DUNLOP’S STARING SCORES PHILLIP ISLAND ASBK VICTORY
It was a rewarding start to the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) for Dunlop Tyres at Phillip Island in Victoria between 22-25 February, as Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance) won round one of the season.
Staring has made the move to the Ninja ZX-10R for this year, equipped with Dunlop and proved the combination will be a potent one. Despite qualifying 13th on the grid in a wet qualifying session, there was no denying him of victory.
Race one saw Staring work his way through the pack in mixed conditions – still dry enough for slick tyres despite a mid-race stoppage – for fourth on Saturday afternoon, before going 3-1 in Sunday’s pair of dry encounters to win the weekend and position himself atop the championship standings following round one of seven.
“We are extremely happy with the success of Bryan and Kawasaki BCperformance at round one,” stated Dunlop national motorcycle manager Sabastian Mincone. “Phillip Island is notoriously tough on tyres and this result showcases just how competitive our current homologated ASBK tyres are. Congratulations to everybody on the fantastic result.”
The 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) will continue at Wakefield Park in New South Wales on 16-18 March, marking round two of seven for this year’s series.
“Kawasaki BCperformance provided me with the lightning-fast Ninja ZX-10R and, combined with Dunlop Tyres, we were on the package to beat this weekend,” Staring explained. “Starting from 13th on the grid made things more difficult, but we worked through the pack and I’m just really, really happy to get the overall. Thank you to everybody for their efforts!”
Dunlop Tyres Australia would like to take this opportunity to thank Mincone, who is now due to return home to Italy, for his services during the past four years. Sabastian has played an instrumental role in Dunlop’s racing programme in Australia in this time.
Over the past months he has worked closely with Dunlop’s overseas race departments, designers and the BC team to develop this year’s new selection of homologated ASBK tyres. Garry Spence, who has many year’s experience in the motorsport and tyre industry, has now been welcomed to lead the motorcycle division.
Visit www.dunloptyres.com.au or find Dunlop Tyres Australia & New Zealand on Facebook and @ridedunlopau on Instagram for further information on the brand.
More, from a press release issued by Swann Insurance Kawasaki:
STRONG START TO ASBK FOR WALTERS AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Swann Insurance Kawasaki’s Matt Walters got his 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) season off to an exceptional start at Phillip Island between 22-25 February, scoring eighth overall in an inspiring performance to commence his campaign.
Walters was on the pace all weekend long in Victoria alongside the first round of the Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK), qualifying in 10th position following a single session on Friday in damp track conditions.
More mixed weather greeted riders in the first 12-lap race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon, however Walters managed to cross the line in ninth place, featuring in an eight-rider freight-train until a minor problem forced him to slow in the closing laps.
That set him up for a solid Sunday in races two and three – both contested in fully dry conditions – where he captured eighth and ninth positions to cap-off the weekend. Those results propelled him to eighth overall, currently in that same championship position following round one of seven.
“It was a really consistent round for myself and the Swann Insurance Kawasaki team, so we’re really happy to start the season this way,” Walters reflected. “We were inside the top 10 every time we rode, which is a great result. I would have liked to be up with the front-runners a bit more, but I missed the jump out of the start a few times.
“We can definitely work on that and improve my opening laps of the races at Wakefield Park. We’re already ahead of where we were last year, so it’s positive for us and we’re confident that we can keep on progressing at round two. The Ninja ZX-10Rs worked in all conditions, I’m really enjoying them and it’s starting to show in the results!”
The 2018 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) will now travel north to Wakefield Park in New South Wales on 16-18 March, which will be Walters’ home state round on this year’s schedule aboard his Ninja ZX-10R.
Like Matt Walters Racing on Facebook and visit www.asbk.com.au for further information on the series.
More, from a press release issued by Penrite Honda Racing:
RACE WIN AND PODIUM FOR HERFOSS IN PENRITE HONDA RACING DEBUT
Penrite Honda Racing’s first competitive appearance in the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) resulted in a race win and third overall for Troy Herfoss in Phillip Island’s 2018 opening round between 22-25 February.
A gruelling week of action, which saw the ER Motorsport organisation operating Honda Motorcycles Australia’s factory team for the first time, featured Herfoss and the team in both the ASBK and Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) categories.
In the ASBK, after qualifying fifth on the grid in mixed conditions during Friday’s single session, Herfoss charged to a maiden victory in the opening 12-lap encounter on Saturday, which was stopped and restarted due to changeable weather in the area. Still, there was no denying the 2016 champion the first race honours of the year.
Sunday saw two more action-packed ASBK affairs on the schedule and, again, 31-year-old Herfoss was right in the mix, ultimately claiming fourth in both races to clinch the final place on the overall podium – just one point away from the round win and championship lead.
“It’s the best first round I’ve ever had at Phillip Island on the Superbike, being just one point out of the points lead,” Herfoss explained. “It wasn’t what we expected, but what we’d hoped for. The CBR1000RR is really strong in areas that will suit Wakefield in the next round, so we’re in a really good position.
“Racing both series this weekend was good for us, even though we were unable to finish the weekend in WorldSBK. For us we enjoyed it, understand what it takes a little more and I feel as though it lifted my level by being out there with the best Superbike riders in the world championship.”
Penrite Honda Racing and Herfoss also gained valuable milage in WorldSBK, putting in 100 percent in search of a strong result, however a DNF in the closing laps of Saturday’s first 22-lap encounter ruled him out of the weekend altogether. It was deemed a positive excursion though, with plans for a 2019 attempt already being considered.
“It couldn’t have been a better start for Penrite Honda Racing as a brand new team,” stated team manager Shaun Clarke. “We’ve put it together from scratch basically and everybody involved has done a great job, so the result that we’ve got comes from a few months of research and decisions that we’ve made along the way, including using K-Tech Suspension.
“Now we can get to work heading into Wakefield Park and push forward in the championship. Doing both series was a good thing for us, it was good for Troy and has helped him get up to speed quite quickly around Phillip Island. In the end we were possibly a little bit under-prepared, but we will learn from it and potentially do both classes next year.”
With Herfoss positioned third in the ASBK championship, one point from the lead in the standings, Penrite Honda Racing next travels to Wakefield Park, New South Wales, for round two of the series on 16-18 March. Originally from Goulburn, it’s a round that Herfoss has taken victory at during the past two seasons.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:
WATERS & SUZUKI ECSTAR 2ND IN AUSTRALIAN SBK OPENER
Josh Waters – (3-2-2) – 2nd overall
Markus Chiodo – (10-25-11) – 12th overall
Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia got off to a flying start in the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship this weekend, run in conjunction with the opening World Superbike Championship round with defending champion Josh Waters taking home second place overall with Pole Position and a 3-2-2 result aboard the new GSX-R1000.
Waters’ team-mate and ASBK Rookie Markus Chiodo came home 12th (10-25-11) for the weekend in a packed 50-plus field after qualifying in 14th and battling all weekend.
Josh Waters:
“It was a tough weekend overall. I felt great on Friday, and it showed with a strong time and Pole Position for the weekend. I was in the lead when the rain started to come down in the first race and the conditions were getting dangerous, but the confusion in pit lane meant we didn’t get warmers on for some time and so it made the second part of the race tough to race with the lead riders. For the rest of the weekend, we were chasing the setup a little around the conditions and I was pushing hard all the time to keep battling for the lead. Overall, I’m happy heading into the next round, so second overall isn’t a bad start to the year.”
Markus Chiodo:
“I expect a lot from myself, especially having this incredible team supporting me, so to come home 12th overall, I didn’t achieve the goal I set for myself. Phillip Island is a strong circuit for me, so I really wanted to do well here, but after qualifying in 14th, I had my work cut-out for me in every race to even try to reach the lead group, let alone stick with them. A crash in race two put me way down the order, losing some critical points that could have seen me reach the top-10.”.
Dale Brede – Team Owner:
“It was a great weekend of racing that had us all on the edge of our seats in every race with close racing and typical changing Phillip Island weather causing havoc not just for us but everyone in the paddock.
“Finding the perfect settings this weekend was a challenge with the conditions and Josh managed to ride the wheels off the bike to get the results he did and Markus, although I know he’s a little disappointed to be outside the top 10, did a great job on debut and no doubt will continue to improve every time he rides the GSX-R1000. To head to our home round second in the championship with podiums in every race is a great result, but we’re motivated to win and will keep working hard to get there!”
Team Suzuki ECSTAR Australia racing now prepare for what is a home race for the Canberra-based team in Wakefield Park, Goulburn NSW on March 16-18th.