Jones Takes Australian Superbike Pole Position At Morgan Park

Jones Takes Australian Superbike Pole Position At Morgan Park

© 2015, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jones and Elliott secure front spots on the grid

SCENE IS SET FOR EPIC SUNDAY OF RACING AT ASBK ROUND 2

Local hero Mike Jones (Cube Racing Team) has left tongues wagging at Morgan Park in Queensland, blitzing the field in the Superbike Qualifying and Superpole sessions at the 2015 Yamaha Motor Finance ASBK Championship presented by Motul Pirelli.

Jones posted a Qualifying lap record at the venue of 1:15.368 to finish in the front spot on the grid ahead of Daniel Falzon (JD Racing) and Chas Hern (Chas Hern Racing)

In the Supersport class it was New South Welshman Brayden Elliott – needing only eight laps in the two, half-hour qualifying session to secure pole from Troy Guenther and Thyron Van Vuuren.

Both Jones and Elliott walked away with the Pirelli Superpole Awards for their efforts – a brand new pair of Pirelli tyres in the bank ahead of Sunday’s racing action.

YAMAHA MOTORCYCLE FINANCE SUPERBIKE CLASS

On the fourth lap of the opening qualifying session, Jones smoked around in a 1:16.134 – his fastest time for the weekend to again highlight his favouritism this round.

Falzon also produced his quickest time for the event on his sixth lap of the session, and while that was enough to have him in second place of all the riders, his 1:17.341 was still a second slower than Jones.

Phil Lovett (Cessnock Motorcycles) clocked a 1:18.304 on his sixth lap to finish the session as the third fastest rider, while James Mutton (Brisbane Motorcycles) and Ryan Hampton (Next Gen Motorsports) rounded out the top five.

In the second qualifying session it was again Jones who lead the way – recording the fastest time for the session despite only completing two laps.

Falzon chose not to partake in the second session in a bid to protect his gear for Superpole, while Lovett improved on his opening lapt times to finish the session in second.

Hern, Hampton and Mutton rounded out the top five and together with Falzon, all six riders made it through to the top-10 Superpole hitout.

Ben Henry (Cube Racing Team), Victorian Phillip Czaj, Joseph Salter and Adam Senior all progressed through to the Superpole.

YAMAHA SUPERSPORT CLASS

In the opening Supersport qualifying session it was a flying lap from New South Wales rider Elliott that stole the show.

Elliott only put in three laps during the 30-minute session, and his 1:17.351 third lap was enough to hand him top honours for the session.

Fellow New South Welshman Kane Burns finished the session with the second fastest time registering a 1:17.904, while local rider Guenther finished in third.

Chris Quinn (Coopers Pale Ale Yamaha) finished .001 of a second behind in fourth.

In the second qualifying session it was Guenther who posted the fastest time – clocking a 1:17.569 which was still not enough to topple Elliott’s earlier time but landed him second on the grid.

Van Vuuren and Burns also beat their best times for the day in the second qualifying session, elevating themselves to third and fourth overall respectively.

It left Quinn to settle in fifth spot and Sam Lambert (Sam Lambert Racing) to round out the second row of the grid ahead of Sunday’s racing.

HONDA MOTO3 / 125GP CLASS

The opening qualifying session for Moto3 / 125GP saw a continued dominance of the top-three leaders from Friday’s practice sessions.

Callum Barker (K1 Racing) again was the fastest rider in the class, clocking a 1:22.625 – slightly slower than his best time in practice session number three yesterday.

Victorian rider Matt Barton (ETS Race Fuels) proved that he will be very stiff competition at Morgan Park – his 1:22.845 handing him second spot for the session.

Barker’s K1 Racing teammate Brian Houghton claimed third for the session, just .102 of a second behind Barton, while Queenslanders Benjamin Leonard and Locky Taylor rounded out the top-five.

The second Moto3 / 125GP got off to a slow start as an early red flag was produced with Daniel Wilson and Sarah Fairbrother crashing at the opening turn.

When the session recommenced, it was again Barker who lead the way with the local rider breaking the 1:22-mark with a 1:21.772.

Leonard grabbed the second fastest time of the session with a slightly quicker time than Barton, while Houghton has to settle for fourth and Tayla Relph coming in fifth.

It left Barker to start from the font of the grid with Leonard and Barton on the front row as well, with Houghton, Taylor and Relph qualifying on the second row.

For a full list of results from ever session head to www.computime.com.au or check out the results section of the ASBK website (www.asbk.com.au).

More, from another press release issued by Motorcycling Australia:

Pirelli Superpole awards head to Jones and Elliott

Mike Jones (Cube Racing Team) and Braydon Elliott (Braydon Elliott Racing) have secured the first Pirelli Superpole awards for the year at the second round of the 2015 Yamaha Motor Finance ASBK Championship presented by Motul Pirelli.

Taking place at Morgan Park, the riders walk away with a new set of tyres for their bikes with thanks to Pirelli, after Elliott secured pole in the Yamaha Supersport class and Jones won the Superpole in the Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Superbike class.

Speaking after being presented their awards, the pair were ecstatic with their performaces and the prizes.

Braydon Elliott – #51 – Supersport

“Today has been a huge improvement from yesterday’s practice sessions.

“Every practice session yesterday we were improving and heading in the right direction, and today we were just able to take it that one step further and get up the front so I am really happy to have been able to go out there today and bust out some fast laps and to be ahead of the rest of the field feels great and I am very confident about tomorrow’s race so we will see how we go.

“To have the help of Shawn (Giles) and Phil (Tainton) in the pit has been a huge benefit so to hang around them and get their advice wherever I can has been a big benefit.

“We did change the bike from yesterday to today which has definitely helped a fair bit with set up to get us through to qualifying. And I guess when you do get through to qualifying you are in a different frame of mind and prepared to just go as quick as you can.

Thanks to Pirelli for the set of tyres. It’s great to be up here and to get my first pole and it makes it even better to walk away with a new set of tyres which is great. It’s a fairly expensive sport and to get a bit of help on the way like that is a huge benefit.”

Mike Jones- #46 – Superbikes

“We have been making progress all weekend, and the Australian Outdoor Living Cube Racing Team have been doing a wonderful job and even though it is my home track, we are always working hard and making changes.

“Lap times from yesterday and this morning have dropped significantly and that’s just a combination of my riding and the bike working well and the Pirelli tyres which is fantastic.

I am stoked with the lap time – obviously I am pretty happy. I didn’t know if it was possible to go that fast but I am very happy with how it went.

“I think that once I get out there in the racing – they are 14-lap races so I will be able to settle into a groove and get comfortable and when I am comfortable that’s when I go my fastest, so I think that there is possibly a little bit more room in the tank but we will wait for tomorrow and see how we go.

“Pirelli offer magnificent support to myself and the Australian Outdoor Living Cube Racing Team. We are really happy to have that support because it is such a great product the Pirelli tyre – a very high performance product and they are the best tyre to be on.

“The Pirelli Superpole Award is a good incentive for us and the other guys that are out there to win a set of tyres and I thing that it’s a really good thing.”

Keep tabs of all the action on Sunday from Morgan Park via the ASBK website (www.asbk.com.au).

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