Bryan Staring earns ASBK rostrum in the top end
Kawasaki BCperformance’s Bryan Staring has charged to an impressive podium at Hidden Valley Raceway’s fourth round of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship in Darwin.
Qualifying third was a promising start for the Western Australian, who converted the ultra-quick time into a strong podium performance in Sunday’s opening encounter, where he piloted his Ninja ZX-10R to third following a restart – just 0.690s from the top spot.
Bryan Staring – Hidden Valley ASBK 2018 – Image by Foremost Media
It was a confidence-inspiring ride that provided a boost for race two, where Staring latched onto the leaders and capitalised in the closing stages for second, granting him third overall while promoting him closer to the top five in the championship standings.
“I’m happy, but not 100 percent satisfied mainly because I wasn’t able to battle in the race,” Staring declared. “I had the pace, but I was a bit of a sitting duck and couldn’t do much. Overall, I scored a third and a second, so that’s a pretty good weekend. The rear tyre was new this weekend and our consistency over the sessions showed that’s what we needed and showed we could be strong, so we look forward to the next one now.”
Bryan Staring – Hidden Valley ASBK 2018 – Image by Foremost Media
Fellow Kawasaki BCperformance Superbike contender Kyle Buckley wound up 10th overall after lodging a respectable 11-11 scorecard. A positive feeling from Thursday’s free practice injected the number 83 with confidence, resulting in a top 10 ranking for the weekend.
“It’s what I’ve been working towards all year,” Buckley explained. “After last year, this season has been really tough for me, but to have that feeling and confidence in the bike from Thursday was really nice. I was able to do pretty well in qualifying and carry that into the races. I was 11th in both races, although the second race I got caught up in another rider’s mistake early, so I worked hard to try and get back up towards the front. I’m pretty happy with the weekend.”
Kyle Buckley – Hidden Valley ASBK 2018 – Image by Foremost Media
Kawasaki BCperformance team owner Kelvin Reilly was pleased with the efforts from the team, commending the improvements made across the board.
“It was an improvement over the last couple of rounds, that’s for sure,” said Reilly. “We started to show our true pace and the Dunlop tyre that was brought in this weekend made a huge difference. Overall I’m happy with a second and a third, but we didn’t have quite that pace to match the two Troys. I’m very pleased with how Bryan rode and I’m happy with Kyle’s performance. It was an outstanding effort and he showed he can really ride Superbike this weekend, so we’ll work to push him further.”
BCperformance Junior Team’s Giuseppe Scarcella pushed through a mixed weekend aboard his Ninja ZX-6R in the Kawasaki Supersport category, claiming sixth in race one before a DNF in race two called for a premature end to his weekend. Benny Baker qualified 10th in Supersport 300 and scored P11 in race one, but was a non-finisher in Sunday’s races.
Giuseppe Scarcella – Hidden Valley ASBK 2018 – Image by Foremost Media
Swann Insurance Kawasaki rider Matt Walters overcame adversity in the opening stages of the weekend to display promising pace come Sunday. Walters was 12th in race after recovering from an early mistake, while contact with another rider in the second outing resulted in a fall and subsequent DNF.
“We overcame some issues from Thursday, but we managed to get the bike together on Friday,” Walters commented. “I didn’t have much of a chance to set-up the bike as we had to run the bike in during practice, but we were good enough for 10th in qualifying. We were strong, but we just didn’t show in the races. I was lucky not be hurt in my race two crash, but I’ll head to Morgan Park with a good attitude knowing I have good pace.”
GSR Kawasaki team’s Glenn Scott made his anticipated return to the ASBK series aboard a Ninja ZX-10R, qualifying 12th and then going 10-13 for 11th overall. It was a promising performance that bodes well for a strong second half of the season.
Tom Toparis – Hidden Valley ASBK 2018 – Image by Foremost Media
Additional Kawasaki rider Tom Toparis experienced a successful weekend, landing on the podium in the Kawasaki Supersport category. His 2-3 race results credited him third overall, which sees him maintain second in the standings.
Round five of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championship will take place at Morgan Park in Queensland on 17-19 August. Visit www.asbk.com.au for further information on the series.
