Round six of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli at Sydney Motorsport Park provided plenty of the entertainment, with tight racing and surprise changes in the title hunt making for a good weekend of racing. CycleOnline.com.au breaks down the specifics from race day.

Superbike

Image: Keith Muir.

Pole position: Josh WATERS 1m30.197s

Race one results:
1. Josh WATERS
2. Troy HERFOSS
3. Wayne MAXWELL
4. Josh HOOK
5. Glenn ALLERTON
6. Daniel FALZON
7. Cru HALLIDAY
8. Robert BUGDEN
9. Michael BLAIR
10. Corey TURNER
11. Alex PHILLIS
12. Beau BEATON
13. Kyle BUCKLEY
14. Mitch LEVY
15. Matt WALTERS
16. Lachlan EPIS
17. Mathew HARDING
18. Sloan FROST
19. Troy GUENTHER
20. Brendan McINTYRE

Race time: 21m23.199s
Margin of victory: 2.660s
Laps completed: 14
Fastest lap: Josh WATERS 1m29.941s

Race two results:
1. Josh WATERS
2. Bryan STARING
3. Troy HERFOSS
4. Glenn ALLERTON
5. Robert BUGDEN
6. Cru HALLIDAY
7. Michael BLAIR
8. Corey TURNER
9. Josh HOOK
10. Alex PHILLIS
11. Beau BEATON
12. Mitch LEVY
13. Mathew HARDING
14. Kyle BUCKLEY
15. Sloan FROST
16. Troy GUENTHER
17. Brendan McINTYRE
18. Aiden COOTE
19. Daniel FALZON
20. Adam SENIOR

Race time: 21m21.335s
Margin of victory: 1.361s
Laps completed: 14
Fastest lap: Josh WATERS 1m29.992s

Overall results:
1. Josh WATERS 51
2. Troy HERFOSS 38
3. Glenn ALLERTON 33
4. Robert BUGDEN 29
5. Cru HALLIDAY 29
6. Josh HOOK 29
7. Michael BLAIR 26
8. Corey TURNER 24
9. Alex PHILLIS 21
10. Bryan STARING 20
11. Beau BEATON 19
12. Wayne MAXWELL 18
13. Daniel FALZON 17
14. Mitch LEVY 16
15. Kyle BUCKLEY 15
16. Mathew HARDING 12
17. Sloan FROST 9
18. Troy GUENTHER 7
19. Matt WALTERS 6
20. Brendan McINTYRE 5

Championship standings:
1. Troy HERFOSS 226
2. Josh WATERS 220
3. Wayne MAXWELL 211
4. Robert BUGDEN 201
5. Daniel FALZON 188
6. Cru HALLIDAY 183
7. Bryan STARING 151
8. Corey TURNER 138
9. Mitch LEVY 119
10. Michael BLAIR 114
11. Beau BEATON 111
12. Glenn ALLERTON 96
13. Troy GUENTHER 88
14. Josh HOOK 87
15. Kyle BUCKLEY 83
16. Alex PHILLIS 81
17. Matt WALTERS 81
18. Sloan FROST 50
19. Adam SENIOR 50
20. Callum SPRIGGS 39

Verdict:
Round six proved to be a pivotal round in the premier class championship, as Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Josh Waters claimed pole and two commanding race victories to position himself right in the title hunt. Defending champion and Crankt Protein Honda Racing rider Troy Herfoss regained the points lead after finishing runner-up, and now heads into the final round with a six-point buffer over Waters. Glenn Allerton (Yamaha Racing Team) made a welcomed return to the podium in third, as the top five was completed by Robbie Bugden (BCperformance Kawasaki) and Cru Halliday (Yamaha). Bryan Staring (Crankt Protein Honda Racing) displayed a strong performance in race two for second, although a mechanical DNF in race one denied him of a solid overall placing, while former championship leader Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team) was demoted from the top spot in the standing after crashing out of the second outing.

Supersport

Image: Keith Muir.

Pole position: Mark CHIODO 1m34.028s

Race one results:
1. Aaron MORRIS
2. Mark CHIODO
3. Mason COOTE
4. Sam CONDON
5. Tom TOPARIS
6. Ted COLLINS
7. Chris QUINN
8. Jordan CARLSSON
9. Jake PRUITI
10. Nic LIMINTON
11. Hayden SPINKS
12. Thomas BRYDEN
13. Aidan HAYES
14. Rhys BELLING
15. Cambridge OLIVIER
16. Simon REES
17. Mick HEFFERAN
18. Patrick LI
19. Mitch REES
20. Grant DAVIS

Race time: 18m57.592s
Margin of victory: 4.335s
Laps completed: 12
Fastest lap: Tom TOPARIS 1m33.669s

Race two results:
1. Mark CHIODO
2. Sam MULDOON
3. Mason COOTE
4. Chris QUINN
5. Ted COLLINS
6. Sam CONDON
7. Jordan CARLSSON
8. Nic LIMINTON
9. Thomas BRYDEN
10. Simon REES
11. Cambridge OLIVIER
12. Aidan HAYES
13. Rhys BELLING
14. Mitch REES
15. Mick HEFFERAN
16. Patrick LI
17. Ryan SELLEN
18. Grant DAVIS
19. Carl KITSON
20. Justin CASE

Race time: 19m01.927s
Margin of victory: 4.813s
Laps completed: 12
Fastest lap: Mark CHIODO 1m33.668s

Overall results:

1. Mark CHIODO 46
2. Mason COOTE 36
3. Sam CONDON 32
4. Chris QUINN 31
5. Ted COLLINS 31
6. Jordan CARLSSON 27
7. Aaron MORRIS 25
8. Nic LIMINTON 24
9. Thomas BRYDEN 21
10. Sam MULDOON 20
11. Aidan HAYES 17
12. Simon REES 16
13. Cambridge OLIVIER 16
14. Tom TOPARIS 16
15. Rhys BELLING 15
16. Jake PRUITI 12
17. Mick HEFFERAN 10
18. Hayden SPINKS 10
19. Mitch REES 9
20. Patrick LI 8

Championship standings:

1 Ted COLLINS 263
2 Mason COOTE 200
3 Tom TOPARIS 172
4 Sam CONDON 161.5
5 Mark CHIODO 153.5
6 Nic LIMINTON 151
7 Chris QUINN 150.5
8 Jordan CARLSSON 149.5
9 Sam MULDOON 128
10 Cambridge OLIVIER 115
11 Aidan HAYES 89
12 Damon REES 74
13 Jake PRUITI 73
14 Lincoln GILDING 69
15 Sam LAMBERT 67
16 Mick HEFFERAN 61
17 Ryan TAYLOR 61
18 Rhys BELLING 58.5
19 Patrick LI 45
20 Ben BURKE 41.5

Verdict:
Fifth overall for the day was all Next Gen Motorsports’ Ted Collins needed to seal the Supersport title, but it was Repsol Gas Honda’s Mark Chiodo who broke through to claim an overall victory after lodging 2-1 results. In second was Yamaha-mounted Mason Coote who had consistent 3-3 finishes, while Sam Condon (Yamaha) completed the podium in third. Chris Quinn (Yamaha) was fourth, as Collins closed out the top five. Race one winner Aaron Morris (Yamaha) looked in line for a strong finish, however he clashed with regular front-runner Tom Toparis (Cube Racing) in race, ultimately seeing the pair prematurely end their weekends.