So what can FP1 from a cool and windy Wakefield Park tell us…?

ASBK 2022 Round Three – Wakefield Park
Alpinestars Friday Round Up #1

So what can FP1 this morning from a cool and windy Wakefield Park tell us…?

Well, the usual suspects are up front and have a distinct early advantage over those that are trying to find the speed to get on terms with them. Situation normal then…

Wayne Maxwell went quickest, a 57.132, Wayne also recorded a 57.189 in that session amongst eight 57s he put in across the session. The timesheets say he did 21 laps, and while that is true, on half of those laps he was just cruising and looking for clear air.  No myriad of fork changes this weekend for Boost Mobile Ducati then, just some fine tuning to refine the package for race distance and feel. 

Cru Halliday was second quickest ahead of YRT team-mate Mike Jones. Both riders put in plenty of laps with Cru putting in a couple of 57.4s before his best of 57.2 late in the session. Mike did a couple of 57.4s with a best of 57.429 but we know he went quicker than that here during testing. 

Glenn Allerton had a slow start to the session but managed a 57.761 and his only other 57 in the session came immediately before that with a 57.852. 

Troy Herfoss was fifth quickest in that session, a 57.954 his only 57 of the session, but he did put in a number of low 58s and is looking good on the bike, even the team look more ‘on it’.

Bryan Staring was a second off Maxwell’s pace, a 58.203 amongst a string of other 58.2s suggesting he was working on race pace. However, the race pace will be much faster than that and I am sure he still has plenty of speed up his sleeve that we will see before the end of today.

Josh Waters seventh ahead of Arthur Sissis and Broc Pearson while Lachlan Epis rounded out the top ten. Josh was only just behind Staring, while Sissis was a further three-tenths behind, but four-tenths ahead of Pearson and Epis. I expect Waters to make significant steps forward throughout the day, and it will be interesting to see is the likes of Sissis and Epis can also make more strides forward. And will this be the first weekend that Pearson can stay inside that top ten throughout the weekend? 

The fact that the tenth place rider on this short lap is 1.8-seconds slower than the pace-setter is far from ideal, as generally that difference becomes even larger when tyres are worn and lungs are panting late in the race. The race distance here on Sunday is 20 laps so lapped traffic might become a factor late in the race. 

Jed Metcher looked to have had some problems with the 727Moto machine and was 11th ahead of Matt Walters, Anthony West and Daniel Falzon. Max Stauffer was next best in 15th ahead of Mark Chiodo, Michael Edwards and Chandler Cooper while Hamish McMurray rounded out the 19-rider field. 

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The qualifying lap record is currently 56.920 and was set here 12 months ago by Wayne Maxwell. 

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