2018

Bayliss Blasts into Pole Position at Hidden Valley

Troy Bayliss (Desmosport Ducati, Ducati 1299 FE) has smashed the lap record at Hidden Valley Raceway at Round 4 of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK). The result sending fans into a frenzy throughout the world!

Bayliss’s lap of 1:05.601 hands him the inaugural Elite Roads Superbike Pole Position award, awarding the Ducati rider not just pole position but also $500. The veteran handled the Darwin sun with no problems and has given himself the best chance to take out his first ASBK race win tomorrow. The majority of the best times were set in qualifying one, including Bayliss’ lap.

The three time WorldSBK Champion was thrilled with his efforts and is feeling the best he has on the bike; “The team at DesmoSport Ducati have had a great weekend and we have made some great progress, and I am feeling great on the bike, the best I have all year. I am really enjoying my time back in ASBK and I just want to continue on and do a good job for our team and sponsors tomorrow,” finished Bayliss.

YMI Superbike Championship leader, Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR1000SP) will start from second position after registering a 1:05.871 late in the second qualifying session. Herfoss found some serious speed towards the back end of Q2 and will be right in the mix for tomorrow races.

Bryan Staring (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-10R) was pipped late in qualifying session two and will start from third position with his time of 1:06.088. This is the best position on the grid Staring has managed in season 2018, giving the Kawasaki rider a good chance of picking up his second win of the season.

Another rider who found speed late in qualifying session two was Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) clocking a 1:06.514, putting him in fourth position.

Rounding out the top five was the defending YMI Superbike champion Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R100R) with a time of 1:06.890. Waters will be a threat tomorrow after making significant improvement from practice on Friday.

Daniel Falzon (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1M) will start from sixth position after his lap of 1:06.376. Leading the way for the privateers was Jamie Stauffer (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R) who finished in seventh, after putting together a 1:06.429.

The stage is set for tomorrow’s YMI Superbike races, can Bayliss grab his first ASBK victory? Or will it be Herfoss to extend his points lead and put his stamp on the championship?

Tune in from 11:05am for race one, and then race two will be coming to you from 1:35pm.

YMI Superbike Qualifying Provisional Results
1. Troy BAYLISS (Desmosport Ducati, Ducati 1299 FE) 1:05.601
2. Troy HERFOSS (Penrite Honda Racing, Honda CBR RR SP) 1:05.871
3. Bryan STARING (Kawasaki BCperformance, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:06.088
4. Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:06.249
5. Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-RR) 1:06.300
6. Daniel FALZON (Yamaha Racing Team, Yamaha YZF-R1M) 1:06.376
7. Jamie STAUFFER (Craig McMartin Racing, Ducati Panigale R) 1:06.429
8. Glenn ALLERTON (NextGen Motorsports, BMW S RR) 1:06.603
9. Mark CHIODO (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, Suzuki GSX-RR) 1:06.640
10. Matt WALTERS (Swann Insurance Superbike, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:07.069

Tomorrow is race day for Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway and its sure to be a thriller with five different classes battling it out for supremacy! Make sure to attend or check out the coverage on SBS, Foxsports or ASBK Livestream.

ASBK is pleased to announce the arrival of the digitalised Official ASBK Round 4 Program.

The program can be found on the website ASBK.COM.AU.

Public access to the digital ASBK Program will feature many interesting and informative sections including; rider entry lists, race schedules, previous round wrap ups, championship points standings, track information, biographies, getting started in racing information, partnership information, race pictures and so much more.

Grab your tickets for Round 4 here and if you can’t make it to Darwin, don’t forget you can catch all the action live on SBS, Fox Sports and via the ASBK livestream at asbk.com.auand on ASBK’s Facebook.

2018 ASBK Calendar
Round 4- Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT June 29 – 1 July
Round 5- Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD August 17 – 19
Round 6- Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC September 7 – 9
Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14

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Photos courtesy of Andrew Gosling tbg sport