Image: Keith Muir.

Superbike rider Wayne Maxwell (Team Motul Honda) and Supersport pilot Aaron Morris (Maxima Yamaha) claimed qualifying honours at round five of the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship in New South Wales.

Both riders will begin racing in their respective classes from the front of the grid after they posted the fastest qualifying times at Wakefield Park. Perfect conditions in Goulburn allowed the riders a great platform to get the most out of their four practice sessions, before qualifying got underway.

In the opening Superbike practice session of the day, it was Team Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss who clocked the fastest time – recording a 1m00.141 during his 11 laps out on the circuit.

Next Gen Motorsport rider Glenn Allerton and Maxwell each posted top-three times as all of the riders took advantage of the track time to put laps into their machines.

In the second practice session it was Allerton recording a 59.358s to post the fastest time, with the top-nine riders all posting times that broke the one-minute barrier.

The pace stepped up a level in the third practice session, where Maxwell, Allerton and Herfoss all broke the 59-second mark – Maxwell recording the fastest lap time with a 58.722s.

In the fourth and final practice session, five riders broke through the 59-second barrier, with Maaxwell again recording the fastest time with a 58.508s.

Qualifying was broken up by several red flag incidents, and heading into the second break in the session it was YRT Yamaha rider Cru Halliday looking the goods with a 58.911s.

But as the bikes returned for the final few laps, he was soon overtaken, first by Team Honda Racing’s Jamie Stauffer and then by Allerton. But Maxwell saved his best for last, clocking an exhilarating 58.362s to take pole leading into the weekend despite breaking his collarbone and undergoing surgery since round four.

Series leader Morris made his intentions clear in the first Supersport practice session recording the fastest lap time with a 1m02.379. That time was less than half a second faster that Allsite Concrete Cutting’s Callum Spriggs, and a further full second ahead of Mitchell Blair (Yamaha).

It was the same trio setting the pace in the same order in the second practice session, with Morris’ 1m01.932 shaving nearly half a second off his best time in the opening session.

Morris again brought that down in the third practice session, recording a 1m01.043 – one and a half seconds ahead of title challenger Aiden Wagner (Wagner Soil Testing). Times were a bit slower in the final session with Spriggs only completing three laps, and Morris deciding to sit the session out.

In qualifying it was Morris again with the speed, posting his fastest time of the day with a 1m01.028 to take top spot on the grid for the weekend. Wagner’s fastest lap was a mere 0.378s of a second behind landing him second spot, while Spriggs rounded out the top three.

In the Formula Oz class, Paul Byrne (LTR Honda) looked as though he was going to post the fastest time in practice with a 1m00.012 on his seventh lap in the fourth session of the day.

But seconds after recording that quick time, Brayden Carr (Fastway Couriers) smashed the one minute barrier to come through in 59.738s and take the quickest time. Minutes later Byrne clocked a 1m00.006, setting the scene for an exciting qualifying session.

In qualifying, three riders managed to post sub-minute laps, but it was NextGen Motorsports’ Ben Nicolson who set tongues wagging with a 59.658s. Byrne almost mirrored that; his fastest lap just 0.028s of a second slower to claim second spot on the grid, while Carr posted a 59.838s for third.

He left his best for the last practice session, but Noise Guard Racing’s Brandon Demmery posted the quickest practice time with a 1m09.924 on the last lap of the session.

Queenslander Kyle Buckley (BCperformance Motogo) had the second fastest time in practice with a 1m10.571 in session three. Demmery continued the fast pace in qualifying, with an even quicker 1:09.323 handing him top spot on the front row for the weekend.

Buckley was nearly half a second slower in posting the second fastest time, while Kawasaki Motors Finance rider Rennie Scaysbrook – representing CycleOnline.com.au this weekend – finished the session third fastest.

Angus Reekie (KTM Racing) posted the fastest practice lap time of 1m01.069 in the third session of the day before an unfortunate incident saw him write off his bike.

Reekie handed in his transponder, and is out of action at round five – meaning his previous unblemished record this year in the class, together with his huge series points lead will take a battering. His nearest rival in the series, Adrian Pierpoint recorded the fastest qualifying time with a 1m06.075.

In the Pro-Twins class, Michael McMillan (McMillan Criminal Law) notched up a 1m01.372 in the second practice session to record the fastest practice lap time. He carried that form into qualifying; his 1m01.898 giving him pole ahead of James Arnold (The Little Red Grape).

2014 YMF-Loan FX-Superbike Championship
Round five – Wakefield Park, NSW

Superbike qualifying results:
1. Wayne MAXWELL 58.362s
2. Glenn ALLERTON 58.667s
3. Jamie STAUFFER 58.792s
4. Cru HALLIDAY 58.911s
5. Troy HERFOSS 58.953s
6. Robert BUGDEN 59.111s
7. Paul BYRNE 59.402s
8. Mike JONES 59.429s
9. Josh HOOK 59.511s
10. Glenn SCOTT 59.545s

Supersport qualifying results:
1. Aaron MORRIS 1m01.028
2. Aiden WAGNER 1m01.398
3. Callum SPRIGGS 1m02.124
4. Michael BLAIR 1m02.175
5. Luke MITCHELL 1m02.260
6. Jay PRESEPIO 1m02.358
7. William DAVIDSON 1m02.538
8. Cambridge OLIVIER 1m02.576
9. Thomas BRYDEN 1m03.041
10. Brayden ELLIOTT 1m03.180

Formula Oz qualifying results:
1. Ben NICOLSON 59.658s
2. Paul BYRNE 59.686s
3. Brayden CARR 59.838s
4. Chris TROUNSON 1m00.258
5. Phil LOVETT 1m00.367
6. Mathew HARDING 1m01.070
7. Jack FOX 1m01.433
8. Liam WILKINSON 1m01.513
9. Sophie LOVETT 1m01.696
10. Albie WHEELER 1m02.091

Ninja FX-300/250 Cup qualifying results:
1. Brandon DEMMERY 1m09.323
2. Kyle BUCKLEY 1m09.808
3. Rennie SCAYSBROOK 1m10.005
4. Bailie PERRITON 1m10.551
5. Phillip BURKE 1m10.761
6. Ben WHITE 1m10.904
7. Damian SUTTON 1m11.343
8. Jack DAWES 1m11.750
9. Di JONES 1m11.810
10. Sophie LOVETT 1m12.042

Nakedbike/Pro-Twins qualifying results:
1. Michael McMILLAN (P1) 1m01.898
2. James ARNOLD (P1) 1m02.256
3. Simon GALLOWAY (P1) 1m02.476
4. Mario GONZALEZ (P1) 1m04.303
5. Kris KEEN (P1) 1m05.570
6. Mick JOHNSTON (P2) 1m05.711
7. Adrian PIERPOINT (N1) 1m06.075
8. Stephen HOPPER (P1) 1m06.626
9. Richard DRAPER (N2) 1m07.928
10. Grant BARRATT-THOMPSON (P1) 1m08.784

eFXC qualifying results:
1. Jason MORRIS 1m11.749
2. Daniel RIPPERTON 1m12.910
3. Danny POTTAGE 1m14.089
4. David HILEY 1m20.561
5. Mario PIN

Click here for detailed results