Wayne Maxwell lowers the lap record again to take pole position

2021 ASBK Finale
Australian Superbike Qualifying

The pace was surprisingly hot in the Saturday morning Timed Practice session with both Jack Miller and Wayne Maxwell going under the qualifyling lap record and Maxwell the first rider to ever lap the 4.95 kilometre circuit in the 1m50s. A 1m50.924 the fastest ever motorcycle lap of The Bend as Maxwell headed Miller and young Oli Bayliss made it a Ducati 1-2-3. The Ducati riders all clocked 306 km/h in morning practice through the speed trap, 10 km/h quicker than fourth placed Daniel Falzon.

The recovering Troy Herfoss didn’t manage to muster enough pace to automatically earn his spot in Q2 so he had to contest Q1 along with Anthony West and Aiden Wagner. Herfoss remarked that after yesterday on the bike he feels as though he has been run over by a train, the rigours of riding fast laps taking its toll on his healing body. However, he remarked after Timed Practice that they went the wrong way with set-up in the morning and that also held him back, and that he just isn’t strong enough to ride around any issues.

It was a healthy and happy crowd here today at The Bend. Long queues at all the food and drink stalls largely down to the presence of one young man, Jack Miller.  And Miller has been showing all weekend that he is here to be competitive, even suffering a small crash during Timed Practice this morning while exploring the limits of adhesion.

Dave Cullen has been busily working on the YZF-R1 ridden by Anthony West here this weekend and finding more problems as he fixes others. From wiring issues to overheating problems, they are not all that confident of making a strong showing come race day. Westy was the early pacesetter in the Q1 session but five-minutes in Herfoss then went a second quicker to go P1.

Aiden Wagner went second quickest with five-minutes remaining in the session to push Westy down to P3 and Jed Metcher out of a promotion to Q2.  Mark Chiodo was on a good lap that might have got him through to Q1 but a mistake at the penultimate corner cost him his chance at promotion. Westy improved his time but remained P3, likewise Wagner also went quicker but not quick enough to steal P1 from Herfoss. Thus it was that trio that went through to Q2, Herfoss, Wagner and West.

Q1 Results

Q2 Report

Jack Miller had another moment at turn one (he had crashed there in Timed Practice) early in the final qualifying session but kept it upright and got his head back down for another crack. He had another moment on the next lap to underline just how hard he was pushing to try and take pole position here today. With nine-minutes remaining in the session Jack went quickest on the back of a 1m51.693 but seconds later Wayne Maxwell bested that with a 1m51.624.  At this juncture Arthur Sissis was third ahead of Aiden Wagner and Glenn Allerton.

Anthony West rolled to a stop with seven-minutes remaining, the fire going out on his troublesome bike and leaving him standard out on the circuit, destined for 12th place on the grid.

Troy Herfoss didn’t turn a lap until halfway through the 15-minute session. As Herfoss exited Jack Miller was in the pits for some fuel and rubber, urging his crew of family and friends to get the job done so he could get back out on track.

Daniel Falzon then went top of the charts! A 1m51.536 to the South Australian privateer with four-minutes remaining. Both Jack Miller and Wayne Maxwell exited pitlane for their final tilt at pole just as Oli Bayliss dropped in a 1m51.620 to push his way up to P2, pushing Maxwell back to P3 and Jack Miller onto the second row.

Wayne Maxwell and Jack Miller then both went quicker again through the first split, the lap then went away for Miller, but Maxwell was still into it and quickest again at the second split, then almost half-a-second quicker at the third split…. A 1m50.959 surely the pole position time. But no…. Maxwell then immediately went quicker again, a 1m50.520 cementing pole position for the championship leader and the championship point that goes with it. If Maxwell finishes ahead of Troy Herfoss and Glenn Allerton tomorrow in race one he will be crowned champion with a race to spare.

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Jack Miller put in a 1m51.241 on his final lap to take P2 on the grid and Daniel Falzon rounds out the front row. Miller was very animated on the bike to achieve that time while Maxwell looked smooth as silk. Miller also topped the speed charts, a blistering 309 km/h indicating that he has a good motor underneath him. At the other end of the scale Falzon’s Yamaha was clocked at 298 km/h through the speed trap.

Arthur Sissis leads the second row, and on his starting form from there that means he will likely lead the field into turn one when the race gets underway tomorrow. The ex speedway rider has a clutch hand so good that he must have been a gunslinger in a previous life.  Joining Sissis on the second row is Oli Bayliss and Cru Halliday.

Glenn Allerton leads the third row as the first BMW rider while alongside him on the grid will be Troy Herfoss and Lachlan Epis.

Race one tomorrow is schedule to get underway at 1115 local (SA) time.

Australian Superbike Qualifying Results

Q2 Results

Combined Qualifying Results

ASBK Superbike Championship Points

The Bend ASBK Schedule

ASBK TV and LiveStream Schedule

For fans unable to make it to The Bend this weekend (and there’s still time, tickets and championships-to-be-decided reasons to go!), we have options…

ASBK fans from all over the world can enjoy all the live racing action from the comfort of their own home this weekend from the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul Grand Finale at The Bend Motorsport Park.

ASBK TV official Free-to-Air broadcast partner SBS have stepped up to provide ASBK fans the opportunity to catch the livestream action from Saturday via their exclusive broadcast platform SBS On-Demand.

SBS has long been the home of great motorsport and in 2021 they have again provided ASBK race fans with both Live Free-to-Air coverage and the opportunity to catch all the action via SBS On-Demand after each round. At no cost to join, ASBK fans simply need to jump on and subscribe to SBS On-Demand.

The ASBK Championship comes to massive conclusion on Sunday and ASBK TV have all the angles covered with Free-to-Air coverage on SBS HD, SBS On-Demand or via Fox Sports Australia from 12.30pm – 3.30pm (Australian Central Daylight Times).

New Zealand race fans can catch the action on Sky Sport NZ who continue to broadcast every round of ASBK to fans across the ditch.

From the comfort of home, or on mobile devices, SBS will provide free to air coverage, and Fox Sports Australia and Sky Sport NZ will ensure pay TV viewers won’t miss a minute of the action.

Live race coverage will include the Alpinestars Superbike, Motorsports TV Supersport, Dunlop Supersport 300, Yamaha Finance R3 Cup and the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, plus race fans will get no shortage of behind the scenes features.

Fans across the nation and around the world can also go to www.asbk.com.au and watch up to the live ASBK TV Live Stream on Sunday.

Exclusive Live telecast of the Grand Finale of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul, can be seen:

Saturday 4th December
ASBK Livestream Telecast 10.30am – 5.00pm (ACDT = SA time)

• Exclusive telecast on SBS On-Demand

Sunday 5th December
ASBK Live TV Telecast 12.30pm – 3.30pm (ACDT = SA time)

• SBS HD
• Fox Sports Australia
• Sky Sport NZ
• SBS On-Demand

Sunday 5th December
ASBK Livestream Telecast 9.30am – 4.00pm (ACDT = SA time)

• ASBK Facebook
• ASBK Website

Check your local guides for times and more information.

Keep up to date with the latest news on the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul via www.asbk.com.au and following ASBK on Facebook and Instagram.