ASBK hits Hidden Valley
Here is all you need to know
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After a two month break, ASBK teams and riders are gearing up for round four in Darwin this weekend at Hidden Valley Raceway. Racing, as always, is expected to be exhilarating as Hidden Valley is one of the fastest tracks on the ASBK calendar thanks to a massive 1.1 kilometre start-finish straight that sees the Superbikes nudge 300 km/h. Racing is often close here, with significant slipstreaming opportunities that often bunch up the pack heading towards turn one. The track has 14 turns and the race lap record of 1m05.968s belongs to Josh Waters (Team Suzuki Ecstar, GSX-R1000R).
Josh Water’s has previously dominated at this circuit, including two wins in the NT last year. The only hitch on what was otherwise a perfect weekend last year for Josh was missing out on pole position, that went to Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1). A return to Darwin might be just what Waters needs to turn his title defence around, the reigning champ is currently 42-points behind series leader Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda, CBR1000SP).
There are more than half a dozen riders still in with a shot of the title. Expect Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1), Falzon, Waters, Troy Bayliss (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale FE) and Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance) to duke it out up front with the Championship leader.
Glenn Allerton (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S1000RR) might also make a play for the podium after an injury affected first half of the season.
The Kawasaki Supersport class is heading towards another great battle between Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, ZX-6R) and Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R6).
Young Tom Bramich (YRT, YZF-R3) continues to impress in the Australian Supersport 300 class and holds the championship lead as we head to Darwin.
Interestingly the return of Glenn Scott from his stint in the World Superstock 1000 championship where he rode a ZX-10R for Agro On-Benjan-Kawasaki. Scott will likely rustle some feathers after sitting out the first half of this year’s season due to a medical procedure.
Lachlan Epis (ResponseRE, Kawasaki ZX-10R) will also make his return to the championship, contesting two classes.
The Darwin heat is always a challenge. Especially with many of the riders coming from cooler conditions with the Australian winter now setting in. Riders have been training hard during the mid-season break to be in peak condition for this race and it’s not uncommon to see riders in ice baths during this race meet in an effort to stay cool.
From the Dave McKenna Yamaha MT-09 Stunt Show, the ASBK Trade Alley, the massive race trucks, and the bLU cRU Mini Moto Experience which is free for kids to try, it’s set to be a brilliant weekend for all.
You can find the Official ASBK Round 4 Program by clicking on the below image. Event Guide can be found here.
Grab your tickets for Round 4 here and don’t forget, for fan’s who can’t make it to the race track you can tune-in to channel SBS at 1:00 PM AEST and Fox Sports at 12:30 PM AEST. For those not wanting to miss a moment, you can tune in all day to the ASBK Livestream
Link to live stream accessible via below ASBK image:
| 2018 ASBK Calendar |
| Round 4- Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT June 29 – 1 July |
| Round 5- Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD August 17 – 19 |
| Round 6- Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC September 7 – 9 |
| Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14 |
YMI Superbike Championship Points Standings |
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