Rounding up the Saturday SBK/SS action from One Raceway ASBK – Qualifying

ASBK 2024
Round Six – One Raceway – Saturday

Goulburn received a fair bit of rain overnight, which may or may not work to our advantage here at the new-look One Raceway this morning.

We wouldn’t know until the bikes hit the track, but popular opinion yesterday suggested that a good bit of rain might work well in clearing the circuit of the dust and dirt issues that were proving a little problematic on the new surface. Or had it actually washed the first batch of rubber put down by riders on Friday?  Either way, it would be the same for all, and they would just have to live with it.

Supersport Q1

Supersport riders were out just after 0930 and reported that the track was not in quite as good a shape as Friday afternoon. However, it was early days yet, the sun was shining, a moderate breeze was blowing, and it looked to be shaping up into a fine day and we are expecting much the same tomorrow.

Friday pacesetter Archie McDonald and many of the other top runners did not join the opening 25-minute opening qualifying session for Supersport until there only five-minutes remaining, just to get a banker lap in the unlikely event that something drastic went wrong in Q2.

Hayden Nelson went down at turn ten on his final lap. The Dunlop shod BCperformance Kawasaki rider had been on top until McDonald and Mahaffy joined the fray.

McDonald finished the session on top again, his 60.611 a fair bit slower than the 60.265 he set on Friday. Mahaffy was only two-tenths slower than he had been yesterday, a 60.974 this morning for Mahaffy.

Only ten riders participated in Q1, while 16 riders had contested the Free Practice sessions on Friday.

The second and final qualifying session got underway after 1300 and the stiff breeze was causing riders some issues.  All 16 riders were on track this time around.

Archie McDonald improved on his morning time on his sixth lap of the Q2 session, a 60.391 and immediately backed that up with a 60.435.   Good enough for pole but not as quick as the 60.265 he put in on Friday.

Jack Mahaffy and Hayden Nelson will round out the front row despite not improving on their Q1 times.

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Tom Bramich heads the second row ahead of Jonathan Nahlous and Jake Farnsworth. None of that trio contested Q1 but all improved on their Friday time.

The opening 16-lap bout is scheduled for 1025 Sunday morning.

Supersport Combined Qualifying Times

Superbike FP4

Josh Waters was the first of the fancied runners to improve on his Friday time, a 59.460 on his seventh lap of the 35-minute FP4 session.

It was not until halfway through the session that anyone else made any real improvement, with Mike Jones improving his marker to 59.585, then going quicker again, a 59.471.

Bryan Staring then topped the session with a 59.436 only to be knocked out of top spot at the final juncture by Josh Waters, the McMartin Ducati man finishing up with a 59.391.

On Friday Broc Pearson had continued where he had left off at Phillip Island, on top. The DesmoSport Ducati man was well down the order in FP4 though as he concentrated on long run pace to gauge tyre wear and a set-up that might help in that quest.

Cam Dunker dipped into the 59s for the first time as the rookie started to find his feet around the One Raceway lay-out on the Penrite Yamaha Superbike.

The wind was actually causing the riders a few difficulties in that session, not only with the bike moving around but also some dust swirls getting on to the circuit at various points. The wind is forecast to pick up further this afternoon, and to be even stronger tomorrow. The consensus at the end of FP4 was that it looked unlikely that the track was going to get much faster over the course of the weekend.

Superbike Q1

Superbike qualifying was delayed as the increasing strong and blustery winds had forced organisers to remove some of the advertising signage in the interests of safety. While the wind had picked up the strength of the sun had also, despite the breeze the track temperature was now nudging 35-degrees.

The wind didn’t seem to worry Mike Jones… The YRT man dropped in his fastest lap of the weekend so far on his first flying lap, a 59.422.

Broc Pearson and Glenn Allerton joined him in the 59s shortly after. Followed by Cru Halliday and Max Stauffer who also dropped in 59s. Anthony West also but then with 12-minutes remaining on the clock a red flag came out to put a temporary halt to proceedings due to more issues with track signage being rendered unsafe in the wind.

Track action got back underway after about a ten-minute delay, and the pressure was on for championship leader Josh Waters to put in a lap that would secure his promotion through to Q2, as with less than ten-minutes remaining he had still not set a lap time. Mike Jones, Broc Pearson and Anthony West remained in pit-lane happy that they were going to safely remain in the top 12 that would go through to Q2.

The wind was not worrying John Lytras, the rookie reeled off a couple of 59s, the best of which put him in third place with six-minutes to run, pushing Westy back to fourth. Josh Waters then moved up to fourth, demoting Westy to fifth.

With five-minutes remaining the entire top 11 were in the pits. The order was Jones, Pearson, Lytras, Waters, West, Stauffer, Allerton, Halliday, Staring, Sissis and Dunker in 11th. Nine-tenths covering that top 11.  They didn’t turn another lap and thus that order was set.  The final rider to make it through to Q2 was Ryan Yanko.

Superbike Q1 Times

Superbike Q2

The pit exit for final qualifying opened at 1515 for a quick-fire 15-minute session that would decide the grid for Sunday’s 2 x 20-lap races.

Broc Pearson wasted no time dropping in a 59.404. Glenn Allerton crossed the stripe seconds later to go P2 on 59.418, followed by Bryan Staring on 59.458. Josh Waters fourth with a 59.635 on his first lap ahead of Mike Jones, Cam Dunker and Arthur Sissis. That top seven all in the 59s on their first lap and then returned to the pits.

The last riders to join the fray were John Lytras and Anthony West. Lytras straight back into the 59s, up to seventh, splitting Sissis and Dunker.

Anthony West then went top! He waited until the time was right in regards to any traffic, then dropped in a 59.340 on his first serious lap to sit on provisional pole halfway through the session.

Broc Pearson then went back out and gazumped it, a 59.234 to move back into P1. Max Stauffer then dropped in a 59.318 to push Westy further back to P3. Cru Halliday up to fourth, Glenn Allerton fifth.

Pearson the first man in the 58s! A 58.953 to further strengthen his hold on pole. Seconds after Cam Dunker went P2 with a 59.098.

Mike Jones then took his turn at the top! A 59.890 to knock Pearson out of top spot.

Josh Waters then under at the first split with just under five-minutes remaining, but then it went away from him in the latter half of the lap, only good enough to move up to fourth, pushing Stauffer and West further back.

Jones then improved further on his next lap, a 58.838, then under again at the first split…. Slightly slower through the mid-section… And crosses the stripe with another 58, a 58.991.

Nobody managed to improve in the final laps of the session.  Josh Waters certainly tried, but it kept going away from him through the back sections of the track.

Mike Jones on pole with Broc Pearson and Cam Dunker alongside him on the front row.

A great performance from the teenager to secure his first front row start, the 16-year-old always comes on strong in the latter stages of the race so it will be interesting to see what he can do around here tomorrow over 20 laps.

Josh Waters heads row two, and starting alongside him will be Max Stauffer and Anthony West.

Cru Halliday is still in a world of hurt from his crash on Friday and will decide tomorrow morning whether he will take up his spot at the head of the third row.

Glenn Allerton will start from eighth ahead of Bryan Staring, while John Lytras rounds out the top ten ahead of Arthur Sissis and Ryan Yanko.

The opening 20-lap contest is slated to kick off at 1130 on Sunday morning before the second and final race of the weekend at 1510.

Mike Jones had the speed today when it mattered, but Broc Pearson has been exceptionally strong in every session.

Josh Waters had most of his fast ruins spoiled by traffic, so the McMartin Racing man is yet to show his true pace here this weekend.

Half-a-second covers the top eight, thus who will have the long run pace and tyres still underneath them in the latter parts of the 20-lap races…?  And it is not just the rear tyre they have to worry about here, as the front is also hard to manage.

The body is also something to consider. This track was always hard work, but the changes in the final turns have made it even more so; it now rivals Morgan Park as the most physical track we race at. Roll on tomorrow…

Superbike Q2 Times

ASBK Superbike Championship Points

Supersport Championship Points

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