Recapping Superbike and Supersport Qualifying from Morgan Park

mASBK 2024
Round Four – Morgan Park
Australian Superbike / Supersport Qualifying

Alpinestars Superbike Q1

Mike Jones got down to business immediately in the first qualifying session with a 1m12.652 on his first flying lap, then returned to the pits. That early marker was the weekend’s fastest lap thus far.

That was the job done for Jones, at least in this session. Riders only need to be in the top 12 to secure their entry into the following Q2 session, which would then decide the grid for tomorrow’s 16-lap bouts.  That can lead to some pretty uneventful Q1 sessions, and this was one of those. Most riders just banked a lap to get them inside the top 12, then returned to the pits and waited for Q2…

Superbike Q1 Times

Alpinestars Superbike Q2

After a short break, the top 12 from Q1 were back in action for the 15-minute Q2 session that would construct the first four rows of the grid for Sunday’s 16-lap contests.

When things got underway, everyone was in the dark about how things were progressing, as live timing across the circuit was failing to update for the first half of the session.

When it came back on-line with six minutes to go, it showed Broc Pearson on provisional pole with a 1m12.830, three-tenths ahead of Max Stauffer and Mike Jones.

A minute later, the red flags came out after Max Stauffer went down and into the air fence at turn three.

There was a short delay as the stricken Penrite Yamaha was retrieved and the air-fence inspected for any damage.  The R1 had actually hit the air-fence then bouned up and over the fence.

On-track action then recommenced, only for another incident at turn three as the riders started their first flying lap. This time around, Glenn Allerton was down, which led to the session being declared. After the break in proceedings, there was not enough temperature on the left side of the tyre, which led to Glenn losing the front on a track that was under 20 degrees.

That means Broc Pearson took pole position.  Max Stauffer and Mike Jones will start alongside him on the front row tomorrow. The point for pole promotes Pearson to fourth place in the championship standings.

The pole position time was actually slower than what Mike Jones had recorded 20 minutes earlier in Q1, but it is only the standings in Q2 that count towards the grid positions. However, you can’t take that pole away from Broc. The young DesmoSport Ducati rider made the gamble to go hard from the start and reaped the dividends by recording that 12 on his first flying lap.

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Championship leader Josh Waters will head the second row alongside Cru Halliday and Glenn Allerton.

We believe both Max Stauffer and Glenn Allerton will be ready to race tomorrow.  Both were lucky to escape any significant injuries as the wall there is pretty damn close, air-fence or not.

Arthur Sissis heads row three alongside Anthony West and Bryan Staring.

Mike Jones set the qualifying lap record here last year at 1m12.079. The Queenslander also set a new race lap record that weekend at 1m12.251.  Will we see an 11 tomorrow…?  Conditions might be a little too cold for that…

The cold temperatures make the tyre decision for the Pirelli runners tomorrow pretty simple, the safe bet being the ‘A’ option rear slick for the 16-lap race distance. The ‘X’ is a gamble due to abrasion issues after a few laps starting to tear the tyre up, and it is a gamble that some may choose if conditions warm up for race two on Sunday afternoon.

The opening 16-lap Superbike race is scheduled for 1125 on Sunday morning, while the second and final bout of the round will start at 1505.

The 18-rider entry list includes a single BMW M 1000 RR and two Ducati V4 R. The remaining 15 are all Yamaha riders, the only Japanese brand on the grid.

Superbike Q2 Times

ASBK Superbike Championship Points

Supersport Qualifying

Supersport final qualifying got underway just after 1310 on Saturday afternoon.  Tom Toparis and Tom Bramich hadn’t gone out in the cold Q1 earlier in the day, a session that saw Jonathan Nahlous edge Jack Favelle out of top spot late in proceedings.

Toparis might not have turned a wheel earlier in the day but he wasted no time getting down to business in Q1. A 1m15.259 fairly early in the session set the benchmark for others to chase.

Jonathan Nahlous took up that challenge!

The championship leader dropped in a 1m15.064 on his ninth lap of the session after a sensational final sector.  Nahlous then went quicker again, a 1m15.025.

With five minutes left in the session, Nahlous remained on top, but Toparis was back on track to try to steal his thunder.

Tom Bramich moved up to third ahead of Hayden Nelson, Jack Favelle, and Olly Simpson.

Toparis improved to 1m15.177 and then dropped further to 1m15.028 on his penultimate lap, but that was still not good enough for pole.

Nahlous besting him by a slender three-thousandths of a second, and with that, the championship leader adds another point to his tally. That extended his handy championship lead over Olly Simpson out to 28-points.

Tom Bramich rounds out an all-Yamaha front row while Hayden Nelson will head row two alongside Jack Favelle and Archie McDonald when the opening 14-lap Supersport contest gets underway in what are expected to be quite chilly conditions at 1025 on Sunday morning. The second and final Supersport bout for the round is scheduled to commence at 1400 on Sunday afternoon.

Supersport Qualifying Times

Supersport Qualifying Results

Supersport Championship Points

Supersport 300 Qualifying Results

ShopYamaha YMF R3 Cup Qualifying Results

2024 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar

• Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 23-25
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 22-23
• Round 3: Queensland Raceway, QLD Apr 26-28
• Round 4: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD Jul 12-14
• Round 5: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC Sept 7-8
• Round 6: One Raceway, NSW Oct 4-6
• Round 7: The Bend Motorsports Park, SA Nov 8-10