ASBK 2024
Round Seven – The Bend
Pirelli Superbike Race One
The opening race of the ASBK finale got underway in fine conditions at The Bend on Saturday afternoon, with the 31-degree track temperature the hottest it had been all weekend.
With the point that came with pole, Mike Jones started the nine-lap bout 25-points behind Josh Waters.
Troy Herfoss rounded out the front row after finally getting some decent laps in today after what had been a troubled run on Friday.
Arthur Sissis headed row two alongside a resurgent Anthony West and young Max Stauffer.
John Lytras has been impressive all weekend on what is one of the least well resourced entries on the grid. The young Queenslander heading the third row ahead of Broc Pearson and Cam Dunker.
Mike Jones got a good jump off the line but it was Josh Waters that catapulted into turn one already with a couple of bike lengths over the YRT man. Arthur Sissis third at this early juncture ahead of Troy Herfoss, Max Stauffer and Broc Pearson.
Jones pulled ground back on Waters over the second half of the opening lap and by the final turn was hot on the heels of the championship leader. Sissis third, Herfoss fourth. Further back Broc Pearson and Max Stauffer were cutting each other up while battling over fifth place, Anthony West and John Lytras then injected themselves into that battle.
Arthur Sissis the fastest man on lap two, a 1m51.125 to start inching closer to Mike Jones, and coming with him was Troy Herfoss!
Herfoss took third place from Sissis on lap three with a forceful but fair move and now we had a four-rider breakaway up front. Three-seconds further back West, Pearson and Stauffer were tussling over fifth place.
Troy Herfoss set a new fastest lap of the race to close right onto the tailpipe of Jones only to then tumble out of the race! And then there were three…
At half-race distance Waters led Jones by three-tenths and that pair had started to stretch away from Sissis. The two primary championship contenders going head to head for the win…
Mike Jones was now looking very good behind Waters. The YRT man seemed to perhaps be doing it a little easier than Waters, with more entry and mid-corner speed. If Jones finished behind Waters the gap between the pair would be 30-points heading into tomorrow, if Jones won the race the gap heading into Sunday’s final two bouts would be down to 20-points…
Jones continued to shadow Waters over the final laps, biding his time and not forcing the issue before he was ready to attack. A tenth separated the pair at the last lap board…
Mike Jones up the inside, runs a little wide, Waters back through, Jones up the inside again into the second last turn to take the lead, the YRT man does it… Jones the victor!
Arthur Sissis took the flag 3.8-seconds behind that pair to round out the podium.
1. Mike Jones
2. Josh Waters +0.180s
3. Arthur Sissis +3.736s
Anthony West fourth with a couple of bike lenths over a fast finishing Broc Pearson.
Max Stauffer and Cam Dunker take good points in sixth and seventh but will be disappointed to be almost ten-seconds behind the winner after nine laps.
That win today for Jones will fill him with confidence for tomorrow. He clearly had more speed as the race wore on than Waters could muster. The McMartin Racing squad will be burning the midnight oil to eke out a little more grip from the V4 R for tomorrow.
Sunday’s two bouts will be raced over a longer 11-lap distance. Conditions are forecast to be fine with afternoon temperatures in the mid 20s for the remainder of the weekend.
Mike Jones
“If we are gonna have any chance of winning the championship we’re gonna have to win these three races. So yeah, we got pole position and the first race win done. Obviously that gave me a lot of confidence to know, you know, in terms of set-up and where we’re at with tyre life, we’re in the hunt. The boys done a really good job to give me a great bike for both outright fast lap time, just one lap, and then also for the race distance. It was great too for me then, because I followed Josh the whole race, basically, so I learned a lot from him and I think that, that’ll play, you know, be beneficial for me for tomorrow’s races as well.”
Pirelli Superbike Race One Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | M Jones | Yam | 16m48.467 |
| 2 | J Waters | Duc | +0.180 |
| 3 | A Sissis | Yam | +3.736 |
| 4 | A West | Yam | +6.426 |
| 5 | B Pearson | Duc | +6.752 |
| 6 | M Stauffer | Yam | +9.466 |
| 7 | C Dunker | Yam | +9.700 |
| 8 | J Lytras | Yam | +22.813 |
| 9 | T Toparis | Yam | +25.659 |
| 10 | R Yanko | Yam | +34.557 |
| 11 | C Holding | Yam | +50.453 |
| 12 | J Soderland | Yam | +1m03.615 |
| 13 | M Kemp | Yam | +1m06.233 |
| 14 | N Mahon | Yam | +1m11.641 |
| 15 | M Edwards | Yam | +1m:4.693 |
| 16 | B Raethel | Suz | +1m22.728 |
| 17 | P Linkenbagh | Yam | +1m23.328 |
| DNF | T Herfoss | Duc | 5 Laps |
| DNF | D Carberry | BMW | 5 Laps |
| DNF | T Lynch | Yam | 5 Laps |
Australian Superbike Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
| 1 | J Waters | Duc | 276.5 |
| 2 | M Jones | Yam | 256.5 |
| 3 | B Pearson | Duc | 235.5 |
| 4 | M Stauffer | Yam | 176 |
| 5 | C Halliday | Yam | 173 |
| 6 | A West | Yam | 165.5 |
| 7 | A Sissis | Yam | 163.5 |
| 8 | C Dunker | Yam | 163.5 |
| 9 | G Allerton | BMW | 137 |
| 10 | J Lytras | Yam | 120 |
| 11 | R Yanko | Duc | 108 |
| 12 | H Voight | Duc | 107 |
| 13 | P Hardwick | Kaw | 101 |
| 14 | J Soderland | Yam | 99.5 |
| 15 | T Herfoss | Duc | 84 |
| 16 | B Staring | Yam | 69 |
| 17 | T Lynch | Yam | 66 |
| 18 | M Edwards | Yam | 54 |
| 19 | M Kemp | Yam | 43 |
| 20 | P Linkenbagh | Yam | 40 |
| 21 | M Walters | Apr | 32 |
| 22 | D Carberry | BMW | 25.5 |
| 23 | C Holding | Yam | 23 |
| 24 | A Senior | Yam | 22.5 |
| 25 | N Mahon | Yam | 20 |
| 26 | E Leeson | Yam | 16 |
| 27 | T Toparis | Yam | 12 |
| 28 | T Large | Yam | 10.5 |
| 29 | B Raethel | Suz | 5 |
ASBK Final TV Schedule
