— ASBK Support Races – 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
— Superbike Qualifying
BMW campaigner Glenn Allerton was joined on the front row of the grid by Suzuki’s Wayne Maxwell and Honda’s Jamie Stauffer in Friday afternoon’s opening Superbike support race at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Allerton came up trumps in this afternoon’s 20-minute qualifying session at Phillip Island, with his best lap of 1:33.141 too hot for Maxwell (1:33.743) and Stauffer (1:33.812).
Stauffer won three of the four races at last year’s MotoGP round, and his then team-mate Maxwell claimed the spoils in the other.
Maxwell, who two weeks ago won his maiden national Superbike title after nine years of trying, was attempting to trump Allerton on his final lap of the qualifying session when it all came undone with a lowside at turn four.
Robbie Budgen (Suzuki, 1:33.655), Josh Hook (Honda, 1:34.282) and Linden Magee (BMW, 1:35.109) will start from row two, with Magee on a Prostock-spec machine, which is less souped-up than a full-blown Aussie Superbike.
Twenty-nine 1000cc machines will take to the grid in race one.
— Superbike Race One
A late lunge by Wayne Maxwell wasn’t enough to dislodge Glenn Allerton from the top spot in Friday afternoon’s opening superbike support race at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Allerton (BMW) defeated Maxwell (Suzuki) by just 0.044 seconds in the eight-lapper, as the pair pulled clear in the second half of the race to make the battle for top spot their own.
And as the battle intensified so did the pace, with Allerton setting the fastest lap of the race (1:33.165) at the finish.
Allerton only took the lead for the first time at turn four on the final lap, and then his pace through the back of the high-speed Grand Prix circuit firmly put the shutters up on Maxwell – although the Suzuki rider never gave up, as the final margin shows.
The battle for the final podium spot was just as energetic, with Suzuki’s Robbie Bugden outlasting Jamie Stauffer (Honda) after the latter was baulked by lapped traffic on the final lap. Stauffer was the early leader before Maxwell passed him on lap three.
Meanwhile, young gun Josh Hook (Honda) was a lonely fifth after he eventually saw off the challenge of Linden Magee (BMW).
— Superbike Race Two
Suzuki’s Wayne Maxwell produced the clinical performance and Honda’s Josh Hook the fireworks in race two of the Superbike support program at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Maxwell, who became Aussie superbike champion for the first time at Phillip Island two weeks ago, led from start to finish on his GSX-R1000 – his first win with the No. 1 plate – but the stoush for second between Glenn Allerton and Honda team-mates Jamie Stauffer and Josh Hook was the show-stopper.
Hook, the Superbike rookie, turned it on late in the piece, incredibly passing Stauffer around the outside at turn four on the final lap before sling-shotting down the inside of Allerton six corners later.
But he was running too hot, and the experienced Allerton was able to move back into second, which he held to the chequered flag.
Hook was third, in his best performance in Superbike colours for Team Honda.
“I was struggling to hang with Allerton and Stauffer at the start but then I started to slowly catch up to them,” said Hook. “Towards the end I thought I might have a chance, and I got close enough to have a dip – and it went from there.
“As a racer I want to win, but we’ll keep moving forward and I hope to grab a win before too long.”
Stauffer, the four-time Australian road racing champion, was fourth ahead of Robbie Bugden (Suzuki), Linden Magee (BMW), Ben Nicolson (BMW) and Dustin Goldsmith (Kawasaki), with 24 of the 28 riders completing the eight-lap journey.
— Superbike Race Three
Team Suzuki’s Wayne Maxwell has wrapped up the Superbike program at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix with a patient victory in this morning’s final eight-lap race.
The Aussie champion bided his time early on as part of a five-bike freight train before picking his way into the lead on lap seven – and he made sure he stayed there by subsequently peeling off his first lap of the race under the 1min33sec barrier.
His final lap was then the fastest of the weekend – a sizzling 1:32.735.
“It has been a great weekend,” said Maxwell. “Race one was a little bit of a downer after my crash, but I then consolidated and to win the last two races has given me great confidence as I look ahead to the 2014 season.”
Maxwell’s arch-rival Glenn Allerton was second on his BMW, ahead of Josh Hook (Honda), early leader Robbie Budgen (Suzuki) and four-time national road racing champion Jamie Stauffer (Honda).
Maxwell completed the Superbike races on 70 points, ahead of Allerton (66) and Hook (52). Allerton was the victor in race one on Friday, and Maxwell won the last two.
In the Prostock category – which permits fewer engine modifications compared to its Superbike brethren – Sean Condon was the overall winner ahead of Dustin Goldsmith and 55-year-old Phil Lovett, the trio all aboard Kawasaki machines.
— Supersport Qualifying
Queenslander Aiden Wagner will start from pole position in the Supersport support program at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Wagner led a Yamaha benefit in Friday morning’s 20-minute Supersport qualifying session around the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, with the top five positions filled by the Japanese manufacturer.
Wagner stopped the clock at 1:37.002, ahead of great mate Callum Spriggs (1:37.250), Mike Jones (1:37.793), Ryan Taylor (1:37.929) and Michael Blair (1:38.225), who recently wrapped up third place in the 2013 Australian Supersport Championship.
Jones also crashed at turn seven – more commonly known as the ‘Hayshed’ -during the session, badly damaging his YZF-R6 in the process. Race One will be held at 5:35pm this afternoon, and the former European 600cc Superstock competitor will be racing against time to be on the grid.
Earlier, Jones was the fastest in Supersport free practice, ahead of Spriggs and Wagner.
If Jones’ team performs a miracle, 21 riders will line up for race one, which will be followed by events on Saturday and Sunday.
— Supersport Race One
Polesitter Aiden Wagner has produced a superb runaway victory in the opening Supersport race at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Wagner, still a C-grader, showed all the poise and race craft of an A-grader as he saw off the early challenge of great mate and fellow Yamaha rider Callum Spriggs, eventually cruising to a 2.831-second triumph after eight laps of the picturesque seaside circuit.
He also set the fastest lap of the race with a rapid-fire 1:37.270.
“I got a bit of a dodgy start but then I managed to reel in Callum and make it a good fight,” said Wagner. “After I got into the lead I kept on pushing hard the whole way and it’s such a great feeling to take the race win. Hopefully I’ll be up here a few more times before the weekend is out.”
With Spriggs firmly entrenched in second place, third place wasn’t such a formality, with the battle eventually boiling down to a three-rider scrum between Mike Jones, Ryan Taylor and Aussie No. 3 Michael Blair – all Yamaha riders as well.
Taylor eventually won that battle, ahead of Jones – whose team performed a miracle to be even on the grid after a huge bike-destroying crash in qualifying – and Blair, with Michael Lockhart (Kawasaki) a fast-finishing sixth after starting from the last row of grid.
“I jumped on my spare bike this afternoon, and during the first few laps I just felt my way around before I started pushing,” said Jones. “I will now do some more fine-tuning for the final two races.”
— Supersport Race Two
Queenslander Aiden Wagner has continued his imperious form in the Supersport category at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, easily winning race two on Saturday morning.
The second battle was a carbon copy of the opener, with Wagner locked in a tight skirmish with fellow Yamaha rider Callum Spriggs during the first half of the race before he drew away to win by 2.209 seconds.
Once Wagner said his goodbyes, Spriggs then had to contend with the advances of Mike Jones and Ryan Taylor, but he held his nerve to finish in second place. He also set the fastest lap of the race (1:37.077).
The supersport lap record at Phillip Island is held by Australia’s MotoGP rider Bryan Staring with a 1:35.200.
Meanwhile, Jones was third, followed by Taylor, Michal Blair (all Yamaha) and fast-starter Mitch Levy (Suzuki). Twenty of the 21 riders made it to the finish, with the unlucky DNF rider crashing on the final lap.
— Supersport Race Three
Aiden Wagner has outlasted Mike Jones in a breathtaking Supersport battle at the 2013 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
The final Supersport race of the weekend was undoubtedly the pick of the bunch, as Jones poked and prodded at Wagner for most of the eight-lap journey – they banged fairings on Gardner Straight at one stage – but was just unable to find a way past his fellow-Queenslander.
Wagner won by 0.115 seconds, with Michael Blair eventually pulling clear of an equally spirited battle behind the leaders to snare the last spot on the podium.
Callum Spriggs, who was runner-up in the first two Supersport races, flashed across the line in fourth, with Ryan Taylor, Michael Lockhart and Mitch Levy right on his bumper.
Except for Lockhart (Kawasaki) and Levy (Suzuki), all the other leading lights were on Yamahas.
After his three race wins and bonus point for pole position, Wagner amassed 76 points across the three Supersport races, ahead of Spriggs (57) and Jones (56).
