Mad Mike Jones puts ASBK grid on notice
The third round of the 2024 Aussie Superbike championship saw some familiar faces make their move at the front of the packYamaha’s Mike Jones made a statement at Queensland Raceway, winning both races of the weekend to sit third in the Australian Superbike Championship.
The 30-year-old was unstoppable on his Yamaha YZF-R1M in the third round of the championship, also dominating qualifying to take an extra championship point and pole position.
Penrite Yamaha’s Max Stauffer was quicker off the line in Race 1 and scored the holeshot, but Jones bided his time, set a new lap record, and reclaimed the lead on lap 8. There was no looking back for Jones after that, and he won the race by 2.5 seconds.
Stauffer took second, while championship leader Josh Waters (Ducati) trumped Troy Herfoss (also Ducati) for third place.
The second race was also saw Stauffer take the holeshot, but Jones was quicker to catch up this time around, passing him on lap three.
Herfoss found his way past Stauffer, but Jones was still able to take the chequered flag by nearly three seconds. Waters continued his consistent season with fourth, but it meant his run of six straight podiums came to an end.
The big day out for Jones means he moves up two spots in the title race and now sits 32 points behind Waters in third. Cru Halliday (Yamaha) is second, jut two and a half points ahead of Jones.
In the Supersport class, Stop & Seal Yamaha teammates Tom Toparis and Archie McDonald shared the points on an eventful weekend, but Toparis claimed the overall victory thanks to the bonus point for his pole position.
YRD Yamaha’s Olly Simpson was the third-best rider on the weekend with a 5-3 result, while championship leader Jonathan Nahlous (Complete AV Yamaha) crashed out in the opening race and could only manage fifth in the second race.
Simpson, Jake Farnsworth (Wurth Racer Developments Yamaha), and Tom Bramich (Apex Group Yamaha) all sit on 102 points, 28 points adrift of Nahlous, while McDonald (99) and Toparis (97) are charging up the leaderboard.
The Race and Road Supersport 300 class overall victory went to Wet4U Race Fairings Kawasaki’s Josh Newman, who carded a 1-2-2 result for the weekend. He leads the title race over Harrison Watts (Champion Ride Days Kawasaki) and Valentino Knezovic (Motocity Yamaha).
The 2024 ASBK series now heads to Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland on July 12-14.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
