Brief recap from Friday afternoon at One Raceway ASBK

ASBK 2024
Round Six – One Raceway
Friday Afternoon

There was a significant two-hour delay to proceedings after the morning practice sessions while track crews were out on a track trying to clean up various parts of the circuit.

Opinions are like ……, well, you know, everyone has one…  Most I spoke to thought this perhaps a waste of time as what the track needed was rubber down, and two hours of standing around was not getting rubber down on the new track surface. But then riders had wanted something done, and things were done… Whether it would make all that difference, I guess the afternoon would tell…

The cloud and a slight breeze had taken a bit of temperature out of the air and also out of the track in the afternoon. It had been nudging 30-degrees for the morning session but had pulled back to around 25-degrees this afternoon.

In Supersport Archie McDonald continued where he left off in FP1, topping FP2 by four-tenths and lowering the category marker to 1m00.736.

In the second Superbike session, Josh Waters was one of the first to head out on new rubber. The McMartin Racing rider wasted little time getting down to business. A 60.6, then 60.2, followed by a 59.8. The first sub-minute lap of the day. Waters then backed off a little for a lap, perhaps due to traffic, then back down to 60.1, again slowing for a lap, then dropping in another 60.1

Glenn Allerton put in a 60.005 to go second before Broc Pearson then got wound up to join Waters in the 59s on his eighth lap, a 59.999.

A few very slight drops of rain started to fall halfway through the session. That then increased to a light drizzle. Most riders were happy enough in the pits at this juncture, but Max Stauffer went out and was then joined by his Penrite Yamaha team-mate Cam Dunker, only for both of them to come back in a few minutes later.

With just over eight minutes to run, Cru Halliday went back out and was joined by Arthur Sissis. Halliday then came straight back in, and so did Sissis. The drizzle was not necessarily increasing in the frequency of drops, but the size of those drops was growing.  Some riders took the opportunity to try an X during this session.

The drizzle then receded, and we had a dry track for the third and final session of the day.

Jake Farnsworth crashed at turn two in the final supersport session; he looks to be okay, apart from nursing a sore elbow.

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Archie McDonald dominated all three Supersport sessions. A 60.347 on lap eight in FP3 before improving to 60.265 on his 15th and final lap of the session, half-a-second clear of Stop & Seal team-mate Jack Mahaffy, who was the only other rider under 61. McDonald was particularly dominant through the middle sector and, in that final session, put in four laps under 61.

Olly Simpson third on 61.078 ahead of Hayden Nelson and Glenn Nelson.

Championship leader Jonathan Nahlous with work to do and is a fair way off the pace, but it is early days yet, and the youngster has been fast everywhere else, so there is no reason not to expect him to be in podium contention come Sunday.

By the time Superbike riders were out for their third and final session of the day, much of the consternation about the state of the circuit had abated, and they wasted no time getting down to business.

Arthur Sissis reeled off a 60.074 on lap three, followed by a 60.100 and then a 59.889.

Anthony West then dropped in a 59.561 to move into P1 with the fastest lap of the day. He backed that up with a 60.020 and 60.092.

Max Stauffer then joined the 59 club, a 59.988, only to then be pushed back to fourth after Josh Waters jumped up to second off the back of a 59.786.

Broc Pearson then pushed Sissis and Stauffer back further, a 59.801 to the DesmoSport Ducati man. Pearson was under again at the first split on the next lap before slowing, only to then get his head down again to go top with a 59.502 on his ninth lap of the session.

Glenn Allerton then also dipped into the 59s, a 59.892 to put him fifth, sandwiched between Sissis and Stauffer. Allerton then improved further to 59.563 to leap up to third, ahead of Josh Waters, behind Pearson and West.

At this halfway point of the session, six riders were in the 59s. There was then a bit of a lull in the quest for times before riders headed out again late in the session for one last push.

Broc Pearson lowered the benchmark to 59.258 with five-minutes remaining.

Anthony West improved marginally to 59.534 and remained second quickest with three-minutes to run.

Pearson then improved further to 59.162, shifting the goalposts for his pursuers once again.

Glenn Allerton then improved to 59.420, pushing Westy back to third.  Sissis improved to 59.692 to go fourth.

Mike Jones then did his first 59 of the day, a 59.751 to move up to fifth, pushing Waters back to sixth despite the pair recording identical times. Max Stauffer then improved to seventh.

John Lytras very impressive here today. The youngster and his family-run team run on a shoestring, and finishing eighth here today at 59.893 is something to be applauded.

Cam Dunker ninth quickest today, ahead of Bryan Staring and a very sore Cru Halliday.

Action resumes tomorrow. Who will be first into the 58s…? Or will we even see a 57…..?  Superbike FP4 is scheduled for 1020, while qualifying starts from 1430.  The first of two 20-lap races is set to get away at 1130 before the second and final bout commences at 1510. Following that we will reconvene for The Bend finale on the weekend of November 10.

Superbike Friday Times

Supersport Friday Times

ASBK Superbike Championship Points

Supersport Championship Points

Supersport 300 Championship Points

2024 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar

• Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 23-25
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 22-23
• Round 3: Queensland Raceway, QLD Apr 26-28
• Round 4: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD Jul 12-14
• Round 5: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC Sept 7-8
• Round 6: One Raceway, NSW Oct 4-6
• Round 7: The Bend Motorsports Park, SA Nov 8-10