Image: Foremost Media.

A scorching opening day at Hidden Valley saw Yamaha Racing Team’s Mike Jones emerge on top in free practice, with the top five separated by just over two-tenths as the fourth round of the 2023 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) commenced in Darwin.

Three riders topped each of the three sessions today, with Jones’ benchmark of a 1m05.324s seeing him just 0.044s clear of FP1 pace-setter and championship leader Josh Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati).

Fastest in FP2, Penrite Honda Racing’s Troy Herfoss concluded the opening day at Hidden Valley third on the timesheets, notably suffering a heavy high side in the second session that brought out the red flags. He was able to slowly get to his feet and continue in FP3.

A solid day from GT Racing’s Glenn Allerton saw him in the mix and fourth overall, posting a 1m05.515s, as Cru Halliday completed the top five despite a fall at turn 14 in the final session.

Marking his first ride back on the R1 since breaking his wrist testing at Queensland Raceway, Unitech Racing’s Arthur Sissis was sixth quickest with a 1m05.803s, as Bryan Staring (MotoGo Yamaha), Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati), Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha) and Max Stauffer (GTR MotoStars Yamaha) completed the top 10.

11th was Ted Collins (Livson Racing BMW), who suffered a fall at the start of FP2 which brought out the red flags, but he was able to quickly walk away from the incident and complete the day setting his best lap in FP3.

Detailed results