News 19 Oct 2018

Pirelli completes ASBK Championship domination at Phillip Island

Link International press release:

Pirelli has taken victory in all four regular categories of the 2018 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli, as Tom Bramich (Supersport 300) and Hunter Ford (R3 Cup) collected their respective titles at Phillip Island’s final round to join Troy Herfoss (Superbike) and Cru Halliday (Supersport) as this year’s series champions.

Phillip Island, 19 October 2018 – DesmoSport Ducati’s Troy Bayliss emerged victorious in the seventh and final round of the 2018 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli at Phillip Island in Victoria, going 3-1 in the premier Superbike class to deliver a special result in his return to full-time competition this year.

With the championship already won by Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) at Winton’s penultimate round last month, Bayliss stormed to victory in the last round of the year in a popular performance for the 49-year-old triple world champion.

It was Yamaha Racing Team’s Wayne Maxwell who took pole position with a new circuit best lap of 1m32.096s around the high-speed 4.445-kilometre grand prix circuit on Saturday, however come Sunday the opening 12-lap encounter was taken out by Josh Waters (Team Suzuki Ecstar) ahead of Maxwell and Bayliss in a thrilling affair. The second race saw Waters crash out of the lead on the final lap, enabling Bayliss to edge to victory as Maxwell was close behind in third.

Overall for the round it was Bayliss who stood in the middle of the rostrum for the first time in 2018, topping Maxwell and Waters, who remounted to cross the line seventh in race two. In the championship, Herfoss – who finished eighth at the final round after experiencing his share of bad luck – was the champion over Maxwell and Bayliss. The latter also managed a new race lap record of 1m32.194s in race one, eclipsing the previous benchmark set by Maxwell almost a full decade ago in 2009.

Pirelli-equipped Matt Walters (Swann Insurance Kawasaki) was top privateer this season, as Arthur Sissis (SA Demolition & Salvage Honda) ultimately scored rookie of the year honours. The preferred Pirelli tyre selection in the Superbike ranks on race day was the Diablo Superbike 120/70R17 SV0952 front and Diablo Superbike 200/60R17 SV0965 rear. The SC0 (R331) rear was the more common option in qualifying.

In Supersport a new winner emerged in Damon Rees (Honda) after he recorded a consistent 3-3 scorecard, ahead of Callum Spriggs (Yamaha) and Max Croker (Mladin Racing Suzuki). Race one was won by Halliday, while series runner-up Tom Toparis (Cube Racing Kawasaki) was untouched in race two after Halliday crashed out of contention while leading.

Halliday had already won the championship with a round to spare however, from Toparis and exceptional rookie talent Croker. The most popular tyre combinations in Supersport over the weekend were the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa 120/70ZR17 SC1 (R035) front, matched with the Diablo Supercorsa 190/60R17 SU1149 rear.

Bramich was crowned national Supersport 300 champion on his Yamaha YZF-R3, topping the round from Zac Levy (Yamaha) and Seth Crump (KTM). In the standings it was Bramich comfortably over Levy and Ford, who smashed the existing circuit best lap with a 1m47.696s in qualifying.

It was Ford who celebrated the R3 Cup title following another overall, trailed by Bramich and Locky Taylor for the weekend after all three shared the race wins. Taylor also registered a new best lap in qualifying at 1m48.910s, with Bramich landing the race lap record of 1m48.866s on Saturday afternoon. Pirelli racers in the 300 classes use Diablo Supercorsa 110/70ZR17 58W TL SC1 (U616) fronts and Diablo Supercorsa 140/70ZR17 66W TL SC2 (U617)/Diablo Supercorsa 150/60ZR17 66W TL SC2 (R037) rears.

“The Pirelli service team arrived at Victoria’s iconic Phillip Island Circuit for the final round of ASBK, with Pirelli already securing the 2018 Superbike and Supersport championships,” commented Pirelli product manager Garry Crilly. “The focus was to ensure the brand secured both the Supersport 300 championship and R3 Cup, which was achieved.

“Congratulations to 2018 Supersport 300 champion Tom Bramich and R3 Cup title winner Hunter Ford, along with already-crowned 2018 champions Troy Herfoss (Superbike) and Cru Haliday (Supersport) – Pirelli secured all four 2018 ASBK championships.

“For the event, Pirelli riders secured pole and race wins in all four classes, again proving the Pirelli Diablo Superbike and Diablo Supercorsa SC product is capable of performing at the highest level. We congratulate the 2018 champions and also wish to thank all competitors who chose Pirelli during the 2018 ASBK season.”

Pirelli Motorcycle Tyres are imported and distributed exclusively in Australia by Link International. Visit www.linkint.com.au for additional information.

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