Link International press release:

Wins in the Superbike, Supersport, Supersport 300 and R3 Cup categories at Morgan Park’s fifth round of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli marked yet another dominant round for Pirelli in Queensland.

Warwick, 27 August 2017 – Pirelli-equipped riders reigned supreme at Morgan Park’s fifth round of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli in Queensland.

In the premier Superbike category it was Yamaha Racing Team’s Wayne Maxwell who captured the overall round victory aboard his factory Yamaha YZF-R1M, using a consistent 1-2 result during Sunday’s two-race format.

As a result of his round victory, Maxwell also made the move into the top spot in the championship chase, now leading the Superbike standings by five points over defending champion Troy Herfoss.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Josh Waters was third overall at Morgan Park after claiming a pair of fourth-place finishes on a chaotic day of racing to continue his strong form on from his recent 1-1 sweep at Hidden Valley last time out.

Crankt Protein Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss qualified just outside of pole and went on to set a new lap record of 1m13.317s on lap five of race one, before crashing his CBR1000RR SP2 out of the race moments later.

Herfoss returned in race two where he would lead almost half of the race distance and eventually finish third, gaining valuable championship points and logging a 10th place finish overall for the round.

DesmoSport Ducati newcomer Corey Turner impressed in the Superbike class by taking his second-consecutive fourth-place finish – including second in the opening encounter – followed by Yamaha Racing Team’s Glenn Allerton in fifth, as he continues to recover from an arm injury.

Pirelli Superbike racers opted to go with both the Diablo Superbike 120/70R17 SC1 and SC2 front tyre options at Morgan Park, with racers choosing between the models to suit their preferences.

At the rear, all three homologated SC0, SC1 and SCX (SU0794) options were used, but it was the Diablo Superbike 200/60R17 SC0 and SCX (SU0794) offerings that proved most popular during Sunday’s racing, with the SC0 the preferred option during qualifying.

In the Supersport division it was series leader Ted Collins who rode his Pirelli-supported Next Gen Motorsports Suzuki to the front of the field in both races to claim an impressive overall victory in Queensland.

Victorian talent Collins took top honours ahead of the Yamaha-mounted Mason Coote, who carded a 5-2 race scorecard to secure the runner-up spot and make it a 1-2 affair in class for Pirelli.

Pirelli-equipped Cube Racing rider Tom Toparis also placed himself at the front of the Supersport field throughout the weekend. He qualified in fourth and went on to score second in race one, but was a non-finisher in race two and wound up 12th overall.

Although all homologated options were used, it was the Diablo Supercorsa 120/70ZR17 SC1 and SC2 options up front and the Diablo Supercorsa 180/60ZR17 SC1 and 190/60ZR17 SCX (SU1148) rears that were most popular throughout the weekend in the Supersport ranks.

The Supersport 300 category saw Reid Battye claim the Up To 300 round victory ahead of Lachlan Epis and Drew Sells. Top qualifier Oli Bayliss was fifth overall after taking second in race one, crashing out of race two and winning the final race of the weekend.

The Over 300s would see Tommy Edwards take the top spot followed by Zac Levy and Billy Van Eerde. Van Eerde was also awarded Pirelli’s ‘Rider of the Round Award’ through Motorcycling Australia (MA).

In the R3 Cup class it was Jack Mahaffy who swept all three races to capture the overall victory ahead of Edwards in second and Hunter Ford in third to round out the overall podium for round five.

“ASBK round five at Morgan Park provided another strong performance from Pirelli competitors, again dominating the Superbike, 600 and 300 Supersport classes,” said Pirelli product manager Garry Crilly. “With race and overall round wins in all three premier classes, we now travel south to Sydney Motorsport Park for the penultimate round in two weeks’ time.”

Round six of the 2017 Australian Superbike Championship will be contested at Sydney Motorsport Park in New South Wales on 8-10 September. Pirelli Motorcycle Tyres are imported and distributed exclusively in Australia by Link International. Visit www.linkint.com.au for additional information.