Tom Toparis Sets the Benchmark Ahead of Phillip Island Barnstormer
Day One of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) was off to a fast start for practice sessions of the Motul Supersport class. The Spokes.com.au presents Round 7 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit delivered plenty of excitment for day one.
With Ted Collins (NextGen Motorsports) having already taken out the Motul Supersport Championship at the previous round at SMSP. There is still plenty of intrigue to see who can claim victories on Sunday. Second place in the championship is still up for grabs between Mason Coote (Aark Racing,Yamaha YZF-R6) and Tom Toparis (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R), with only 28 points separating the two. With no time to waste, the riders quickly got to business in their first outing of three in total, at 9:45 AM.
Toparis was the man of the day on his Kawasaki in Practice Two, lapping the famous Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit with a blistering 1:35.648, almost a full 1.67s faster than his nearest rival Mark Chiodo (Repsol Gas Racing, Triumph 675 R) posting a 1:37.313.
With Toparis on the verge of his debut in the Moto 3 World Championship next week, it’s clear that Toparis is concentrating on the task at hand for this weekend’s racing.
It would be Coote to complete the top three. Second in the championship Coote, had a quickest time of 1:38.149.
Ryan Taylor (RTR, Yamaha YZF-R6) and Sam Condon (Bikebiz, Yamaha YZF-R6) have ground to make up to challenge the quickest times set at the front. Tayor and Condon’s respective times were a 1:38.354 and 1:38.494.
Qualifying sessions for the Motul Supersport class are at 9:45 AM and 13:30 PM tomorrow.
Provisional Top Ten Motul Supersport Friday Practice Times
1 Tom TOPARIS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki ZX-6R) 1:35.648
2 Mark CHIODO (Repsol Gas Racing, Triumph 675 R) 1:37.313
3 Mason COOTE (Aark Racing,Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.149
4 Ryan TAYLOR (RTR, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.354
5 Sam CONDON (Bikebiz, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.494
6 Chris QUINN (Coopers HXR Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.581
7 Rhys BELLING (LXI Racing, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.795
8 Aidan HAYES (Hayes Johnston Pty Ltd, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:38.906
9 Jordan CARLSSON (Dave’s Smash Repairs, Yamaha YZF-R6) 1:39.544
10 Mitch REES (Tony Rees Motorcycles, Honda CBR 600) 1:39.565
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ASBK is live on SBS and Live Streaming
Fans will be treated to plenty of action on and off the track next weekend, however for the fans who can’t be at Phillip Island, the ASBK has provided them with the best opportunity to stay up to speed with everything happening on October 8.
From 9:30 am AEST the ASBK will be broadcast LIVE to everyone in the world via the ASBK website. Capturing the live racing moments, exclusive interviews with past and present champions and so much more, the Live Stream is not to be missed.
ASBK will be telecast on free to air channels SBS (from 1:00 PM AEDST) and SBS VICELAND (from 2:00 PM) on Sunday October 8.
Start planning your journey to ‘the Island’ for the Spokes.com.au presents Round 7 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC on 6th- 8th October 2017.
As always, 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.
Photo Credit: Andrew Gosling I tbgsport
Picture 1: Top Toparis
Picture 2: Mark Chiodo
