Waters takes pole ahead of the glamour of night racing at Sydney Motorsport Park
The opening day of action at the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) was a great exercise of familiarity ahead of a suite of night races at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday, as Josh Waters (Ducati) claimed pole position to continue his dominance in Alpinestars Superbike.
The McMartin racer was outdone by Cru Halliday (Yamaha) in the afternoon practice sessions, before swinging the momentum his way in the qualifying sessions to set himself up well for racing under lights on Saturday.
Tom Toparis (Yamaha), meanwhile, is the man to beat in Michelin Supersport, by claiming pole position and giving himself the best chance of success.
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The Australian Superbike Championship is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
Alpinestars Superbike
Waters is continuing to show his opposition why he is the man to beat in ASBK at the moment, snaring pole position ahead of race one in Alpinestars Superbike tomorrow at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Slightly further back than he would like to have been in the two practice sessions, topped by Cru Halliday (Yamaha), the resilience of the McMartin racer really shone through in the qualifying sessions. Waters fought back to put himself in prime position ahead of what is set to be a cracking pair of races tomorrow, landing a 1:28.421 ahead of Harrison Voight (Ducati) and Troy Herfoss (Ducati) who recorded times of 1:29.031 and 1:29.075.
“To be on the front row is really good, we’re up for two hard races tomorrow and I know the pace is going to be quite fast and we just need to continue performing at our very best,” he said. “We worked away at our pace all day and the Ducati actually felt the best in the qualifying sessions so hopefully I can keep moving forward from there.
“We’re going to have two really good races at Sydney Motorsport Park tomorrow, so the crowd will get their money’s worth.”
Lining up alongside his teammate on the front row of the grid, 17-year-old Voight is continuing to make a great impression in his second appearance in the nation’s premier Superbike class.
Finishing .054 seconds behind, the result adds another layer to the supremely impressive talent he exhibits for such a young age, which provides an opportunity for the crowd in attendance at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday a chance to see a rising star of motorcycle racing.
“The track feels really good, I’ve felt really good around the circuit today and I really believe we will carry that momentum into tomorrow,” he said. “Most of my race craft has come from my racing commitments in Europe, so to compete in the ASBK class for the first two rounds has been great for me to learn more from my fellow competitors.”
The two races for Alpinestars Superbike will be held at 4:15pm, and then under lights at 9:10pm.
Michelin Supersport
Stop & Seal’s Toparis was the king of Michelin Supersport today, topping all practice sessions and then scoring pole for the two races on Saturday.
The New South Welshman topped the timesheets with a 1:32.276 ahead of Mark Chiodo (Honda) and Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha), which is a great get for the young racer before he heads off overseas to compete in another international campaign.
Toparis was chuffed with such a great result, which came after the two practice sessions where he finished behind Chiodo in the first and topped the timesheets in the second.
“We used one set of Michelin tyres today and then two for the races tomorrow, so I’ve had a great day and am really feeling good. I’m really looking forward to racing under lights tomorrow, we’ve done a little bit of it here in other races in the lead-up to this.
“It’s great for ASBK to use the facility here at Sydney Motorsport Park, so I’m stoked to be here and see what I can do.”
Race and Road Supersport 300
Josh Newman (Kawasaki) set the pace for much of the day, but it was Jesse Stroud (Kawasaki) who took the honours in race one under lights at Sydney in Race and Road Supersport 300.
Topping the timesheets in practice, and then in qualifying, the Kawasaki racer fought a close battle with his fellow competitors over the eight-lapper, but ultimately came up short as Stroud stole the show under lights for race one.
The top five was rounded out by Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha), Ryan Larkin (Yamaha) and Mitch Simpson (Yamaha).
Race and Road Supersport 300 will return for races two and three at Sydney Motorsport Park at 5:40pm and 8:40pm respectively.
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) stepped out for its opening round of the season today, with Hunter Corney in control of his opposition, topping the practice and qualifying sessions and then winning race one under lights.
With the win being his first in OJC for nearly two years, it was a great showing for the young racer and he has started his 2024 campaign in the best way possible.
“It was such an amazing feeling to lead into the first corner on the opening lap and then to cross the finish line in first,” he said. “I’m just so happy to have achieved this.”
“It feels really good to win a race in a class that I gain so much out of racing in.”
The top five was rounded out by Ethan Johnson, Nikolas Lazos, Hunter Charlett and Rossi McAdam.
The OJC class will return for races two and three tomorrow at 3:55pm and 7:35pm.
Superbike Masters
The Superbikes of yesteryear returned under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park today, where spectators and officials were treated to a feast in another display of a ‘blast from the past’.
Race one was taken out by Jack Passfield (Yamaha), while the top five was rounded out by Keo Watson (Yamaha), Alex Phillis (Suzuki), Ryan Taylor (Suzuki) and Dean Oughtred (Yamaha).
Superbike Masters will return for two more races tomorrow at 6:10pm and 10:00pm.
