Maxwell tops opening practice session in Darwin

ASBK 2022 – Round Four
Hidden Valley – FP1

Wayne Maxwell came out of the blocks fast this morning at Hidden Valley as round four of the 2022 Australian Mid-Bike Motorcycle Insurance Superbike Championship kicked off around 0900 this morning in Darwin.

Despite the early hour, the mercury was already reaching 25 degrees ambient and the track temperature of 31.5 will likely be the lowest the competitors will experience all weekend.

Maxwell was first in the low 66 but Bryan Staring was first in the 65, a 65.772 for the DesmoSport Ducati man in his seventh round of the 25-minute FP1 session.

Maxwell then also dove into the 65s, not once, but twice. His best time of 65.867 on his 11th lap of the session. Both drivers then entered the pits before exiting and throwing more 65s…

He started backing up his first 65.772 with a 65.804, then went even faster in the first two sectors of the next lap before abandoning that attempt.

Then, in the last minute of the session, it was on! Staring and Maxwell both went under the first time, while Staring’s lap disappeared as Maxwell’s continued, and the result was a morning benchmark 65.716 to end the session.

There’s nothing between Maxwell and Staring, 65.716 plays 65.772, but being on top is a great way to start the weekend…

Behind the Ducati duo was the YRT duo of Mike Jones and Cru Halliday with South Australian privateer Arthur Sissis for a Yamaha 3-4-5 on the FP1 timesheets. Jones snuck in the 65s on his last round of the session, a 65.988 on his 21st round of the session. By the way, that was the most laps of any driver in FP1.

Troy Herfoss finished sixth this morning on the back of a 66.325 while Glenn Allerton led a BMW triumvirate followed by teammate Josh Waters and Lachlan Epis.

Daniel Falzon completed the top ten ahead of Mark Chiodo and Anthony West while multiple Western Australian Superbike champion Ben Stronach finished 13th ahead of youngster Max Stauffer.

The frontrunners are already in their rhythm and well on the pace, the second half of the peloton however has a lot of work to do. There is also undoubtedly more to come from the lead group, as they have yet to eclipse the race lap record of 65.445 set here by Oli Bayliss last year.

Mike Jones has time to find in the first and especially the third sector, but he is fastest in the tight rear section of the circuit. Maxwell is the fastest in the first sector while Staring is the fastest in the last sector. Troy Herfoss loses most of his time to the frontrunners in the first sector.

FP1 results

1. Wayne Maxwell – Ducati 65.716
2. Bryan Staring – Ducati 65.772
3. Mike Jones – Yamaha 65.988
4. Vintage Halliday – Yamaha 66.056
5. Arthur Sissi – Yamaha 66.215
6. Troy Herfoss – Honda 66.325
7. Glenn Allerton – BMW 66.433
8. Josh Waters – BMW 66.863
9. Lachlan Epis – BMW 66.928
10. Daniel Falzon – Yamaha 67.088
11. Brand Chiodo – Yamaha 67.551
12. Anthony West – Yamaha 67.557
13. Ben Stronach – Yamaha 69.854
14. Max Stauffer – Yamaha 70.090
15. Luke MacDonald-Kawasaki 71.580
16. Paul Lally – Yamaha 71.692
17. Michael Edwards – Yamaha 73.042
18. Nathan Spiteri – BMW 74.452

Hidden Valley ASBK TV Program

The slightly different format of the Hidden Valley event – where there are three races instead of the usual two – also has slightly different television schedules and broadcasters.

In 2022, Fox Sports Australia will broadcast live almost all track sessions as well as all races.

As has happened in previous years, Channel 7 will show races one and three live alongside regular TV coverage of Supercars.

After the event, ASBK TV will work with television production partners AVE to create a special-edition rerun of ASBK Round 4 – Darwin. This special edition will air on SBS – Sunday, July 3 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. AEST.

Along with the ever-epic races, this special edition will feature exclusive behind-the-scenes action, colorful stories and all the thrills of one of the great races of any season; Hidden Valley, Northwest Territories.

ASBK Live Stream Information

Fox Sports Australia
Friday – Free Practice 2 and Free Practice 3
Saturday – Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2, plus Race 1
Sunday – Race 2 (Exclusively Live on Fox) & Race 3

Channel 7
Saturday – Race 1
Sunday – Race 3

SBS
Sunday July 3 1pm – The ASBK Darwin Show

Check the events calendar and your local guides for exact times

Mid-bike motorcycle insurance
Alpinestars Superbike Championship Points Ranking

Mid-bike motorcycle insurance
ASBK Calendar 2022