The official 2017 Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) test at Phillip Island on Monday was largely affected by rain during the morning sessions, but the country’s domestic best managed to get in a pair of dry timed sessions to cap off the afternoon, providing a brief snapshot of what we can expect at the opening round on 23-26 February alongside the World Superbikes. Here’s what we thought of the top five on the timesheets upon reflection.

Image: Keith Muir.

Rider: Michael Blair
Rating: 10/10
Reason: Few would have tipped Yamaha privateer Blair to be at the top of the charts when all was said and done, but that’s exactly what he did with a an impressive 1m33.197s laptime on his final lap of the day. His final stint in the dying moments of the day saw him record two particularly quick laps, well faster than he’d been earlier, and that was enough to confirm him quickest of all by 0.212s – a decent margin considering how tight the times were within the top seven.

Rider: Glenn Allerton
Rating: 9/10
Reason: Second was a satisfying way for last year’s Phillip Island round winner Allerton to wrap up Monday’s test. After spending plenty of time on the bike in the lead-up and quickly getting up to speed, the 36-year-old triple ASBK champion was consistently quick on Monday – reeling off eight 1m33s in the fourth session – and very near ended the day on top prior to Blair’s final surge. Still, he can be happy with the way things went and will definitely be in contention later this month once again.

Rider: Daniel Falzon
Rating: 8/10
Reason: JD Racing’s Falzon – also privateer Yamaha-mounted – impressed by setting the pace during the third session, which was the first dry running of the day. He was in the 1m33s pretty swiftly, improved further in the final outing and will now carry a good dose of confidence into the opening round. While the factories are always the favourites, this type of form from the likes of Blair and Falzon indicates they won’t have it all their own way in 2017.

Image: Keith Muir.

Rider: Wayne Maxwell
Rating: 7/10
Reason: Like Yamaha Racing Team partner Allerton, fellow class veteran Maxwell has had a strong off-season with a large amount of mileage on the R1M at varying tracks. A master of Phillip Island, Maxwell was in the mix with the fourth-fastest laptime and posted five laps in the 33s. When it counts at the opening round, expect the current circuit ‘best lap’ holder to get right down to business on the actual race weekend.

Rider: Troy Herfoss
Rating: 7/10
Reason: Defending champion Herfoss is wearing the number one plate into the 2017 series, in which his Crankt Protein Honda Racing team is using last year’s CBR1000RR SP before the new model arrives. While they have a proven package, he was disappointed not to get more laps in at Phillip Island because of the weather, as many would have been at day’s end. Still, he was within reach of his main title rivals – Yamaha duo Allerton and Maxwell – and that will have him in an optimistic frame of mind going in.