ASBK 2023
Round Four – Hidden Valley, Darwin
It was another early start for the competitors on the final day of competition in the fourth round of the 2023 Australian Superbike Championship in Hidden Valley. A lap is extremely important as it is a three-man header and therefore offers more points than a typical two-race weekend.
Josh Waters wins Saturday to extend their championship lead but with Troy Herfoss finishing second, the gap between the pair is still less than the points awarded for a race win.
Herfoss looked very aggressive on the Penrite Honda in both qualifying and the race on Saturday while Waters looks smooth and under control. Glenn Allerton and Mike Jones were also right but Cru Halliday will be hoping for a big change of fortune today to turn the tide. Halliday got off to a shocking start Saturday before running away in the middle of the race causing him to lose some positions and points.
Bryan Staring has made some good progress on Saturday but MotoGO rider Yamaha doesn’t have the pace to run with the lead quartet, they’ll be hoping that their work overnight will help close that gap and put him on the podium.
An auto assist was completed before the Superbikes on Sunday morning and along with some liquid some cars left and re-entered the lap leaving the surface a bit dirty and dangerous. .
The conditions in this race will be very different from Yesterday or what the drivers will get on Sunday afternoon, the first hour of this match with track temperatures below 30 degrees, a big difference from the 50 degree surface we can expect in the race. afternoon race.
Josh Waters again excelled ahead of Mike Jones, Troy Herfoss and Glenn Allerton. Max Stauffer made a great debut to soon finish in fifth, just ahead of Cru Halliday and Arthur Sissis.
Josh Waters ran away on turn one as they started lap two, saving a headbutt before slipping across the lawn and eventually re-entering the race ten seconds behind the lead. Mike Jones inherits the lead but is trailed by Troy Herfoss and hungry Glenn Allerton is on their heels.
It took Cru Halliday several laps to get past Max Stauffer and rise to fourth place.
Josh Waters sped back up and fell short of the lap record in tenth place but nearly nine seconds behind the leader at this point.
Troy Herfoss took the lead in round 5 but there was still nothing to separate the Penrite Honda man from Mike Jones and Glenn Allerton. Cru Halliday was a few seconds behind in fourth while Arthur Sissis moved up to fifth after beating the better Max Stauffer.
As the race approached the halfway point, Mike Jones started to look a lot more eager to beat Herfoss. The defending champion suddenly looked more energetic and aggressive on the bike as he climbed onto the ducktail of a Penrite Honda. The couple has now begun to move away from Allerton.
Josh Waters was the fastest runner on the track but was stopped by Anthony West and Max Stauffer as the pair were engaged in their own battle. The next target was Broc Pearson, but it took Waters quite a while to negotiate that traffic.
Mike Jones took the lead in lap 11 and immediately trailed Herfoss by a few bike distances. Allerton is now four seconds behind that pair and is starting to get knocked out by Cru Halliday.
Waters is now sixth after overtaking Broc Pearson, the next target being Arthur Sissis. Get past the South Australians’ inner ring on the final turn as they blow up the slide to start lap 14.
Herfoss returned to the lead on the sixth turn, which is usually Jones territory but the YRT man left the door open after running in too deep and Herf easily pierced that Fireblade through the gap. The Penrite Honda man maintained his lead throughout the next lap and remained in the lead at the final lap table.
Despite having to negotiate some traffic jams, Herfoss kept Jones at the back of the lap and grabbed the checkered flag a few yards ahead of Mike Jones.
Glenn Allerton was once again on the podium after trying to hold Cru Halliday even though arm pump and brake problems held him back. That pair crossed the line five seconds ahead of Josh Waters, who took a good score after getting past that lap early costing him his chance of winning. Even so, a new lap record in the pocket…
1. Troy Herfoss – Honda
2. Mike Jones – Yamaha +0.169s
3. Glenn Allerton – BMW +5.123s
Even so, Troy’s victory narrowed the points gap to just 15 points at the moment, half a point of the 2023 season.
Herfoss was even more enthusiastic than usual on the podium. Team McMartin protested to Team Penrite Honda yesterday regarding the crank link used on the Fireblade.
The protest has been dismissed but the bad blood it causes is staining the waters in the run-up to the championship. It seems to only serve to push the Penrite Honda and Herfoss factions even further in their quest to take the championship away from Waters. Retaliation was swift with the McMartin Ducati now being pulled down by the managers to inspect the triple clamp…
Allerton will be hoping to be able to cure his brake problems so that can help him avoid hand-pumps in the afternoon competition while Cru Halliday will be keen to leave here on high after a day. disappointing weekend so far for the driver so early in the season most likely to challenge Waters.
Broc Pearson didn’t have the pace on the podium but today went a lot better for the DesmoSport Ducati racer as he finished 65th at the end of the race while chasing Josh Waters. Maybe he learned a lesson or two after the championship leader.
The changes Staring and his team have made to MotoGP Yamaha have clearly been ineffective. The Western Australian racer was out of pace throughout the race, his fastest lap being two seconds behind the leader, but most of his race was three and then four seconds a lap race. Clutch issues are the main culprit for that problem and the team will do their best to resolve that this afternoon.
Superbike race Two results
- Troy Herfoss – Honda
- Mike Jones – Yamaha +0.169s
- Glenn Allerton – BMW +5.123s
- Cru Halliday – Yamaha +6,528s
- Josh Waters – Ducati +11.194s
- Broc Pearson – Ducati +12,160s
- Anthony West – Yamaha +13,350s
- Arthur Sissis – Yamaha +18.157s
- Max Stauffer – Yamaha +28.126s
- Ted Collins – BMW +32,092s
- Matt Walters – Aprilia +38,905s
- Bryan Staring – Yamaha +52,278s
- Paris Hardwick – Kawasaki +62,330s
- Jack Davis – +63,994s
- Scott Allars +68,421s
- Eddie Leeson +1 round
- Michael Kemp +1 round
- Albert Baker +2 rounds
Superbike Championship Score
- Josh Waters 202
- Troy Herfoss 187
- Glenn Allerton 151
- Halliday Journey 145
- Mike Jones 141
- Ted Collins 117
- Bryan stared at 113
- Broc Pearson 106
- Arthur Sissi 99
- Max Stauffer 93
ASBK Calendar 2023
| ASBK Calendar 2023 | |||
| Round | circuit | Location | Day |
| R4 | Hidden Valley Raceway (Superbike Only) | NT | June 16-18 |
| R5 | Morgan Park Raceway | QLD | July 14-16 |
| R6 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | VIC | October 27-29 |
| R7 | Bend . Sports Racing Park | SA | December 1 – 3 |
