![](https://www.asbk.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Toparis-ASBK-1200x600.jpg)
Toparis Tops Friday’s ASBK Motul Supersport Practice
Day one of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) was off to a cracking start for practice sessions of the Motul Supersport class. Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway provided plenty of blistering lap times and excellent track conditions as certain Supersport riders rose to the fore to record sensational lap times.
The Motul Supersport class is the ASBK’s middleweight sports bike class and traditionally, is the feeder class for the premier Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance (YMI) Superbike class.
With no time to waste, the riders quickly got to business in their first outing of three in total at 9:35am on a picture perfect Darwin day. Competitors quickly taking to the track to acquire valuable data for the critical weekend ahead.
Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R) was the man of the day on his Kawasaki in Practice Two, lapping the raceway with a blistering 1:09.055, almost a full two tenths of a second faster than the Supersport lap record at Hidden Valley and ahead of Mark Chiodo (Repsol Gas Racing, Triumph 675 R) posting a 1:09.347, Chiodo crashing out in session two. It would be Ted Collins (NextGen Motorsports, Suzuki GSX-R600) to round out the top three. Collins’ fastest lap was a 1:09.631.
There was almost nothing in it for New Zealand rider, Damon Rees (Tony Rees Motorcycles, Honda CBR600RR) who is clearly making the most of the long trip ‘across the ditch’, nipping at Collins’ heels posting a 1:09.743.
Chris Quinn (Coopers HXR, Yamaha YZF-R6) rounded out the top five with a 1:09.832.
Local man Sam Lambert (Addicted to Track, Yamaha YZF-R6) appears to be incredibly confident around Hidden Valley Raceway and will likely be a force to be reckoned with for tomorrow’s qualifying sessions, with the home track advantage.
Qualifying One (Q1) for the Motul Supersport Championship is scheduled for 9.50 AM (ACST) local time on Saturday, with Q2 due to take place at 1:40 PM (ACST).
Top Ten Motul Supersport Provisional Friday Practice Results
1 Tom TOPARIS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R) 1:09 .055
2 Mark CHIODO (Repsol Gas Racing, Triumph 675 R) 1:09.347
3 Ted COLLINS (NextGen Motorsports, Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:09.631
4 Damon REES ((Tony Rees Motorcycles, Honda CBR600RR) 1:09.743
5 Chris QUINN (Coopers HXR, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:09.832
6 Sam LAMBERT (Addicted to Track, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:09.906
7 Sam MULDOON (Proworx Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R) 1:09.966
8 Sam CONDON (Bikebiz, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.353
9 Cambridge OLIVIER (Sydney West Riders,Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.454
10 Nic LIMINTON (Race Center, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:10.538
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Can’t make it to the track? Then make sure you watch the ASBK, Sunday on channel SBS at 2:30 PM AEST or Live Stream on asbk.com.au from 10:30 AM AEST.
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2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul Pirelli Calendar: | |
Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway, NT | 7-9 July |
Round 5 Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick, QLD | 25-27 August |
Round 6 SMP Eastern Creek, NSW | 8-10 September |
Round 7 Spokes.com.au presents Phillip Island Circuit, VIC | 6-8 October |
Photos courtesy of Andrew Gosling TBG Photography
Photo 1: Tom Toparis at Hidden Valley Raceway 2017
Photo 2: Mark Chiodo at HIdden Valley Raceway 2017