Herfoss doubles up at Wakefield Park | Halliday leads series

2019 ASBK – Round Two
Wakefield Park Sunday Part Two

Superbike Race Two

Wakefield Park staff were judging that it was likely a record crowd for a motorcycle race at the Goulburn based circuit despite the cloudy conditions that threatened rain here today.

The morning race had seen Troy Herfoss get the better of Cru Halliday and Wayne Maxwell in what was a fairly close run affair. It was not until the very latter stages of the race that Herfoss managed to stamp his authority and pull away to take the race victory.

With Aiden Wagner out of the running due to an unfortunate incident on Friday (see separate story here), second place this morning saw Cru Halliday move into the Australian Superbike Championship points lead, with a ten-point buffer over Herfoss.

After race one Halliday was somewhat annoyed with himself over some mistakes he made during the opening stages of the race. The #65 YRT man was looking to go one better and make amends this afternoon.

Wayne Maxwell had been a strong third in that opener ahead of Daniel Falzon. The South Australian looked very strong early in race one, while Maxwell was only pipped out of second place late in the race by Halliday.

Mike Jones started poorly this morning and lost touch with the front runners. Some minor electronic tweaks were made for the DesmoSport Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition ahead of the weekend’s final 20-lap bout.

Josh Waters would be looking for some answers after never really threatening this morning. Likewise leading Dunlop runner Bryan Staring did not have the package under him to challenge for a podium.

Adding a little more nervous anticipation was the looming threat of nearby rain as they readied for a race start…

We’re Away!

When the lights went out it was Cru Halliday that got away from the line first, but Herfoss had the inside line for turn one to take the early race lead as Halliday, Falzon, Maxwell and Jones gave chase.

Maxwell put a big move on Falzon early on lap two in order to promote himself up into third place. Maxwell then put in the fastest early lap of the race with a 57.8 as he set about challenging Halliday for second.

Mike Jones and Daniel Falzon then brushed shoulders heading towards turn one, the Ducati man pushing the #25 Yamaha back to fifth place. Jones then went on to set a 57.773 to start closing on Maxwell. Just a second covered that top five with 16 laps to run.

Further behind that leading five it was Josh Waters, the #21 with a few bike lengths over Kawasaki runners Matt Walters and Bryan Staring.

Things were tight at the top with Herfoss, Halliday, Maxwell, Jones and Falzon all circulating in the 57.6s and 57.7s. Nobody had a clear pace advantage and the rostrum looked likely to be decided by tyre longevity, and/or mistakes…

Lap after lap that top five maintained station as the race wore on. Herfoss looking tidy out front, but Halliday in second place perhaps looking even tidier.

As the race entered its second half Herfoss and Halliday started to steadily stretch away from Maxwell, Jones and Falzon.

Mike Jones made his move for third place on Maxwell with nine laps to run. Jones was now 1.6-seconds behind second placed Halliday, and 2.09-seconds behind race leader Herfoss.

Maxwell then started to come under attack from Falzon just as the red flag was produced to signal and end to proceedings with 13-laps completed. Lachlan Epis was down at turn eight and in a dangerous predicament, thus the decision to call time.

Double victory to Herfoss

The double went to Penrite Honda man Troy Herfoss. The defending ASBK Champion putting himself firmly back into contention after a somewhat troublesome round one for the 32-year-old. Herfoss can often be very intense, but even with the pressure of being back here in front of his home crowd, he looked relaxed and comfortable all weekend.

Halliday the Superbike points leader

Cru Halliday looked tidy and fast all weekend. His second places today firms him up as the new Australian Superbike Championship points leader. The YRT man leading Herfoss by five-points.

Mike Jones acquitted himself very well on a ZX-10R at round one, and backed that up with an impressive weekend here at Wakefield Park on the DesmoSport Ducati to now lie third in the ASBK championship chase.

Josh Waters never threatened this weekend. A situation that will have the three-time Australian Superbike Champion searching for answers ahead of the next round at Tailem Bend. Still, he has kept it on the road instead of throwing it in the bushes, and bagged decent points from every outing thus far this season.

That sees the Mildura based 32-year-old ranking fourth in the championship chase, five-points ahead of team-mate Wayne Maxwell.

While Waters could not run with that top five, fellow three-time Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton struggled for even top-ten pace. He never figured in any session and seemingly did not have a competitive package under him this weekend.

ASBK next reconvenes at the Tailem Bend circuit in South Australia on the Anzac Day weekend.

Superbike Race Two Results

1. Troy Herfoss – Honda
2. Cru Halliday – Yamaha +0.367
3. Mike Jones – Ducati +2.043
4. Wayne Maxwell – Suzuki +2.892
5. Daniel Falzon – Yamaha +3.136
6. Josh Waters – Suzuki +8.307
7. Matt Walters – Kawasaki +11.599
8. Bryan Staring – Kawasaki +11.742
9. Glenn Scott – Kawasaki +16.593
10. Alex Phillis – Suzuki +17.087
11. Glenn Allerton – BMW +17.366
12. Damon Rees – Honda +19.403
13. Mark Chiodo – Honda +26.859
14. Arthur Sissis – Suzuki +26.986
15. Sloan Frost – Suzuki +27.332

Superbike Championship Points Standings

1. Cru Halliday 96
2. Troy Herfoss 91
3. Mike Jones 83
4. Josh Waters 80
5. Wayne Maxwell 75
6. Bryan Staring 75
7. Aiden Wagner 71
8. Daniel Falzon 65
9. Matt Walters 56
10. Glenn Allerton 56
11. Glenn Scott 51
12. Alex Phillius 43
13. Ted Collins 41
14. Mark Chiodo 40
15. Arthur Sissis 32

Supersport Race Two

Tom Toparis had taken a clear victory in the opening Supersport race but Broc Pearson stated after the race that if he got a better start he thought he might be able to run with the championship leader here this afternoon.

Reid Battye was strong early on in the opening stanza and was again this time around. Perhaps a little too fast as he banged fairings with Toparis on the run towards turn one as the second 16-lap race got underway at 1415 this afternnon.

Toparis got the better of Battye a few turns later as the Suzuki rider already looked to be struggling for grip. Broc Pearson then joined the party though and they both dusted up Toparis!

Reid Battye led them across the start-finish line to commence lap three with Toparis and Pearson in close consort. The Suzuki man maintained that lead for that entire lap, Toparis then getting him next time around at the final turn.

Oli Bayliss had suffered a poor start and was left battling with Ty Lynch over fourth position for the first few laps but the 15-year-old managed to break away from Lynch and then put his head down to try and close the 1.5-second gap to that leading trio.

Toparis led the race as it reached the halfway mark but had failed to shake Battye and Pearson. The race paced a little slower this afternoon, no doubt due to changed track conditions. It took until the second half of the race for the leading riders to dip under the one-minute mark, and it was Toparis that now had the hammer down to start pulling away from his pursuers.

With six laps to run Broc Pearson got the better of Reid Battye to move up to second place and immediately started to pull away from the young Suzuki man.  Battye knew he had nothing left to challenge with, his tyres done, and started looking over his shoulder to see how far back Oli Bayliss was and just how much he could button off while keeping that third place safe to the flag.

Broc Pearson tried his best to chase down Toparis but the local teenager had his measure, taking victory by 1.2-seconds as he cruised to the flag.

Reid Battye ended on the podium, the Bermagui youngster very fast and spectacular in the early stages but looked to be struggling for grip late in the race once again.

Supersport Race Two Results

1. Tom Toparis – Yamaha
2. Broc Pearson – Yamaha +1.233
3. Reid Battye – Suzuki +6.751
4. Oli Bayliss – Yamaha +10.688
5. Nic Liminton – Yamaha +15.640
6. Ty Lynch – Yamaha +16.229
7. Aidan Hayes – Yamaha +16.812
8. Dallas Skeer – Suzuki +33.609

Supersport Championship Points

1. Tom Toparis 127
2. Nic Liminton 92
3. Broc Pearson 89
4. Oli Bayliss 87
5. Reid Battye 74
6. Aidan Hayes 73
7. Ty Lynch 58
8. Callum Spriggs 49
9. Rhys Belling 47
10. Jack Passfield 45

Supersport 300 Race Three

Max Stauffer, John Lytras and Ben Baker again quickly proved their credentials as Supersport 300 Championship challengers as they broke away from the field yet again as the final 10-lap Supersport 300 race got underway on Sunday afternoon at Wakefield Park.

Zac Levy, Locky Taylor and Hunter Ford were left to chase that trio and fight their own heady battle for fourth.

Lapped traffic baulked the leaders at the final turn which made threw the tactical game out the window and made it somewhat a luck of the draw. It was John Lytras who had his numbers come up to take the victory by a nose ahead of Max Stauffer and Ben Baker.

Supersport 300 Race Three Results

1. John Lytras – Yamaha
2. Max Stauffer – Yamaha +0.066
3. Ben Baker – Yamaha +0.261
4. Hunter Ford – Yamaha +3.983
5. Locky Taylor – Yamaha +5.409
6. Senna Agius – 400 Kawasaki +8.315
7. Harry Khouri – Yamaha +9.930
8. Brandon Demmery – Yamaha +10.762
9. Travis Hall – Yamaha +11.898
10. Seth Crump – KTM +11.953
11. Zac Levy – Yamaha +12.880
12. Yanni Shaw – 400 Kawasaki +13.970
13. Kyle O’Connell – Yamaha +25.192
14. Mitch Kuhne – Yamaha +25.218
15. Luke Johnston – Yamaha +25.267

YMI Supersport 300 Championship Points

1. Max Stauffer 138
2. John Lytras 99
3. Senna Agius 95
4. Harry Khouri 91
5. Ben Baker 82
6. Seth Crump 77
7. Locky Taylor 76
8. Zac Levy 65
9. Travis Hall 64
10. Yanni Shaw 64
11. Luke Power 55
12. Hunter Ford 48
13. Callum O’Brien 45
14. Dylan Whiteside 39
15. Mitch Kuhne 37

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Three

The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup features a field of ambitious young riders looking to become the first to claim an Oceania Junior Cup round, and make an initial claim for one of the five positions in the 2019 Asia Talent Cup Selection Event, plus a potential place in the 2019 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Selection Event.

All riders are on a control spec’ Yamaha YZF-R15, and are serviced and transported between the rounds by Yamaha Australia. Before each round all the bikes are run on the dyno to ensure parity, a proper controlled category.

Staking that first claim on Saturday afternoon was 11-year-old Carter Thompson, the first ever race winner in the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup when the inaugural six-lap bout was contested on Saturday afternoon. He then backed it up on Sunday morning with another victory over Cros Francis.

Come Sunday afternoon’s race three it was again this pair that quickly started to pull away from their pursuers. As the race progressed though Jacob Roulstone put himself into contention for the win but it was Carter Thompson that completed the trifecta. Roulstone second and Francis third.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Race Three Results

1. Carter Thompson
2. Jacob Roulstone +0.383
3. Cros Francis +0.458
4. Angus Grenfell +2.376
5. Tom Drane +11.052
6. Marianos Nikolis +11.071
7. Max Gibbons +11.330
8. Cormac Buchanan +11.547
9. Jacob Hatch +11.889
10. Jai Russo +11.982
11. Lucas Quinn +13.273
12. Reece Oughtred +13.329
13. Archie McDonald +14.654
14. Zak Pettendy +19.570
15. Hunter Diplock 24.683

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Championship Points

1. Carter Thompson 75
2. Cros Francis 56
3. Angus Grenfell 50
4. Jacob Roulstone 48
5. Marianos Nikolis 48
6. Tom Drane 46
7. Reece Oughtred 34
8. Cormac Buchana 33
9. Zak Pettendy 31
10. Jai Russo 29

YMF R3 Cup Race Three

Max Stauffer was on fire all weekend and that form continued when the final eight-lap YMF R3 Cup bout got underway at 1545 this afternoon at Wakefield Park. His chief fellow combatants John Lytras and Ben Baker keeping him close company once again.

That trio fought it all the way to the line and this time around it was Lytras who took the victory this time around ahead of Stauffer and Baker.

Locky Taylor in fourth place did not quite have the speed to challenge that trio.

YMF R3 Cup Race Three Results

1. John Lytras
2. Max Stauffer +0.084
3. Ben Baker +0.214
4. Locky Taylor +2.674
5. Harry Khouri +4.879
6. Zac Levy +4.885
7. Travis Hall +5.124
8. Hunter Ford +7.688
9. Brandon Demmery +9.718
10. Kyle O’Connell 17.559

YMF R3 Cup Championship Points

1. Max Stauffer 70
2. John Lytras 63
3. Hunter Ford 51
4. Locky Taylor 50
5. Ben Baker 47
6. Zac Levy 45
7. Travis Hall 42
8. Brandon Demmery 36
9. Luke Johnston 33
10. Harry Khouri 32

Sidecar Race Three

Round 1 of the Australian F1 & F2 Sidecar Championship reached its conclusion on Sunday with the third race of the weekend with Corey and Danyon Turner claiming the win in Race 3, alongside the round overall for the F1 class. Meanwhile in F2 Patrick Clancy and Stephen Bonney aboard the Pagid Brakes F2 Suzuki LCR gained maximum points from the weekend with a win in all three races for their class.

Howard Ford and Lee Menzies appeared to get a cracking start to lead through turn one, but were later adjudged to have jumped the start and were handed a ten-second time penalty. Turner/Turner made a massive dive up the inside on the first lap to take the lead from the penalised Ford/Menzies as they crossed the start finish line for lap two. Ford/Menzies settled into second place ahead of Clancy/Bonney, and Stephen Bayliss and Aaron Wilson.

Bayliss/Willson lost two places in one go as Jeremy Joyce and Corey Blackman and Clancy/Bonney made their way past. Joyce/Blackman latched onto the back of Ford/Menzies, while Bayliss/Wilson and Clancy/Bonney were left to have a scrap of their own. By halfway it was Turner/Turner, Ford/Menzies, and Joyce/Blackman as the top three.

A battle group of four outfits were squabbling over second place with Ford/Menzies and Bayliss/Wilson the main protagonists. Bayliss/Wilson leapt two places at once through turn eight to briefly claim second from Ford/Menzies, and it was nip-and-tuck in the closing laps as the four machines tried to gain the ascendancy.

On the final lap there was no doubting it would be Turner/Turner with the win, more than seven seconds ahead of the field. The remaining podium positions were well and truly up for grabs though, and it would almost be a matter of who timed their run the best for second spot. At the finish it was Turner/Turner for the win, ahead of Joyce/Blackman and Bayliss/Wilson.

For the F2 class it was Clancy/Bonney who got their third win of the weekend, ahead of Alton/Clancy and Bruce Collins/Peter DeAngelis.

Sidecar Race Three Results

1. Turner/Turner – Honda
2. Joyce/Blackman – Kawasaki +7.281
3. Bayliss/Wilson – Suzuki +7.328
4. Clancy/Bonney – Suzuki F2 +10.211
5. Brown/Sheldrick – Suzuki +17.832
6. Ford/Menzies – Suzuki +19.051
7. Alton/Clancy – Honda F2 +25.431
8. Collins/De Angelis – Honda F2 +34.767
9. Reynolds/Warne – Suzuki F2 +40.180
10. Clancy/Dawson – Suzuki F2 +43.212

Sidecar F1 Championship Points

1. Turner/Turner 70
2. Joyce/Blackman 65
3. Bayliss/Wilson 54
4. Ford/Menzies 51
5. Brown/Sheldrick 49
6. Underwood/Ford 30

Sidecar F2 Championship Points

1. Clancy/Bonney 76
2. Alton/Clancy 60
3. Reynolds/Warne 51
4. Clancy/Dawson 48
5. Collins/De Angelis 36
6. Judd/Spanknebel 30
7. Brown/Astill 28
8. Edis/Schluter 18