Q2 the target as Durning's ASBK learning curve steepens at The Bend
Kiwi rookie methodically chips away at the clock but has work to do before Saturday qualifying
By Kent Gray in Adelaide
Three sessions of free practice got progressively faster for Luca Durning on Friday at The Bend. That’s pretty much all anyone could ask of the Kiwi rookie to open round 3 of the Penrite Oils Australian Superbike Championship but don’t think for even a tenth of a second that he’s satisfied.
The Kiwi rookie knows there’s still oodles of speed he can wrangle out of his DesmoSport Ducati around the monster 4.95km circuit in South Australia as we head into free practice 4 and qualifying at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park on Saturday.
The Whanganui 21-year-old wrapped up Friday 13th (of 20) in the combined classification, 5.8 seconds adrift of five-time defending champion Josh Waters.
But each and every one of the 23 laps he completed across the three sessions left something to be desired even as he methodically chipped away at his best time, trimming nearly two seconds from a FP1 best of 1:57.766 to a 1:56.193 by the final session.
Durning’s Panigale V4 R isn’t yet doing exactly what he wants it to do in the corners, but the direction of travel is the right one thanks to the deliberate, systematic work with his DesmoSport Ducati crew and the Kiwi’s need to prove he belongs further up the grid.
Waters, meanwhile, was imperious. The Queenslander led every session and got quicker as a blustery day wore on — 1:51.161 became 1:50.768 and then 1:50.398. Current championship leader Harrison Voight could manage only fourth in the final session on 1:50.982 to sit behind New South Welshman Cru Halliday on yet another Ducati V4R and Yamaha R1 pilot Mike Jones, the three-time ASBK champion, who shared anidentical 1:50.970 with Halliday.
For Durning, the line in the sand is pronounced as he settles into his first full ASBK Superbike campaign. The step up from NZSBK has been immediate and unambiguous.
“It’s a lot harder, but it’s more of the fact it’s the tracks,” Durning told The Final Sector.
“Our tracks at home are hard, but then you get over here, and there’s the World Superbikes racing some of the tracks and MotoGP as well. And there’s a lot more races. The actual racing community here is just bigger as it seems to be dying at home, unfortunately, which is never good.”
Durning entered the weekend 13th in the ASBK championship on 35 points, built across mid field consistency in the five races thus far at Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park.
It was on this very circuit, at last year’s ASBK finale, that Durning made his Superbike class debut, finishing 13th in both races. He knows what The Bend demands and is slowly working out how to take more from it.
The circuit’s particular character has been part of the puzzle.
“It’s actually surprisingly [the case that] most of the time gained is on the throttle, whereas a lot of the time, if you’re really good on the brakes, you can sacrifice a little bit on the drive,” he said.
“But there’s not really many braking points here. You get to turn one off the straight, and then you’re on the throttle to turn six, and then there’s just three long right-handers after that, and you’re just adjusting the throttle ever so slightly. So yeah, it’s quite hard, actually, trying to work out that you need to be more on the throttle than you do on the brake.”
The setup work is ongoing. The bike isn’t behaving the way he wants it to, particularly on corner entry, but he is clear-eyed about separating the mechanical from the personal.
“Yeah, the setup’s not quite right. I’m trying to get it into the corner, and it’s just not wanting to do what I want the bike to do.
“I don’t know if that is a bit of me or the setup, so we’re trying to work on both. But hopefully for this evening’s session and tomorrow morning’s practice session, we can get it all sorted.”
There were further positive signs on FP3 but Saturday ups the ante further, FP4 followed by the critical two-stage qualifying format. The top 12 from Q1 advance to Q2 and for Durning, breaking into that group would be a result in itself.
He was 1.764 seconds off NSW’s Marcus Hamod in 12th place on his Honda SBR in the combined classification on Friday, not a small gap but not insurmountable either give Saturday is a new day and this track’s gigantic proportions.
“I mean, a top 10 would be awesome, but mainly just time on the bike and improving, showing that I can improve no matter what,” was During’s answer when asked for his ambitions for races six and seven of the championship on Sunday.
“And I would like to get maybe a second or two faster off my lap time. That would be overall goal, but a top 10 would also be just the cherry on top.”
With the beauty of reflection, Friday at The Bend was a lot like Durning’s rookie NZSBK campaign. Very nearly but not quite.
Entering the final round at Taupo Motorsport Park level on points with Upper Hutt’s Rogan Chandler — and ahead on countback — Durning won the final race of the season but was edged for the title after a complicated final weekend.
It was the kind of ending that can break a young rider or harden one.
Twenty-three laps into Round 3 of ASBK at The Bend, the evidence points firmly toward the latter.