ASBK 2021 Calendar

The battle between opposing tyre manufacturers has been an intriguing sub-plot of the 2021 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance ASBK, presented by Motul, and the upcoming round at Hidden Valley is set to present the teams with new challenges for how they manage their rubber allocation for the weekend.

In the most recent round at Wakefield Park, the race victories were shared between Pirelli (Wayne Maxwell) and Troy Herfoss (Michelin), but the Hidden Valley event will throw up a variety of curve-balls.

The increased ambient and track temperatures are an obvious factor, along with Superbike riders and teams choosing not to conduct preevent testing at Darwin in the lead-up to the race meeting.

We caught up with representatives from the four ASBK tyre homologation suppliers in the tyre war: Pirelli, Dunlop, Michelin and Bridgestone.

Garry Crilly – Pirelli (Link International)

Pirelli tyres are renowned for their performance and durability on the international stage, with the Italian brand servicing the FIM Superbike World Championship as the official tyre supplier.

Teams and riders running Pirelli tyres include DesmoSport Ducati (Mike Jones and Oli Bayliss), Craig McMartin Racing (Wayne Maxwell), Next Gen Motorsports (Glenn Allerton and Lachlan Epis), Matt Walters, Ant West and Arthur Sissis. Garry Crilly said the performance of Pirelli tyres in the scorching European summer heat can give the Pirelli-shod teams a wealth of confidence heading to Darwin.

“Our tyres are the same ones used in the FIM Superbike World Championship,” Crilly said.

“The heat doesn’t worry us – our tyres have been tried and proven in the sweltering heat, so the hotter, the better!

“The more significant challenge for the teams will be the lack of testing, as they chose not to visit Darwin in the lead-up to the event. The Friday practice sessions will be particularly important.” The ASBK tyre homologation list permits each tyre manufacturer to use two different front and three different rear compounds over the course of the season. Crilly said teams will be trialling different compound options in practice.

“The teams will be experimenting with tyre compounds and bike setup to work out how they can best balance the objective of peak speed over one lap (for qualifying) with making sure the bike looks after its tyres over a race distance,” he said.

“I think our biggest advantage in the tyre war will be the international knowledge base we can tap into.”

Robbie Bugden – Dunlop (Ficeda Accessories)

The Yamaha factory team has chosen to use Dunlop tyres for its riders, Cru Halliday and Aiden Wagner, this season, while Kawasaki BCPerformance riders Bryan Staring and Josh Waters also continue to use Dunlops.

According to Robbie Bugden, the 2021 season has been a promising one for Dunlop so far.

“To get third at Winton, in our debut weekend with the Yamaha factory team, shows we’ve made steps forward with our versatility – it hasn’t traditionally been one of our strongest tracks,” Bugden said.

“Heading to Hidden Valley will be a big test with the heat, but the circuit layout should suit our tyres.

“One of the interesting factors will be sharing the event programme with the Supercars. The way they lay down their rubber is different to the bikes, because they take different lines; this can create some challenges with a variation in grip levels, which the riders will have to adapt to.”

An accomplished rider himself, Bugden said his own racing experience is useful in dealing with the riders and teams.

“When they’re providing feedback on how a tyre is behaving, I can understand what they’re feeling because I’ve experienced it myself,” he said.

“Overall, the tyre war has become very competitive and created a lot of discussion in the paddock, which is a good thing for all the manufacturers as well as the ASBK.”

Doug Sharp – Michelin (Gas Imports)

The Australian importer for Michelin Superbike tyres is Doug Sharp, a man who has spent decades in international grand prix racing paddocks, including a stint with the Repsol Honda team as a technician, working with riders such as Wayne Gardner, Daryl Beattie, Alex Criville and Nicky Hayden.

With his vast experience at the very top level of motorcycle racing, Sharp is someone who has the potential to give Michelin a strong focus with their Australian exploits. He hasn’t been shy in bringing some other prominent names along for the ride, with fellow MotoGP mechanics Jeremy Burgess and Alex Briggs (who both worked as mechanics for superstar Valentino Rossi) called upon as Michelin tyre technicians at ASBK events. Troy Herfoss is the most prominent rider on Michelin rubber, with others including Mark Chiodo, Jed Metcher and Aaron Morris also using the Michelin product.

Sharp believes the biggest advantage of the Michelin rubber is their performance over longer runs.

“Michelin definitely make tyres that last, and here in Australia our races are not particularly long compared to overseas,” Sharp said.

“I haven’t actually been to Darwin before; it’s one of the few tracks I haven’t visited. But there are a lot of similarities to some of the overseas venues, especially with the high ambient and track temperatures we’ll be facing.”

Sharp is expecting the Michelin rubber to shine at some of the other events on the 2021 ASBK calendar.

“Based on the testing we’ve done at other circuits, I think we’ll be strong at some of the other upcoming events,” he said.

“Troy Herfoss recorded some very fast times in testing at Morgan Park, so that’s one we’re really looking forward to.”

Craig White – Bridgestone (White’s Racing Products)

Two ASBK teams were signed up to use Bridgestone tyres in 2021, but the arrangements fell through due to a COVID-related lack of supply from the Bridgestone factory in Japan.

“We couldn’t guarantee supply for 2021 and we didn’t want to inconvenience the riders, but we’re using this time to prepare for 2022,” Craig White said.

“In a few months, Bridgestone are releasing a new range of slicks for the Supersport class and we’re also working on supplying some Superbike teams next season.”

So, that leaves the question: which tyre manufacturer will prevail at Hidden Valley? Over the last few years, Pirelli has conquered the Superbike Championship, emerging victorious in the title contest on multiple occasions. Nevertheless, the Michelin and Dunlop tyres have proven to be very durable and consistent over a race distance. With each tyre brand represented by talented riders and capable teams, the war is as unpredictable as ever.

While much of the focus of the mi-bike Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul (ASBK), is on the factory teams, the category is also home to a group of dedicated privateers who take the fight up to the larger outfits.

This weekend at the Hidden Valley ASBK round will mark the return of two such riders to the Championship after recovering from crashes early in the year: Daniel Falzon and Corey Turner.

Falzon’s talents are well-documented; the South Australian achieved a round victory as a privateer at Phillip Island in 2017; after riding for the factory Yamaha Racing Team for the 2018 and ’19 seasons, Falzon returned to his family-run team for the 2020 season before the pandemic hit.

Although Falzon is kept busy away from the track with his full-time occupation as a paramedic, the 27-year-old was still intending to compete in most rounds of the 2021 Championship, but his plans were dealt a severe blow when he crashed in testing prior to the Wakefield Park round.

“I had a fall, which caused significant damage to the bike and meant I wasn’t able to race at Wakefield Park, which was a shame,” Falzon said.

“However, we’ve been able to repair the bike and since then, I’ve been able to do some testing at Tailem Bend and Mallala.

“In some ways, it takes a lot of the pressure off for Hidden Valley, because there’s no championship pressure to worry about. I can just focus on enjoying the weekend and doing my best.”

Falzon said he is feeling a lot more comfortable on the bike after surgery at the completion of the 2019 season.

“Throughout 2019, I was suffering quite badly with some arm pump, but I had surgery to rectify those issues and it’s feeling much better,” he said.

Falzon also said his paramedic job has given him a new level of appreciation for the volunteer medical teams at motorsport events.

“I’ve always had an enormous amount of respect for the doctors and nurses at Racesafe, I hold them in very high regard, but now even more so,” he said. While the 2021 season signifies Turner’s reappearance on a superbike, the Gold Coaster has certainly not been a stranger to the ASBK paddock in recent seasons, competing in the Australian Sidecar Championship, which he won in 2019 with his brother, Danyon Turner, as passenger.

“2019 was our first year racing sidecars, it was a tight battle all year but we ended up winning the championship,” Turner said.

“The plan for this year was to compete in the whole Superbike Championship. We bought a brand-new Yamaha R1 in July last year, and we spent the Christmas period building it into a race bike.

“Unfortunately, I crashed it at Morgan Park in testing and it was almost totally written off – there were only a few components we were able to salvage.

“As a small privateer team, when you have a crash like that, it’s a huge setback. But we were determined not to give up, and my sister-in-law started a GoFundMe page to raise some funds to fix the bike.

“The generosity and support from the local motorcycling community, as well as my sponsors especially Brewed on Cuthbert has just been unbelievable and we’ve been able to get the bike rebuilt in time for Hidden Valley.

“Because I haven’t raced Superbikes lately, it’s hard to get a gauge on where everyone else is at, so I just want to put my best foot forward and be competitive.”

They might not have the resources of the larger teams at their disposal, but when it comes to sheer passion and determination, both Falzon and Turner will be a match for anyone at Hidden Valley.

Corey Turner

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