Bryan Staring looking to get back on top in Darwin
After a stellar opening round of the 2018 ASBK season back in February at Phillip Island BCperformance Kawasaki’s Bryan Staring came away with the early championship lead. Staring earned 60-points from that season opener, besting defending champion Josh Waters by a single point.
Bryan Staring 60
Josh Waters 59
Troy Herfoss 59
Unfortunately those type of results did not follow at Wakefield Park or The Bend. The Western Australian adding only a further 44.5 points across those two rounds to see him on 104.5 points as the series heads to Darwin for round four.
The 31-year-old is looking to recapture his Phillip Island form when ASBK hits Hidden Valley this weekend for round four.
Ambient temperatures are forecast to be in the low to mid 30s over the weekend which could help Staring’s fortunes around the 2.87km circuit.
The ASBK series is currently dominated by Pirelli runners but Staring and the BCperformance Kawasaki squad are among the few Dunlop runners that have shown the pace to upset that Pirelli applecart. It is no secret that the Dunlop options require a higher track temperature than what the Pirelli riders have available to them in ASBK 2018. However, a new softer option Dunlop will be available to Staring for the first time this weekend and could help propel him back on to the podium.
Bryan Staring
“Moving into the back half of the season, we are confident we can improve our consistency, and this will be helped with a new soft tyre for the rest of the year.
“We have learnt a lot through the first half of the year and we will use this to fuel our improvement over the last four rounds. I feel we have every reason to be confident and I’m looking forward to the second half of the season.
“We definitely have a good bike setting and our bike has great top end speed. The way our products work has given us strong performances towards the end of each race, where we generally find ourselves chasing the field down before running out of laps. The potential is huge for us, but we just haven’t been able to execute as we would have liked to at this point.
“I am still optimistic about our championship chances, I think we still have a chance. Troy (Herfoss) deserves the points gap he has at the moment, as he has been the picture of consistency. We all expected this from Troy and his team, but I really want to take it to him and be the guy who is contesting the championship with him at the pointy end of the season. You never know what can happen for the rest of the year, and I will be doing everything to make it go our way and give us the best chance of being in contention come Phillip Island.
“The BCperformance team has a really good vibe and its quite a relaxed atmosphere which took me some time to get used to. I feel like we are improving our relationship and cohesion all the time, and it gives me great confidence that the second half of the season will be better for us. The ZX-10R is a great motorbike and the team has been super behind me, giving me all the support. I need to finish the job.
“I love the Hidden Valley circuit, it’s the event of the season. The place is iconic and you feel like its almost like going racing on holiday. The weather adds another element up there as you put on the helmet and you feel like you sweat out 5 kilos worth of fluid, but I love it and for me it is the best event of the year.”
YMI Superbike Championship Points Standings
- Troy Herfoss 160.5
- Wayne Maxwell 141
- Daniel Falzon 124
- Josh Waters 118.5
- Troy Bayliss 117
- Bryan Staring 104.5
- Glenn Allerton 91
- Alex Phillis 90
- Matt Walters 74
- Michael Blair 63
- Jamie Stauffer 60
- Arthur Sissis 55.5
- Mark Chiodo 49.5
- Kyle Buckley 45.5
- Mitch Rees 45.5
If you can’t make it out to Hidden Valley this weekend, don’t forget you can catch all the action live on SBS, Fox Sports and via the ASBK livestream at asbk.com.au and on ASBK’s Facebook.
2018 ASBK Calendar
Round 4- Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT June 29 – 1 July
Round 5- Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD August 17 – 19
Round 6- Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC September 7 – 9
Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14
