Tag Archives: Mark Bracks

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News, WSBK

Alvaro Bautista talks Phillip Island testing and his pace…

Leave a comment

Alvaro Bautista reviews the WSBK Test

With Mark Bracks

Alvaro Bautista is the new kid on the block of the WSBK and he is certain to get into some pretty heavy street fights as he establishes himself in the World Supers gang. He is definitely not adverse to a good old brawl after his days in the tiddlers of 125cc and 250cc GP racing ascertain, before his graduation to the cauldron of MotoGP.

WSBK Test PI Final GB Bautista
Álvaro Bautista – Image by Geebee

Of those that have switched from GP to World Supers, Bautista, at 34 years old, has arguably the second best resume behind Max Biaggi: A 125cc World Championship in 2006, second in the 2008 250cc championship behind the late Marco Simoncelli and three podiums during his nine years in MotoGP.

Not too bloody shabby.

Last year he scored 12 top ten finishes in MotoGP. An impressive result on what was a second, or maybe third-tier Ducati, so it is somewhat of a surprise to see that he was squeezed out of the MotoGP paddock.

However, with such impressive stats, Ducati showed faith and offered the seat in the factory WSBK team, at the expense of Marco Melandri. After two days testing and topping the sheets on both days with consistent sub lap record performances Bautista was, naturally, upbeat.

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Alvaro Bautista TBG
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image

His best lap of the two days (1:30.303) would have put him eighth on the grid of last years Oz GP (in front of Petrucci). In reality last year he qualified 12th, some two seconds slower with a 1:32 lap, although he progressed from Q1 to Q2 with a blistering time of 1:29.851.

Trivial statistics, yes, but remember what Carlos Checa did when he dropped back to the World Superbikes with no where near the record of Bautista?

Bracksy joined the media scrum to get the low down on his two days of testing.

Alvaro Bautista Interview

Alvaro Bautista: “It was a positive day for us, we worked in the morning to make another step forward with the setup, like we did yesterday, but we didn’t find what we expected, so at the end we came back in the afternoon to try and see how the bike works after the same laps. In the afternoon we tried to do a long run and we did it, but I had to stop after three laps because it’s starting some sprinkling.

“Then I restarted again with the same tyres, the same spec, and I’m quite happy because the feeling with the bike was good, the pace was quite fast and at the end I felt the drop off of the tyre, especially in the last four laps. The tyres went down a lot. But you know, normally in the race you try to always manage the tyre consumption and also your energies. Today it was not necessary to manage, so I tried to push hard from the beginner and I didn’t have a big big problem until the last four laps, specially at the tyre, when too much drop.

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Alvaro Bautista TBG
Alvaro Bautista – Image by TBG Sport

“But in any case I’m happy because also, we get some data for the weekend, for the electronics to try to save a little bit more of the tyre, and to try to don’t feel last a big drop from the tyre. So we work with the electronics to help me to manage this situation.”

“The only question mark for me is, I mean to say something of the tyre, because the pace is I think good, but then when the tyre comes down/drop, but I think the problem is for everybody not just for me, no? Also you know at the beginning of the long run I was more than half race, I was doing 30s, faster than the lap record of the track, so I think when you are so fast, the tyre is more used and at the end you have more problem. But in normal race, maybe you can manage specially in the first half of the race, to push more at the end, or depends how you feel. So today nothing to manage, just tried to push the maximum as possible and I did, and I saw the results.”

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Alvaro Bautista TBG
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image

“There was less strong wind than yesterday, but the track today was a bit cooler, and with this tyre if it’s too hot, the tyre is worse. Yesterday the track temperature was over 40 degrees, today it was in between 30-35 degrees, so the condition was better for the tyres. For that I think the other riders can improve. I didn’t try to improve my lap time from this morning, because our target is to do the long run.

“In the afternoon I did one exit before the long run, just to understand the front tyre, because in the morning, I had to use the soft compound in the front, but for me it’s not the best tyre for the race. In the afternoon I did one start, with the hard – to see that everything was good, and then the long run as we didn’t have enough from the hard tyre to try in the morning. So for this, I didn’t try to push in the afternoon to make a better lap time.”

Do you think 29s possible if you push?

Alvaro Bautista: “At the moment, no more riding and yesterday nobody can make a 29, but I think nothing is impossible, with tyres or with qualifying tyre, we’ll see.“

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Alvaro Bautista TBG
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image

Is the feeling better here than at Jerez? With the heavy braking into turn four, with the tyre strength?

Alvaro Bautista: “In Jerez I don’t know if because it’s a new surface or what, but the feeling with the bike, was not really good. The most important was Imola was a new track for me. But also here we started to work here with the bike, just yesterday the bike was from Ducati and I ride the same bike. But with some data we decided to make some modifications, the geometry here, and for sure today we did nice step forward. Maybe with this tyre now I arrive at Jerez and can go faster. But when you don’t know the bike and you don’t the tyres, you have to adapt and start to work and understand, so for me, I think we don’t arrive today the maximum yet, so we are on the right way, but still much work to do.”

But it’s not impossible to win?

Alvaro Bautista: “We’ll see in the races, everything can happen no? At the moment I feel very comfortable and my target is try to give to the riders that in the past of the superbikes, to give them a bit more stress *laughs*.”

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Alvaro Bautista TBG
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image

You’ve started already.

Alvaro Bautista: “Exactly that’s my target at the moment, win a race, we’ll see, that would be my first race in superbike and my first race for these bikes, so for sure we’ll try our maximum, at the moment, and the pace is quite good and the race is saturday or sunday, so not now.”

Mark Bracks: This might be a stupid question but the main different between this and the MotoGP bike.

Alvaro Bautista: “The power… you feel it especially in the track like this one, that are very fast, exit from the corner I remember with the MotoGP, just the bike push a lot. This bike seems like it seems like you are stop. So that’s the biggest difference.”

WorldSBK Australia Promo

WorldSBK  Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Event Schedule, 22 – 24 February 2019
Thursday 21 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
9:00 10:00 1:00 World SSP Riders Briefing
10:00 FIM Track Safety Inspection
10:00 11:30 1:30 All Riders Riders Track Familiarization
12:00 13:00 1:00 Safety Car Test Track closed
13:50 14:20 0:30 Aus SS 300 Free Practice 1
14:25 14:55 0:30 Aus SS Free Practice 1
15:00 15:30 0:30 Australian Sup Free Practice 1
15:40 15:50 0:10 Parade Laps Black Dog Ride
14:30 15:30 1:00 WorldSBK Riders Briefing
16:00 17:00 1:00 WorldSBK Official Photo Start/Finish Straight
16:00 17:00 1:00 WorldSSP Technical/Sporting Checks Pit Garages
17:00 18:00 1:00 WorldSSP Official Photo Start/Finish Straight
17:00 18:00 1:00 WorldSBK Technical/Sporting Checks Pit Garages
18:00 All 1st Time Riders Riders Briefing
TBC All Classes Tyre Stickers Distribution Technical Bay
Friday 22 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
8:30 8:40 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
9:10 9:25 0:15 Aus SS Free Practice 2
9:30 9:45 0:15 Aus SBK Free Practice 2
9:50 FIM Medical Inspection
10:00 FIM Track Inspection
10:30 11:20 0:50 WorldSBK Free Practice 1
11:30 12:15 0:45 WorldSSP Free Practice 1
12:25 12:55 0:30 Pit Walk 1
13:15 13:30 0:15 Aus SS 300 Free Practice 2
13:35 13:50 0:15 Aus SBK Qualifying
13:55 14:10 0:15 Aus SS Qualifying
14:15 14:30 0:15 Aus SS300 Qualifying
15:00 15:50 0:50 WorldSBK Free Practice 2
16:00 16:45 0:45 WorldSSP Free Practice 2
Saturday 23 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
8:15 8:25 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
8:45 9:15 0:30 Australian SSP Race 1 10 Laps 
9:20 FIM Medical Inspection
9:30 FIM Track Inspection
10:00 10:20 0:20 WorldSBK Free Practice 3
10:35 10:55 0:20 WorldSSP Free Practice 3
11:05 11:25 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 1 8 Laps –
11:30 12:00 0:30 Aus SBK Race 1 12 Laps 
12:15 12:40 0:25 WorldSBK Tissot Superpole
12:55 13:20 0:25 WorldSSP Tissot Superpole
13:40 14:10 0:30 Pit Walk 2 & Safety Car Laps
15:00 WorldSBK RACE 1 22 Laps Pit Opens: 14:40
16:15 16:45 0:30 Aus SBK Race 2 12 Laps 
16:50 17:10 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 2 8 Laps 
17:15 17:45 0:30 Aus SSP Race 2 10 Laps 
Sunday 24 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
7:45 7:55 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
8:15 8:45 0:30 Aus SSP Race 3 10 Laps
8:50 FIM Medical Inspection
9:00 FIM Track Inspection
09:30 09:45 0:15 WorldSBK Warm Up
09:55 10:10 0:15 WorldSSP Warm Up
10:30 11:00 0:30 Aus SBK Race 3 12 Laps
11:05 11:35 0:30 Pit Walk 3 & Safety Car Laps
12:00 WorldSBK S-pole Race 10 Laps Pit Opens: 11:45
13:15 WorldSSP Race 18 Laps Pit Opens: 13:00
15:00 WorldSBK Race 2 22 Laps Pit Opens: 14:40
16:15 16:35 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 3 8 laps
1 Lap 4,445 km Issued: 28 November 2018 13:00h

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News, WSBK

WorldSBK Rev Limits with Technical Director Scott Smart

Leave a comment

WSBK Technical Director Scott Smart

on WorldSBK Rev Limits

With Mark Bracks

As the dawn of a new season beckons in the Superbike World Championship there has been a lot of focus on the rpm limits imposed on the various new models in the title chase this year.

Much of that focus has been aimed at the new Ducati Panigale V4 R, and how high it is allowed to rev compared to other machines in the class, and/or whether the bike appears, again, to have an “unfair” advantage compared to the rest of the field.

WSBK Test PI Day Bautista
Alvaro Bautista proved dominant at the official Phillip Island Test on the Ducati V4 R

To get the low down, Bracksy hunted down the FIM WSBK Technical Director, Scott Smart, to get the inside story on the process used to achieve the results that were implemented into he new Tech Regs for 2019 season.

Scott Smart is the FIM WSBK Technical Director, and was born in to a family of motorcycle racers and is related to the late, great Barry Sheene. He has a degree in Physics and has raced in the British Superbike Championship, World Supersport and Grand Prix in the 500cc and 250cc categories.

Over the years he has run his own teams and been involved in both the mechanical and electronic aspects of motorcycles, from building and tuning engines, to producing the wiring harnesses for a number of BSB teams. He has also acted as a crew chief in MotoGP, whilst continuing to race. But since 2014 he has been the FIM Technical Director for the Superbike World Championship.

Scott Smart GeeBee
Scott Smart – Image by GeeBee

Scott Smart Interview

Mark Bracks: So the changes for the year, what do they entail and what do they mean?

Scott Smart: “Basically we’ve got a bunch of new riders on a bunch of new bikes and as a result they need starting points for the revs. The way the revs starting point works; you take the street bike, check where the rev limiter is, which is the most horrifying thing on the dyno runs in the factory, and that gives us standard street bike max revs, and we add three per cent to that and it gives us a figure.

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Alvaro Bautista TBG
The V4 R in the hands of Alvaro Bautista and boasting the 16,350rpm rev limit was the talk of the town – Image by TBG Sport

“We also do a bunch of dyno runs and step tests to let us know to the nearest 100rpm to where the maximum power is. We then add 1100rpm to that, and of those two figures we use the lower ones. That way none of the manufacturers can put a fake really high rev limiter in it. We get basically a sensible point of the power curve to define the rev limit, relative to the street bike.”

Mark Bracks: That answers the question everyone is asking me, why the Ducatis have so many more rpm to play with…

Scott Smart: “So basically when you rev that thing on the dyno, it’ll go to 16,500rpm in top gear, unreal – you’ve never seen it before in a 1000cc superbike. So in most gears it’s 16,000rpm, and top gear is up to 16500rpm. Almost like over-run, I don’t want to even think what speed you could do on the thing, and it also makes quite a lot of horsepower doesn’t it.

“If we based it on 16,000 or 16,500rpm plus 3 per cent we’d be 16,500-16,600 plus, or 17,000 in top, but that would be unrealistic, as the bike makes its peak horsepower at 15,250, so we add the 1100 to that, and get 16,350rpm, which is where we set the rev limiter and that seems pretty reasonable. But it does seem to be ripping down the straight quite quickly.”

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Alvaro Bautista TBG
Alvaro Bautista – TBG Image

Mark Bracks: So nothing can change this weekend, but is it still a three meeting thing?

Scott Smart: “The official way we do it is every three meetings, unless we rock up at the first race and realise it’s a complete disaster. If you actually look at the time sheets the Ducati does have the highest top speed, but looking at the lap times it’s only in the hands of one rider. It’s not all four Ducatis are romping away by a second a lap.

“It’s just one Ducati that’s quickest and the next best is 10th at the moment, so it’s obviously a hard motorcycle to ride. So as a result there’ll be no knee jerk, emergency reaction. It’s in the rules in case the starting point is completely wrong, but from the results I’ve seen so far, that’s not going to be needed. It’s looking like it’ll shape up to be a pretty good race.”

WSBK Test PI Final GB Rea
Jonathan Rea – Image by Geebee

Mark Bracks: With tyres you always have a problem here, but the weather isn’t going to be the same today as it will be on Sunday, it’ll be warmer.

Scott Smart: “If it gets really hot, the grip will actually be going down, which is actually easier on the tyres. But looking at the weather report we’re looking at 25-27 degrees and maybe a bit of a clearer sky, so it’s going to be tough on the tyres. They developed a bunch of different new tyres, but that’s all been done in overcast quite chilly conditions, and like we said, it’s going to be warmer, and until they test the tyres on Friday, nobody really knows. The idea was – every year since I’ve had this job – that this would be the first year without problems…”

Is there any suggestion that Pirelli just make a special tyre for here?

Scott Smart: “They basically do make specials for here, the question mark has been, can you make one that’s two seconds a lap slower that lasts, and I think that’s been the aim, but it’s a really grippy aggressive surface here, so it doesn’t seem to matter, even if you take away all the grip, it still grips, as the surface is so grippy, so it just tears the tyre to pieces. Unfortunately it looks like we’ll have problems again.”

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Pirelli TBG

Mark Bracks: With that 10 lap sprint race, will they be running a softer tyre so they can go harder?

Scott Smart: “In Europe there will be a softer tyre, here it’s still the normal race tyre.”

Mark Bracks: Tyre allowances, because of the extra race?

Scott Smart: “It changes slightly, but it’s quite dynamic anyway, it’s not the same every weekend, as it’s not the same tyres every weekend. Some championships like BSB have a soft and a hard, the same every week. MotoGP it’s not actually the same tyres there either. But here Pirelli has developed tyres more for the circuits and usually there should be eight of the two favourites, and five or six of the other options. Actually what they thought was going to be the allocation for the weekend, will be shuffled up a bit now, as they’ll try and provide more of the harder wearing tyres.”

WorldSBK Australia Promo

WorldSBK  Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Event Schedule, 22 – 24 February 2019
Thursday 21 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
9:00 10:00 1:00 World SSP Riders Briefing
10:00 FIM Track Safety Inspection
10:00 11:30 1:30 All Riders Riders Track Familiarization
12:00 13:00 1:00 Safety Car Test Track closed
13:50 14:20 0:30 Aus SS 300 Free Practice 1
14:25 14:55 0:30 Aus SS Free Practice 1
15:00 15:30 0:30 Australian Sup Free Practice 1
15:40 15:50 0:10 Parade Laps Black Dog Ride
14:30 15:30 1:00 WorldSBK Riders Briefing
16:00 17:00 1:00 WorldSBK Official Photo Start/Finish Straight
16:00 17:00 1:00 WorldSSP Technical/Sporting Checks Pit Garages
17:00 18:00 1:00 WorldSSP Official Photo Start/Finish Straight
17:00 18:00 1:00 WorldSBK Technical/Sporting Checks Pit Garages
18:00 All 1st Time Riders Riders Briefing
TBC All Classes Tyre Stickers Distribution Technical Bay
Friday 22 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
8:30 8:40 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
9:10 9:25 0:15 Aus SS Free Practice 2
9:30 9:45 0:15 Aus SBK Free Practice 2
9:50 FIM Medical Inspection
10:00 FIM Track Inspection
10:30 11:20 0:50 WorldSBK Free Practice 1
11:30 12:15 0:45 WorldSSP Free Practice 1
12:25 12:55 0:30 Pit Walk 1
13:15 13:30 0:15 Aus SS 300 Free Practice 2
13:35 13:50 0:15 Aus SBK Qualifying
13:55 14:10 0:15 Aus SS Qualifying
14:15 14:30 0:15 Aus SS300 Qualifying
15:00 15:50 0:50 WorldSBK Free Practice 2
16:00 16:45 0:45 WorldSSP Free Practice 2
Saturday 23 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
8:15 8:25 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
8:45 9:15 0:30 Australian SSP Race 1 10 Laps 
9:20 FIM Medical Inspection
9:30 FIM Track Inspection
10:00 10:20 0:20 WorldSBK Free Practice 3
10:35 10:55 0:20 WorldSSP Free Practice 3
11:05 11:25 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 1 8 Laps –
11:30 12:00 0:30 Aus SBK Race 1 12 Laps 
12:15 12:40 0:25 WorldSBK Tissot Superpole
12:55 13:20 0:25 WorldSSP Tissot Superpole
13:40 14:10 0:30 Pit Walk 2 & Safety Car Laps
15:00 WorldSBK RACE 1 22 Laps Pit Opens: 14:40
16:15 16:45 0:30 Aus SBK Race 2 12 Laps 
16:50 17:10 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 2 8 Laps 
17:15 17:45 0:30 Aus SSP Race 2 10 Laps 
Sunday 24 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
7:45 7:55 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
8:15 8:45 0:30 Aus SSP Race 3 10 Laps
8:50 FIM Medical Inspection
9:00 FIM Track Inspection
09:30 09:45 0:15 WorldSBK Warm Up
09:55 10:10 0:15 WorldSSP Warm Up
10:30 11:00 0:30 Aus SBK Race 3 12 Laps
11:05 11:35 0:30 Pit Walk 3 & Safety Car Laps
12:00 WorldSBK S-pole Race 10 Laps Pit Opens: 11:45
13:15 WorldSSP Race 18 Laps Pit Opens: 13:00
15:00 WorldSBK Race 2 22 Laps Pit Opens: 14:40
16:15 16:35 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 3 8 laps
1 Lap 4,445 km Issued: 28 November 2018 13:00h

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News, WSBK

Pirelli’s Giorgio Barbieri talks Phillip Island WSBK & tyres

Leave a comment

Giorgio Barbieri, Pirelli Head of Motorsport Operations Interview

With Mark Bracks

Mark Bracks catches up with Pirelli’s Head of Motorsport Operations, Giorgio Barbieri, to discuss the unique stresses that Phillip Island puts on tyres, tyre solutions for 2019 and how testing panned out this week.

Mark Bracks: Giorgio, so the solutions, what did you bring this year?

Giorgio Barbieri: “We didn’t forget Phillip Island! It is impossible to come here, to not make an interesting test. We are always looking what’s happening in the Aussie championship and we are quite happy because we had the majority agree the results are good.

WSBK Test PI Final GB Bautista
Alvaro Bautista topped the official WorldSBK Test at Phillip Island

“The competitive national championship is growing, and I saw some riders participating in an international race out of Australia as well, which is good, including the Suzuka 8 Hour.

“When we come here for WorldSBK we always meet the same problems, usually in the first two day test session, things are OK. While yesterday (Monday) we started seeing something strange already as far as blistering, not a problem with temperature – I wouldn’t try to give you an excuse – but what I can consider is that this is the first race of the year for everyone, not all the teams work during the winter, so they are not so used to preparing certain bikes for the race.

“Probably if you came at the end of the season the bike riders and teams are perfect and the work is easier. The first race of the season is very difficult so you can see some very different performance from the teams, not only in lap time – as yesterday the lap times were already too fast. But also to run the tyres under a lot of pressure, so they’ll run longer, so we can see what we can do for the race weekend.

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Pirelli TBG
Tyres have historically been an issue at Phillip Island… including last year

“To be frank, I was so excited about the flag by flag race last year, it was a very big show. We tried to put this formula into the WorldSBK [the pit stop] as it’s very interesting, but the teams are not all agreed on this form. I don’t know what we’ll do for the weekend, I wouldn’t like to arrive at the decision at the last moment because someone has problems and someone does not. So it’s a matter of preparation. But if the field is not ready… We’ll discuss after two days of evidence, and the conditions may change, the track may improve. It’s not just a case of 15 to 20 laps, it’s all about everyone using the same formula.

“We take all of the last season, in order to have a bigger campaign to study for the race tyres, we analysed all the tyres from every single race, to understand the level of fatigue and stress after the race, so we have some numbers now in mind. That’s why we prefer to prepare the special solutions for when we come here, considering what spares we got.

“But as usual when we come here, everything is changed around.

Mark Bracks: How many tyres did you bring for the test and the weekend?

Giorgio Barbieri: “We brought for the teams two rear Superbike and two rear Supersport, in reference to the last year’s race, and one new one. Nothing asymmetrical. This is part of the reason why the approach to this race is always difficult for us. We would like to make this race just like everywhere else around the world. But this is not the place so common.

WSBK Test PI Final GB Rea
Jonathan Rea – Image by Geebee

“Our philosophy is this one, we would like to give your riders here a different type of tyre for Phillip island and another tyre for the rest of the races in the national championship. They need a range that works over the national championship. So if I have to improve my range in my work on WSBK, I can’t consider the race different to all the other fields, this is one point of strength, and one point from the other side.

“Pirelli has to decide, like MotoGP has different tyres every race, playing with the compound, or with WSBK the tyres have to work here, the United States, Africa, and this is the problem.

“For the race, it’s just a matter to see what happens here today. We have other specification already for the race, Superbike and Supersport, but before we put something different it creates more confusion with the team’s work.”

Mark Bracks: The latest spec’ we have for the Aussie Superbikes were bigger.

Giorgio Barbieri: “We developed the new sizes in Imola and Misano, and then we tested here. Last year we brought a new size, a 265, slightly bigger than the standard 260 for Phillip Island. The teams said, it seems fine, seems interesting, so after the race, they use 50/50 old and new ones, SC0/SC1, so it seemed like it was something more than just a tyre for Phillip Island. So we brought it to Imola, then from Imola to all the races.

WSBK Test PI Final GB Lowes
Alex Lowes – Image by Geebee

“So all the teams moved from the old size to the new one. From Misano we improved the front as well to balance, and by the end of the season everyone used the big one. So for Phillip Island from this point of view, I had to ask to develop new tyres from the range, and as soon as the result were so fine, so far, we put it into production, the new sizes as a SC1 and SC0, and given to all the markets. Now we make our development in the World Superbike Championship, but we would like the markets to test the new sizes to understand how much they prefer this to the standard ones.

“So now we have all the standard range [260] and the new ones [265]. This year we’ll work to create the whole range of compounds in the new sizes, and at the end of the season we can decide whether to keep the old one or the new one. Australia was the first country all over the world to tell me that they would like to have this as the range of tyres and homologate for the championship and I trust my riders.

“So it’s interesting to me that the country with just three choices of sizes decided to homologate and take the new one.”

Mark: In the ASBK test, the feedback was that it would want to fall into the corner quicker.

Giorgio Barbieri: “After Imola the riders asked for a different front, as the rear was pushing more the front, so we needed a bigger front, and stiffer front, so now all the WSBK are using the bigger front. Why are people using the little one? Because they aren’t confident yet. So I asked Gary [Crilly] when the other guys arrive, like Bayliss, Ducati, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki they will have the chance to ask the WSBK technician what to do to the bike to prepare for the new sizes, and they will immediately make upgrade to their performance. If they start from nothing it will take time, if they take the experience gained in WSBK, they’ll gain time.”

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Troy Bayliss TBG
Troy Bayliss testing the new Pirelli tyres in the earlier ASBK test- Image by TBG

Mark Bracks: The Australian Superbike tyre is the same as the WSBK then?

Giorgio Barbieri: “Absolutely.”

Mark Bracks: What about Supersport? In the last couple of years we’ve seen, delaminating, more-so in the race and more critical.

Giorgio Barbieri: “Supersport is more so difficult, because of the size rims. We can’t make a bigger tyre due to the rim sizes being too narrow, so we make it bigger but then it stretch on the rim. We don’t have so many tester, Superbike has many testers more than Supersport.

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Tom Toparis TBG
Aussie Tom Toparis is wild carding in Supersport – Image by TBG Sport

“So we agreed with Dorna to do one test in Portugal in August for Supersport as well, and we’ll concentrate the test on Australian tyres. In order to have more experience in Supersport about this. In Supersport they lean more, less electronics, and higher temperature on the tyres than the Superbikes sometimes, which is why they cook the tyre more.”

Mark Bracks: So in Portimao in August, you’ll be testing there because it’s a little bit similar to Australia?

Giorgio Barbieri: “Portimao we know is very hot and the long corner, brings you down in the lane, is where we see the next highest temperature to Phillip Island, but 20-30C less, but more than all the other circuit in Europe, so this is something, not enough but something. If you come here [Phillip Island] in December and you make a test, you might not have any problem, but come in February and *click*…

World Superbikes at Portimao
World Superbikes will head to Portimao for a test later in the year, including for Supersport

“Several years ago we brought the Ducati’s from Europe, and we brought Troy Bayliss to test, we made a test here in December, the test were perfect, we tried to race and… I don’t really know what to do in this place.

“It’s almost impossible to find the right condition to test. Or we have to convince ourselves to make something completely different than what we normally like to make to suit these conditions for the laps we need.”

Mark Bracks: How different are the Supersport tyres, do they have a stiffer sidewall?

Giorgio Barbieri: “Yes and some of them do and are testing now. In Superbike as well they have a carcass stiffer than the usual one, and it’s a little heavier than the usual one as we make some reinforcement inside. But the thing is, is this the point or not?”

Mark Bracks: I was going to say with the extra weight, more inertia, more heat…

Giorgio Barbieri: “That might be why it’s not working. I hope to see some long run testing in the afternoon session.

WSBK TBG WSBKPI PI Pirelli TBG

Mark Bracks: Have you seen the difference in temperature between today and Sunday?

Giorgio Barbieri: “Yes, I saw the forecast but I’m not worried about this. It’s the heat generated into the tyre, it’s a matter of operative temperature, during the use. If the bike is loading the rear tyre in order to reach a certain level of temp, and overclimb this level and keep this higher level, you destroy the compound.

“So which way to keep this temperature down, is more in the team’s behaviour and the riders, and race administration. I know quite well how the MotoGP riders are used to managing the tyres, in the last lap they use it. But if they use this lap time in the beginning…

“In this championship they aren’t used to administrating the tyres, and in this place, this causes the problem. But yesterday we saw Bautista use an intelligent way to run very fast but keeping within the range and average temperature.

“This is the right attitude, I remember several years ago we tried with Troy Bayliss, he had the best Ducati, he was the man in this place, and he won the Race 1 with 12s advantage, and we saw some blister on the tyres. I said Troy, if we make like this in the second race, when the temp is higher, you will meet problems at the end of the race, try not to take 12s, but just the right amount, which was foolish to say to the rider. But he did, he came first on the second race, it was by 3s and the tyre was perfect. But it’s not my job to ask the riders and teams to administrate.”

Mark Bracks: So with the Supersport tyre, have you gone harder compound all over?

Giorgio Barbieri: “No, it’s always the same compound as used in Superbike, the mother of SC1, I don’t trust giving another compound will save us from the problem, because the more slip you’ve got the more temperature you’ve got. Here it’s always a combination of mechanical and chemical stress, one of the two creates the problem. So you have to keep the right amount of grip, and at the same time, not too much. More grip is the compound and more heating from the tread, but if you don’t give enough tread you get heating because of wheel spin.”

WSBK Test PI Final GB Bautista
Alvaro Bautista – Image by Geebee

Mark Bracks: It’s the never ending chasing of the tail as they say… Is there any plan B for the tyres for the weekend?

Giorgio Barbieri: “We will discuss on Thursday in order to make a decision on the morning, rather than waiting for anything to happen on Friday. We will decide what kind of race we’ll have then!”

The count down is on for this weekend’s (Feb 22-24) season opener of the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, Yamaha Finance round at Australia’s spectacular Phillip Island. Racing looks set to be hot; and the weather is forecast to be perfect for fans and for on-circuit camping with 25-28 degree days predicted.

WorldSBK Australia Promo

WorldSBK  Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Event Schedule, 22 – 24 February 2019
Thursday 21 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
9:00 10:00 1:00 World SSP Riders Briefing
10:00 FIM Track Safety Inspection
10:00 11:30 1:30 All Riders Riders Track Familiarization
12:00 13:00 1:00 Safety Car Test Track closed
13:50 14:20 0:30 Aus SS 300 Free Practice 1
14:25 14:55 0:30 Aus SS Free Practice 1
15:00 15:30 0:30 Australian Sup Free Practice 1
15:40 15:50 0:10 Parade Laps Black Dog Ride
14:30 15:30 1:00 WorldSBK Riders Briefing
16:00 17:00 1:00 WorldSBK Official Photo Start/Finish Straight
16:00 17:00 1:00 WorldSSP Technical/Sporting Checks Pit Garages
17:00 18:00 1:00 WorldSSP Official Photo Start/Finish Straight
17:00 18:00 1:00 WorldSBK Technical/Sporting Checks Pit Garages
18:00 All 1st Time Riders Riders Briefing
TBC All Classes Tyre Stickers Distribution Technical Bay
Friday 22 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
8:30 8:40 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
9:10 9:25 0:15 Aus SS Free Practice 2
9:30 9:45 0:15 Aus SBK Free Practice 2
9:50 FIM Medical Inspection
10:00 FIM Track Inspection
10:30 11:20 0:50 WorldSBK Free Practice 1
11:30 12:15 0:45 WorldSSP Free Practice 1
12:25 12:55 0:30 Pit Walk 1
13:15 13:30 0:15 Aus SS 300 Free Practice 2
13:35 13:50 0:15 Aus SBK Qualifying
13:55 14:10 0:15 Aus SS Qualifying
14:15 14:30 0:15 Aus SS300 Qualifying
15:00 15:50 0:50 WorldSBK Free Practice 2
16:00 16:45 0:45 WorldSSP Free Practice 2
Saturday 23 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
8:15 8:25 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
8:45 9:15 0:30 Australian SSP Race 1 10 Laps 
9:20 FIM Medical Inspection
9:30 FIM Track Inspection
10:00 10:20 0:20 WorldSBK Free Practice 3
10:35 10:55 0:20 WorldSSP Free Practice 3
11:05 11:25 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 1 8 Laps –
11:30 12:00 0:30 Aus SBK Race 1 12 Laps 
12:15 12:40 0:25 WorldSBK Tissot Superpole
12:55 13:20 0:25 WorldSSP Tissot Superpole
13:40 14:10 0:30 Pit Walk 2 & Safety Car Laps
15:00 WorldSBK RACE 1 22 Laps Pit Opens: 14:40
16:15 16:45 0:30 Aus SBK Race 2 12 Laps 
16:50 17:10 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 2 8 Laps 
17:15 17:45 0:30 Aus SSP Race 2 10 Laps 
Sunday 24 February 2019
Time Duration Category Schedule
7:45 7:55 0:10 Timekeeping Racing Track System Test
8:15 8:45 0:30 Aus SSP Race 3 10 Laps
8:50 FIM Medical Inspection
9:00 FIM Track Inspection
09:30 09:45 0:15 WorldSBK Warm Up
09:55 10:10 0:15 WorldSSP Warm Up
10:30 11:00 0:30 Aus SBK Race 3 12 Laps
11:05 11:35 0:30 Pit Walk 3 & Safety Car Laps
12:00 WorldSBK S-pole Race 10 Laps Pit Opens: 11:45
13:15 WorldSSP Race 18 Laps Pit Opens: 13:00
15:00 WorldSBK Race 2 22 Laps Pit Opens: 14:40
16:15 16:35 0:20 Aus SS 300 Race 3 8 laps
1 Lap 4,445 km Issued: 28 November 2018 13:00h

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

ASBK Superbike Pre-Season form guide with Bracksy

Leave a comment

Australian Superbike Preview

With Mark Bracks

The dust settled on the official ASBK two-day test at Phillip Island a few weeks ago but the sentiment hasn’t changed – this year’s Kawasaki Australian Superbike Championship will be an oil-boiling cauldron of action, intensity, excitement and rivalry.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Wayne MAXWELL Cru HALLIDAY
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Rob Mott

The battle gets underway when practice starts on Thursday the 21st of February at the Island. There may be some that are studying the lap times from the test ahead of the upcoming opening round of the championship, which will be staged alongside the Superbike World Championship (22-24 February), but in all honesty test times are about as newsworthy as last week’s newspaper.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Troy Bayliss TBG
Troy Bayliss – Image by TBG

In testing riders rarely go out to try and be the fastest unless they want to make a statement, get in their opponents heads, or try and steal the headlines and the cover shot on MCNews.com.au that day… What they really aim for is to keep improving and working towards an optimum bike set-up over a full race distance. This means exploring different options across very aspect of the motorcycle in preparation to go racing in the opening round of the season.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Wayne Maxwell TBG
Wayne Maxwell – Image by TBG

The test was especially prudent in regards to race rubber, as both Pirelli and Dunlop brought tyres with completely different characteristics to what the riders are used to. There was some head scratching in trying to find a definitive direction to head in.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Glenn ALLERTON
Glenn Allerton – Image by Rob Mott

It was still a surprise that Wayne Maxwell was fastest over the test, considering he was nursing the painful legacy of a broken left shoulder suffered in a cycling accident only a matter of days before. Marquez notably did the same on Day 1 of the Sepang MotoGP test, after recent shoulder surgery!

It was also the first real time that he has been able to get a clear track and become reacquainted with the GSX-R1000 Suzuki, this one a few generations on from the machine that took him to the Superbike title in 2013.

Maxwell has been knocking on the door of another championship for the last few years, finishing second twice in both 2016 and 2018 and, third in 2017, those results coming when part of the official Yamaha Racing Team effort.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Josh WATERS
Josh Waters – Image by Rob Mott

An added ingredient to the move is that he is team-mates with Josh Waters, who has won three titles on Suzuki and is aiming for number four. 2018 was a below standard season for Waters and the man from Mildura will be out to try to regain supremacy in 2019.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Aiden WAGNER
Aiden Wagner – Image by Rob Mott

Tthe 2019 season is the most open in recent memory for competition. There are no clear favourites in the premier category, in fact there are at least six that will be in the mix and unlike last year, the title should go down to the last round at Eastern Creek.

Defending champion Troy Herfoss. His two championships in three years are quite remarkable. Herfoss is the only rider that has given Honda something to smile about in production-based domestic racing anywhere in the world during recent seasons.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Troy Herfoss TBG
Troy Herfoss – Image by TBG

Can he also be the first man to win back-to-back titles since Jamie Stauffer in 2006/07? Statistics show it will be difficult and the odds are against him, but then Herfoss likes the odds against him, so he can rise to the occasion.

The Penrite Honda squad has a year under its belt, team owner Deon Coote ready to defend the title as well as this weekend give Herfoss a chance to shine in front of the world’s best with a Wild Card ride in the World Superbike Championship class.

WSBK Test PI Day GeeBee Troy Herfoss
Troy Herfoss testing the WorldSBK machine – GeeBee Image

This will give Herfoss the advantage of track time as he is at the WSBK test and will be swapping classes all weekend. Fitness won’t be a worry as he cycles a crazy amount of kilometres every week and is champing at the bit to show what he is capable of. Testing with the World Superbike spec’ machine this week though yielded results that were much less than they had hoped for. Could the WSBK wildcard take his eyes off the local ball and upset the opening of his ASBK Championship defence…?

What can be written about Troy Bayliss that hasn’t seen print? Not a lot, is there? Approaching 50 years of age, he is arguably as fast as he ever was – and hasn’t lost an ounce of determination.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Troy BAYLISS
Troy Bayliss – Image by Rob Mott

He was second fastest at the recent test on the booming V-Twin Panigale that he rode to great success last year, but it wasn’t the fastest laps that caught my eye, it was his overall consistency in every session, times only tenths apart across the two days.

He adapted the quickest to the new spec Pirelli race tyre, which is understandable. Back in the old days of overnight specials, Troy had to learn very quickly to adapt to different tyre characteristics and go fast straight out of the box on new spec’ tyres.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Troy Bayliss TBG
Troy Bayliss – Image by TBG

This year Troy can also watch his son’s progress in the Supersport category, as the team now has the vastly experienced Glen Richards mentoring young Oli, leaving Troy to concentrate on that elusive Australian Superbike title that he wants to add to his BSB and World Superbike Titles.

There is also the fact that sometime during the year he will be debuting the new Ducati V4. Don’t be holding your breath to see it race this weekend, or perhaps even the first half of the year. At the moment there are very few parts for the machine available and until they have done extensive testing to make the bike competitive the team will stick to what they know. As Troy said at the test, “Until the V4 is as fast as what we are running now, we won’t be using it.”

The Yamaha Racing Team has retained the services of Daniel Falzon, who will be all the more polished for his year on the factory backed team. Cru Halliday steps back up to the ASBK playground after winning the Supersport title for YRT last year.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Daniel FALZON
Daniel Falzon – Image by Rob Mott

Falzon is somewhat of a quiet achiever, quite often keeping his head down and flying under the radar, but quietly racking up the points…

The mantra for most this weekend is, ‘Get through the weekend with a good bag of points and remember it’s a long season.’

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Cru Halliday TBG
Cru Halliday – Image by TBG

The strongest team on the grid is Maxwell and Waters in Team Ecstar Suzuki. Besides watching their antics on track, it will be intriguing to see how the dynamic of the team changes during the year as the success of the pair ebbs and flows in relation to each other.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Josh WATERS
Josh Waters – Image by Rob Mott

Both are fiercely competitive and while we won’t see any walls down the middle of the garage the rivalry between the pair – especially if they are close in the title chase – will add an entertaining element.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Wayne MAXWELL
Wayne Maxwell – Image by Rob Mott

Team Principal Dale Brede will have his work cut out for him if things do get fraught. Maxwell won his ASBK title on a Suzuki (he also won a Swann Australasian FX Superbike Title with Honda), while Josh has won three Australian Superbike Championships for Suzuki. Their jousting this weekend will be special.

And discount the 2008 ASBK Champion Bryan Staring at your peril. In his second year on the Kawasaki BCPerformance outfit he will be a threat at every round. Make no mistake. He won a race at the corresponding round last year – and the overall round win – but for one reason or another didn’t quite springboard that result into a title threat.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Bryan Staring TBG
Bryan Staring – Image by TBG

BCPerformance Kawasaki is one of the few on Dunlop tyres and are hoping that what the factory has supplied will be competitive with the Pirellis at every track. Tyres will be crucial in his hopes for success.

Another on Dunlops – at this stage – is the NextGen Motorsports outfit with Glenn Allerton and Ted Collins as his wing man.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Glenn ALLERTON
Glenn Allerton – Image by Rob Mott

Allerton is fully fit and recovered from the plethora of injuries that has plagued him in the last two seasons. Hopefully, he can stay upright all year as he has been knocking on the door of a fourth title for the past few years, his best result recently was second to Herfoss in the 2016 title chase.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Ted COLLINS Goose
Ted Collins – Image by Rob Mott

There is yet another ingredient to add to this spicy mix of talent and that is Aiden Wagner.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Aiden WAGNER Wheelie
Aiden Wagner – Image by Rob Mott

The Queenslander had everyone taking notes at the test. After a wretched few years trying to break into the WSS scene and recovering from injuries incurred on the way, and the debt that came with that tilt on the world stage, Wagner will be in the mix from the very outset and if he can stay fit, will be in it right up to the final race. He is perhaps a dark horse for the title, but he is most definitely in the race.

Picking a season winner, let alone who will be the one on top this weekend is nigh on impossible, as the depth of talent in the field is at its deepest for some years. But I’ll go out on a limb and say that Maxwell will win the round.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Wayne Maxwell TBG
Wayne Maxwell – Image by TBG

As for Champion 2019 my crystal ball is obscured by clouds!

There are three races over the weekend for the ASBK class as well as the same amount for both Supersport and Supersport 300 categories. Bring on The Island!

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Toparis tops ASBK Supersport Test | Form guide

Leave a comment

2019 ASBK Supersport Official Test Wrap

Images by Andrew Gosling – tbg sport

Eighteen riders started the ASBK Supersport test, with Oli Bayliss making the step up to the Supersport category this year, but no one could get near last year’s class runner-up, as Tom Toparis totally dominated all bar one of the eight sessions.

Toparis has left the Cube Racing Team where he’s been since he started road racing. After his years racing Kawasaki’s in both the 300 class and Supersports, Tom will be Yamaha mounted this year, basically doing it alone in a family run affair with a few sponsors like Landbridge Racing.

Tom Toparis

“It’s been a good weekend, for the first time at the Island on the Aussie Supersport bike. It’s good to get out and do some laps and learn. The bike’s really smooth and I think that’s the most important thing.”

ASBK Test Phillip Island Feb Tom Toparis
Tom Toparis – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

The youngster from Goulburn (NSW) will also be doing a Wild Card in the Supersport World Championship at Phillip Island later this month on an up-specced Yamaha R6 which should give him a great opportunity to step up the leader board after his experience in the event last year, when he finished 14th in the race.

It was Tom’s first outing on the new bikes at the test and so there was a lot of setting up to be done to adapt to the characteristics of the Yamaha after his years on the Kawasaki.

Tom Toparis

“The new Yamaha R6 is just really smooth, straight out of the box. The chassis is a lot more… a bit more like a Moto3 bike. It feels a lot stiffer and a lot more race orientated and a lot more aggressive, the styling of it. The brakes are good, we can make the tyre last for a long time, which is really good. We just have to make a few decisions about what we’re going to run. We’re just messing around with a few little things, we went pretty fast this morning. We’ll see how we go and hopefully my little mate Oli won’t beat me anytime soon. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks to test the WorldSBK, I just rode it around today, no tyres or anything to get a bit of a feel for that too…”

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Tom Toparis TBG
Tom Toparis – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

Second fastest was South Australian Nic Liminton, also Yamaha mounted. It’s a welcome return for Liminton as he was sidelined for most of last year as he battled – and overcame – testicular cancer. It’s a confronting moment for a teenager, as it would have been an extremely difficult time for the close knit Liminton family but thankfully he is back to full health, and keener than ever to get on track again racing.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Nic Liminton TBG
Nic Liminton – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

His times were slightly off his PB around the track as they are fine tuning their new Yamaha’s but understandably Nic is just over the moon to be back riding and racing in a few weeks, after his reality check of 2018.

Nic Liminton

“We had a lot to get through as we set up the new bikes back but I am so happy with where we are right now. I am just so happy to be back getting ready to race a full season. This is my first time ever on the new Yamaha R6. The suspension we’re still dealing with, hopefully we’ll get it all sorted by the race, but at the moment – the Ohlins – if we can get it dialed in, I reckon we can have a very good race. We had a base setting on the suspension at the start and we thought that was going to be amazing, but we changed a few things and we’ve got it to a pretty good point now. With a few more practice sessions we’ll be in a better place. Track time is definitely a bit of an issue, we don’t have much of it, compared to some of the other riders, so we’ll just try and learn as quick as possible and then hope the race is going to be good. Top three is where I want to be, I think Tom’s in a league of his own at the moment, but if we can slowly close the gap through each round to him, I want to be where he is by sometime this year. That’s the goal.”

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Nic Liminton TBG
Nic Liminton – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

We know the kid can ride but it was still a bit of a surprise to see Oli Bayliss third fastest over the two days. Ok, he has had a few sessions at Morgan Park on the 600 to get a handle on it but coming to Phillip Island is an entirely different bunch of coconuts.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Oli Bayliss TBG
Oli Bayliss – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

The last time he rode there was on a 300 Proddie bike with massively different lap times, so it was a huge challenge but he took it in his stride and was only two-tenths off Liminton’s best time, with plenty of more experienced Supersport pilots behind him. Broc Pearson, also on a Yamaha, was less than a tenth of a second off, in fourth fastest, snapping at his heels.

Oli Bayliss

“We’re still getting used to the track, we’ve ridden the bike four times, but on this track zero, so the first day actually surprised me. I didn’t realise we were going to go this fast, but I’m absolutely loving it, and it’s a great track to ride, and so much fun. I didn’t think I was going to get going this fast so early on. I was here three months ago and we were doing 1:49s and now we’re doing 1:37s, so it’s like a 12 second, 13 seconds difference and it’s just different to get used to how much more power it has than the 300. The weekend was very good. Very, very, very, very good! It was really helpful and it’s given me a lot of confidence going into the race. Our times weren’t bad, we were third or fourth overall and we are getting there. Hopefully practice at the race meeting we can crack a 36, maybe even a 35. It’s going to be hard, but with a bit of help, with another rider being towed along and a few other changes to the bike – I’m losing a bit of top speed, so if we can get all of those problems sorted out, hopefully we can go a bit faster. I’ve three of my best mates out there, Tom [Toparis], Ty [Lynch] and Broc [Pearson], so it’s going to be weird racing them all, but also going to be really fun. Hopefully we can still be friends after the finish, if shit happens!”

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Oli Bayliss TBG
Oli Bayliss – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

Pearson who was fourth fastest, was his usual rapid self but a big get off at Turn One towards the end of day one slowed things down a bit, as on day two he never quite got to the times of the previous day and on his own admission says that he always has trouble with the track.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Broc Pearson TBG
Broc Pearson – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test
Broc Pearson

“We started off Day One really good, and I think I prepared well for this season, I’m a lot fitter and a lot more flexible. Yesterday morning started really well, I missed the first session due to some electrical issues, but we got out there in the second one. Instantly I was into good times, so I was really confident. Leading into the last session I was first on the times at about the middle mark of the session and went back out and had a new set of tyres and was pretty confident to go a bit faster. I ended up making a mistake in Turn 1 and had a bit of a fall, and then Day Two just hasn’t gelled so much. I sort of get over that kind of stuff and don’t get effected but I think I found a bit of a limit yesterday that was like hitting a wall today, getting to a speed that I couldn’t really pass. So I think I just need to work on a few things with my riding, I don’t think it’s mental or physical, it’s just time on the bike, which I don’t get much off. So hopefully we can get a bit of that between now and end of the month.”

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Broc Pearson TBG
Broc Pearson – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

Another debutant in the class is the 2017 Australian Supersport 300cc Champion, Reid Battye, returning to the domestic title chase after a disastrous season in Europe last year. After winning the title Reid had high hopes of competing in the Supersport 300 World Championship that Tom Edwards competed in, but a botch up with registering for the over-subscribed grid saw the teenager left out in the cold and living in Italy.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Reid Battye TBG
Reid Battye – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

He returned to Australia half way through the year and so has not had much riding but was impressive in his first outing on the new Suzukis and was fifth. Like Bayliss, Battye will definitely be a threat once he gets more in tune with the bikes and he has the added bonus of Phil Tainton fettling his bikes between meetings. Expect him to give it a big shake

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Reid Battye TBG
Reid Battye – ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

Just adrift of Battye was Sam Lambert who has had an on-again off-again relationship with the class in recent years but in that time has proven to be one that is in the upper part of the field but has lacked the budget to complete a full season. Let’s hope the Northern Territorian can stick around for the entire season as the sound of the MV Agusta he is riding on full noise is just majestic, and he is not too far off the pace.

While Toparis may have had a distinct edge in lap times over the others the difference in times between second (Liminton) and seventh (Aiden Hayes) was just over a second, and the rest were close behind.

ASBK Test Phillip Island Feb Toparis
Tom Toparis lead the time sheets by a hefty margin- ASBK 2019 – Official Phillip Island Test

Add a few more that were not at the test and others that are rising through the ranks like Scott Nicholson (who is in his own team this year); Aiden Hayes who is hoping to contest the entire season; as well as Ty Lynch who is gaining advice from Jed Metcher to improve his performances; Rhys Belling; Jack Passfield; Dallas Skeer; and the ever competitive Chris Quinn, and the 2019 Supersport category will have plenty of spice to compliment the other classes.

Supersport Combined Practice Times – 2019 ASBK PI Test

  1. Tom TOPARIS (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:35.295
  2. Nicholas LIMINTON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:37.273
  3. Oli BAYLISS (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:37.492
  4. Broc PEARSON (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:37.588
  5. Reid BATTYE (NSW) Suzuki GSX-R 1:38.134
  6. Sam LAMBERT (NT) MV Agusta F3 1:38.142
  7. Aidan HAYES (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:38.496
  8. Scott NICHOLSON (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R 1:39.013
  9. Ty LYNCH (SA) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:39.136
  10. Ryan TAYLOR (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:39.182
  11. Rhys BELLING (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:39.591
  12. Jack PASSFIELD (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:39.657
  13. Luke MITCHELL (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:39.776
  14. Chris QUINN (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:39.782
  15. Luke SANDERS (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:40.723
  16. Andrew EDSER (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R 1:40.831
  17. Dallas SKEER (SA) Suzuki GSX-R 1:41.012
  18. Daniel LEONARD (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6 1:44.081

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Maxwell tops official ASBK test on day two | Wagner second

Leave a comment

Maxwell tops combined practice for the weekend

Aiden Wagner sets second fastest time in final session

By Mark Bracks

At the end of the two day official ASBK test it was Wayne Maxwell who could beat his chest as the fastest Superbike rider on the grid, after setting a 1:32.312 during the final day’s morning session.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Wayne Maxwell TBG
Wayne Maxwell – Image by TBG

Wagner put in a notable final session of the day, setting a late 1:32.451 to post the second fastest time of the test, while close behind was the man who finished third last year in Troy Bayliss, followed by Josh Waters and Daniel Falzon. All bar Falzon and Wagner set their fastest times in the opening session of day two, before the heat really set in.

Defending champion Troy Herfoss meanwhile was sixth fastest, with Bryan Staring, Cru Halliday, Glenn Allerton and Mike Jones rounding out the top ten on the combined timesheets.

See below for individual sessions and the full combined testing times for the weekend.

Superbikes – Sunday Session 1

By 10am Sunday morning, the air temp was over 24 degrees at Phillip Island, with the track temperature already nudging 36 degrees. That meant that with the forecast saying it would only get hotter, it was vital to get the times in early as most expected the track and tyre performance to drop off as the temperatures rose and the day wore on.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Wayne Maxwell TBG
Wayne Maxwell – Image by TBG

The first session saw Maxwell kick the day off well and continue his form, topping the sheets again with a blistering 1:32.312, which was only fractionally outside Troy Bayliss’s lap record of 1:32.224.

There were four other riders under the 1:33 mark for the first session of the day, with Bayliss, Waters, Wagner and Herfoss all claiming that honour.  There was then a further one second gap back to Halliday in sixth.

Kawasaki Superbike – Practice 5 (Sun Session 1)
  1. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R ELR 1:32.312
  2. Troy BAYLISS (QLD) Ducati Panigale FE +0.319
  3. Josh WATERS (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R ELR +0.364
  4. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.532
  5. Troy HERFOSS (QLD) Honda CBR RR SP +0.672
  6. Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 +1.587
  7. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R1 +1.635
  8. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) BMW S RR +1.642
  9. Arthur SISSIS (SA) Suzuki GSXR RL7 +1.706
  10. Mike JONES (QLD) Kawasaki ZX10RR +1.842

Superbikes – Sunday Session 2

The second session was held just before the lunch break and saw Bayliss return to the top of the timesheets, while a multitude of consistent laps from Falzon propelled him into second for the session. Wagner and Maxwell completed the top four and these were the only other riders to also descend into the 1:32s for the session.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Troy Bayliss TBG
Troy Bayliss – Image by TBG

The consensus of those that were asked is that they were all still trying to find a setup to suit the new Pirelli tyres. All bar Bayliss, who basically just adapted to the new tyres well.

To me, that gives an indication of the man’s adaptability, a skill that would have been honed on those many laps in the Superbike World Championships where a new compound or new profile change from either Michelin or Pirelli was more common than many changing underwear!

Kawasaki Superbike – Practice 6 (Sun Session 2)
  1. Troy BAYLISS (QLD) Ducati Panigale FE 1:32.676
  2. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.108
  3. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.281
  4. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R ELR +0.281
  5. Josh WATERS (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R ELR +0.628
  6. Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.636
  7. Bryan STARING (WA) Kawasaki ZX10RR +0.793
  8. Troy HERFOSS (QLD) Honda CBR RR SP +0.882
  9. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) BMW S RR +1.338
  10. Mike JONES (QLD) Kawasaki ZX10RR +1.408

Superbikes – Sunday Session 3

By the time the third session of the day commenced the track temp was over 55 deg with lap times dropping by over a second across the board.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Daniel Falzon TBG
Daniel Falzon – Image by TBG

Daniel Falzon topped the time sheets for the first time, as he set the benchmark of 1:33.208 for the session. Closest was Bayliss, who went within 0.038 second of equaling the time on his last flying lap, with Waters third and Wagner fourth.

Kawasaki Superbike – Practice 7 (Sun Session 3)
  1. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:33.208
  2. Troy BAYLISS (QLD) Ducati Panigale FE +0.036
  3. Josh WATERS (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R ELR +0.215
  4. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.217
  5. Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.256
  6. Bryan STARING (WA) Kawasaki ZX10RR +0.317
  7. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R ELR +0.317
  8. Troy HERFOSS (QLD) Honda CBR RR SP +.403
  9. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) BMW S RR +0.411
  10. Mark CHIODO (VIC) Honda CBR RR SP +0.792

Superbikes – Sunday Session 4

With the final session of the two days approaching, a massive blackout hit the Island after a tree came down on a power line, shutting off power to the track and thus power to tyre warmers and other equipment in the pit sheds. As such over half the field of Superbikes decided to pack up for the day, including Daniel Falzon and Glenn Allerton.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Cru Halliday TBG
Cru Halliday was third fastest in the final session – Image by TBG

After the final 25 minute session with the remaining riders – and a red flag delay after Mark Chiodo crashed at Lukey Heights for the second time of the weekend – it was Aiden Wagner who was the fastest from Maxwell, Halliday, Waters, Mike Jones and Bayliss.

Kawasaki Superbike – Practice 8 (Sun Session 4)
  1. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:32.451
  2. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R ELR +0.492
  3. Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.760
  4. Josh WATERS (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R EL R +0.853
  5. Mike JONES (QLD) Kawasaki ZX10RR +1.335
  6. Troy BAYLISS (QLD) Ducati Panigale FE +1.487
  7. Troy HERFOSS (QLD) Honda CBR RR SP +1.524
  8. Max CROKER (NSW) Suzuki GSX-R +2.287
  9. Alex PHILLIS (VIC) Suzuki GSXR +2.429
  10. Arthur SISSIS (SA) Suzuki GSXR RL7 +2.504

Sunday Superbike Wrap

While there are no prizes for being fastest at a test there is certainly a form guide we can take away, especially with the first round of the Australian Superbike Championship at the same venue in a little under three weeks time.

There may be the usual bunch of street fighters that have battled out the championship over the last couple of years at the front of the field, but Aiden Wagner has certainly made a few sit up and take notice.

ASBK TBG FebTest PI Aiden Wagner TBG
Aiden Wagner – Image by TBG

The 25-year-old Queenslander was never out of the top five during the two days and his consistency in lap times was impressive. Also when you peek into the pit box of the Landbridge Transport/Wagner Soil Testing Team and see what isn’t there, it makes his effort even more outstanding.

It is very much a true privateer team with good personnel around him and while the focus will be on the manufacturer teams, just keep an eye on the #28 Yamaha R1 of Wagner. He will be ready to pounce, and he is certainly ready to win.

The first round of the Australian Superbike Championship will be held alongside the opening round of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island 22-24 February.

Kawasaki Superbike – Phillip Island Test – Merged classification

  1. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R EL R 1:32.312
  2. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:32.451
  3. Troy BAYLISS (QLD) Ducati Panigale FE 1:32.631
  4. Josh WATERS (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R EL R 1:32.676
  5. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:32.784
  6. Troy HERFOSS (QLD) Honda CBR RR SP 1:32.984
  7. Bryan STARING (WA) Kawasaki ZX10RR 1:33.181
  8. Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:33.211
  9. Glenn ALLERTON (NSW) BMW S RR 1:33.614
  10. Mike JONES (QLD) Kawasaki ZX10RR 1:33.786
  11. Mark CHIODO (VIC) Honda CBR RR SP 1:33.934
  12. Arthur SISSIS (SA) Suzuki GSXR RL7 1:34.018
  13. Max CROKER (NSW) Suzuki GSX-R 1:34.171
  14. Sloan FROST (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R 1:34.427
  15. Ted COLLINS (VIC) BMW S RR 1:34.494
  16. Alex PHILLIS (VIC) Suzuki GSXR 1:34.536
  17. Lachlan EPIS (NSW) Kawasaki ZX10RR 1:34.735
  18. Glenn SCOTT (NSW) Kawasaki ZX10RR 1:35.128
  19. Ryan YANKO (QLD) Ducati 1299 1:36.468
  20. Phil CZAJ (VIC) Aprilia RSV4 RFW 1:36.617
  21. Patrick LI (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:37.891
  22. Heath GRIFFIN (NSW) Suzuki GSX-R 1:39.054
  23. Murray CLARK (QLD) BMW S RR 1:39.123
  24. Scott TUDDENHAM (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R 1:39.467
  25. Will DAVIDSON (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:39.819

Source: MCNews.com.au

Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing, News

Massive ASBK 2019 pre-season form guide with Bracksy

Leave a comment

ASBK 2019 Official Test Day One

Words by Mark Bracks
Images by Rob Mott

ASBK season 2019 kicked off today as competitors blew out the cobwebs and got down to business on the first of a tw-day test being staged across this weekend, February 2-3, at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

Early indications are that this year will again be another step up. With live TV and live streaming to the world, ASBK has been getting stronger and the line-ups throughout the classes, as well as the introduction of the Oceania Rookies Cup for the juniors, sees the championship is in the healthiest state it has been in for quite some time. 

Before we get into the nitty gritty of who was fastest and who did what, lets take a look at how the Superbike field will shape up as there has been many rider movements in the off season, as well as a few newcomers, with a few returning for another dip in the premier class.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Cru HALLIDAY
Cru Halliday #65

For those that came in late, lets have a look at how the major protagonists will face off in the battle for championship glory in what is anticipated to be a stellar and intensely contested year of road racing.

The ones with the targets on their back are defending champions Penrite Honda, after Troy Herfoss claimed the number #1 plate in 2018 for the second time in three years.  

In 2018 the Penrite squad was primarily a one-rider outfit, although ex-Moto3 pilot and speedway rider, Arthur Sissis was under the Penrite pit tent from Morgan Park onwards. However for this year the team has expanded to a two-rider outfit from the get go, with Mark Chiodo joining the team after a rookie Superbike year with Team Ecstar Suzuki alongside Josh Waters.

Troy Herfoss

“We were down here on Wednesday for a ride day but it was really too busy to do anything too much, but at the end of the day we got done what we wanted to do and that was run the bike in with a new engine, make sure that things were working. We ticked that box and now we are here for the official ASBK test today and went really well. Compared to this time last year we are light years ahead. I was fast and consistent and we are on the race tyre. The results from today are no reflection of where everyone is at. I am sixth fastest today but I am pretty confident that in reality we are a lot further up the order than that when it comes to race pace so we’ll see how things pan out. I was 8th here last year and I won the first race of the year, so I think everyone gets a bit carried away.”

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Troy HERFOSS
Troy Herfoss

With a larger team comes more staff, and the vastly experienced Stewart Winton has been appointed as Mark’s crew chief, with Tiger Clay also in the young Victorians corner once again. Chiodo impressed last year and went oh-so-close to claiming the “Rookie of the Year” title.  

With Chiodo’s departure from Suzuki late last year it appeared that Ecstar Suzuki might only field on rider for season 2019, with the rumours suggesting that whoever finished the better in the championship between Josh Waters and Wayne Maxwell, would get the ride.

However after a fair bit of negotiation, and the can being kicked for a bit more coin by the concerned parties, the Team Ecstar Suzuki unit will remain a two-rider team with Maxwell joining Waters in what makes for a most competitive pairing of team mates. While they are good mates, on the track there is fierce competition and this is certainly going to be one aspect of ASBK 2019 that will be enthralling to witness as the seven round series unfolds.

Maxwell’s is currently hampered by a shoulder injury suffered in a cycling crash in Adelaide. His broken collarbone only operated on nine days ago, but he will be strong enough by the season opener. 

Wayne Maxwell

“The day was good. We had a day here before Christmas where I ran the bike for 10 laps like Josh had the bike at the last round with his particular tyres. Then we tried the new tyre. Everything felt different for Josh and I the but then I had no real idea as I didn’t want to have an opinion on something I didn’t know about.  We’ve come back here for the first official day on the bike and started where we left off, then went around in circles trying stuff. It’s been good for me because I have no previous expectation of how good the bike was or what the bike is supposed to be. I am getting to know the GSX-R again and its getting better at every roll out. The rear tyre is definitely… the middle is higher so I guess it has got less contact patch in the middle, and the edges are the same so it falls away different. The front tyre is bigger overall, so it changes the bike quite a lot. It’s a matter of getting a direction on paper, what it says compared to what the rider feels. Try one direction, if it doesn’t work come back in the other direction, and then find somewhere in the middle.”

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Wayne MAXWELL
Wayne Maxwell

Waters returns to race with his favourite numeral, #21, after Troy Bayliss – who used his old WSBK  number in his return to domestic racing, — offered it back to Josh late last year after the championship had been decided at the penultimate round at Winton (Vic)

Bayliss will revert to the very first number he used in Australian road racing, the number 32 gracing the front of this Ducati, a number also made famous by another Aussie legend Robbie Phillis.

Bayliss had a stellar return to domestic racing last year aboard the Desmo Sport Ducati machine, winning a couple of races and was more often than not on the podium during the year as he finished third overall behind Herfoss and runner-up, Wayne Maxwell.

Troy Bayliss will ride the same v-twin Panigale R 1299 Final Edition in the opening rounds of the series before the team beds down the new V4R in to competitive race trim. 

Troy Bayliss

“We’ll race these ones until the other one is faster than these ones. First up we have to get fairings, pipes and a few other bits and pieces. What is sitting in the back of truck (V4 R) is a road bike. It’s like having the keys to something you can’t use. We could sort of half do it but we could shoot ourselves in the foot. We haven’t got enough things if something goes wrong, and then if that happens you are riding between two different motorcycles and we know these old girls are pretty good. Everything is going very well. We are happy with the start. We hit the ground running and feel fit and healthy. Today was pretty hot and slimy so I’m happy with how we are doing, considering its pretty greasy and windy out there. Always after lunch its slower, so I am pretty happy with where we are going.”

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Troy BAYLISS
Troy Bayliss

With the departure of Maxwell from the Yamaha Racing Team, the way was made clear for Australian Supersport Champion Cru Halliday to return to the Superbike class alongside Daniel Falzon, the South Australia returning for his second year at YRT.

The Next Gen Motorsport squad will again run three-times Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton, and hopefully his year they Sydneysider can remain injury free after his last two seasons have been plagued by broken bones.

Allerton will be aboard the old faithful BMWS1000RR until the HP4 arrives, which may be at the second round but more than likely the third round at Tailem Bend in April.  The major change for the Next Gen Team in 2019 is the switch to Dunlop tyres.

In the BCPerformance Kawasaki outfit Bryan Staring returns for a second year with the team and will be joined by Lachlan Epis, who replaces Kyle Buckley.The team will continue its association with Dunlop for 2019.

There is plenty of movement in the privateer ranks too, with a few more joining the fray to add to what is already a healthy field of entries.

Stepping up from the Supersport category, where he finished third overall behind Halliday and Tom Toparis, will be Max Crocker on the Mat Mladin Racing GSX-R1000R.

Making his debut in the Superbike ranks of ASBK will be Queenslander Aiden Wagner in a one-man privateer outfit. In the last few years Wagner has had his fair share of injury woes but now that he is back to full fitness he will be one to keep an eye on.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Aiden WAGNER
Aiden Wagner #28 – Expect to see podiums from him, privateer or not…

Technically, it is not his first foray into racing a Superbike as he had a ride on the Team Honda machine in the Formula Xtreme Australasian Superbike Championship at Eastern Creek a few years ago, where he made a stunning debut to top all comers before heading overseas in what proved to be a costly mistake. 

Alex Phillis will be on a fully-supported satellite Team Suzuki Ecstar machine. 2018 Rookie of the Year, Arthur Sissis will also be Suzuki mounted, along with multiple New Zealand Superbike Champion Sloan Frost who returns for a full season.

Others in the fray include Ted Collins who returns to the Next Gen Motorsports BMW Team beside Allerton, and will no doubt be more competitive after his rookie season last year.

And that’s not forgetting lads who will be knocking on a Top Ten spot at every outing, the likes of Kawasaki-mounted Glenn Scott giving it a crack again, while Matt Walters can also score top results when in form.  

So, what happened on Day One of Superbike testing for season 2019?

There were four sessions each for the Superbike Supersport, Supersport 300 and the Oceania Rookies Cup for the young pups .

In the Superbike category there were 25 riders on track, made up of eight Suzukis, five Yamahas, four Kawasakis, three BMW, two each of Honda and Ducati and a sole Aprilia RSV4.

Bragging rights as the chequered flag came out for the big boys went to Wayne Maxwell , with Bayliss in second and Staring third followed by Waters and Wagner. Herfoss was in sixth with Falzon, Halliday, Allerton, and Chiodo rounding out the top ten, just over a second separating them. The top 18 covered by just three-seconds.

ASBK Testing SB Phillip Island Rob Mott Ted COLLINS Bryan STARING
Ted Collins and Bryan Staring

Another rider in attendance was Mike Jones, who still has not finalised plans for this year as he hope to secure a ride overseas, but there is also a real possibility of the Queenslander competing in the series that he won back in 2015.

Maxwell was the only rider to do a sub 1:33 during the day with a time of 1:32.913 in the final moments of the last session, but there is more to the story than lap times. While admitting that he was still feeling some effects of the shoulder injury, he also had put in a soft tyre for the end of the final session. In the previous session on more regular tyres, his fastest time was over a full second slower. 

Herfoss was fastest in the opening session from Waters and Maxwell but Bayliss was atop for the next two sessions. TB was also well in the hunt for overall honours before being pipped by Maxwell by less than a tenth-of-a-second.

The consistency of Balyiss was impressive.  In sessions 2, 3 and 4 the differences in his fastest laps was less than a tenth.  Making that fact all the more remarkable was the ride in air and track temperatures across those sessions, and how the condition of the track dropped off later in the day, along with an increasing headwind.

But this test will prove to be two days of finding set-ups for each particular team as Pirelli and Dunlop have both brought in new spec tyres, every rider that was questioned came back with similar thoughts.

The new Pirelli tyres are now larger with more contact patch with an extra 5mm added to the surface width of both the front and rear tyres. These new characteristics change the steering into and the rive out of corners, and all riders were still trying to find the balance between steering and drivability.

Dave Fuller – Pirelli

“We have larger tyres for this season, a 125/70 front compared to a 120 and the rear is 265 up from 260mm (that is the surface measurement across the total arc of the rear tyre, thus your conventional off the rack sizing can’t really be comapred).  Being a new tyre the smart operators are getting onto it now to try and work out a set-up for the new rubber. Some are flatter and some are higher in the rear, sometimes putting a bit more spring in the back, but pretty flat layout seems to be favourite at the moment as they have to be careful not to get too much wheelspin. Smart guys are chipping away and getting onto it.  I think for the very hot conditions, and we had the classic here last week so it’s pretty greasy, I think the guys are doing a commendable job. Wayne did a 32.9 and that’s still pretty damn fast. There are no super sticky ones, Wayne just used a sticky one. These are the homologated tyres for the season so it is pretty important for us to have a good test and see everyone reasonably happy. Some guys are on the fence still trying to work out the previous grip over these new tyres. We will still have the SCX’s front and rear – the slightly smaller size – available from last year so there are options for them.”

Kawasaki Superbike Times
  1. Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki 1m32.913
  2. Troy Bayliss – Ducati 1299 1m33.011
  3. Bryan Staring – Kawasaki 1m33.181
  4. Josh Waters – Suzuki 1m33.334
  5. Aiden Wagner – Yamaha 1m33.452
  6. Troy Herfoss – Honda 1m33.500
  7. Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 1m33.541
  8. Cru Halliday – Yamaha 1m33.565
  9. Glenn Allerton – BMW 1m33.614
  10. Mark Chiodo – Honda 1m33.934
  11. Mike Jones – Honda 1m34.356
  12. Ted Collins – BMW 1m34.494
  13. Alex Phillis – Suzuki 1m34.863
  14. Arthur Sissis – Suzuki 1m35.067
  15. Glenn Scott – Kawasaki 1m35.128
  16. Max Croker – Suzuki 1m35.188
  17. Lachlan Epis – Kawasaki 1m35.272
  18. Sloan Frost – Suzuki 1m35.339
  19. Ryan Yanko – Ducati 1m36.468
  20. Patrick Li – Yamaha 1m37.891
  21. Phil Czaj – Aprilia 1m38.134
  22. Heath Griffin – Suzuki 1m39.166
  23. Scott Tuddenham – Suzuki 1m39.467
  24. Will Davidson – Yamaha 1m40.123
  25. Murray Clark – BMW 1m40.598
Supersport 600 Times
  1. Tom Toparis – Yamaha 1m36.149
  2. Nic Liminton – Yamaha 1m37.329
  3. Broc Pearson – Yamaha 1m37.588
  4. Oli Bayliss – Yamaha 1m37.840
  5. Reid Battye – Suzuki 1m38.264
  6. Sam Lambert – MV Agusta 1m38.807
  7. Aidan Hayes – Yamaha 1m39.030
  8. Ty Lynch – Yamaha 1m39.426
  9. Jack Passfield – Yamaha 1m39.657
  10. Chris Quinn – Yamaha 1m39.872
  11. Luke Mitchell – Yamaha 1m40.020
  12. Scott Nicholson – Suzuki 1m40.592
  13. Luke Sanders – Yamaha 1m40.723
  14. Rhys Belling – Yamaha 1m40.969
  15. Dallas Skeer – Suzuki 1m41.012
YMI Supersport 300 / YMF R3 Cup Times
  1. Tom Bramich – Kawasaki 1m48.804
  2. Locky Taylor – Yamaha 1m49.429
  3. Seth Crump – KTM 1m49.768
  4. Callum O’Brien – Kawasaki 1m49.939
  5. Zac Levy – Yamaha 1m50.109
  6. Luke Power – Yamaha 1m50.423
  7. Max Stauffer – Yamaha 1m50.537
  8. Ben Baker – Kawasaki 1m50.823
  9. Senna Agius – Kawasaki 1m50.875
  10. Harry Khouri – Yamaha 1m51.306
  11. Zylas Bunting – Yamaha 1m52.439
  12. Peter Nerlich – Kawasaki 1m51.441
  13. Bronson Pickett – Yamaha 1m53.167
  14. Kyle O’Connell – Yamaha 1m53.378
  15. Tayla Relph – Kawasaki 1m53.409
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Times
  1. Lucas Quinn 2m15.669
  2. Angus Grenfell 2m16.253
  3. Carter Thompson 2m16.303
  4. Cormac Buchanan 2m16.493
  5. Reece Oughtred 2m16.560
  6. Tom Drane 2m16.654
  7. Jamie Port 2m16.802
  8. Jacob Hatch 2m17.116
  9. Glenn Nelson 2m17.382
  10. Hunter Diplock 2m17.680
  11. Max Gibbons 2m17.720
  12. Cros Francis 2m17.726
  13. Marianos Nikolis 2m17.751
  14. Zak Pettendy 2m18.255
  15. Jai Russo 2m18.414

Source: MCNews.com.au