Round 3 of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) is a special one, as the championship heads to The Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend, South Australia, for International MotoFest (April 25-28). This event sees the ASBK team up with the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) to provide four days of non-stop action with some of Asia and Oceania’s best teams and riders putting on a show for the fans. With the promise of a Paddock Party on Saturday night, a round of the Australian Supermoto Championship on The Bend’s nearby Stadium Circuit, and plenty more to see and do across the weekend, this event is always one to look forward to on the ASBK calendar.
Today’s running saw the ARRC sessions running during the morning, with ASBK’s Supersport and Kawasaki Superbike competitors waiting until the afternoon for their single practice session each, before further practice sessions tomorrow (Friday).
Kawasaki Superbike
Suzuki’s Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia, Suzuki GSX-R) ended the day fastest in Kawasaki Superbike, posting a 1:52.695 ahead of Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX10R, 1:52.928) and teammate Wayne Maxwell (Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia, Suzuki GSX-R, 1:53.335).
Waters was quietly positive after only one session on the bike this weekend. “It was quite good, great way to start the weekend but it’s only Thursday and we’ve got a long weekend ahead of us” he cautioned. “We were fortunate enough to test here and we’ve definitely made some improvements to the bike.
“(The track is) only going to get better with a lot of competitive motorcycles riding around, with a lot of good rubber being put down… it’s going to get quicker and quicker I think.”
Full Results- Kawasaki Superbike Free Practice 1
Supersport
Local South Australian Nic Liminton (Yamaha Motor Aus., Yamaha YZF-R6) set a blistering 1:57.600 to top the Supersport timesheet ahead of Broc Pearson (City2Surf Locksmiths, Yamaha YZF-R6) and Tom Toparis (Landbridge Transport, Yamaha YZF-R6).
“We’re going really quick already,” said Liminton after the session. “I thought before the weekend that we weren’t going to be going this quick straight away. I think qualifying is going to be even quicker again, probably breaking lap records.”
Despite the breakneck one-lap pace, Liminton was more concerned about maintaining speed across a race distance. “Race strategy’s everything, I think everyone’s tyres aren’t really lasting. After only a couple of laps they’re absolutely gone so I think race strategy’s the number one priority. One lap pace is important, but it’s down to those race laps.”
Full results- Supersport Free Practice 1
The action from The Bend continues tomorrow with Round 3 of the Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship taking place this weekend (April 25-28) in conjunction with the Asia Road Racing Championship at International MotoFest 2019. Tickets are still available, head to thebend.com.au for information, or to purchase.
Keep up with all the action from the Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship by following us on Facebook and Instagram. For news, video content, rider profiles and much, much more, visit ASBK.com.au.
For more information on the Asia Road Racing Championship, visit asiaroadracing.com