Maxwell and Allerton into the 56s in FP2

ASBK 2021 Wakefield Park

Superbike FP2 Report

Whilst most of the field tested various new electronic or chassis set-ups along with tyre options in FP1, Wayne Maxwell was straight up to speed in the morning session to set the pace and dominate proceedings with a swag of fast laps.

FP1 had seen Herfoss getting more acquainted with the soft option Michelin front but he came out in FP2 and immediately got down to lap record pace.  Maxwell also joined him in the 57.2s almost right from the off and it was looking likely that once again this pair were going to be in a race of their own.

NextGen BMW had tried and then rejected some new software from Germany in FP1 but did find rear grip improvements from the geometry changes they had made for the morning session. While the changes had improved the rear the front now needed some softening to allow more weight transfer and bring some balance back to the bike. They obviously succeeded because Glenn dropped in a 57.329 halfway through FP2 then immediately backed it up with a sizzling 57.129 to underline that he was out to join the Maxwell-Herfoss party.

Maxwell responded to Allerton by also dropping into the 57.1s, a 57.141 a fraction off Allerton’s marker. The defending champion then lowered the benchmark further to 56.916. Glenn Allerton responded by also dipping into the 56s but his 56.943 couldn’t deny Maxwell the glory of topping yet another session. Those 56’s are the fastest ever Superbike laps recorded during an official ASBK event. There are rumours that Herfoss has perhaps gone quicker during private testing but during an official race weekend or test these are the new outright markers.

Cru Halliday is out of sorts with some lurgy but that didn’t stop him from getting down to a 57.356 in FP2 to declare his competitiveness. Dunlop are also confident they have a great race tyre for Sunday. Hopefully Cru is looking a little less green come Sunday to allow him to bring his a-game to the party. 

Oli Bayliss built up speed steadily in FP1 but stepped his game up a gear in FP2 to drop into the 57.5s and finished the session ahead of team-mate Mike Jones. 

Lachlan Epis managed to split the DesmoSport Ducati pair late in the session with a 57.648.

BC Performance Kawasaki had found some light at the end of the tunnel in FP1 with their latest mapping giving Bryan Staring and Josh Waters some of the throttle feel they had been missing.  Staring found another half-a-second in FP2 to rank seventh on 57.897. 

Anthony West effectively lost FP1 with a mechanical fault but started to gain some experience on the bike and muster some speed in FP2 for a best of 59.017.

There is some talk that the final session of the day might be shortened somewhat due to time constraints.  Track temperature was 35-degrees in FP2. 

Australian Superbike Practice 2 Times

2021 Wakefield Park ASBK Schedule

2021 Australian Superbike Championship Standings

2021 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar