Bayliss on top as ASBK Tailem Bend round underway

ASBK Tailem Bend round underway

Troy Bayliss first man in the 1m53s at The Bend

ASBK and a vast contingent from the Asian Road Racing Championships have converged on the new Bend Motorsport Complex in South Australia to signal two new beginnings.

It marks the first time the amazing new facility, which still is a work in progress, will host motorcycle competition.

Secondly, it marks the first step in what is mooted to become an ongoing partnership between ASBK and the ARRC. Especially when the ARRC premier category grows from its current 600cc Supersport capacity up to 1000cc Superbikes in 2019.

Now, back to the circuit. While much work on the infrastructure around the circuit is still to be completed, it already shades most other circuits around the country. The track itself is of course fully complete, and this weekend competitors will ride the 4.95km ‘International Circuit’ layout. There is also an incredible full 7.7km layout that will be used in some selected events in the future. Early signs are that The Bend is well on the way to becoming the premier motorsports facility in the Southern Hemisphere.

As for the media centre, we are currently situated on the fourth level of the main tower which offers an almost fully uninterrupted view of the whole circuit. And check this out for an internet connection…  That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen anywhere.

Facilities for spectators are very much in their infancy here, but the future is bright. The views from the roof are better than anything else at a racetrack in the country. While only one small grandstand has been constructed so far, there will be more on the way.

The riders are certainly excited to be riding somewhere new and all three ASBK categories racing this weekend each got 2 x 30-minute sessions on track today.

In Supersport 300 it was a Yamaha 1-2-3-4 today headed by Hunter Ford on a 2m11.764 followed by Tom Bramich, Olly Simpson and Tayla Relph while the top Kawasaki entrant was Oli Bayliss in fifth.

On today’s form there will be daylight between Cru Halliday and the remainder of the Supersport 600 competitors on race day unless the likes of Tom Toparis, Broc Pearson, Damon Rees and Max Croker can find a significant amount of time. After today’s hour on track Haliday on the new YRT backed YZF-R6 was a full 1.4-seconds ahead of second quickest man Toparis.

Troy Bayliss looks menacing here on the 1285cc Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition. The three-time World Superbike Champion is focussed and looks stronger with every outing he makes this season.

A 1m53.662 this morning to Bayliss made him the first man to lap the 4.95km circuit underneath 1m54s. He then lowered that marker to 1m53.394 on his sixth lap of the second 30-minute session as the track temperature nudged towards 40-degrees celsius.

Daniel Falzon ended the session second quickest on 1m54.028 ahead of Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters.

Wayne Maxwell set the quickest time here during testing a fortnight ago but neither the YRT man nor Honda’s Troy Herfoss could best the times they achieved here in testing two weeks ago.

Just before the session was prematurely red flagged though Wayne Maxwell was on course to go quickest.  Maxwell had been under Bayliss’ time at both the first and second splits, but the red flag made him abort that lap, a lap which may indeed put him ahead of Bayliss at session end. Alas, that was not to be.

The weekend is young though, and plenty more progress will be made tomorrow ahead of the opening 10-lap Superbike race of the weekend that is scheduled for 1235 on Saturday.

Superbike  Friday Practice Combined Times

1. Troy Bayliss – Ducati 1m53.394
2. Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 1m54.028
3. Josh Waters – Suzuki 1m54.203
4. Wayne Maxwell – Yamaha 1m54.335
5. Troy Herfoss – Honda 1m54.736
6. Glenn Allerton – BMW 1m54.853
7. Bryan Staring – Kawasaki 1m55.140
8. Mark Chiodo – Suzuki 1m56.219
9. Ted Collins – BMW 1m56.234
10. Arthur Sissis – Suzuki 1m56.466
11. Mitch Rees – Honda 1m56.692
12. Alex Phillis – Suzuki 1m57.194
13. Matt Walters – Kawasaki 1m57.901
14. Willy Strugnell – Kawasaki 1m58.010
15. Mitch Levy – Yamaha 1m58.295
16. Sam Lambert – Kawasaki 1m58.329
17. Jamie Stauffer – Ducati 1m58.359
18. Adam Christie – Suzuki 1m58.459
19. Kyle Buckley – Kawasaki 1m59.029
20. Simon Galloway – Yamaha 1m59.852
21. Aaiden Coote – Kawasaki 1m59.910
22. Lucas Vitale – Kawasaki 2m00.218
23. Brad Swallow – Kawasaki 2m00.514
24. Mason Coote – Kawasaki 2m00.696
25. Phil Czaj – Aprilia 2m00.993
26. Brendan McIntyre – Suzuki 2m01.131
27. Ben Stronach – Yamaha 2m01.514
28. Scott McGregor – Yamaha 2m01.627
29. Adam Senior – Yamaha 2m01.752
30. Trent Gibson – Suzuki 2m02.383
31. David Barker – Kawasaki 2m02.882
32. Ashley Manuel – Kawasaki 2m03.159
33. Con Kokkoris – Ducati 2m03.337
34. Heath Griffin – Ducati 2m03.425
35. Nathan Spiteri – Suzuki 2m03.552
36. Sloan Frost – Suzuki 2m06.226
37. Evan Byles – Kawasaki 2m08.439
38. Justin Vella – Kawasaki 2m10.198

600 Supersport Friday Practice Combined Times

1. Cru Halliday – Yamaha 1m56.748
2. Tom Toparis – Kawasaki 1m58.127
3. Broc Pearson – Yamaha 1m58.842
4. John Hunt – Suzuki 1m59.140
5. Damon Rees – Honda 1m59.736
6. Max Croker – Suzuki 2m00.061
7. Zac Johnson – Yamaha 2m00.316
8. Giuseppe Scarcella – Kawasaki 2m00.364
9. Scott Nicholson – Suzuki 2m01.609
10. Ty Lynch – Yamaha 2m02.095
11. Luke Mitchell – Yamaha 2m02.133
12. Dallas Skeer – Suzuki 2m02.401
13. Thomas Bryden – Yamaha 2m02.636
14. Rhys Belling – Yamaha 2m02.936
15. Matt Barton – Yamaha 2m03.765
16. Jack Passfield – Yamaha 2m05.677
17. Lachlan Hill – Kawasaki 2m05.725
18. Ryan Taylor – Yamaha 2m06.152

300 Supersport Friday Practice Combined Times

1. Hunter Ford – Yamaha 2m11.764
2. Tom Bramich – Yamaha 2m12.047
3. Oliver Simpson – Yamaha 2m12.151
4. Tayla Relph – Yamaha 2m12.554
5. Oli Bayliss – Kawasaki 2m12.952
6. Harry Khouri – Yamaha 2m13.110
7. Seth Crump – KTM 2m13.417
8. Locky Taylor – Yamaha 2m13.747
9. Ben Bramich – KTM 2m13.895
10. Zac Levy – Yamaha 2m14.299
11. Mitch Kuhne – Yamaha 2m14.559
12. Travis Hall – Yamaha 2m14.566
13. Zane Ford – Yamaha 2m14.617
14. Bronson Pickett – Yamaha 2m14.962
15. Jarred Brook – KTM 2m15.118
16. Mitchell Simpson – Yamaha 2m15.230
17. Ben Baker – Kawasaki 2m15.267
18. Troy Ryan – Yamaha 2m15.806
19. Peter Nerlich – Kawasaki 2m16.144
20. Max Stauffer – Yamaha 2m16.513

ASBK The Bend Race Schedule

Friday

FIM Asia Road Racing Championship – Round 2
Australian Superbike Championship – Round 3
The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia
19 – 22 April, 2018
Friday
07.00 – 07.30	Officials Briefing		30 min
07.30 – 07.50	Riders & Team Managers Briefing		20 min
08.30 – 09.00	ARRC AP250	Practice 3	30 min
09.10 – 09.50	ARRC SS600	Practice 3	40 min
10.00 – 10.30	ARRC UB150	Qualifying	30 min
10.40 – 11.10	Supersport 300	Practice 3	30 min
11.20 – 11.50	Kawasaki Supersport	Practice 3	30 min
12.00 – 12.30	Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike	Practice 3	30 min
Lunch Break & ASBK Pillion Ride Activities		40 min
13.10 – 13.30	Supersport 300	Qualifying 1	20 min
13.40 – 14.10	ARRC AP250	Qualifying	30 min
14.20 – 15.00	ARRC SS600	Qualifying	40 min
15.10 – 15.40	ARRC UB150	Superpole	30 min
15.50 – 16.20	Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike	Qualifying 1	30 min
16.30 – 17.00	Kawasaki Supersport	Qualifying 1	30 min
This schedule is approximate; and all starting times, length of sessions and races are subject to
change; and may be changed by Race Direction in the event of an incident or delay in
operations.

Saturday

FIM Asia Road Racing Championship – Round 2
Australian Superbike Championship – Round 3
The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia
19 – 22 April, 2018
Saturday
07.00 – 07.20	Officials Briefing		20 min
08.30 – 08.50	Supersport 300	Qualifying 2	30 min
09.00 – 09.30	Kawasaki Supersport	Qualifying 2	30 min
09.40 – 10.10	Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike	Qualifying 2	30 min
10.20 – 10.30	ARRC UB150	Warm Up	10 min
10.40 – 10.50	ARRC AP250	Warm Up	10 min
11.00 – 11.15	ARRC SS600	Warm Up	15 min
11.25 – 11.45	Supersport 300	Race 1	7 laps
11.55 – 12.25	Kawasaki Supersport	Race 1	8 laps
12.35 – 13.20	Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike	Race 1	10 laps
Lunch Break		35 min
13.55 – 14.30	ARRC UB150	Race 1	7 laps
14.50 – 15.25	ARRC AP250	Race 1	9 laps
15.45 – 16.35	ARRC SS600	Race 1	15 laps
16.45 – 17.05	Supersport 300	Race 2	7 laps
This schedule is approximate; and all starting times, length of sessions and races are subject to
change; and may be changed by Race Direction in the event of an incident or delay in
operations.

 Sunday

FIM Asia Road Racing Championship – Round 2
Australian Superbike Championship – Round 3
The Bend Motorsport Park, South Australia
19 – 22 April, 2018
Sunday
07.00 – 07.20	Officials Briefing		20 min
08.20 – 08.30	ARRC UB150	Warm Up	10 min
08.40 – 08.50	ARRC AP250	Warm Up	10 min
09.00 – 09.15	ARRC SS600	Warm Up	15 min
09.25 – 09.55	Kawasaki Supersport	Race 2	8 laps
10.05 – 10.50	Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike	Race 2	10 laps
Break & Activities		45 min
11.35 – 11.55	Supersport 300	Race 3	7 laps
12.00 – 12.30	Kawasaki Supersport	Race 3	8 laps
12.40 – 13.25	Yamaha Motor Insurance Superbike	Race 3	10 laps
13.55 – 14.30	ARRC UB150	Race 2	7 laps
14.50 – 15.25	ARRC AP250	Race 2	9 laps
15.45 – 16.35	ARRC SS600	Race 2	15 laps
This schedule is approximate; and all starting times, length of sessions and races are subject to
change; and may be changed by Race Direction in the event of an incident or delay in
operations.