Halliday Breaks Through For Maiden Superbike Victory

[totalmotorcycle]

Halliday Breaks Through For Maiden #Superbike #Victory



@Yamaha #Racing Team's Cru Halliday chalked up his maiden Australasian Superbike Championship round victory yesterday when he won the final leg at round three of the championship at Sydney Motorsport Park.

He led the YRT charge at round three with all three team riders finishing inside the top five and again showing the performance of the all new Yamaha R1 in racing conditions.

Halliday hit the Eastern Creek circuit in top form on the weekend and was fast from the minute he rolled onto the track. He qualified fastest for the Saturday racing and then backed that up with two race victories to really boost his confidence heading into the headline Sunday racing.

Race one on Sunday saw Halliday miss the start and not make the most of his pole position but he quickly regathered himself and set about passing the riders in front of him. He made his way back to third place by the end of an extremely tight race, that saw the top five within a second of each other as they crossed the finish line, but was frustrated unable to capitalize on his speed and qualifying position.

Race two and again the action was intense as Halliday battled past Herfoss and then Maxwell to take the lead with two laps to go. The pair then battled back and forwards in an enthralling final lap that saw Halliday under intense pressure from team mate, Wayne Maxwell, but he managed to hang on and take the win. One tenth of a second separated YRT duo at the finish with Halliday claiming the win and his combined 3-1 results giving him his first ever Australasian Superbike round victory.

"After fighting arm pump at the last round, I really wanted to come out here and have a good weekend and get some momentum back but I never expected it to be this good. Winning on Saturday lifted my confidence and then to go 3-1 on Sunday and pass the best guys was awesome.

"The team did a fantastic job with the bikes and a huge thanks to everyone at YRT. It's an amazing feeling to get this win and it makes all the hours of training worthwhile," Halliday beams.

Wayne Maxwell again produced a very consistent weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, riding with good pace and keeping himself in championship contention taking third overall for the round. His race one start left him buried in the pack but he managed to claw his way through the field to finish fifth as he closed in on the leaders.

Race two and he was locked in an arm wrestle with Halliday and Herfoss for the lead position. His team mate Halliday sneaked by in the later stages of the race but Maxwell made him earn it finishing just .106 behind his YRT team mate.

"The first race wasn't the best for me as I got a bit swamped during the first lap after I missed the start. I still felt I had good speed and was able to catch the lead group despite coming through the field so I was confident I would do well if I could get a start.

"I enjoyed the second race battling with Cru and Troy. I probably needed to be a bit stronger in the closing stages but hats off to Cru on his result today, he deserved the round win," Maxwell explains.

Glenn Allerton had a challenging weekend struggling for grip on the fast Sydney Motorsport Park circuit. Race one Allerton managed to finish in fourth position as part of a five rider freight train but in race two a couple of big moment slowed Allerton and he decided to settle down and finish the day safely and look forward to the next round. His 4-8 results left him in fifth for the round.

"Being a different rider to Wayne and Cru, I'm still trying to settle on the best set up for me but we are working hard to get it right. We obviously have a great bike but I just can't get the grip and feel I need and in race two it felt like I had a flat tyre so I slowed down to be safe and not fall.

"I'm sure we will get on top of it and as always the team will work hard so we will come out firing at Queensland Raceway at the next round," Allerton ends.

Round four action of the Australasian Superbike Championship picks up at Queensland Raceway on August 14-16.