Procon Maxima BMW rider Glenn Allerton continues to ride the momentum of last week’s Phillip Island whitewash, holding off a challenge by Team Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell to set the quickest lap in today’s Viking Group Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) practice sessions at Symmons Plains.
The Sydney-based BMW S 1000 RR pilot was the only rider to break the 53-second lap barrier in both 30-minute sessions, ending the day with a best time of 53.601, three-tenths shy of the existing qualifying record.
Allerton went head-to-head with Team Honda’s Maxwell, with the two spending the first-half of this afternoon’s session trading fast laps before the BMW took and held the upper hand.
Clear, crisp conditions at the circuit appeared to suit Allerton, who was a winner when the ASBK last visited Tasmania in November.
“The bike felt great today, we were able to work on a few things after yesterday’s sessions and it has come a long way, close to being ready to have a crack at the lap record,” said Allerton.
“In the space of a few days we’ve made some major changes. Phillip Island and Symmons Plains are two very different tracks – the emphasis here is on heavy braking so we’ve changed the pads and done some work with the front forks.
“It’s a short lap and a very physical circuit. I enjoy it because I can use my height to my advantage and move around to help the bike into and out of corners.
“Today’s result is good but we’ll keep working to find more from the bike because I know there are some guys out there who are hungry to get runs on the board.”
A margin of 0.221 seconds separated the top two today, and Maxwell is hopeful that some overnight changes to his CBR1000RR will make it stronger ahead of qualifying.
“We’re improving with every session and developing some new parts with good results,” said Maxwell. “It’s happening a little slower than I would like but we can only move forward from here.
“After Phillip Island I started to feel the pinch. It was a bad result and it was not how I imagined our season would start.
“It’s not do or die this early in the season but if Glenn (Allerton) continues with the form he’s in it’s going to be difficult for me to recover.
“I’m hoping this weekend will bring a big result and put us right back in the hunt.”
Teammate Jamie Stauffer was third-quickest today, ahead of Team Suzuki duo Troy Herfoss and Josh Waters.
On his last visit here Herfoss was crowned Supersport champion, and he is hopeful of another strong run, this time in the Superbike class.
“I’ve only ridden a 600 here before so the Superbike is a huge step up in power which becomes really apparent on such a short track,” said Herfoss.
“I’m excited about what the weekend holds and really looking forward to making more progress in qualifying.”
The Superbike field will contest two 30-minute qualifying sessions tomorrow, with the top 8 times advancing to the QBE Superpole session, a flying lap to decide the first two rows of Sunday’s grids.
Team Suzuki’s Brodie Waters edged clear of the Yamaha Racing Team’s Kevin Curtain in today’s pair of hotly-contested Supersport practice sessions.
Waters best effort, a 56.301, was 0.177 seconds clear of Curtain, with the GSX-R600 again proving to be an early pacesetter.
Nicholas Waters’ strong run of results continued today, with the brother of Brodie finishing third-fastest.
Triumph rider Christian Casella was the fourth and final Supersport rider to crack the 56-second bracket, setting a 56.692 lap aboard his Daytona 675 in this afternoon’s session.
The 18-strong field will contest two 30-minute qualifying sessions tomorrow, with the top four riders moving into the new Motul Superpole shootout to determine the front row.
Four different manufacturers set the four fastest times across the Prostock class’ practice sessions today.
Pacesetter and round 1 victor Cru Halliday continues to prove tough to beat this season, once again topping the timesheets aboard his Yamaha R1.
The BMW S 1000 RR of John Ross was second-fastest, followed by local Honda hopeful Brett Simmonds and Kawasaki rider Matthew Walters.
Queenslander Mike Jones continued his storming Superstock run, again finishing over a second faster than his challengers.
The Yamaha R6-mounted Jones broke the existing Superstock lap record in the second practice session before further lowering the mark to 57.600 this afternoon.
South Australian Daniel Falzon was second-fastest, also aboard a Yamaha.
The Superlites sessions were also all topped by a single rider. Josh Hook was consistently quick aboard his Aprilia RS, and his best lap of the day, a 1:01.772, was over a second faster than Nicky Diles, also on an Aprilia.
Alex Phillis, son of Aussie great Robbie Phillis, rounded out the top 3.
Superbike Practice Results 1. Glenn ALLERTON (VIC) Procon Maxima BMW, BMW S 1000 RR, 53.660 2. Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) Team Honda Racing, Honda CBR RR, 53.822 3. Jamie STAUFFER (NSW) Team Honda Racing, Honda CBR RR, 53.993 4. Troy HERFOSS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 54.139 5. Joshua WATERS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 54.164 6. Ben ATTARD (QLD) iStyle Natural Aprilia, Aprilia RSV4, 54.354 7. Robert BUGDEN (VIC) Team Mack Trucks Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 54.763 8. Craig COXHELL (VIC) GAS Honda, Honda CBR RR, 54.814 9. Ben HENRY (WA) Cube Racing, Suzuki GSX-R, 54.965 10. Cole ODENDAAL (NSW) NSW Compensation Lawyers GAS Honda Racing, Honda CBR RR, 55.123
Supersport Practice Results 1. Brodie WATERS (VIC) Team Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R, 56.301 2. Kevin CURTAIN (NSW) Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6, 56.478 3. Nicholas WATERS (VIC) Suzuki GSX-R, 56.589 4. Christan CASELLA (VIC) Triumph Daytona 675, 56.692 5. Rick OLSON (NSW) Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.455 6. Aaron GOBERT (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.467 7. Glenn SCOTT (NSW) WNR Kawasaki, Kawasaki ZX6R, 57.492 8. Ryan TAYLOR (VIC) Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.745 9. Mitchell CARR (NSW) Carr Bros Motorsport, Triumph Daytona, 57.794 10. Chris QUINN (NSW) Coopers Pale Ale, Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.954
Prostock Practice Results 1. Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) Yamaha YZF-R1, 56.124 2. John ROSS (NZ) BMW S 1000 RR, 56.787 3. Brett SIMMONDS (TAS) Honda CBR RR, 56.809 4. Matthew WALTERS (NSW) Kawasaki Connection Racing, Kawasaki ZX10R, 56.848 5. Linden MAGEE (QLD) Coastline Motorrad Racing, BMW S 1000 RR, 57.050 6. Nathan HOUTERMAN (QLD) Honda CBR RR, 57.891 7. Daniel MOULTON (VIC) Mornington Kawasaki, Kawasaki ZX10R, 58.019 8. Brett KITCHIN (QLD) Kawasaki ZX10R, 58.313 9. Ben NICOLSON (VIC) Elliot Bros Kawasaki Racing, Kawasaki ZX10R, 58.502 10. Phil LOVETT (NSW) KTM RC8R , 58.672
Superstock Practice Results 1. Michael JONES (QLD) Yamaha YZF-R6, 57.600 2. Daniel FALZON (SA) Yamaha YZF-R6, 58.823 3. Timothy McGREGOR (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R, 58.981 4. James BECK (NSW) Evermil Steel Fabrications, Yamaha YZF-R6, 58.992 5. Mark WILKINSON (VIC) Kawasaki ZX6R , 59.211 6. Andrew KINGS (NSW) Central Coast Performance, 59.453 7. Zach THACKERAY (NSW) Kawasaki ZX6R, 59.543 8. Brenton HYDE (NSW) Coopers Pale Ale, Yamaha YZF-R6, 59.733 9. Luke BURGESS (QLD) Kawasaki ZX6R, 59.947 10. James MUTTON (QLD) Brisbane Motorcycles, Suzuki GSX-R, 59.952
Superlites Practice Results 1. Joshua HOOK (NSW) Aprilia RS,1:01.772 2. Nicky DILES (NSW) RSW Racing, Aprilia RS, 1:02.948 3. Alex PHILLIS (VIC) QBE Insurance / Kallista Electrical, Aprilia RS, 1:03.280 4. Peter GALVIN (NSW) Honda RS, 1:03.925 5. Lachlan HILL (VIC) Yamaha TZ, 1:04.552 6. Hayden DEMAMIEL (NSW) Honda RS, 1:04.718 7. Jordan ZAMORA (QLD) Honda RS, 1:04.759 8. Tom HATTON (WA) Honda RS, 1:04.869 9. Mitch LEVY (NSW) RSW Racing, Aprilia RS, 1:04.875 10. Aiden WAGNER (QLD) Honda RS, 1:06.239
More, from a press release issued by Team Honda Racing:
Friday Practice at Symmons Plains
4th March 2011 Round 2 begins. The Australian Superbike Championship is at Symmons Plains Raceway this weekend beginning with 2 practice sessions today for the Team Honda Racing Superbikes of Jamie Stauffer and Wayne Maxwell. The team is looking for a strong result in Tasmania this weekend to gain some valuable championship points and has started the weekend well in 2ndand 3rdplace on the timesheets and only 0.221 sec off the fastest recorded practice time of Glenn Allerton. #47 Wayne Maxwell recorded his fastest lap on lap 11 of his second session today, a 1:53.822 sec, and the Melbourne-based rider is pleased with the development in bike set-up of the Honda CBR1000RR going into tomorrow’s qualifying. Maxwell: “Team Honda Racing is definitely moving forward with the bike. We are making small changes with each session and slowly closing down the gap to the leader. This is the first time we have tested the new SMART Racing Components at a stop-start style track and we are making excellent progress.” Similarly, #27 Jamie Stauffer is positive going into tomorrow’s qualifying sessions and looking to further reduce his lap times. Stauffer recorded a 1:53.993 sec in the second practice session today after a 1:54.197 sec in the first session. Stauffer: “I definitely feel more comfortable with the bike set-up on the CBR1000RR after today’s practice sessions and my lap times are improving so I think qualifying tomorrow will be strong for Team Honda Racing. Today in particular has been very valuable in terms of the information we have gathered on the Motec engine management system we are utilizing so we’ll see what happens in qualifying tomorrow.” With a few minor adjustments to be made to the Honda CBR1000RR tonight, Team Honda Racing is hoping to qualify as strongly as it did it Round 1 with Maxwell taking Superpole and Stauffer in second place on the grid. Qualifying for the Superbikes tomorrow begins at 10:50am.