Jones and Elliott secure front spots on the grid

Local hero Mike Jones (Cube Racing Team) has left tongues wagging at Morgan Park in Queensland, blitzing the field in the Superbike Qualifying and Superpole sessions at the 2015 Yamaha Motor Finance ASBK Championship presented by Motul Pirelli.

Jones posted a Qualifying lap record at the venue of 1:15.368 to finish in the front spot on the grid ahead of Daniel Falzon (JD Racing) and Chas Hern (Chas Hern Racing)

In the Supersport class it was New South Welshman Brayden Elliott – needing only eight laps in the two, half-hour qualifying session to secure pole from Troy Guenther and Thyron Van Vuuren.

Both Jones and Elliott walked away with the Pirelli Superpole Awards for their efforts – a brand new pair of Pirelli tyres in the bank ahead of Sunday’s racing action.

YAMAHA MOTORCYCLE FINANCE SUPERBIKE CLASS

On the fourth lap of the opening qualifying session, Jones smoked around in a 1:16.134 – his fastest time for the weekend to again highlight his favouritism this round.

Falzon also produced his quickest time for the event on his sixth lap of the session, and while that was enough to have him in second place of all the riders, his 1:17.341 was still a second slower than Jones.

Phil Lovett (Cessnock Motorcycles) clocked a 1:18.304 on his sixth lap to finish the session as the third fastest rider, while James Mutton (Brisbane Motorcycles) and Ryan Hampton (Next Gen Motorsports) rounded out the top five.

In the second qualifying session it was again Jones who lead the way – recording the fastest time for the session despite only completing two laps.

Falzon chose not to partake in the second session in a bid to protect his gear for Superpole, while Lovett improved on his opening lapt times to finish the session in second.

Hern, Hampton and Mutton rounded out the top five and together with Falzon, all six riders made it through to the top-10 Superpole hitout.

Ben Henry (Cube Racing Team), Victorian Phillip Czaj, Joseph Salter and Adam Senior all progressed through to the Superpole.

YAMAHA SUPERSPORT CLASS

In the opening Supersport qualifying session it was a flying lap from New South Wales rider Elliott that stole the show.

Elliott only put in three laps during the 30-minute session, and his 1:17.351 third lap was enough to hand him top honours for the session.

Fellow New South Welshman Kane Burns finished the session with the second fastest time registering a 1:17.904, while local rider Guenther finished in third.

Chris Quinn (Coopers Pale Ale Yamaha) finished .001 of a second behind in fourth.

In the second qualifying session it was Guenther who posted the fastest time – clocking a 1:17.569 which was still not enough to topple Elliott’s earlier time but landed him second on the grid.

Van Vuuren and Burns also beat their best times for the day in the second qualifying session, elevating themselves to third and fourth overall respectively.

It left Quinn to settle in fifth spot and Sam Lambert (Sam Lambert Racing) to round out the second row of the grid ahead of Sunday’s racing.

HONDA MOTO3 / 125GP CLASS

The opening qualifying session for Moto3 / 125GP saw a continued dominance of the top-three leaders from Friday’s practice sessions.

Callum Barker (K1 Racing) again was the fastest rider in the class, clocking a 1:22.625 – slightly slower than his best time in practice session number three yesterday.

Victorian rider Matt Barton (ETS Race Fuels) proved that he will be very stiff competition at Morgan Park – his 1:22.845 handing him second spot for the session.

Barker’s K1 Racing teammate Brian Houghton claimed third for the session, just .102 of a second behind Barton, while Queenslanders Benjamin Leonard and Locky Taylor rounded out the top-five.

The second Moto3 / 125GP got off to a slow start as an early red flag was produced with Daniel Wilson and Sarah Fairbrother crashing at the opening turn.

When the session recommenced, it was again Barker who lead the way with the local rider breaking the 1:22-mark with a 1:21.772.

Leonard grabbed the second fastest time of the session with a slightly quicker time than Barton, while Houghton has to settle for fourth and Tayla Relph coming in fifth.

It left Barker to start from the font of the grid with Leonard and Barton on the front row as well, with Houghton, Taylor and Relph qualifying on the second row.

In the opening Moto 3 / 125GP race for the round, Barker took full advantage from his pole position, to cruise into an early race lead.

Barton moved behind before Houghton passed him for second spot on lap to of the race – Houghton clocking a 1:22.682 and looking good.

But on lap three, Barton edged his way back into second and look to chase down Barker who was in full control up front.

Behind the top three riders were Leonard and Relph and the top five stayed in those positions until the penultimate lap of the race when the unthinkable happened.

Barton, who had posted his fastest lap for the race two laps prior, came off his bike and was forced out of the race – pushing Houghton into second and Leonard into third.

That’s where they finished with Taylor and Relph rounding out the top-five.

There are two more races in the Moto3 / 125GP class to take place on Sunday.

For a full list of results from ever session head to www.computime.com.au or check out the results section of the ASBK website (www.asbk.com.au).