Chiodo Triumphs’ Supersport Practice at Sydney Motorsport Park
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. Sydney Motorsport Park provided plenty of intrigue as Mark Chiodo (Repsol Gas Racing, Triumph Daytona 675R) topped the day’s practice sessions.
With Ted Collins (NextGen Motorsports, Suzuki GSX-R600) enjoying a handy 68-point lead in the Championship, his rivals got down to business in favourable conditions, trying to find an optimal setup for their machines in order to take the fight to the points standings leader.
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, riders quickly got to business in their first outing of three in total, at 9:20am.
Chiodo was the man of the day on his Triumph in Practice Two, lapping SMSP with a blistering 1:34.674. Sam Muldoon (ProWorx Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R) was second with his 1:35.034. Muldoon only .024 of a second faster than his nearest rival, Aaron Morris (Maxima Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R6). Morris confidently posting a 1:35.058 to complete the top three ahead of tomorrow morning’s Motul Supersport qualifying session.
The fastest speed recorded through the trap on the SMSP straight was 252kph, set by Chris Quinn (Coopers HXR Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R6).
It was Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R) in fourth with a 1:35.081, but there was almost nothing in it for Sam Condon (BikeBiz, Yamaha YZF-R6), Collins and Quinn, all nipping at each other’s heels, with only a fraction of a second separating the trio placing fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Qualifying One (Q1) for the Motul Supersport Championship is scheduled for 9:50 AM local time on Saturday, with Q2 due to take place at 1:15 PM.
Provisional Top Ten Motul Supersport Friday Practice Times
1. Mark Chiodo (Repsol Gas Racing, Triumph 675 R) 1:34.674
2. Sam MULDOON (Proworx Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R) 1:35.034
3. Aaron Morris (Maxima Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:35.058
4. Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:35.081
5. Sam Condon(Bikebiz, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:35.598
6. Ted Collins (NextGen Motorsports, Suzuki GSX-R600) 1:35.624
7. Chris Quinn (Coopers HXR Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:35.685
8. Mason Coote (Aark Racing,Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:36.002
9. Nic Liminton (Race Center, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:36.583
10.Cambridge OLIVIER (Sydney West Riders, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:36.753
To access the digital program, simply click on the photo below. If you wish to download the program to take it on the go, sign up and create an ISSUU account.
Follow Us: Keep up with regular trackside updates via the ASBK Facebook and Instagram pages as well as being broadcast via Live Stream on (9:30am AEST) and telecast on free to air channel SBS (from 1:00 PM AEST) on Sunday 10 September.
2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul Pirelli Calendar:
Round 6 SMSP 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
Mark Chiodo at SMSP 2017
