Day 2 coverage: 2014 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix

Rabat (Marc VDS Racing Team) not only set the fastest lap of 1:32.726 in
the 45-minute practice session, but he also churned out 28 laps in the
process, a work rate matched only by his teammate – and closest
championship challenger – Mika Kallio.

Rabat is 38 points in front of Kallio with three rounds remaining, and
can wrap the 2014 title up tomorrow if results fall his way.

Kallio (1:33.234) was third in FP3, behind Maverick Vinales (Paginas
Amarillas HP 40, 1:33.220) and in front of last start Motegi winner
Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Sitag, 1:33.280), Johann Zarco (AirAsia
Caterham, 1:33.322) and German Marcel Schrotter (Tech 3, 1:33.330).

If Rabat were removed from the equation, that would leave 24 riders
separated by one-second in final practice – a tight fit even compared to
normal Moto2 standards.

Queenslander Anthony West (QMMF Racing Team) was 15th with a best lap of
1:33.806, appreciably faster than his day one benchmark of 1:34.244.

West’s compatriots Aiden Wagner (Marc VDS Racing Tam, 1:35.133) and Max
Croker (Tasca Racing Moto2) were 29th and 34th in FP3, with Croker’s
immediate goal this afternoon to qualify for tomorrow’s main race.

Other than Sam Lowes (Speed UP) hitting the deck at turn 10 in the last
minute of the session, attrition was remarkably low in FP3 compared to
day one when there were crashes galore – many of them nasty highsides.

Qualifying for Moto2 is at 4:05pm.

The
final 40-minute practice session saw Vazquez (SaxoPrint-RTG Honda) edge
his way to the top with a best lap of 1:36.377 – one of four riders to
eclipse the previous best Moto3 lap around Phillip Island set by former
category campaigner Maverick Vinales in 2013.

Danny Kent (Red
Bull Husqvarna Ajo, 1:36.454), Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0,
1:36.471) and Championship leader Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0,
1:36.571) were the others to go under Vinales’ old benchmark, while
Aussie Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo, 1:37.050) finished the session in
12th position – but only 0.673 seconds behind Vazquez.

In fact,
less than one second separated the top 16 riders in FP3, which sets the
scene for a thrilling qualifying session and the 23-lap race tomorrow.

All
the Championship contenders are showing solid form, although it was a
struggle for Italian Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46 KTM) in FP3,
who finished way back in 22nd position. Fenati and Miller share four
wins apiece so far in 2014.

After a number of crashes yesterday,
today’s practice session wasn’t anywhere near as bone-jarring, with
Malaysian Hafiq Azmi one of the exceptions after spilling his KTM at
high speed on the way into Turn One.

Australia’s two wild cards,
Remy Gardner (Laglisse Calvo KTM) and Olly Simpson (KTM), were 21st and
32nd respectively in FP3, both setting faster times than Friday.

Gardner,
16, is showing maturity way beyond his years in his first ride at
Phillip Island since punting an 85cc mini-GP machine around the circuit
way back in 2010.

“It’s so close but I’m enjoying riding with
these top guys, it’s easy to learn off them quickly,” said Gardner. “The
bike is great, and it’s just up to me now to improve and learn.

“This
weekend is about showing what I have as well as learning so I have no
unrealistic expectations but I am feeling great on the bike and really
enjoying the fast, flowing Phillip Island. It’s awesome – it’s the best
track in the world!”

Marquez leads the Moto3 title by 25 points
over Miller (231 to 206), while Rins (194), Fenati (174) and Vazquez
(174) also still have title aspirations. Rins won last year’s Moto3 race
at Phillip Island.

Hook was magnificent, and didn’t allow his teammates a look-in as he put his head down from the get-go, clearly enjoying his first opportunity to ply his trade on the magnificent 4.45km Phillip Island circuit since way back in February this year.

Hook defeated birthday boy Maxwell by 1.847 seconds, which also included the fastest lap of the race – 1:32.792.

“I got off the line well, but had to take it a bit easy initially on the edge of the tyre as I have been caught out here before,” said Hook. “I knew I had a good pace, and once I got in front and found a rhythm I put some decent laps together and eventually broke the bunch.

“Consistency is the key around here, as well as minimising mistakes – that’s the way to move forward.”

With one race remaining this weekend, the battle for the 2014 Phillip Island Superbike Championship is on a knife edge, with Stauffer a five-point leader over Hook.

Glenn Allerton was fifth in race two, with his BMW clearly the fastest down Gardner Straight – his top speed was 313km/h, compared to Hook at just 293km/h.

Mike Jones (Kawasaki) completed the top six. Liam Magee (BMW) crossed the finish line in that spot, but was then sanctioned with a 20-second penalty for breaking the start, putting him back to 11th in the official results.

The final outing is at 8:55am tomorrow.

Falzon was a class above as he inched away from race one antagonist Aaron Morris throughout the eight-lapper, eventually winning by 3.032 seconds. Callum Spriggs was third ahead of Ryan Taylor – the same Yamaha-riding quartet which did the business in race one.

“It’s my first appearance in support races at a MotoGP event, and I’ve really enjoyed it so far,” said Falzon. “To have two wins on the board is great, and I really enjoyed leading hard from the front today. That was a deliberate tactic, and I managed to get a small break from the opening lap and then just kept going. “This could be my last race on a supersport machine, and I’m in it to win it.”

Spriggs and Morris were battling hard for second place with a couple of laps to go, but after Spriggs ran wide at turn two and nearly crashed he decided to err on the side of caution and settled for a safe third position.

Kane Burns (Suzuki) was the big mover in race two, his fifth place finish a five-spot improvement on yesterday’s opener. Burns just edged out Mitch Levy (Yamaha) in a typical Phillip Island drag to the finish line.

Twenty-three of the 24 riders made the distance.

Just one race remains in the Falzon-led 2014 Phillip Island Supersport Championship, which began way back in February and will conclude a 9:05am tomorrow.

AUSTRALIAN SUPERCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
New South Welshman, Matt Moss, scythed through tonight’s opening round of the double-header Supercross spectacular at the 2014 Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Just like he did in Bathurst last weekend, Moss led from the front in the premier SX1 category, settled into a perfect rhythm, avoided trouble, and was simply a class above as he led home teammate Lawson Bopping by nearly four seconds in a magnificent 1-2 for the Suzuki factory team.

Moss has now won all three rounds of the 2014 Australian Supercross Championship and, in the type of rare form he’s in at the moment, could be on the cusp of going through the entire campaign undefeated. Round four is back at Phillip Island tomorrow, followed by the finale in Brisbane.

While Moss did all the leading tonight, Bopping had to pick his way forward from fifth in the 20-lap final, with Jake Moss (Kawasaki) his final takeover before moving into second place. He also set the fastest lap of the race during his spirited charge.

With the top two positions secured, Jake Moss and Kirk Gibbs (KTM) both had chances to lock in the final spot on the podium before striking trouble, which allowed multiple Australian Supercross Champion Jay Marmont (Honda) to finish a stirring third, followed by Adam Monea (Kawasaki). Gibbs was fifth from Jesse Dobson (KTM), Sam Martin (Suzuki) and Josh Cachia (Husqvarna) in the 17-rider field.

Moss now leads the championship on 105 pts from Monea (92), Bopping (90) and Gibbs (84).

In SX2, it was an American and Honda quinella with Gavin Faith winning from Kyle Peters, although local rider Kale Makeham (KTM) held a secure second spot until he crashed with two laps to go. He remounted but was just too far behind Peters to launch a last-gasp passing attempt.