Saturday’s proceedings at round three of the YMF Loan Yamaha Australian FX-Superbike Championship at Queensland Raceway proved to be a day of mixed fortunes for all of the leading Superbike contenders.
Early on it looked as though Glenn Allerton would perhaps dominate proceedings but his race one victory proved harder fought than the opening laps suggested.
After the race the reason why was clear, his rear slick virtually destroyed, causing him to sit out race two before starting race three from the rear of the grid with a 30-second penalty to boot, his penance for using a new tyre where the rules mandate only one tyre allowed for each day of FX competition.
There was a lot more to say on the tyre issue, which proved controversial up and down pit lane after Dunlop and series promoter Terry O’Neill made the decision to allow two rear tyres to be used on Sunday. A decision that those who judged they could make the three-race distance on the one tyre, deemed unfair, the common thread amongst most was that those riders severely affected by tyre degradation should wear the previously mandated 30-second penalty for using a new rear tyre. More on the tyre controversy here…
A triumvirate of Honda’s led by Troy Herfoss chased Allerton in the opening bout, but with Allerton absent in race two that same trio of CBR 1000 RR SP Fireblades filled the top three steps of the podium in the second bout, Herfoss on the top step above Maxwell and Hook.
It was Kawasaki’s turn for glory in the final bout with Sean Condon leading home Mike Jones and Troy Herfoss after a frantic on-track battle for position. Condon putting a brave move on Jones for the win at the final turn.
That third place in the final stanza handed Herfoss a 67-point haul for the Saturday round win, seven-points clear of Maxwell and nine-points clear of Condon.
Troy Herfoss – “I am really happy, it is the best Friday I have had and the best Saturday I have had, I have finally made the step from lurking of the back of these guys to racing with them.
“I have got the team to thank for that, Indy and I have been working well together, and all the mechanics have been helping so as a team we have been working well together.
“We know this weekend was going to be our toughest, and if we got through this with good points, then we are going to be real hard to beat at the final three rounds.”
Maxwell remains the clear Saturday AFX-Superbike Series on 193 points to Glenn Scott’s 168-point tally while Herfoss’ round win moved him up to equal third overall alongside Mike Jones, the pair with 145 points to their name.
Wayne Maxwell – “Today was consolidation, this whole round for me really is at is not one of my strong tracks and it is not a track that suits the CBR, the way the regulations are, we can only go so fast on the straights.
“I look forward to tomorrow, trying to get maximum points and the moving on to some real racetracks.”
Sean Condon – “Not a bad day, little improvements here and there, both with the bike and myself, picking up the pace a little so definitely feeling a lot more confident heading in to tomorrow. Frank has the bike working really well, the tyres are wearing nice and even. Realistically top five tomorrow would be unreal and to be up there fighting with the top boys and not far behind.”
Mike Jones – “Had a good day today, qualifying went well yesterday and we started the race in fourth position but we didn’t do too well in the opening race and had a bad start.
“We made more changes throughout the day and it was not until the last race that we really found a decent direction with the bike which allowed me to be quicker than the other guys in that race and finish on the podium.
“I am hoping that tomorrow we will continue to move in that direction and continue to finish on the podium.”
YMF Loan Superbike Saturday Series Round Three Championship Points
- Troy Herfoss – 22/25/20 – 67
- Wayne Maxwell – 20/22/18 – 60
- Sean Condon – 15/18/25 – 58
- Mike Jones – 13/16/22 – 51
- Josh Hook – 8/20/16 – 44
- Glenn Scott – 12/15/15 – 42
- Cru Halliday – 16/13/12 – 41
- Robert Bugden – 14/14/11 – 39
- Ben Burke – 10/12/14 – 36
- Glenn Allerton – 25/0/4 – 29
YMF Loan Superbike Saturday Series Championship Points
- Wayne Maxwell 193
- Glenn Scott 168
- Mike Jones 145
- Troy Herfoss 145
- Robert Bugden 137
- Sean Condon 130
- Cru Halliday 128
- Jamie Stauffer 104
- Matthew Walters 94
- Glenn Allerton 78
In the Supersport ranks Aaron Morris continued his unprecedented domination despite the best efforts of Daniel Falzon. Morris’ task made a little easier by a clutch failure for Falzon in race two, and a crash for fellow leading contender Callum Spriggs resulting in a broken collarbone and the cancellation of race three. A fate no competitor wanted to befall Spriggs, who is the current Sunday Supersport Series leader.
Aaron Morris – “Not a bad day, we came out with two wins today, I am pretty stoked with that, a bit of a shame about the two crashes. We have eight wins out of eight starts in this Saturday series, if we keep tracking how we are going we should come out with the main prize.”
YMF Loan Supersport Saturday Series Round Three Championship Points
- Aaron Morris 25/25 – 50
- Chris Quinn 16/22 – 38
- Aiden Wagner 18/20 – 38
- Callum Spriggs 20/18 – 38
- Daniel Falzon 22/13 – 35
- Justin Di Giandomenico 15/16 – 31
- Mason Coote 13/14 – 27
- Luke Mitchell 14/12 – 26
- Jay Presepio 10/15 – 25
- Aaiden Coote 9/11 – 20
YMF Loan Supersport Saturday Series Championship Points
- Aaron Morris 200
- Callum Spriggs 164
- Aiden Wagner 162
- Daniel Falzon 136
- Patrick Medcalf 94
- Jay Presepio 90
- Justin Di Giandomenico 88
- Luke Mitchell 84
- Mason Coote 77
- Aaiden Coote 75
FX 300 Ninja Results:
1. Brandon DEMMERY 72
2. Jack BAKER 64
3. Sophie LOVETT 56
4. Bailie PERRITON 54
5. Di JONES 47
6. Mitch KAVNEY 42
7. Ben WHITE 41
8. Chris GREENE 35
9. Richard DRAPER 32
10. Scott CHAPMAN 32
FX 250 Ninja Results:
1. Grant JORDAN 72
2. Joshua McHENRY 69
3. Craig WHITE 58
4. Ben GREEN 52
5. Stuart SMITH 51
6. Stuart GREEN 31
Formula Oz Results:
1. Ben NICOLSON 67
2. Mathew HARDING 61
3. Alistair HOOGENBOEZEM 50
4. Brayden CARR 49
5. Phil LOVETT 45
6. Liam WILKINSON 42
7. Paul BYRNE 42
8. Sophie LOVETT 36
9. Chris TROUNSON 32
10. Rohan WOOD 30
Pro-Twins F1 Results:
1. Craig McMARTIN 75
2. Michael McMILLAN 62
3. James ARNOLD 56
4. Simon GALLOWAY 50
5. Brendan CLARKE 44
6. Kris KEEN 31
Pro-Twins F2 Results:
1. Jordan ZAMORA 75
2. Richard MARROCCHINI 66
Pro-Twins F3 Results:
1. Jason MARTIN 72
2. Joseph SALTER 69
3. Sam LAMBERT 50
Nakedbikes F3 Results:
1. Byron MILLS 75
2. Darren SAGAR 66
Nakedbikes F2 Results:
Richard DRAPER 75
Nakedbikes F1 Results:
Angus REEKIE 75
Adrian PIERPOINT 66
