In Quotebook, a selection of riders detail how their races played out at round three of the 2023 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Queensland Raceway.

Superbike

Image: Foremost Media.

Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) – First:
We’ve finally ticked all the boxes, we had raw speed, we had consistency, we had race craft, and we halved the gap in the championship battle. Oh man, I can’t believe we’re leaving round three on top! The whole team is just working so well, I’ve made a big step forward and so has the team. The bike is working well and I’m really putting the final pieces of the puzzle together and this felt like old times to me. I can confidently say I’m back! Yeah, it was great to win a race last year but this is validation, we were fast all weekend and it was so much fun! I’m also really happy for Honda, race two was my 100th ASBK Superbike race start on a Honda, and I was able to win that and race one as well. It’s been a long journey with Honda, all my success has been with Honda and I feel like we are in a position where we might be able to win another championship with Honda this year if we can keep pushing the way we are.

Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) – Second:
I gave it everything I had and I’m sure that Troy and Cru will say the same, coming here as a rider, you know you are going to be in for some intense racing and that is what today produced. Clearly, I would have loved to have got the win in both races so that’s a little disappointing, but I know I left everything I had on the track so I leave the weekend with my head held high. The team did a great job and we turned what was a bit of an average start to the weekend into a positive rebound on race day. Thanks to all my friends and family who came out over the weekend to watch me race, the support is awesome and I hope they enjoyed their day at ASBK.

Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team) – Third:
I had never started from the front row or finished on the podium in an ASBK event at QR, so it was good to tick those boxes on the weekend and continue my good run of results. My start in race one let me down as once I got a clear track, I was able to make time on Troy and Mike, but it was just a bit too little, too late. Then in race two, I had to find my way around Josh Waters who was riding well and has been around a long time. Once I got around him, the gap to the front pair was just too big although I gave it a go and tried to hunt them down. I have worked hard this year and the team have my back. The DNF in the first race of the championship has hurt me, but I’m going to keep swinging to the very last race of the season as I feel my bike and my riding is as good as it’s ever been and I’m motivated more than ever to get some race and round wins before the year is out.

Glenn Allerton (GT Racing Team BMW) – Fifth:
I have mixed emotions about how the weekend went. If we look at the sector splits we were actually very strong, although our result in fifth position is not what I wanted. We did show sheer pace in the race. We have to get on top of our rear grip issues, especially towards the end of the race. I do believe we have what it takes to win the race. We just have not been able to get the bike setting correct so far. Thank you to all our sponsors and we look forward to Round four of the series in Sunny Darwin, in conjunction with the V8 Supercars at the Hidden Valley circuit June 17-18.

Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) – 11th:
We had a strong start to weekend getting faster in each session as we made changes to the bike. In qualifying, I thought we could be a little stronger than eighth, but in the end, I was only 0.687 from the pole time, and I had confidence in our race pace. In race one, I lost some track positions in the opening stages and had to work hard to gain them back again. I had a small problem with a fuel tank vent in the later stages of the race that saw me give up some of that track position and bring it home eighth. With the second race, it was a simple mistake, and I dropped the bike and was forced to bring it to the pits so the team could patch it up and get me back out on track for some points. I’m frustrated that we didn’t get a better result here this weekend, and I feel lucky that we actually gained a position in the championship.

Ted Collins (Livson Racing BMW) – Seventh:
Some good steps were made this weekend and plenty of things that collectively we can leave happy about. We made some big improvements in our one-lap pace, taking home our best qualifying to date and closing the gap to the front runners. In race one, we again showed strong pace to bring home P7 which saw us bring home a good bag of points. While in race two we got off to a good start, we made a small mistake that saw us drop right back to 12 in the opening few laps. While I gave it all I could to reel in the guys in front, we had to settle for P8, which was a great comeback. A massive thank you to the Livson Racing crew, these guys put in so much work in the lead-up to and throughout a race weekend to always give me the best possible set up. And of course, the sponsors who make all of this happen!

Max Stauffer (GTR MotoStars Yamaha) – Sixth:
Round three is done and dusted and I’m really happy with how we ended up, P6 in both races and by far the closest I’ve been to the race leader at the end of a race. We will continue to keep working and bridge the gap even more.

Supersport

Image: Foremost Media.

Aiden Wagner (Stop & Seal Racing) – 13th:

It was great to be back at the track and racing again. If I’m honest, it wasn’t the results I expected this weekend, but then, we came into the weekend with very little experience on the new bike. We had some teething issues, headed in the wrong direction with bike setup in free practice, and really only started finding our feet in qualifying itself. Some of these young kids are setting a fast pace at the front, faster than I even expected, but it’s great to see the talent pool so strong. I’ll take the time now to work on my fitness while Robbie [Bolger] and I chat about the next step in the Stop and Seal race program. I can’t thank Robbie, Pacey, and everyone else who helped me over the weekend enough to get back on track again. I loved being back competing, and I can’t wait to line up on the grid again.