Follow the 2022 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) with direct updates from round two of the season at Queensland Raceway through Racefeed.

Image: Foremost Media.

Supersport race one:
Winning the opening race of the weekend in Supersport was Tom Edwards, the pole-setter successfully converting from P1 on the grid to victory lane, but it didn’t come easy. It was initially John Lytras who led the opening six laps, before Edwards took control of a four-rider train at the front and went on to win the 14-lap encounter by 3.170s – setting a new lap record of 1m11.110s in the process. Behind him, Scott Nicholson (Yamaha) impressed in P2 after edging Lytras to the line, while Olly Simpson (Yamaha) overcame a 10-second jump-start penalty to salvage fourth position. The top five was filled by Ty Lynch (Yamaha), followed by Tom Drane (Yamaha), Mitch Kuhne (Yamaha), the returning Troy Guenther (Yamaha), Chris Quinn (Yamaha) and Rhys Belling (Yamaha). Both Tom Bramich (Yamaha) and Dallas Skeer (Yamaha) crashed out of contention, while Jack Hyde (Yamaha) exited after going off-track himself.

Superbike race one:
It was a commanding first win of the year for Mike Jones, riding to a 5.670s advantage following 16 laps to signal that he will be in contention for a third-career crown this season. After claiming pole position on Saturday with the Yamaha Racing Team, Jones made his way into P1 by lap three by early leader Bryan Staring (DesmoSport Ducati). Things calmed from there until Staring crashed out of second on lap 10 at the final turn, remounting and falling again as he attempted to get back on track – the former points-leader eventually crossing the line in 17th position. He did, however, earn a new lap record of 1m07.861s on lap six. That allowed Jones to sprint away to victory from defending champion Maxwell, with Josh Waters getting the better of Maxima BMW teammate Glenn Allerton for the final place on the podium. Fifth was the end result for Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) after having to recover from a slow start, well ahead of Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing), who in turn was comfortably in front of Arthur Sissis (Unitech Racing Yamaha). Positions eight through 10 included Anthony West (MotoGo Yamaha), Aiden Wagner (Addicted To Track Yamaha) and Mark Chiodo (Yamaha). From the rear of the grid and after missing qualifying yesterday, the newly-married Daniel Falzon (JD Racing Yamaha) recovered for 11th, while notable non-finishers included Jed Metcher (727 Moto Yamaha) as he crashed out, with Kawasaki Connections’ Matt Walters retiring from the race in the early laps.

Supersport race two:
Race two of the day in the Supersport class saw Edwards kept honest until the final laps when he managed to stretch an advantage and complete the double for the weekend. His final winning margin came in at 1.489s ahead of Lytras, who improved by one place this afternoon, and it was Simpson who was third after factoring in the battle for victory during the early stages. Nicholson climbed to fourth by race’s end after getting the better of Bramich, as Drane, Lynch, Kuhne, Guenther and Belling were the top 10. The overall for the round this weekend was Edwards on a perfect 51 points, with Lytras and Nicholson also on the podium overall. In terms of the championship standings, Edwards has overcome his DNF at the opener to take over at the top, two points up on Simpson, with Lytras a further nine makers back in third.

Superbike race two:
If race one appeared ‘easy’ for Jones, this afternoon’s second 16-lap encounter appeared a walk in the park as he stormed away to complete a perfect weekend and win by 4.182s. The Jones/R1M combination was too strong on Sunday from the front of the grid, this afternoon comfortably ahead of previous points-leader Staring, with Maxwell limiting the damage at a track he’s not fond of for P3. It was a near-podium for Sissis this time out in fourth, a second clear of Waters, again ahead of teammate Allerton. The top 10 in race two was Herfoss, West, Wagner and Chiodo, with Falzon once again taking 11th. The round podium was made up of Jones, perfect on 51 points by virtue of pole and both victories, ahead of Maxwell and Waters, while in the series it’s now Jones who leads by a commanding 16 points over Staring, with Waters third and Maxwell right there in fourth as he bids for another crown.