Tom Toparis flies to achieve Pole Position
Goulburn’s Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R), claimed pole position in the Motul Australian Supersport category during Qualifying Two, part of Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK), Round Two Wakefield Park Raceway.
Toparis posted a time of 1:01.364 to edge out rival Mark Chiodo (Repsol Gas Racing, Triumph 675R) who missed out on pole by two and a half tenths of a second, with a time of 1:01.616. The pole position is the first of Toparis’ career in this championship.
The key to Toparis’ success in the qualifying session was the decision to change to slick tyres when the majority of the field were still on wets. This allowed Toparis to adapt to the conditions and set a blistering lap time to claim the pole time on lap 11 of 14.
“I’m happy to get my first pole in Supersport. It was a tricky situation with wet conditions in the beginning, I was lucky enough to make the right decision to get out on slicks and make a step ahead of everyone else to get the job done. Big thanks to Troy and all the boys at Cube Racing, I’m so happy to get it done in front of the home crowd, with all my friends and family supporting me, I’m stoked really.” Toparis said.
Chiodo came close to denying pole position to Toparis but is happy to achieve second on the grid, after an up and down session; “it definitely wasn’t easy, we made the right decisions but then I ran off and dropped the bike in the second qualifying. It wasn’t damaged too much but the brake was stuck on, so then I had to come back in to fix it. Then I got caught up with some slower riders on my fastest laps; luckily I put one in at the end to get second. Everyone is really close, it’s going to come down to who can the best in the end. We will see what the other riders do, we really want to get a top three or top five at least, and we don’t want to throw away any points.
The session was fairly tight between the top 10, being within a second of each other. Sam Muldoon (Proworx Racing, Kawasaki, ZX6R) claimed third position, with Ted Collins (Saint Unbreakable, Suzuki, GSXR 600) fourth and Nic Liminton (Race Center, Yamaha, YZF-R6) rounding out the top five.
Qualifying One registered interesting results in wet conditions as Giuseppe Scarcella (Scarcella Racing, Kawasaki ZX6R) finished top of the time sheets with a lap time of 1:14.923. Just behind Scarcella was Kiwi superstar Damon Rees, despite crashing out towards the finish of the qualifying session. Championship leader Mason Coote (Aark Racing, YZF-R6) managed P3 on the timesheets. Sam Condon (Bikebiz, YZF-R6) and Cambridge Oliver (Sydney West Riders, YZF-R6) rounded out the top five
Be sure to attend Wakefield Park Raceway on Sunday to see if Toparis can claim a victory for the home crowd to cheer about!
For more information on the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli, head to www.asbk.com.au or like the ASBK on Facebook for live race results and to keep up do date with all the latest racing news this coming weekend.
To watch ASBK action on free-to-air television, channel SBS 2pm-4pm AEDT or Live Stream asbk.com.au, 10am-5pm AEDT, tommorrow – this Sunday!
Live timing and results can be found here
2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul Pirelli Calendar:
Round 2 Wakefield Park Raceway, NSW 17-19 March
Round 3 Winton Motor Raceway, VIC 28-30 April
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 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.
Pictured: Toparis on the podium after achieving pole position.
ENDS
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