Morgan Park ASBK Race Day Report | Part Two

Cru Halliday takes race two victory at Morgan Park

Wayne Maxwell leads ASBK Title chase by five-points

Yamaha Motor Finance ASBK 2017 – Round Five – Morgan Park

Read Morgan Park ASBK Sunday Wrap Part One First Here

The ASBK Championship points tables had come in for a massive shake up after the opening bout at Morgan Park earlier today.  Championship leader Troy Herfoss lost the front and was unable to finish the race, while Wayne Maxwell scored a calculated come from behind win to shoot to the top of the ASBK Championship.  

In fact, going into this second and final 16-lap contest of the weekend ony four-points separated the prime quartet at the front of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Insurance Australian Superbike Championship.  Maxwell leads Bugden, Falzon and Herfoss. Josh Waters is a further 18-points adrift in fifth.

Cru Halliday capitalised on his pole position to lead Bryan Staring, Josh Waters and Troy Herfoss around the first turns ahead of Daniel Falzon, Corey Turner and race one victor Wayne Maxwell.  

Falzon had been looking strong but then dropped it at turn 10 when his right hand bar snapped right off under brakes, presumably a result of some previous damage that had gone unnnoticed.

Moments later Beau Beaton went down, also losing the front.  Then Bryan Staring was off after losing the front.. Matt Walters had also gone down. This all happened in the space of a few seconds… Bizarre!  This was quickly becoming a war of attrition!

Up front it was Halliday still leading the way and the fastest man on the circuit. With 13 laps remaining Cru had half-a-second on Herfoss.  The Honda man then had a massive moment and lost that second position to Waters only to get it quickly back. Right behind and stalking them was Wayne Maxwell… Looking tidy, and looking threatening…  

Corey Turner and Robbie Bugden were also running strongly. Their battle over fifth place unfolding around a second behind fourth placed Maxwell, but neither man out of this hunt with more than 30-kilometres of racing still to go.

The top four really bunched up with 11 laps to run, Maxwell pushed Waters back to fourth. More riders fell by the wayside, Tory Guenther and Sloan Frost both going down.

Troy Herfoss took the lead with 10 laps remaining. Bugden had started to challenge Turner for fifth place, but the Kawasaki man then went down attempting a pass up the inside at turn ten. And then there were five…

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Wayne Maxwell took a look up the inside of Halliday as the race broached the halfway mark, but then thought better of it. Corey Turner was inching closer and closer to that quartet, with seven laps to go he was now under a second from race leader Troy Herfoss. In fact, the top five were now covered by only eigth-tenths-of-a-second, game on…

Maxwell took Halliday for second place on lap nine, just as Corey Turner put a pass on a surprised Josh Waters, the Suzuki man taking the position right back and now forewarned of a looming threat from behind.

Maxwell pulled alongside Herfoss on the run to turn one with five laps to go but did not attempt a pass. A couple of corners later Halliday put a move on Maxwell, demoting the championship leader a position, the #47 back to third position. 

Halliday then took the lead from Herfoss with four laps to run.  Turner had lost some ground to Waters over the previous couple of laps but was now right back in that mix and still in podium contention.

That was until two laps later, the youngster losing the front of the Ducati and tumbling out of that battle at turn four.  And then were four…

Maxwell slipped underneath Herfoss just before the start of the final lap, Halliday had built himself the biggest buffer of the race as they received the last lap board. The Camden based 29-year-old enjoying a full second advantage, surely too much for Maxwell to claw back around the final 2.9 kilometres…?

And that it was. Halliday registers a great victory over Maxwell while defending champion Herfoss rounded out the podium ahead of Josh Waters. 

Glenn Allerton bravely fought through the pain of his testing injuries to claim fifth place, 21-seconds behind fourth placed Waters. 

Mitch Levy carded a well earned sixth ahead of Alex Phillis while Corey Turner managed to remount and finish in eighth place, just ahead of Michael Blair.  Ryan Yanko rounded out the top ten. 

Wayne Maxwell wins the round with a 45-point haul besting Halliday’s 44, while Josh Waters rounded out the overall podium by a single point over Corey Turner. 

Wayne Maxwell leaves Morgan Park with a five-point advantage over Troy Herfoss in the ASBK Championship chase. The pair were teammates at Honda in 2014, when Maxwell lifted the Australasian FX Superbike Championship, what that year was undoubtedly the premier Superbike category in Australia.

That tide turned in 2015 however, and both men found themselves back in the M.A. sanctioned and revitalised ASBK series. This time Maxwell was with YRT, while Herfoss remained with the Paul Free managed Team Honda Racing. Herfoss got the better of Maxwell, and the rest of Australia’s best Superbike competitors in both 2015 and 2016.  He has his work cut out for himself this year if he is to make it three championships on the trot…

Essentially though, with 102 points still up for grabs across the next two rounds, on current form, the ASBK Title could still go to any of the top six riders.  

Robbie Bugden had his first real stumble for the season here at Morgan Park, but still the BCperformance Kawasaki man is still right there in the title hunt, despite the fact that the five-time NZ Superbike Champion yet to take a victory this season on the ZX-10R. 

Daniel Falzon had some dramas in Darwin, that saw him stripped of points in one of the races, and had an even more troubling time in Queensland. He is still certainly in contention though, and most definitely still in with a great chance of lifting his first ASBK Superbike Title.

Josh Waters is certainly looking dangerous. A double victory in Darwin saw him catapult himself forwards into the mix and reasonable results here, while some of his prime competitors made mistakes, has further strengthened his case. Despite being currently ranked fifth in the series, he is only 24-points adrift of series leader Wayne Maxwell. 

Cru Halliday looked very strong here this weekend and if he can carry that form forward in to the next two rounds, and his rivals trip themselves up, he is still an outside chance that can’t be ruled out of the equation. 

Bryan Staring and Corey Turner are still mathematical chances, and despite Turner’s adaption to the Ducati at this round being magnificent, it is fair to say that they are essentially not in the running for the title. 

Corey Turner

“To finish P2 in the first race, my first-ever with DesmoSport Ducati was a great result for us. I had consistent times and that played a big part in the end. We ended up on the podium and it was a really good feeling for everybody. Your day can go from being on such a high to such a low, when I crashed out of race two. I was closing in on the front group and I was kind of waiting for the last couple of laps, but I don’t really know what happened coming around turn six when I went down.  Anyway, there’s no taking away what we achieved in the first race, I still got back on the bike to finish eighth after crashing, so that was okay and now I just can’t wait to get back on the Panigale again and keep on improving. Thank you to everybody for making this weekend possible!”

ASBK next heads to Sydney Motorsport Park on the weekend of September 10 for the penultimate round ahead of the championship decider which will be staged at Phillip Island on the weekend of October 8th. We hope to see some of you at one or both of those rounds as the series heads towards its exciting climax across Australia’s two most populous states. 

YMI Australian Superbike Championship – Round Five – Morgan Park – Race Two Results

1. Cru Halliday – Yamaha
2. Wayne Maxwell – Yamaha +1.027
3. Troy Herfoss – Honda +1.544
4. Josh Waters – Suzuki +1.673
5. Glenn Allerton – Yamaha +22.710
6. Mitch Levy – Yamaha +26.152
7. Alex Phillis – Yamaha +29.017
8. Corey Turner – Ducati +36.511
9. Michael Blair – Yamaha +37.519
10. Ryan Yanko – Ducati +40.695
11. Adam Senior – Yamaha +75.332
12. Sloan Frost – Suzuki +1 lap
13. Ashley Fleming – Aprilia +1 lap

YMI Australian Superbike Championship Round Five Points

1. Wayne Maxwell 45
2. Cru Halliday 44
3. Josh Waters 34
4. Corey Turner 33
5. Glenn Allerton 28
6. Alex Phillis 28
7. Mitch Levy 25
8. Michael Blair 23
9. Ryan Yanko 19
10. Troy Herfoss 18

Yamaha Motor Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Points Standings

1. Wayne Maxwell 193
2. Troy Herfoss 188
3. Robbie Bugden 172
4. Daniel Falzon 171
5. Josh Waters 169
6. Cru Halliday 154
7. Bryan Staring 131
8. Corey Turner 114
9. Mitch Levy 103
10. Beau Beaton 92

Motul Supersport Race Two

Chris Quinn scored the holeshot in the second Motul Supersport contest of the round and led Mark Chiodo and Tom Toparis through the opening turns before Chiodo pushed his Triumph through to the front halfway around the opening lap. Race one victor Ted Collins was in fourth ahead of Mason Coote and Sam Muldoon.

Toparis then lost a couple of places, relegated back to fifth place by Coote and Collins, meanwhile Chiodo was pulling an escape act out front.

With 12-laps to run Chiodo had 1.2-seconds over the now second placed Collins.

Collins then set about reeling that gap back in. A 1m15.825 new fastest lap of the race on the third lap pulled the gap back to just under a second, and stretched him away from third placed Chris Quinn, who was not coming under attack from Mason Coote and Sam Muldoon.

Collins had the gap down to half-a-second by the end of the next lap then Mark Chiodo spectacularly lost the rear of his Triumph at turn six. Tom Toparis returned to pit-lane with some sort of issue in what has also been a trying weekend for the Goulburn youngster. Chiodo continued to circulate down in 15th place. 

Mason Coote had got the better of Chris Quinn as the race progressed and Sam Muldon had not been able to go with the pair. Meanwhile up front Ted Collins was in a race of his own.

Quinn came back at Coote on the final lap as that battle for second place intensified. Quinn had the edge around the first half of the circuit, but Coote stuffed it up the inside of him a few corners before the end and carried that momentum to the flag to claim second place.  

The victor though, by more than three-seconds, Ted Collins. The young Victorian now leads the Motul Supersport points chase by 68-points over Mason Coote, who moved up to second place in the series today, demoting Toparis to third. 

There are still 102-points up for grabs across the final two rounds of the Championship, but with that 68-point buffer up his sleeve it would be a brave man that would bet against the recently turned 18-year-old, to bring that Suzuki GSX-R600 home with the #1 plate on it. And it is quite likely that he will manage that feat at Sydney Motorsports Park, and thus can possibly earn the right to wear that #1 plate when the series visits Phillip Island in October for the series finale. 

Ted Collins – Round Winner

“I can guarantee that one wasn’t easy, but I worked my way through the pack, the team has been awesome! From our pace on Friday to our wins on Sunday, it was a big turnaround.”

Mason Coote – P2 for Round

“Quinn and I were both on the limit at the end. I was able to capitalise on a small mistake he made on the last lap. It’s great to be up here on the podium as I haven’t had one since Round 2, I’ve never raced here before so its a credit to the team for setting up the bike”

Motul Supersport Race Two Results

1. Ted Collins – Suzuki
2. Mason Coote – Yamaha +3.13
3. Chris Quinn – Yamaha +3.225
4. Sam Muldoon – Kawasaki +9.853
5. Sam Condon – Yamaha +12.028
6. Nic Liminton – Yamaha +12.092
7. Lincoln Gilding – Yamaha +27.755
8. Brian Houghton – Honda +28.648
9. Jordan Carlsson – Yamaha +28.690
10. Cambridge Olivier – Yamaha +32.461
11. Mick Hefferan – Kawasaki +38.710
12. Aidan Hayes – Kawasaki +38.828
13. Patrick Li – Kawasaki +41.286
14. Ryan Sellen – Kawasaki +56.892
15. Mark Chiodo – Triumph +61.923

Motul Supersport Championship Points Standings (TBC)

1. Ted Collins 232
2. Mason Coote 164
3. Tom Toparis 156
4. Sam Condon 129.5
5. Nic Liminton 127
6. Jordan Carlsson 122.5
7. Chris Quinn 119.5
8. Sam Muldoon 108
9. Mark Chiodo 107.5
10. Cambridge Olivier 99

Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 Race Three

The third and final Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport race kicked off at 1447 this afternoon and it was Oli Bayliss that led the pack early on, but it was a very big pack!  

Reid Battye took the lead from Bayliss momentarily, then Billy Van Eerde took his turn at the front. Battye then slotted his Kawasaki into the lead, only to be quickly gazumped by Van Eerde again. Then the KTM youngster got in to a turn too deep and lost five positions. 

Jack Mahaffy took his turn at the front with six laps to go.  Only a second covered the entire top ten in this superbly entertaining category full of exciting young talent. 

Billy Van Eerde had worked his way back towards the front with four laps to go and was right on the tail of Mahaffy. Tommy Edwards was also a man on the move, a 1m24.005 new fastest lap of the race on lap four propelling him past Bayliss and up into third position.  Battye had been relegated back to sixth place just ahead of Broc Pearson, that pair dicing 1.8-seconds behind the race leader.

Van Eerde then went through to the lead, then Edwards moved up another place, demoting Mahaffy back to third. Battye had moved forward again, passing Bayliss for fourth position with three laps to run.

The top three had now broken away though. Diminutive KTM youngster Billy Van Eerde led them across the stripe with two laps to go but by turn two had been gazumped by both Edwards and Mahaffy.

The whole front group then tightened up as the race reached its climax. Broc Pearson had projected himself up into the mix by passing Bayliss for fourth place, as Battye again slipped back to sixth. 

At the last lap board it was Van Eerde with a nose in front Edwards, the KTM men led around the back of the circuit, wily Edwards sizing him up for a challenge in the final turns but this time it was not to be.  Billy Van Eerde the victor over Edwards with Broc Pearson marking his return from massive pre-season injuries with a brilliant podium result, besting Bayliss and Zac Levy on the line.

Oli Bayliss brought the Cube Racing Kawasaki home in fourth place, which gave him the ‘Under 300’ sub-category win from fifth placed Reid Battye.

That win propelled Van Eerde up into second place overall in the ‘Over 300’ category ahead of Brandon Demmery while Tom Bramich retains the series lead but sees it trimmed down to 4.5 points.  Tom Edwards was the round winner in ‘Over 300’ though ahead of Zac Levy and Billy Van Eerde. 

Reid Battye has a massive 85-point advantage in the ‘Under 300’ sub-category ahead of Yanni Shaw, who experienced shifter problems today which saw him make a stop in the pits for a quick repair, before rejoining the race a lap down and eventually finishing in 34th place.

Reid Battye

“Awesome races all weekend. The last race I managed to get a bit of clean air which meant I could concentrate harder, to take the win overall. I can’t thank my team enough for putting together a really great package that is a strong podium contender in the class. Bring on Round 6!”

Billy Van Eerde

It was a good race, but I didn’t get off to the best start as I did in Race One and Two, but I fought through the whole race. It was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had on the track. I managed to get up the inside of Tommy on Turn 6 and take it from there. The KTM 390, having an extra few cc’s than the ‘Under’s’ really helps down the straights if I can hold it pinned in the corners too!”

Oli Bayliss

“I had a bingle in Race Two and was lucky enough to get back out there and compete in the next race. The competition is crazy out there. It’s easy to drop places very quickly. Racing in such a close and large field forces us to be better and more driven on track. I am looking forward to gridding up next time!”

Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 Race Three Results

1. Billy Van Eerde – KTM (Over 300)
2. Tom Edwards – Yamaha +0.145 (Over 300)
3. Broc Pearson – Yamaha +.867 (Over 300)
4. Oli Bayliss – Kawasaki +1.034
5. Zac Levy – Yamaha +1.173 (Over 300)
6. Reid Battye – Kawasaki +1.925 
7. Max Croker – KTM +3.858 (Over 300)
8. Locky Taylor – Yamaha +6.350 (Over 300)
9. Tom Bramich – Yamaha +12.893 (Over 300)
10. Brandom Demmery – Yamaha +15.504 (Over 300)
11. Joel Kelso – Yamaha +15.529 (Over 300)
12. Hunter Ford – Yamaha +15.540 (Over 300)
13. Rogan Chandler – Yamaha +15.882 (Over 300)
14. Seth Crump – KTM +17.149 (Over 300)
15. Jarred Brook – KTM +17.235 (Over 300)
16. Jack Mahaffy – Yamaha 18.398 (Over 300)
17. Ben Bramich – Yamaha +19.970 (Over 300)
18. Tayla Relph – Yamaha +21.240 (Over 300)
19. Danyon Turner – Yamaha +30.809 (Over 300)
20. Mitch Kuhne – Yamaha +31.062 (Over 300)

Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport Over 300 Championship Standings

1. Tom Bramich 214.5
2. Billy Van Eerde 210
3. Brandon Demmery 208
4. Zac Levy 207
5. Tom Edwards 206
6. Jack Mahaffy 203
7. Max Croker 173.5
8. Ben Bramich 161.5
9. Hunter Ford 156.5
10. Corey Briffa 144.5

Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport Under 300 Championship Standings

1. Reid Battye 310
2. Yanni Shaw 225
3. Drew Sells 223
4. Oli Bayliss 214
5. Laura Brown 176
6. Bronson Pickett 170.5
7. Scott Nicholson 169
8. Greg Farrell 152
9. Shelby Turner 128
10. Keegan Pickering 85

GP Juniors Cup Race Three

Joel Kelso pulled an escape act in the final GP Juniors Cup, cruising to a clear victory over John Lytras and Tommy Edwards.

Edwards still enjoys a significant 55-point lead in the title chase ahead of Lytras.

Joel Kelso

“I went out with a positive mind and thought to myself that if I got away early, then they can’t lip stream me to the line very easily. I just kept pulling a gap and eventually it grew so that I could just run in clear air and keep calm. Its really close racing at the front between the top few guys. The 150’s mean that we are all on the same bike and we all have a lot of fun out there on the track.”

GP Juniors Cup Race Three Results

1. Joel Kelso
2. John Lytras +4.215
3. Tom Edwards +4.290
4. Ned Faulkhead +4.322
5. Harry Khouri +4.948
6. Max Stauffer +5.142
7. Tristan Adamson +5.434
8. Zylas Bunting +7.180
9. Hunter Penhallurick +35.756
10. Jarred Loveday +54.695

GP Juniors Cup Race Championship Standings

1. Tom Edwards 395
2. John Lytras 340
3. Max Stauffer 290
4. Harry Khouri 281
5. Joel Kelso 182
6. Ben Baker 154
7. Tristan Adamson 120
8. Rhys Williams 85
9. Luke Power 84
10. Jack Cousens 70

Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup Race Three

Jack Mahaffy ran away with it in the final Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup race, leaving Tom Edwards, Hunter Ford and Locky Taylor to battle it out for the remaining two steps on the rostrum.  It was Edwards that won that battle, taking second place from Hunter Ford while Locky Taylor just missed out on the podium.

Race winner Jack Mahaffy’s 25-points has propelled him in to the R3 Cup series lead, the young Victorian demoted Edwards from the series lead but the margin is slim, only two-points separate them. 

Jack Mahaffy

“It was a great way to end the weekend with a positive note, we used a similar strategy to the last race. I just wanted to get into a rhythm and lead from the front. “

Tommy Edwards

“It’s been non stop racing this weekend with plenty of second places. It was a great battle between all three of us. “

Hunter Ford

“It’s great to get up here for the last race of the weekend and I didn’t want Locky Taylor to take that third place again!”

Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup Race Three Results

1. Jack Mahaffy
2. Tom Edwards +4.043
3. Hunter Ford +4.116
4. Locky Taylor +4.429
5. Tayla Relph +22.627
6. Ben Bramich +27.125
7. Mitch Kuhne +28.416
8. Sharni Pinfold +28.466
9. Boyd Hocking +28.883
10. Ross Beames +29.320
11. Jonah Sita +32.015
12. Troy Ryan +47.896
13. Ryan Dadd +67.913
14. Matt O’Connell +76.050

Yamaha Motor Finance R3 Cup Championship Standings

1. Jack Mahaffy 176
2. Tom Edwards 174
3. Hunter Ford 138
4. Ben Bramich 132
5. Boyd Hocking 123
6. Jack Passfield 120
7. Tayla Relph 118
8. Corey Briffa 103
9. Locky Taylor 90
10. Dan Thomas 80