Launching round one of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, with the island’s Yamaha Finance round this weekend (Feb 22 -24) and we want to SEE YOU TRACKSIDE!
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| | | | | | | World Superbikes Racing ready
to rock n' roll
Rev up because we are ready to rock n’ roll with a World Superbike race weekend in place for Phillip Island that’s set to blow your mind. Launching round one of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, with the island’s Yamaha Finance round this weekend (Feb 22 -24) and we want to SEE YOU TRACKSIDE!
The weather forecast is great – it will be a pleasant 25 – 28 degrees. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect for viewing. Perfect for action. Perfect for Phillip Island camping. Popping up your tent at the on-circuit campground is the way to go, with 24/7 access to the campground via gate 2.
So on 'yer bike and head to the island now! |
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| In This Edition | » Breaking News - Bayliss fastest in opening practice | | » Jono Rea - the Heat is On! | | » Rocket-Shop Ducati Panigale V4R | | » Official Test Report & Times | | » 6 Riders Eclipse Existing Lap Record | | » WorldSBK meets the Aussie natives | | » Aussie Superbikes: Fast and Furious | » Wear World Supers!
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| Spectacular Phillip Island – See You Trackside!
And we have freebies galore. First up KIDS are FREE, 15 and under, when accompanied by a full-paying adult for both event entry AND camping.
Secondly buy a three-day pass and your entry to the PADDOCK is FREE. You’ll be on pole position to PARC Fermé at close range – for FREE! You’ll be able to enjoy the Paddock SUPERSHOW for the entire weekend – for FREE!
For the PADDOCK SHOW schedule, click here.
Paddock and Parc Ferme – place to be Thirdly, bikes are FREE. There’s no parking charges for bikes at world supers and you can ride anywhere on the circuit via the service roads, park up and watch the action LIVE.
And we’ve thrown in a THIRD world superbike race to boot! In 2019 we’re launching a new format, with 2 x 22 lap traditional races at 3pm Saturday and 3pm Sunday, and to spice up the action, a ten-lap do or die SPRINT on Sunday at midday that will count for points and determine the grid for the second 22-lapper.
WorldSBK Sprint action We also have the world supersport season launching 18-lapper, and the opening rounds of the Australian Superbike, Australian Supersport and Australian Supersport 300 adding up to heaps of practice, qualifying and 13 massive races.
So get organized. You can book at Ticketek your event ticket and camping; or if you really have no time to book, then just show up. We have 24/7 access to the campground from Thursday at 9am and gates open Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8am to buy your ticket.
So…here we go
Tickets at Ticketek ..click here…
OR see you at the gate from 8am Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Race schedule…click here
World Superbike entry list…click here
World Supersport entry list…click here
Australian Superbike entry list…click here.
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| | Breaking News - Troy Bayliss Fastest in Opening Practice |
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| Troy Bayliss is nearly 50, fit as a mallee bull and still at the top of his road racing game.
And the three-time WorldSBK champion proved it again today by setting the fastest time in opening practice for round one of the 2019 Australian Superbike Championship to support World Superbikes this weekend.
The irrepressible Taree (NSW) native set a best lap of 1min32.478secs around the grand prix circuit, only just shy of the current lap record of 1:32.224 held by Wayne Maxwell.
Bayliss is riding the superseded 1299cc V-twin Ducati in round one but – in an ominous sign for his rivals – he’ll soon be aboard the Italian company’s all-new high-revving and light-weight V-four which is making its debut in the WorldSBK ranks this weekend with Alvaro Bautista, Chaz Davies and Eugene Laverty.
DesmoSport Ducati's Troy Bayliss was fastest in first practice at Phillip Island's opening round today |
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| | | | Jono Rea - the Heat is on |
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| Ain’t no country picnic..Rea knows the pressure is on with the new four-cyclinder rocket ship - the Ducati Panigale V4R setting the pace; BMW returns to the class with the revamped S1000 RR with full-factory support; Yamaha’s YZF R1 lifts the bar with Australia’s Andrew Pitt running the Alex Lowes’ effort; and the factory-backed Honda team are back in the game with their CBR1000 RR.
Pressure on: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) faces his foes - Ducati, BMW, Yamaha, Honda |
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| | Rocket-Ship Ducati Panigale V4R |
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| | | | | The international world superbike and world supersport teams tested Monday and Tuesday and the time sheets were turned on their head. Our four-times world champ, Jonathan Rea is going to have his work cut out for him, with Ducati launching their new rocket ship – the Panigale V4R with Alvaro Bautista carving up the track and the time-sheets.
Bautista tops the test
The Spaniard led every time sheet over the four test sessions, and shattered the current race lap record by more than .5 of a second, with a best time of 1m30.303s. He had an awesome straight line speed down the main straight and clicked over 316.7 kmph on Tuesday morning on his dash to Doohan Corner.
Tom Sykes – BMW – 2nd
BMW launched their 2019 campaign and Tom Sykes was impressive with a capital “I” coming in 2nd fastest, Leon Haslam and Rea on the Kawasakis were 3rd and 4th, and Marco Melandri was the fastest Yamaha in testing in 5th. Four manufacturers in the top five adds up to one thing... great racing. Leon Haslam back at Kawasaki
So now’s the time to get your mates and get organized for this weekend.
For a summary of best test times from Monday / Tuesday
World SBK TEST ..click here…
World Supersport TEST…click here… Alvaro Bautista
Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #19) – 1’30.303 – 1st
“Today was another very positive day. This morning we made a change to the bike’s geometry but we didn’t find what we were looking for so we went back to yesterday’s setting. In the afternoon the aim was to do a long-run, to see how the tyres behaved after a number of laps in race trim. I’m pleased because I kept a very good pace throughout the entire long-run. These have been two very positive days, and I’d like to thank the whole team, which did a perfect job. We’re ready to tackle the first race, and I can’t wait to start!” |
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| | Official Test Report and Times |
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| | | | | | | | 6 riders eclipse existing lap record; 4 manufacturers in top 5 |
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| | | Ducati’s new factory rider Alvaro Bautista has signalled his intentions for this weekend’s (Feb 22-24) round one of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Superbike Championship after coming up trumps in a two-day test at Phillip Island earlier this week.
With the WorldSBK field due back at the grand prix circuit on Friday as the 32nd edition of the production series officially gets underway with the Yamaha Finance round, the 34-year-old Spaniard Bautista will be full of confidence after showing his contemporaries a clean air of heels in final testing on his all-new Panigale V4 R.
As well as being the quickest machine down the main chute, Bautista was able to get the best out of the V4 R on the fast and flowing Phillip Island curves as he stopped the clock with a best lap of 1min.30.303secs.
Bautista stopped the clock at 1min 30.303 s
Bautista was one of six riders to eclipse the existing race lap record (1:30.848), with Tom Sykes (BMW, 1:30.539), Leon Haslam (Kawasaki, 1:30.668), world champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki, 1:30.722), Marco Melandri (Yamaha, 1:30.760) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki, 1:30.840) also joining him. That’s four of the five WorldSBK manufacturers at the pointy end of the field.
Tom Sykes with BMW
The final World shakedown gave an indication of just how the dynamics of the series have already changed since 2018, with Bautista new to the scene from MotoGP, Haslam returning for the first time since 2015, Razgatlioglu continuing to improve at a dramatic rate, and new models from Ducati and BMW already making their presence felt.
Add in an enlarged WorldSBK program in 2019 – a sprint race will now be held on Sunday between the traditional longer races – and the scene is set for one of the best Phillip Island rounds in recent memory as defending champion Rea faces new and improved threats from all angles.
Rea facing threats on all sides in 2019
Yamaha’s Michael van der Mark completed the test seventh on the timesheets, ahead of German rookie Sandro Cortese – a Moto3 winner at Phillip Island in 2012 – Alex Lowes (Yamaha) and Jordi Torres (Kawasaki).
British guns Leon Camier (Honda) and Chaz Davies (Ducati) were 13th and 14th, while Australia’s Troy Herfoss (Honda) has been trying to resolve a number of setup gremlins with the ECU and suspension. He was 19th fastest.
Wild card, Troy Herfoss, struggled
Randy Krummenacher topped the times sheets in WorldSSP
In world supersport Yamaha riders Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo were dominant, while Aussie teenager Tom Toparis had a big off at the high-speed turn seven this morning – leaving him with a very second-hand Yamaha and a few friction burns.
Wild card, Tom Toparis, hurting after a big off at Haysheds in testing
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| | WorldSBK meet the Aussie Natives |
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| | | The WorldSBK boys spent the day at the track yesterday talking to the media and meeting the Aussie natives. Catch these shots of them with Jordy the koala, Olive the snake and Cal the Wallaby joey.
World Superbike riders Tom Sykes, Michael van der Mark, Jonathan Rea, and Sandro Cortese meet the Aussie animals
| | | Four time world champ Jonathan Rea with Olive the 3 m snake | German Sandro Cortese meets Olive the 3 m snake |
| Jonathan Rea meets koala Jordy | | | Leon Camier with Olive, the 3 m snake | Serpents all round. |
Tom Sykes meets Cal the joey |
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| | Aussie Superbikes: Fast and Furious |
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| | | The Australian Superbike Championship is turning 31 in 2019, and you’d have to mount a seriously strong case to argue against the quality and depth of the field being the best ever with the opening round this weekend at Phillip Island’s WorldSBK round.
Sure, the ASBK title has seen a multitude of superstars pass through its orbit over three decades – names like Campbell, Phillis, Beattie, Corser, Gobert, Brookes, Slight and Mladin roll off the tongue – but the buzz factor in 2019 is a function of ridiculously fast incumbents being joined by talented newcomers keen to steal some glory of their own. It’s an impressive cocktail that even has some hardened ASBK veterans sitting up and taking notice.
Defending champ Troy Herfoss (left) with new team mate Mark Chiodo (right) and Deon Coote (centre)
Of the 35 riders who will be on the grid at this weekend’s Kawasaki-backed opening round of the championship at Phillip Island, six are former or current Aussie superbike champions – Troy Herfoss, Wayne Maxwell, Josh Waters, Mike Jones, Glenn Allerton and Bryan Staring – and another has three world superbike titles on his CV – the irrepressible Troy Bayliss.
Bryan Staring - Kawasaki
Herfoss (Honda) is the reigning Australian superbike champion after winning last year’s title ahead of Maxwell (then Yamaha, now Suzuki), Bayliss (Ducati), Waters (Suzuki), Daniel Falzon (Yamaha) and Staring (Kawasaki), and there’s no doubt that sextet will be in the thick of it again – starting with the three 12-lap races around Phillip Island.
The riches then continue to flow with Allerton (BMW), desperate to atone for an injury-ravaged 2018; Matt Walters (Kawasaki), Alex Phillis (Suzuki) and Arthur Sissis (Suzuki), all top 10 finishers in 2018; Mark Chiodo (Honda); comeback ASBK trio Jones (Kawasaki), Aiden Wagner (Yamaha) and Glenn Scott (Kawasaki); and Aussie supersport alumni Cru Halliday (Yamaha) and Max Croker (Suzuki).
Cru Halliday
Halliday and Croker were first and third respectively in the 2018 Aussie supersport title, while there’s no doubt that 24-year-old Wagner, a former ASBK race winner, has been the pick of the new faces so far this season.
He set the second fastest time in an official test session at Phillip Island on February 3-4 – behind Maxwell and eclipsing Bayliss, Waters, Falzon, Herfoss, Staring, Allerton and Jones. So there’s another name to pencil in as a bona-fide race contender this weekend.
Irrepressible Troy Bayliss Meanwhile, 36-year-old Maxwell was a revelation at the test session for the simple fact that he was back on a Suzuki for the first time since 2013, and also carrying the legacy of a broken collarbone sustained in pre-season training.
That didn’t stop him punching out a best lap of 1:32.312, just shy of the lap record he set in October 2018 – 1:32.224.
“I’m really enjoying the ride on the Suzuki GSX-R. It’s solid on the track which I found quite daunting to begin with, but once I got my head around the bike and adapted my style everything went smoothly,” said Maxwell.
“I’m not letting the expectation and hype get to my head. Instead I’m just trying to take a slow approach to the start of the season and enjoy the new team and bike.
“This weekend has really helped the team find the right direction moving, so we’re feeling really positive moving into round one.”
Wayne Maxwell returns to Suzuki
Maxwell, Bayliss and Waters were undoubtedly the form riders at the end of the 2018 season, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them kick-start the 2019 season in much the same vein – but if Phillip Island’s notorious micro-climate starts playing tricks, anything is possible… At 49 years old, Bayliss’ racing instincts remain as sharp as ever, while Waters is a three-time ASBK champion for the simple fact he’s fast, smooth and rarely makes clangers. However, the man with the target on his back is Herfoss, who’ll do all he can to retain his No. 1 plate while running a wild card in World Superbike. Big weekend ahead!
Josh Waters - Suzuki
The message is clear…
SEE YOU TRACKSIDE FOR THE BEST PRODUCTION BIKE MEET OF THE YEAR
WORLD SUPERBIKES, WORLD SUPERSPORT
AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE, AUSTRALIAN SUPERSPORT AND
AUSTRALIAN SUPERSPORT 300
Yamaha Finance round, Australia’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
This weekend February 22-24, 2019
Tickets and camping at Ticketek
OR at the gate from 8am Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
For further information www.worldsbk.com.au or ring the hotline on 1 300 728 007
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| | Wear World Supers on your back! |
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Event Merchandise for the world superbikes at Phillip Island is now available online. Visit the online store to secure your apparel before arrive trackside for the opening 2019 round.
Visit the official online store www.shop.worldsbk.com.au
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