Waters claims stunning race one victory while Clarke secures pole
October 21, 2016
Thousands of spectators lined the fence first thing this morning to catch the Australian Superbike and Supersport competitors out on track marking the commencement of day one of three at the 2016 Michelin Australian Motorcycling Grand Prix at Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit today.
No one could have predicted the extremity of the weather conditions today with the rain playing havoc on track conditions. Unfortunately, in the mid-afternoon it was declared that no more on track activities would run, but not before both the Australian Superbike and Supersport competitors laid down rubber on the Phillip Island circuit.
Australian Superbikes:
Despite the rain and the wind fans were eager to witness what our Australian hopefuls could do in front of an international crowed and on a world renowned circuit. After a 20-minute practice session it was straight in to a wet qualifying where Team Apex Motorsports’ Josh Waters secured the fastest time of 1 minute 37.091 seconds on a cool 15.7-degree track.
The eyes of thousands of spectators were instantly drawn to the man in front, Josh Waters as bikes launched off the grid for the commencement of their first 10 lap race today. By lap two in the race Waters had extended his lead on second placed Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss by 4.6 seconds.
The battle unfolding on track was for second, third and fourth position with Knobby Underwear Suzuki’s Brayden Elliott and Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Jamie Stauffer following Herfoss’ tail. After only three laps Elliott had found speed to break away from Stauffer and made his manoeuvre around Herfoss – all still tightly bunched.
With positions remaining for majority of the race it was only on the final laps that saw Herfoss make his move, Elliott quickly snatching second position, but with the three riders remaining in a tight battle the final laps would see it play out.
Waters was untouchable in race one and by the final waive of the chequered flag he had extended his lead to 8.252 seconds. As the action unfolded for positions 1,2 and 3 Herfoss had just enough speed to take second position making a move on Elliott early in the last lap.
Stauffer biding his time also made a move on Elliott coming on to the straight relegating the Suzuki mounted rider to fourth crossing the finish line. Michael Blaire remained in fifth position crossing the finish line with Cru Halliday just behind in sixth in his first race on the Ducati.
Next Gen Motorsport’s Ryan Hampton, Alastair Loomes, Phillip Czaj and Allen McGuire rounded out the remaining nine positions respectively.
In a dramatic turn of events the Australian Superbike race two was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions deeming the track unsafe to race.
Australian Supersport:
Twenty-one Australian Supersport riders hit a wet track this morning commencing the start of their three-day weekend at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the 2016 Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Competitors only had 20-minites first thing this morning to familiarise themselves with the world renowned Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit before it was straight in to qualifying just before lunch.
Torrential rain filled the venue and with a wet qualifying session it was Banham’s Racing’s Sam Clarke who steered his Kawasaki machine to a total fastest time of 1 minute and 53.935 seconds, claiming pole position for the first race later in the afternoon.
Anticipation for race one was building after an intense qualifying session cemented grid positions, however as the weather deteriorated and the afternoon wore on, all on track activities were cancelled leaving the Supersport competitors hanging to commence racing first thing tomorrow morning.
With both the Superbike and Supersport races being cancelled today teams and riders will now focus their attention on tomorrow morning where each class will feature in one race at the 2016 Michelin Australian Motorcycling Grand Prix at Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.
To stay up to date with the latest news from this weekend’s Moto GP event head to www.asbk.com.au, like the ASBK Facebook page and follow @ASBK on Instagram.
More, from a press release issued by DesmoSport Ducati:
HALLIDAY SIXTH ON FRIDAY IN DESMOSPORT DUCATI DEBUT AT PHILLIP ISLAND
A rain-soaked Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit saw DesmoSport Ducati’s new recruit Cru Halliday finish a conservative sixth position in race one of the national Superbike category at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix today.
Halliday was called in this week to replace team regular Mike Jones as he competes in MotoGP with Avintia Racing Ducati and made his first laps aboard the 1299 Panigale S on Friday morning, setting the seventh-fastest lap in practice before the more difficult conditions arrived.
The lone qualifying session this morning was held in increasingly wet conditions as Halliday worked his way to eighth on the grid. He went on to improve to sixth in the fully-wet first 10-lap encounter of the weekend this afternoon. Deteriorating weather resulted in race two being abandoned for Friday.
“Practice was damp at the beginning, but ended up being dry, which was good for my first time out,” Halliday said. “We made some changes for qualifying, but it ended up basically being rained out after a few laps, so I didn’t really get any decent laps and that put me eighth on the grid.
“The race was my first time in the wet and also the Pirelli tyres, so I just wanted to stay on it, improve my times lap after lap and bring it home for the DesmoSport Ducati team. That’s what I did, so I think we did a decent job, and with race two being cancelled we will hope for a better day in terms of the conditions tomorrow.”
It was also a positive start to the weekend for 22-year-old Queenslander Jones in his first home grand prix appearance, ending Friday’s running in 13th overall. This is just his second round riding with the Avintia Racing Ducati squad.