Features 10 Aug 2022

Quotebook: 2022 ASBK Rd5 Morgan Park

Assorted racer comments following the fifth round of the season.

In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out in the fifth round of the 2022 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Morgan Park.

Superbike

Image: Foremost Media.

Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) – Seventh:
I just struggled all weekend. From the very first lap I was fighting the bike, not linking the track together and it really didn’t improve much all weekend. I was able to qualify well for P3, but when I fell in race one, I just lost some confidence and couldn’t regain my feel or composure so race two wasn’t great. Thanks to the team for working hard all weekend and I owe them one. I will be better at Phillip Island

Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) – Second:
I stand here now a bit frustrated as I wanted to win here today and felt that I put myself in a position to do it, only to let it slip away a bit. I’m not disappointed or disheartened as I gave it 100 percent all weekend and just came up a little short at the finish. Congrats to Wayne [Maxwell] on some great racing and his victory this weekend. But it’s back to work Monday and keep trying to improve. The team have been awesome all year and continue to work hard and produce a great bike. We have two rounds to go, and I am fully focused on riding well, giving myself the best opportunity to win races and finish the season strongly.

Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) – Fifth:
Another successful weekend for us, it wasn’t the points haul I got in Darwin but we made progress in other areas we were looking to make progress. It was nice to have the fastest lap of the race (race 2) and it was also good to lead a race for the first time since my accident. I feel like I’m making progress, as it was really hard coming into the weekend as I was physically struggling a lot at this track, the right side of my body was copping it a lot and I was lacking a lot of confidence going into the races but after race one I realised that not only is my body capable but also the other guys were struggling just as much as I was anyway. Moving onto the next round with more confidence and looking forward to getting back to Phillip Island because obviously when we left there for round one it was really early in the recovery period and I know I’ve made big steps forward now so I’m looking forward to it.

Glenn Allerton (Maxima BMW) – Sixth:
Going into the weekend we knew that we were up for a battle. We had limited testing time which wasn’t ideal but my confidence was high off the back of the Darwin round. Unfortunately, rain on Friday added to our lack of time to get a good set-up on the bumpy Morgan Park surface. We gave it our best shot, chasing setup during timed practice and qualifying P10 was not what we needed but we continued to work through it and progressively we made the bike better. Finishing P6 in race one and P7 in race two, gave me sixth overall for the weekend and a good points haul for the weekend has put me sixth in the championship. Really looking forward to Phillip Island and a personal favourite Tailem Bend in November!

Sloan Frost (Maxima BMW) – 12th:
I have a great relationship with Shane [Kinderis] so when I heard that Josh [Waters] wasn’t able to make it to Morgan Park, a throw-away comment quickly gained momentum and before we knew it Motorcycling NZ and ASBK were pulling strings to get my entry sorted and it was time to get on track. I have an enormous amount of respect and trust in Shane. We have had some great success together so I knew the bike would be top-notch, my only concern was my fitness, having not been in competition for over two years and just three weeks out from back surgery. Those of us who have had the privilege of seeing these works of art up close know it was an opportunity not to be missed so there wasn’t a moment’s hesitation. Sitting on the bike for the first time, the bike felt light with plenty of room to stretch out, which is great when you are 6.1″. We managed a total of three flying laps practice out of the three allocated sessions on Friday due to heavy rain which didn’t do much to calm my nerves! Initially, I found the bike was rigid and the power was very aggressive. Obviously, that set-up is great for someone that has come accustomed to the bike and is riding near the track record which wasn’t where I was. Overnight Shane was able to take my feedback and cross-reference the suspension data, brake pressure, throttle position, etc. to create more suitable throttle maps, wheelie and traction control maps depending on my position on track. The next morning the bike was a completely different animal –  essentially we dumbed the bike down to a point where it was docile so I could concentrate on going fast and once I gained confidence we had the ability to start ramping the settings back up in the electronics. As I sit here writing this I am still mind blown. We made a few minor adjustments throughout the qualifying and two races with a little preload, bar position and a tooth on the rear sprocket. My lap times continued to drop every session but the gruelling physical nature of the track and my conditioning were the only limiting factor. The sophistication of the BMW electronics and Shane’s ability to process and apply all that information are sublime. The bike, the team and the atmosphere were absolutely amazing all weekend. Let’s just say if I ever get the call up again, I will be ready!

Bryan Staring (DesmoSport Ducati) – Third:
You know, I keep finding myself leaving the track on Sunday night somewhat torn. This is the best season I’ve had since I returned from Europe. I was on the podium this weekend with great race speed, but I’m not satisfied with that. I believe I have the team, equipment, and ability to be winning races, so when that doesn’t happen, I’m disappointed, despite putting the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R on the podium again and retaining third in the championship. I struggled a little with rear grip in the final stages of race one, so we made some small adjustments to the bike, and I felt stronger in race two, which showed in my results. I have to admit, I was really impressed with Broc this weekend too. He’s clearly a talented rider and our series needs more younger riders joining the superbike field, so I’m actually really proud to work with a team that continues to give young riders a go.

Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) – Fourth:
I was confident heading into the weekend that I could do a good job and I guess really, I wanted to prove to myself first that I could race with the best riders in the country and that’s exactly what I did. With the rain on Friday, I didn’t get a lot more track time, so we worked on a few small things to make me more comfortable on the bike and I just concentrated on riding the bike from that point. I’ve only done a few practice starts on the Panigale V4 R, but I got off the line ok in both races and I felt pretty good with the pace early on, so in both races I just concentrated on moving forward and making smart passes over the 16 laps.

Supersport

Image: Foremost Media.

Scott Nicholson (Traction Control Motorsport) – Fourth:
A decent finish for the fourth round of the Australian Supersport Championship at Morgan Park Raceway with 4-5 result. We didn’t exactly set the time we wanted to in qualifying, however, I did have confidence we would have had slightly better pace come race time and we did, which is a credit to both the team and the Michelin tyres. Overall, it has been a good weekend for the Traction Control team and I. Finishing fourth overall for the round is not too bad. However, finishing on the podium would have been nicer. It sees us sitting in third place in the Australian Supersport Championship with 115-points on the board. Next up, we head back to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in November for the second last round, so I’m excited to see what we can do there. Thanks again to my sponsors for making this year possible. Let’s try and finish the year on a high note!

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