Troy Herfoss tops Friday Practice at QLD Raceway

ASBK 2023

Round Three – QLD Raceway

Friday Report / Results

The breeze had got up a little this afternoon by the time Superbike competitors exited the pits for their third and final 30-minute practice session. The wind, while far from strong, was pleasant enough to knock a fair bit of temperature out of the track surface, the bitumen in pit-lane down to 35-degrees when riders hit the track at 1540 on Friday afternoon.

The pacesetters in the opening two sessions had been Cru Halliday and Troy Herfoss. It was the Penrite Honda man that came out firing first this afternoon with a 67.705.  Herf backed it up with another 67 to underline his potential here this weekend. His 67.705 under the 67.861 lap record set by Bryan Staring in the opening race here last year on the DesmoSport Ducati, but a tad slower than the 67.673 recorded by Mike Jones to set pole in 2022 on the YRT YZF-R1M. The Penrite Honda man has been on a bike much more often of late, riding motocross a few nights a week and it appears to be helping him stay sharp between rounds.

Cru Halliday joined Herf in the 7s with around 12 minutes remaining in the session. The YRT man had already been in the 7s during FP1, and his FP3 time was marginally slower than that early marker, which still proved good enough to secure him P2 overall for the day, ahead of team-mate Mike Jones and championship leader Josh Waters.

Bryan Staring made some good strides forward in the final session, lopping half-a-second off his previous best on the MotoGO Yamaha. They will be stoked with that progress, and only need a little more to get on terms with the leading quartet.

Glenn Allerton has been around the 68.6 mark in all sessions, and will wanting to be able to find a further way forward overnight that will allow him to unlock more speed from the M 1000 RR. Livson Racing’s Ted Collins made some serious strides in FP3, improving his FP1/2 time by four-tenths to almost claim top BMW honours from Allerton.

Broc Pearson and Max Stauffer are hot on the heels of the BMW duo while Anthony West rounds out the top ten ahead of Matt Walters and Paris Hardwick.

Superbike competitors have a 30-minute FP4 session on Saturday morning followed by the Q1 and Q2 qualifying session back to back at 1445. The first of the two 16-lap bouts set down for Sunday gets underway at 1110.

Superbike Friday Combined Practice Results

Michelin Supersport

Aiden Wagner is a welcome extra in the Supersport ranks this weekend and spent Friday getting up to speed after a year away from the racetrack. Mark Chiodo is another Superbike rider that has stepped back to the Supersport ranks for the weekend, breaking out his old Triumph Daytona and having a crack as he recovers from some recent Superbike testing injuries that have delayed his British Superstock 1000 campaign.

While that pair are far from their full potential here this weekend, they have helped make the Supersport category this weekend one of the strongest fields we have seen in this class for some time, with a mix of very experienced riders the likes of Wagner, Chiodo and Sean Condon, along with well seasoned and highly experienced riders in their mid 20s. Both Olly Simpson and Tom Bramich fit into that category with their wealth of overseas experience and Ty Lynch has been putting plenty of runs on the board.

Then we have riders just starting out to make their mark, defending champ John Lytras is still only 18.

Cameron Dunker is only 15 and making his debut in the category after wrapping up the 300 cc crowns last season. Hayden Nelson is also only 15 and showing plenty of promise.

The final Supersport session was cut short after Mark Chiodo crashed at turn six due to brake failure, but the Victorian is fine.  Olly Simpson was quickest in that final session but Tom Bramich topped the day courtesy of the 1m11.615 he put down in FP2, Simpson second, Ty Lynch third.  Scott Nicholson fourth ahead of John Lytras and Sean Condon.

Supersport competitors have a short day here tomorrow. Their Q1 session schedule for 0920 followed by Q2 at 1325 then that is it for them until their first 14-lap contest gets underway at 1035 on Sunday. Their second and final race of the weekend will be contested at 1420 on Sunday afternoon.

Supersport Friday Combined Practice Results

Supersport 300

If we are talking about young talent in the Supersport 600 category, we struggle to know where to start when looking at the Supersport 300 ranks.  Harrison Watts has to be a good starting point though as after wrapping up the Ohvale series in 2002 the 14-year-old steps up to a 300 for season 2023.

Then we have Cam Swain, also 14, but already with a heap of international experience under his young belt in the Asia Talent Cup. The Queenslander is on home soil this year concentrating on the Supersport 300 and R3 Cup categories but hopes to work his way to Europe. Swain topped all three sessions today and was under the lap record.

Other youngsters looking to star this season include Sam Pezzetta, Casey Middleton, Jai Russo, Brodie Gawith, Tara Morrison… Well pretty much all of them in that results list below today deserve a mention!

Supersport 300 Friday Combined Practice Results

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Friday Practice Results

bLUcRU Oceania Junior Cup Friday Practice Results

QLD Raceway ASBK Schedule

Saturday 29th April
Time		CLass	Event	Duration
900	915	bLU cRU	Q1	15 mins
920	945	Supersport	Q1	25 mins
950	1010	SSP300	Q1	20 mins
1015	1045	Superbike	FP4	30 mins
1050	1105	bLU cRU	Q2	15 mins
1110	1125	R3 Cup	Q	15 mins
1140	1200	ARC	R1	18min+1Lap
1200	1300	Lunch ASBK Pillion Ride & Autographs	Podium	60 mins
1300	1320	SSP300	Q2	20 mins
1310	1330	Supersport	Q2	25 mins
1350	1400	ASBK TV Track Time	Media	10 mins
1400	1415	bLU cRU	R1	6 Laps
1420	1440	R3 Cup	R1	8 Laps
1445	1505	Superbike	Q1	20 mins
1515	1530	Superbike	Q2	15 mins
1535	1530	SSP300	R1	10 Laps
1610	1630	ARC	R2	18min+1Lap
Sunday 30th April
Time		Class	Event	Duration
0840	0845	SSP300 & R3 Cup	WUP	5 mins
0850	0855	Supersport	WUP	5 mins
0900	0910	Superbike	WUP	10 mins
0915	0920	bLU cRU	WUP	5 mins
0935	0955	ARC	R3	18min+1Lap
1010	1030	R3 Cup	R2	8 Laps
1035	1105	Supersport	R1	14 Laps
1110	1145	Superbike	R1	16 Laps
1150	1210	SSP300	R2	10 Laps
1225	1245	ARC	R4	18min+1Lap
1245	1330	Lunch – ASBK Pit Party	50 mins
1330	1345	bLU cRU	R2	6 Laps
1355	1415	SSP300	R3	10 Laps
1420	1450	Supersport	R2	14 Laps
1455	1530	Superbike	R2	16 Laps
1540	1555	bLU cRU	R3	6 Laps
16.00	1620	R3 Cup	R3	8 Laps

2023 ASBK Calendar