Swann ASC-FX Wakefield Friday Report
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Superbike rider Wayne Maxwell (Team Honda Racing) and Supersport pilot Aaron Morris (Maxima Yamaha) claimed qualifying honours at round five of the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship at Wakefield Park, near Goulburn in New South Wales.
Superbikes
In the opening Superbike practice session of the day, it was Team Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss who clocked the fastest time – recording a 1:00.141 during his 11 laps out on the circuit.
In the second practice session it was Allerton recording a 59.358 to post the fastest time, with the top-nine riders all under the one-minute barrier.
The pace stepped up a level in the third practice session, where Maxwell, Allerton and Herfoss all dipped into the 58s – Maxwell recording the fastest lap time with a 58.722.
In the fourth and final practice session, five riders broke through the 59-second barrier, with Maxwell again recording the fastest time with a 58.508.
Qualifying was broken up by several red flag incidents, and heading into the second break in the session it was YRT Yamaha rider Cru Halliday looking the goods with a 58.911.
But as the bikes returned for the final few laps, he was soon overtaken – first by Team Honda Racing’s Jamie Stauffer (58.792) and then by Allerton (58.86).
But Maxwell saved his best for last, clocking an exhilarating 58.362 to take pole leading into the weekend.
Supersport
Series leader Aaron Morris made his intentions clear in the first Supersport practice session recording the fastest lap time with a 1:02.379.
That time was less than half a second faster that Allsite Concrete Cutting’s Callum Spriggs, and a further full second ahead of Mitchell Blair (Yamaha).
It was the same trio setting the pace in the same order in the second practice session, with Morris’ 1:01.932 shaving nearly half a second off his best time in the opening session.
Morris again brought that down in the third practice session, recording a 1:01.043 – one and a half seconds ahead of title challenger Aiden Wagner (Wagner Soil Testing).
Times were a bit slower in the final session with Spriggs only completing three laps, and Morris deciding to sit the session out.
In qualifying it was Morris again with the speed – posting his fastest time of the day with a 1:01.028 to take top spot on the grid for the weekend.
Wagner’s fastest lap was a mere .378 of a second behind landing him second spot, while Spriggs rounded out the top three.
Formula Oz
In the Forumla Oz class, Paul Byrne (LTR Honda) looked as though he was going to post the fastest time in practice with a 1:00.012 on his seventh lap in the fourth session of the day.
But seconds after recording that quick time, Brayden Carr (Fastway Couriers) smashed the one minute barrier to come through in 59.738 and top the charts.
Minutes later Byrne clocked a 1:00.006 – setting the scene for an exciting qualifying session.
In qualifying, three riders managed to post sub-minute laps, but it was NextGen Motorsports’ Ben Nicolson who set tongues wagging with a 59.658.
Byrne almost mirrored that – his fastest lap just .028 of a second slower to claim second spot on the grid, while Carr posted a 59.838 for third.
FX 300 Ninja Cup
He left his best for the last practice session, but Noise Guard Racing’s Brandon Demmery posted the quickest practice time with a 1:09.924 on the last lap of the session.
Queenslander Kyle Buckley (BCperformance Motogo) had the second fastest time in practice with a 1:10.571 in session three.
Demmery continued the fast pace in qualifying, with an even quicker 1:09.323 handing him top spot on the front row for the weekend.
Buckley was nearly half a second slower in posting the second fastest time, while Kawasaki Motors Finance rider Rennie Scaysbrook finished the session third fastest.
Nakedbikes
Angus Reekie (KTM Racing) posted the fastest practice lap time of 1:01.069 in the third session of the day before an unfortunate incident saw him write off his bike.
Reekie handed in his transponder, and is out of action at round five – meaning his previous unblemished record this year in the class, together with his huge series points lead will take a battering.
His nearest rival in the series, Adrian Pierpoint recorded the fastest qualifying time with a 1:06.075.
Pro Twins
In the Pro-Twins class, Michael McMillan (McMillan Criminal Law) notched up a 1:01.372 in the second practice session to record the fastest practice lap time.
He carried that form into qualifying – his 1:01.898 giving him pole ahead of James Arnold (The Little Red Grape).
Team Honda Report
Wayne Maxwell will start tomorrow’s FX-Superbike event in Pole position onboard his Motul Honda CBR1000RR SP after recording the fastest lap in today’s Superbike Qualifying session at Round 5 of the Australasian Superbike Championship.
Maxwell recorded a lap time of 58.362 sec on his final lap of the day to secure Pole and enters the weekend as the Swann Series points leader. “That was a great start to the weekend for me. The CBR1000RR SP is feeling better all the time and I couldn’t be happier than to take Pole position heading into tomorrow’s FX-Superbike races. My shoulder is a bit tight so hopefully it improves over the course of the event. I am really looking forward to seeing how Round 5 unfolds.”
Recording the 3rd fastest lap in Qualifying today was #27 Jamie Stauffer whose fastest lap time was just .430 sec behind his team mate, a 58.792 sec. Stauffer is satisfied with his day, saying “Today went well for me, I was able to put in some consistently fast lap times and starting tomorrow in P3 I think we can definitely move forward from there. The team will make some minor adjustments tonight, but I feel good heading into the weekend.”
Troy Herfoss enters Round 5 ASC in 3rd place in the championship and couldn’t be happier with his start to the event. “Today went really well for me; it would have to be my best Friday qualifying of the year. I recorded the 5th fastest lap time today and feel really good on the bike. I am excited to get the racing underway!”
Josh Hook had a minor set-back with a crash in Qualifying today, but is looking forward to the weekend’s racing. “Today was not too bad, I did come off in the qualifying session, but nothing serious and I feel confident on the bike going into the weekend. I have good pace and the Honda is working really well. I am looking forward to getting out there this weekend.”
Tomorrow’s 3 FX-Superbike races are a lead-in to Sunday’s main event; the Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship and with Team Honda Racing currently holding the top 3 championship positions, the pressure is on.
