Cru Halliday rockets his way to the top of the Official ASBK Test
Day two of the Official ASBK Winton Motor Raceway Test, part of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli, continued the brilliant weather conditions and rapid lap times of the previous day.
Cru Halliday (Yamaha Finance, Yamaha YZF-R1) finished off the day in style with the fastest lap of the Official ASBK Test. With the quickest lap time under his belt, Halliday will be looking to take advantage of his pace and back it up at the Spokes.com.au presents Round 3 at Winton Motor Raceway.
With a top of 23 degrees and limited wind, the conditions were optimal for fast lap times. Riders took advantage of the weather and a favourable track to blast previous lap records set.
As the next round is fast approaching, riders and teams will need to assess all the data from the test for a competitive weekend at the Spokes.com.au presents Round 3 at Winton Motor Raceway April 28-30.
Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike
The rider of the day award would have to go to Cru Halliday, who posted the fastest time of 1:20.770 for the Official ASBK Test. The Yamaha rider loves Winton Motor Raceway, and is confident heading into the next round. Halliday mentioned yesterday, that although topping test sessions is helpful, he would have to back it up on race day.
“We have got the CHR Yamaha YZF-R1M tuned pretty well. There are still some little grey areas we need to fix up. I believe the next race will come down to tyre choice. Its good to top the time sheets again, however It will be a whole different ball game when the race weekend comes around.”
Closest to Halliday was Daniel Falzon (JD Racing, Yamaha YZF-R1), who pushed hard to take the fight to the top of the timesheets. With a championship lead to defend, this Official ASBK Test will be a welcome boost to his chances at the upcoming round.
Troy Herfoss (Crankt Protein Honda Racing, CBR-1000SP) also completed a successful day two of the test by coming third overall. After not being able to match the Yamaha’s speed yesterday, Herfoss found extra pace on the last day to finish in the top three.
Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1) and Bryan Staring (Crankt Protein Honda Racing, CBR-1000SP) finished fourth and fifth overall respectively.
Fastest Overall Times:
Cru HALLIDAY: 1:20.770
Daniel FALZON: 1:20.944
Troy HERFOSS: 1:21.018
Motul Australian Supersport
There was no greater show of track dominance in an Official ASBK Test, than what Ted Collins (Saint Unbreakable, Suzuki GSXR-600) displayed on both days. Collins topped every session except the last, to make it a Collins clean sweep. The rider even sat out the last session, satisfied in completing his objectives. With Ted Collins showing such electric pace, he will look towards the next Round to attempt to solidify and build on his championship lead.
In second position, Mark Chiodo (Repsol, Triumph, 675R) posted a very respectable time to keep Collins honest. Although Collins was well on top for the test, Chiodo may be able to mount a challenge after an impressive test, which saw him build to a stronger position on the second day.
Chris Quinn (Coopers HXR Yamaha, YZF-R6) completed the top three overall times. Quinn set his fastest time in the second session of the day.
Fastest Overall Times:
Ted COLLINS: 1:24.040
Mark CHIODO: 1:24.328
Chris QUINN: 1:24.622
Hi-Tec Batteries Australian Supersport 300 / YMF R3 Cup
Fastest overall was Drew Sells (Race Center, Kawasaki Ninja 300) for the Under 300’s class. Sells noting that the conditions were perfect at the track. His fastest lap, a 1:33.207 was posted on the second session of the day. Sells later crashed, injuring his wrist later in the day, which prevented him taking a place in the last session.
Up next was Oliver Bayliss (Kawasaki Ninja 300), who continued his impressive progression from yesterday to finish second overall for the Under 300’s class. Bayliss is certainly showing improvement and will be looking to further establish himself at the next round.
Max Croker (KTM Australia, RC 390) finished as the fastest Over 300’s rider and third in the timesheets. Croker is still adapting to the RC 390 but is pleased with his progression and will be looking for a podium at next round.
Fastest Overall Times:
Over 300’s:
Max CROKER: 1:33.597
Jack PASSFIELD: 1:34.833
Dan THOMAS: 1:36.242
Under 300’s:
Drew SELLS: 1:33.207
Oliver BAYLISS: 1:33.557
Scott NICHOLSON: 1:33.861
Spokes.com.au presents Round 3 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli at Winton Motor Raceway 28-30 April.
2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul Pirelli Calendar:
Round 3 Spokes.com.au presents Winton Motor Raceway, VIC 28-30 April
Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway, NT 7-9 July
Round 5 Morgan Park Raceway, QLD 25-27 August
Round 6 SMSP Eastern Creek, NSW 8-10 September
Round 7 Spokes.com.au presents Phillip Island Circuit, VIC 6-8 October
Stay up to date with all the latest news and updates from the ASBK by liking ASBK on Facebook, following the @asbk on Instagram and checking out the ASBK website here.
ASBK Live Timing can be accessed on asbk.com.au via the live timing tab.
Photos courtesy Russell Colvin
