Yamaha’s Maxwell takes first ASBK pole for 2016

Another sunny afternoon at Phillip Island saw competitors of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli, go head to head for the first and only qualifying session for Round 1 of the ASBK.

The Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Superbike Class qualifying got off to a halted start with the session red flagged due to a crash, forcing a restart. When the Superbikes returned to the track, Team Yamaha’s Wayne Maxwell claimed pole position leading the pack with a lap time of 1:33.102.

“To claim the first pole of the 2016 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship it fantastic for myself and the guys at Team Yamaha,” he said.

“At the start there was a lot of traffic around. When I came in at the red flag I noticed Troy (Herfoss) was just in front of me, we made a small change to the bike and went back out – luckily I was able to get a bit of a clear lap and was just be able to pip Troy for the first pole position of the year.

“I am really happy to start off the year competitive. It’s pretty difficult to come to this race track with no testing, not having ridden the race bike since December last year, and to come here and claim pole is pretty cool.”

Maxwell’s pole position wasn’t without competition, as Craknt Protein Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss fought through traffic to claim a close second with a 1:33.198 lap time, while world Superbike wildcard competitor, and defending ASBK Champion DesmoSport Ducati’s’ Mike Jones concluded the session taking third position on tomorrow’s grid with a 1:33.288.

With a strong pack leading the Australian Supersport field, it was young Troy Guenther who came in strong to claim pole position with a 1:37.569.

“It feels really good to claim the first pole position for the ASBK Championship. The team from Edge Performance and Graffiti Alley Racing have put in a lot of effort behind the scenes to get the bike to this stage for Round 1,”

“I am feeling quite good for the race tomorrow, the bike set up is good on the Yamaha and I really just can’t wait!

“I positioned myself quite well thanks to the team and we managed to have a fair bit of clear track, which really helped. The Pirelli tyres are holding up really good considering the conditions that Phillip Island is throwing at us this weekend and I have no doubt they’ll be able to do the same tomorrow in the race.”

Mark Chiodo on his Repsol Triumph Machine was hot on Guenther’s tail with a 1:37.872 fast lap, which secured him second position on the Supersport grid. Claiming third qualifying position ahead of racing tomorrow was Kyle Buckley with a 1:38.039.

In the Moto 3/125GP category, Suus Customs Matt Barton swept through the field pulling together an impressive lap time of 1:44.844 walking away from the session with pole position. Locky Taylor was just shy of Barton’s pace, finishing in second with a best session time of 1:45.168. Brian Houghton, fastest in both practice sessions yesterday and today, finished qualifying with a 1:45.442 lap, and secured third position on the Moto 3/125GP grid for tomorrow.

Period 5/6 were the final category to qualify this afternoon, with Dean Oughtred, taking pole position (1:41.709) improving on his lap time from this morning’s practice session. However Oughtred’s pole wasn’t won without pressure – Marty Craggill finishing in second with a 1:42.219 lap, while Craig Ditchburn concluded the final qualifying session of the day in third (1:42.489).

To keep up to date with all the latest results from this weekend, follow ASBK on Facebook or head to www.asbk.com.au.

You can also click the link below to see the full ASBK Qualifying results from this afternoon.
http://www.computime.com.au/meetings/index.aspx?MeetID=2016/WSBK/

Image – Andrew Gosling/tbgphoto