Staring completes a sweep of Superbikes at The Bend

Bryan Staring has lept into the lead of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) with a clean-sweep of all three races at The Bend Motorsport Park for Round 3 during International MotoFest, alongside Round 2 of the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).

Staring had the edge over his opponents in managing tyre wear on the grippy Bend Motorsport Park surface, showing fantastic pace late in all three races to pick up the full 75 championship points. His win in Race 1 of the Asia Road Racing Championship for Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team means that Staring claimed four races from a possible five across the two series, in a brilliant weekend for the West Australian.

Bryan Staring – Image by Foremost Media

“Even with the advantage that we had in the Dunlop tyres, I still didn’t expect to have a weekend like this,” Staring beamed. “A huge thanks to the Kawasaki BCperformance team, everybody at Kawasaki Motors Australia and also to Dunlop – how your fortunes can change!”

“We’re ecstatic with this result achieved with the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR and Dunlop tyres,” Kawasaki BCperformance team manager Kelvin Reilly said. “All credit to Bryan, he rode absolutely superbly all weekend and didn’t put a foot wrong – he got the job done. And to have Lachlan in the top 10 twice, unbelievable!”

Bryan Staring and the BCPerformance Kawasaki team celebrate – Image by Foremost Media

Australian Supersport’s Tom Toparis and Nic Liminton fought for top spot today, with Toparis finishing first in Race 2 and Liminton taking the victory in Race 3. Over in the YMI Supersport 300 class, Olly Simpson remained untouchable in Race 2, but retired early in Race 3, leaving Hunter Ford to take home the gold. Special mention also goes to Tayla Relph, who has been awarded the AGV Extreme Standards Award.

Kawasaki Superbikes Race 2

As the field got away Arthur Sissis catapulted his way into second place from 11th on the grid behind Wayne Maxwell and Daniel Falzon completing the front group. Alex Phillis also had a great getaway from thirteenth and made it to third.

Bryan Staring – Image by TBG Sport

Maxwell looked to build up a lead early ahead of Cru Halliday with Staring then working his way to the front of the chasing pack. Over the line for the first time was Maxwell from Halliday, Staring, Phillis, Falzon and Josh Waters.

On lap three Staring lost out to Falzon when he backed it into turn one and ran wide, letting Falzon through into third. Lap four and the top nine riders started to reconvene at the front with Maxwell and Halliday, getting reeled in by the chasing Falzon and Staring, with Waters and Phillis behind.

Staring had caught Halliday and Maxwell by lap five and was starting to have a few gentle looks up the inside of Halliday. Halliday looked to his left along the main straight to try and spot Staring behind him, who slid to Halliday’s right side and snuck past almost completely unnoticed. Halfway round the lap, Staring past Maxwell as well and had already built up a second’s worth of lead by the time they crossed the start/finish again.

Bryan Staring – Image by Foremost Media

Further down the pack, Mike Jones began joining the leaders, taking Maxwell down the inside into turn 10 to slide into second, commencing his pursuit of Staring. Staring held the lead to the finish, ahead of Jones, Maxwell, Halliday, Waters, and Troy Herfoss.

Kawasaki Superbike Race 2

Bryan STARING (WA) 19:07.448
Mike JONES (QLD) +7.908
Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) +8.111
Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) +10.233
Josh WATERS (VIC) +11.527

Kawasaki Superbikes Race 3

Maxwell got a cracking start to get the holeshot into turn one but as the field came through turn two, Falzon crashed off the circuit into a cloud of dust, marking a sad end to a promising weekend. Jones forced his way past Maxwell at turn 10 which caused Maxwell to have to stand the bike up and give Jones first place. Over the line it was Jones, Maxwell, Phillis, Chiodo, and waterW, with Cru Halliday in sixth.

Bryan Staring – Image by TBG Sport

Lap three and Maxwell was looking for a way past Jones at the front, as the two tried to create a gap between themselves and Mark Chiodo who was having another superb run early in third. Maxwell was setting fastest laps in pursuit of the Panigale, finally making it past into turn one on lap four.

Glenn Scott – Image by Foremost Media

Weekend hero Staring remained down in sixth behind Waters and Halliday, with Chiodo looking for a way into second past Jones. Chiodo backed it into turn 17 a little too hard, and in the end made a good effort to gather it all up before he hit Jones to run off into the relative safety of the grass. He resumed behind Alex Phillis down in ninth.

Five laps to go and Staring was hitting his straps, passing Jones on the outside of turn 10 and steaming past Waters for second place. Staring was setting 1:53s to his opponents’ 1:54’s, and with four to go Staring capitalised on a Maxwell mistake on the exit of the last corner to lead the race.

Bryan Staring

Staring’s opponents fought amongst themselves for second place, with defending ASBK champ Herfoss looking particularly good late in the race as he tried to force Halliday off the podium and claim third spot. He had a go up the inside into turn six but went in too hot and let Halliday back through when he ran wide. Bryan Staring cruised over the line to take his fourth victory in two classes for the weekend, with Maxwell, Halliday, Herfoss, Jones and Waters behind.

“Four from five!” exclaimed Staring on the podium. “Broc (Parkes) got the better of me in one of the ARRC races earlier today, but I’m so happy for how my weekend went.”

Kawasaki Superbike Race 3 Result

Bryan STARING (WA) 19:09.532
Wayne MAXWELL (VIC) +4.559
Cru HALLIDAY (NSW) +5.903
Troy HERFOSS (QLD) +6.913
Mike JONES (QLD) +7.830

Bryan Staring – Image by Foremost Media

Kawasaki Superbike Standings

Bryan STARING 150
Cru HALLIDAY 149
Michael JONES 140
Troy HERFOSS 132
Josh WATERS 126
Wayne MAXWELL 113
Daniel FALZON 95
Glenn SCOTT 90
Matt WALTERS 87
Mark CHIODO 79

Asia Superbike Race 2

Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN’s Broc Parkes has taken out a thrilling battle in Race 2 for the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) at The Bend Motorsport Park, ahead of fellow Australian and Race 1 winner Bryan Staring.

Broc Parkes

After an action-packed start where Staring fired straight into the lead from second spot on the grid and Parkes dropped to fourth, the two Aussies found themselves in first and second places by half distance with Staring attempting a lights-to-flag victory.

A fantastic battle in the closing laps saw Parkes slide past Staring to take the lead, with Parkes’ Yamaha teammate Yuki Ito setting fastest laps in pursuit. Staring made a half-hearted move to try and make his way past Parkes, but didn’t commit and in so doing ruined his chances as Parkes took the win.

Australian wildcards Stephanie Redman and Yannis Shaw both finished in the points, with Shaw in 11th and an injured Redman with a gutsy finish in 12th.

Broc Parkes – Asia Superbike – Images by TBG Sport

Broc Parkes saying, “After yesterday I was a little bit disappointed, even though it was second and good for the championship we had to go back and do our study a little bit. It was my first race here and I actually punished the tyre so badly in the start yesterday. So today I just decided to sit back and wait, and when the time came I pushed. When I got on the front I had a couple of moments. But in general I’m very happy, first win in the ARRC.”

Bryan Staring – Image by Cori Mitchell

Bryan Staring adding, “It’s been a fantastic weekend! I can’t be too disappointed coming second to Broc. I’m just disappointed in the last lap where I only half committed to some moves that could have put me back in first. A big thanks to Broc for a great race and the Kawasaki Thailand Racing Team for having me this weekend. It’s been a really enjoyable weekend of racing! Overall the ARRC Championship seems strong. I would love to compete with them in Asia to see the ARRC competitors compete on home ground where they’re probably more comfortable. It would be an honour to compete for a whole season in that Championship, so maybe one day that happens. You never know!”

Stephanie Redman sharing, “We were pretty happy to make it onto the grid today after the injuries we had yesterday. I was really happy to be out there and I’m glad we avoided that accident. I put in some good laps at the start of the session when my shoulder was good, and for the remainder of the day I just tried to be consistent, not get lapped and finish. It’s been a great experience. I really recommend that anyone have a crack at it, you’ve got to be really well prepared but the help we’ve had in the paddock was more than we could have expected. We as a team have learnt a lot and come away from this weekend with a heap of experience.”

Asia Superbike Race 2 Result Top 5

Broc PARKES (AUS) 22:54.902
Bryan STARING (AUS) +0.456
Yuki ITO (JPN) +1.855
Md Zaqhwan ZAIDI (MAS) +10.513
Azlan Shah KAMARUZAMAN (MAS) + 11.661

Australian Supersport Race 2 & 3

After tasting gold yesterday, Toparis surged ahead early into Race 2 of the Australian Supersport class. Fighting hard to deplete the distance between himself and Toparis, Nic Liminton became a demon behind the handlebars, screaming across The Bend Motorsport Park’s 18 turns.

Australian Supersport Start – Image by TBG Sport

After eight laps though, Liminton finished in second behind Toparis, with just over a six second separation between them. Rounding out the podium in third was Reid Battye. Scoring the fastest lap for Race 2 was Toparis with a time of 1:56.320.

Coming into Race 3, Liminton clearly had a fire in his belly that couldn’t be quenched. As the Australian Supersport class surged into the first corner, Liminton was quick to put the pressure on Toparis, with Battye close behind. Filling out the leading pack was Broc Pearson, and Avalon Biddle who has cemented her arrival to the ASBK paddock, proving that her speed and skill is a fantastic introduction to the class.

Nic Liminton – Image by TBG Sport

Up until the final lap, Toparis appeared to be a shoo-in for the win, continuing his undefeated reign. As the final straight neared though, the dark horse, Liminton, stole the show and set hearts racing as he scored his first win of the 2019 season! Toparis settled for second, with Battye clinching the final podium position for a consecutive race.

Breathless, like all his spectators, Liminton stated “I knew I could stay with him. We did another risk with the rear tyre and it worked perfectly! I couldn’t be happier! It’s a massive thanks to the team for getting me to this position!”

The fastest lap time for Race 3 was clocked in by Toparis, with a time of 1:56.736.

Australian Supersport Race 2

Tom TOPARIS (NSW) 15:43.582
Nic LIMINTON (SA) +6.144
Reid BATTYE (NSW) +6.695
Broc PEARSON (QLD) +7.776
Dallas SKEER (SA) +15.150

Australian Supersport Race 3

Nic LIMINTON (SA) 15:41.585
Tom TOPARIS (NSW) +0.649
Reid BATTYE (NSW) +4.658
Broc PEARSON (QLD) +5.014
Avalon BIDDLE (NZ) +10.586

Australian Supersport Round Podium – Image by TBG Sport

Australian Supersport Standings

Tom TOPARIS 198
Nic LIMINTON 157
Broc PEARSON 141
Oliver BAYLISS 128
Reid BATTYE 127

YMI Supersport 300 Race 2 & 3

Following on from a highly successful Saturday, Simpson took up pole position for Race 2 of the YMI Supersport 300 class. Deemed untouchable and riding a top his unforgettable experiences at the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Simpson took the lead right from the first straight, but he was quickly thrown into a tango as he weaved and bobbed with Seth Crump, Senna Aguis and Ford.

Olly Simpson – Image by TBG Sport

After seven thrilling laps, Simpson reclaimed his lead, finishing first ahead of Ford and Agius and second and third. After Race 2, Agius clocked in the fastest lap time for his class, with a time of 2:09.872.

As the siren called for Race 3, Simpson once again sat in prime position, locked and loaded to close off the final race of the weekend in first place. As the highly competitive pack dove into turn one, Locky Taylor, Agius and Zac Levy clashed together, bringing out the red flag. As the riders returned to the start line and tyres cooled, Simpson remained an iron first on his campaign to victory.

Across the six laps, Simpson, Crump and Ford danced with one another, rivalling ballroom dancers as they used each others slipstreams to their advantage. In lap four, Simpson retired due to mechanical issues, leaving the race wide-open for anyone’s taking. As Crump proved once again that he is a demon behind the brakes, Yanni Shaw brought a gasp from The Bend’s spectators as he landed in second after originally commencing today in 12th.

Navigating The Bend’s undulating turns where speed and confidence are vital to success, Race 3 of the YMI Supersport 300 class saw Ford come out victorious, ahead of Brandon Demmery and Harry Khouri. Not far behind the podium holders was Shaw and Crump and fourth and fifth respectively.

Coming in for first, Ford stated, “It was a pretty bad start to the weekend but I finished it on a real high note. I can’t thank my sponsors enough for getting me out there and helping me continue racing.”

Savouring the sweet taste of a podium finish, second place holder Demmery explained, “My last podium was back in 2016 and I’ve been through a difficult few years since. The Rustic Flooring Yamaha R3 Team worked so hard all weekend and I’m so grateful for everything they do.
“I’m stoked to be back up here on the podium! It’s been way too long!”

Demmery also clocked in the fastest lap time for Race 3, with a 2:09.873.