Jamie Stauffer takes ASBK pole at Phillip Island
By Trevor Hedge
Jamie Stauffer led a Team Honda 1-2 in final qualifying for the opening round of the 2015 ASBK Championship.
Stauffer has topped all sessions this weekend and a 1m33.054 narrowly bettered his 1m33.078 from this morning to cement pole position to the Kurri Kurri veteran.
Troy Herfoss qualified second with a 1m33.276, but could only managed a 1m34.19 in the afternoon session.
Bikebiz Kawasaki’s Sean Condon rounded out the top three on his morning time, a 1m33.341 but in the warmer conditions this afternoon the Sydneysider could only muster a 1m34.313.
Josh Hook qualified fourth in what will probably be Hook’s final hit-out with Team Honda for season 2015 as the Taree youngster is bound for Japan in a couple of weeks to take up his position with FCC TSR in the Japanese Superbike Championship.Â
Superbike debutante Daniel Falzon qualified fifth. Falzon will campaign a new Yamaha YZF-R1 in latter rounds but due to the unavailability of the new machine is riding a Kawasaki ZX-10R this weekend. The South Australian also registed the highest top speed, firing through the traps at 292km/h on his JD Racing machine.
Linden Magee qualified sixth ahead of Michael Jones, Kiwi duo Sloan Frost and Ryan Hamption were eighth and ninth respectively while Matthew Harding rounded out the top ten.
There is a massive disparity in the speed of the field at this opening ASBK round. There is a spread of 13-seconds between the pole setter and the tail end of the 34-rider field. There are ten riders outside the 1m40s bracket.
The opening 12-lap Superbike race for season 2015 is scheduled to take place at 1355 on Saturday, straight after the 10-lap Australian Supersport opening bout. The second and final 12-lap ASBK Superbike race for the weekend is set down for 1550 on Sunday, immediately after the final World Superbike race of the weekend.
Callum Spriggs topped Supersport qualifying by two-tenths of a second over fellow Yamaha rider Michael Blair. Veteran Paul Young showed up some of the youngsters by qualifying third quickest. On qualifying form it looks as though it will be a two-man race for victory between Spriggs and Blair unless Kane Burns, Young and Ryan Taylor can find a little more speed tomorrow.
Olly Simpson dominated the Moto3 category on the only KTM in the field. Matt Barton was the best of the rest ahead of Callum Barker and Tom Bramich.
Jack Mahaffy dominated the Juniors category by taking the race win by 40-seconds after only a six-lap distance! Mahaffy was the only rider to sneak under the two-minute barrier, his 1m59.987 a full eight-seconds quicker than second placed Dallas Skeer’s fastest lap. Scott Nicholson rounded out the podium.
