Waters Charges Late For YMI Superbike Pole Position

With the stage set for a close qualifying session, there was plenty of anticipation to see who would secure pole position for the YMI Superbike class at Sydney Motorsport Park. Josh Waters (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R) after performing a blistering lap time will start tomorrow’s races from first on the grid for the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK).  

After only missing out on yesterday’s fastest practice time to Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1), it was no shock to see the Suzuki rider on Pole Position. Waters set his fastest time very late in Qualifying Two, to secure the best seat in the house for tomorrow’s two Superbike races.

The greatest challenger to Water’s pole position was Maxwell who posted a 1:30.458. Waters answered Maxwell’s challenge and went one better with a 1:30.197. This marks Water’s first YMI Superbike Pole Position for 2017.

Yamaha Racing Team’s Glenn Allerton (YZF-R1) made a very welcome return to the front row in third place. The front row showing his constant physical improvement, after sustaining injuries throughout the year. Allerton posted a time of 1:30.765.

Fourth and fifth positions were secured by Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team duo Bryan Starting (CBR1000SP2) and Troy Herfoss (CBR1000SP2). Staring managing to out qualify the 2016 YMI Superbike Champion. Incredibly, only .001s would separate the two teammates.

Cru Halliday (Yamaha Finance, YZF-R1), Daniel Falzon (JD Racing, YZF-R1) and Corey Tuner (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale) finished further back in 6th, 7th and 8th positions.

Third in the championship Robert Bugden (Kawasaki BCperformance, ZX-10R) has yet to find his rhythm around SMSP, despite being the current Superbike record holder for the track. Bugden qualified in 11th place.

With only a second covering the top nine, tomorrow’s YMI Superbike Races 11:00 AM and 1:50 PM AEST, won’t be one to miss.

Quotes from the Riders 
Josh Waters: “That was our first Pole of 2017 ! I’m really happy! Huge thanks to the team. Tomorrow will be a challenge but we have taken a different approach this weekend and hopefully it will pay off. We still have some improvement to make in the first sector in the track. If we can up our pace there in will hold us in good stead tomorrow.”

Wayne Maxwell: “We’re happy with P2 and its great to have two Yamaha’s on the front row. Congratulations to Josh (Waters) on his pole position. The bike was really strong today and hopefully we can try and find extra pace in tomorrow’s warm up session.”

Glenn Allerton: “It’s an amazing feeling to be back on the front row. It’s been a roller coaster of a year with several injuries and I’m not 100 percent fit yet. However, I feel that when I’m back to peak fitness, I’m really confident I can challenge for wins again. All that hard work has paid off.”

Top Ten YMI Superbike Provisional Saturday Qualifying  Results
1 Josh WATERS (Team Suzuki ECSTAR, GSX-R1000R) 1:30.197
2 Wayne MAXWELL (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1) 1:30.458
3 Glenn ALLERTON (Yamaha Racing Team, YZF-R1) 1:30.765
4 Bryan STARING (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team, CBR1000SP2) 1:30.830
5 Troy HERFOSS (Crankt Protein Honda Racing Team, CBR1000SP2) 1:30.831
6 Cru HALLIDAY (Yamaha Finance, YZF-R1) 1:30.886
7 Daniel FALZON (JD Racing, YZF-R1) 1:30.909
8 Corey TURNER (Desmosport Ducati, 1299 Panigale) 1:31.055
9 Matt WALTERS (Kawasaki Australia, Kawasaki ZX-10R) 1:31.187
10 Josh HOOK (Bell Helmets, Ducati Panigale R) 1:31.366

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2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul Pirelli Calendar:
Round 6                                           SMSP Eastern Creek,        NSW  8-10 September  
Round 7    Spokes.com.au presents Phillip Island Circuit,    VIC 6-8  October

Photos Courtesy of Andrew Gosling TBG Photography
Photo One: Josh Waters SMSP
Photo Two: Wayne Maxwell SMSP
Photo Three: Josh Waters, Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton SMSP