November 2019

Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship Standings

Source: MCNews.com.au