Saturday

Alpinestars Superbikes
After the challenges of the past two years, it’s a welcome return to the number one grid slot for Herfoss – Today’s pole position is his twelfth in his ASBK career and his first since round two 2021. Herfoss is back, proving that his win at the 2022 season finale was no fluke. His rivals should be worried. Herfoss has been the pace-setter in three of the four practice sessions as well as the major qualifying session, and been the most consistent of any rider on the grid as he has gone about the task of getting back to the top. His qualifying performance was a huge warning shot that he his back to his most determined mood – a scary thought for his opponents.

“It’s been an extremely long road back for me with many challenges along the way”, explained Herfoss. “I feel that I am back to 100% as the team has really been working hard for me to get back to this point. We are all working very well together. I am hoping that this weekend is not a one-off, but I am feeling extremely fit and confident about the rest of the season ahead. I know it’s a long shot but this weekend, I have the opportunity to shrink the points gap to Josh [Waters]. It’s been a long road back to get to this point, but I am confident that I am back to where I have been working towards.”

Defending champion, Mike Jones found a little extra to be second on the grid just 0.104 secs adrift of the Penrite Honda man. The corresponding round at the same venue, last year, was where Jones set the foundations for his title challenge. Come race day there is another mindset to the three-time Aussie champion and he will be a major threat as he is a major “race day” rider.

Fellow Yamaha Racing Team rider, Cru Halliday even with two off-track excursions at the final turn in his efforts to grab the top spot and the all-important championship point – claimed the last spot on the front row. 2023 has been a turnaround for Halliday. Apart from a crash in the opening race of the year at Phillip Island where he had to take evasive action to avoid a major incident, his worst result in the other four races has been third place. Halliday is a true title threat in 2023.

Three-time ASBK champion Josh Waters has had a challenging weekend that was compounded with a crash in Q1 but he bounced back to be fourth overall. The important equation for Waters and the McMartin Racing Team is to leave the round with as many points as possible in preparation for the next round at Darwin in mid-June.

Besides Herfoss’ impressive performance, the stand-out of the session was Max Stauffer who scored his best qualifying result in the fifth spot in the Alpinestars Superbike class as he will be in the middle of the second row for Sunday’s two races.

The remainder of the Top Ten are Glenn Allerton (GT Racing BMW) in sixth from fellow BMW rider, Ted Collins (Livson Racing), Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) in eighth spot, Bryan Staring (MotoGo Yamaha) in ninth and Anthony West (Addicted To Track Yamaha) in tenth.

Alpine Superbikes Queensland Raceway Front Row (Full Results Here)

1 Troy HERFOSS / Penrite Honda – Honda CBR RR (1:07.655)
2 Mike JONES / Yamaha Racing Team – Yamaha YZF-R1M (+.104)
3 Cru HALLIDAY / Yamaha Racing Team – Yamaha YZF-R1M (+ .142)

Michelin Supersport
Cameron Dunker – at the ripe old age of 15 – continues to re-write the history books in his first year in the class.  There’s no denying the kid’s talent. Since he has turned his talent to road racing after winning five Australian dirt track titles, he has won the Oceania Junior Cup and in 2022 took out the double winning the Supersport 300 Championship as well as the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup.

At the previous round at Sydney Motorsport – in just his fifth race in the class – Cam won the second Michelin Supersport race in wet and challenging conditions, to become the youngest winner of a race in the class and backed it up today by becoming the youngest rider to claim a Michelin Supersport pole position. The diminutive teenager is a class act with an extremely promising future. It would be no surprise if he takes another win Sunday but there are plenty willing to upset his applecart.

One of those riders is Tom Bramich who qualified second fastest on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Tom has been in the class for a couple of years after tasting international competition but with his best qualifying result in the class has shown that he is not too far from knocking on the door of a race win. Third fastest was championship leader, Ty Lynch who went about his task without any fanfare but continued to chip away in his usual way. While Ty is not one to make any excuses, he is still recovering from injuries he suffered last year. As is the case with all of the gladiators of ASBK, once he is on the bike and on track all the discomfort is erased from his mind as he goes about the job at hand.

Leading the way on the second row of the grid is Olly Simpson from South Australia. Simpson is one of Australia’s most underrated riders as he has entered his local round at the Bend in recent years but for 2023 he – and his two brothers, Mitch and Jordie – are contesting every round. The Simpson trio have regularly featured in the podium positions throughout the opening rounds, look for this trend to continue on Sunday. Fifth fastest is Jack Passfield from NSW with Jake Farnsworth rounding out the second row of the grid for the two 14-lap races ahead of the field tomorrow.

Michelin Supersport Queensland Raceway Front Row (Full Results Here)

1 Jake FARNSWORTH – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:11.982)
2 Scott NICHOLSON – Yamaha YZF-R6 (+ .040)
3 John LYTRAS – Yamaha YZF-R6 (+.226)

Supersport 300 & R3 Cup
The Supersport 300 and R3 Cup provide another piece of history in Australian road racing when teenager, Marcus Hamod from Wollongong (NSW) doubled up and broke through for his first victories. The first win in the R3 Cup of eight laps was extremely emotional for the youngster as he held off the attention of his opposition in a typical drag to the line to deny Henry Snell with series leader Brandon Demmery coming home in third. It was a typical, frantic last lap for the class with six riders crossing the line within half a second!

The Supersport 300 class was the last race of the day and it was more of the same – Action aplenty. With the massive boost of confidence from the earlier race win, Hamod again managed to win the slipstream duel to the finish line. Demonstrating his level of cunning aboard a motorcycle, he rode a unique line through the final corner to carry the momentum and negate any threats from his rivals as he set a new lap record on the way to victory. Brandon Demmery and Brodie Gawith rounded out the podium as pole sitter Cameron Swain was an agonising 0.044 of a second away from some silverware.

Supersport 300 Queensland Raceway Race One Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Marcus HAMOD – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Brandon DEMMERY – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.045)
3 25 Brodie GAWITH – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.270)

Yamaha R3 Cup Queensland Raceway Race One Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Marcus HAMOD – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Henry SNELL – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.024)
3 Brandon DEMMERY – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.174)

BLU CRU OCEANIA JUNIOR CUP
A no-holds-barred race to open the account for our juniors. Leading one moment, being shuffled back to outside the top five the next – Welcome to OJC. Fans around Queensland Raceway were treated to an enthralling race, proving the class is a real winner for unearthing talent.

The short, sharp six-lap dash concluded with Bodie Paige taking the opening race of the weekend. Archie Schmidt climbed from the second row to finish second while it was a solid points-scoring day for Riley Nauta, as he looks to build on his current third place in the championship standings.

OJC Queensland Raceway Race One Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Bodie PAIGE – Yamaha YZF-R15
2 Archie SCHMIDT – Yamaha YZF-R15 (+.026)
3 Riley NAUTA – Yamaha YZF-R15 (+0.247)

Sunday

Alpinestars Superbikes
The two, sixteen lap Alpinestars Superbike races were absolute showstoppers as the best of Australia went head-to-head at the third round of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul (ASBK) at Queensland raceway.

As the smell of burning rubber subsided around the circuit it was two-time ASBK Champion, Troy Herfoss and his Penrite Honda team who rose above the rest scoring a perfect weekend of pole position and two intensely fought race wins to walk away with a perfect score of 51 points. The stellar weekend has consolidated his second place in the title chase in emphatic fashion as Herfoss took a huge chunk of points out of the series pacesetter, Josh Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati).

Waters who had won the previous five races in dominant fashion and set lap records at Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park, could only manage a run of two fourth place finishes behind defending champion Mike Jones’ two-second places, while his Yamaha Racing team-mate Cru Halliday continued his impressive run of six podiums after his two third place results.

While the top four places may have been the same for the two races the action was at another level, particularly at the front in the contests between Herfoss and Jones. After claiming his first pole position in over two years on Saturday afternoon, to say it was a welcome return to the winner’s dais for Herfoss is a massive understatement.

 Race One
When the lights went out to start the first race Jones won the drag race to turn one to lead the field from Herfoss as Halliday again blew the start for Waters to move into third. Jones and Herfoss broke away from the rest as they became embroiled in a titanic struggle that saw the lead change between the pair at least a dozen times.  Herfoss stalked his blue prey relentlessly looking for that opening. Jones looked like he had enough up his sleeve, Herfoss wasn’t playing the game of the defending champion.

Behind them, Waters was in third for the opening lap before Glenn Allerton, (GT Racing BMW) grabbed third on the second lap to hold onto a possible podium until the seventh lap as Halliday steadily made up for his poor start to relegate Allerton to fourth as Waters cleared Allerton for fourth.

But most eyes were firmly focused on the leading pair. Herfoss launched his initial assault at about half-race distance with an aggressive move into the turn three hairpin. He ran wide, allowing Jones up the inside to retake the lead. Herfoss tried again at the first of two left-handers on the track and again at the final turn. Herfoss appeared to be trying too hard as his late braking moves were upsetting his mid-corner attack and he ran wide which allowed Jones back in front.

With little more than millimetres separating the pair it was anyone’s guess with two laps to go. Herfoss made his move on the fifteenth lap to finally take the lead and fended off the #1 Yamaha to take the chequered flag. It was an enthralling duel as the passing maneuvers were astonishing as both riders threw everything at each other – reminiscent of their last round duel at Sydney Motorsport Park in December 2019 when Jones won his second title.

As they battled, Halliday was encroaching closer to the leading duo but once again rued his getaway off the line. The gap between the leading pair was just 0.115 of a second with Halliday chasing the pair of them down to be just 0.047 behind at the flag.

Race Two
Jones launched into the lead off the line to make the rest give chase in what Jones has become renowned for as he settles into a rhythm out in front. The McMartin Racing Team and Josh Waters had made a setup change between races, allowing the #21 to run with the leaders in the early stages as the group clicked off the laps. Waters tried valiantly to run with the leading duo but as the wind changed and the track became more greasy with an increased temperature, the Ducati man struggled to hold on and started to drift into a distant third.

The action was hotter than the track as Herfoss took the lead on the fifth lap. Jones was more willing to give up the lead this time as he elected to stay behind the Fireblade and study its weaknesses. A calm and methodical Jones played the patient game, drifting back to allow his front tyre to cool ahead of a renewed attack with three laps to go. Jones pounced on lap thirteen with a move that Herfoss had tried on him in race one, but the lead immediately changed back as Herfoss had his elbows out and muscled his way back into the lead the very next lap.

The pair traded the lead as the last lap board was shown and the fight was on. Side-by-side into turn three as Jones defended the inside line and held Herfoss at bay for now. Fans around Queensland Raceway were on the edge of their seat as Herfoss dived up the inside into turn four to surprise an unsuspecting Jones who had left the door open. The Yamaha rider running wide in avoidance, gathered himself up and adjusted his line for turn five to line up Herfoss into the final corner for one final attack. The pair grabbed the brakes alongside one another, with Jones running up the inside and in turn opening a gap for Herfoss to squeeze the power on and cut back underneath the R1 M. It still wasn’t over as Jones was able to get the Yamaha onto the fat part of the tyre and blast up the inside of Herfoss in a drag race to the line – The Penrite Honda man winning by just 0.056 of a second in his one hundredth start for the manufacturer in ASBK competition.

Jones’ Yamaha Racing Team teammate Halliday rides across the line to score a podium and continue his impressive 2023 form, while third is not the result he is after, it is only a matter of time before the #65 wins a race this season.

Superbike Queensland Raceway Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Troy HERFOSS / Penrite Honda – Honda CBR RR
2 Mike JONES / Yamaha Racing Team – Yamaha YZF-R1M
3 Cru HALLIDAY / Yamaha Racing Team – Yamaha YZF-R1M

Michelin Supersport

Race One
The Michelin Supersport championship in 2023 is quite possibly the most intense and competitive title chase it has been in many years. This year there are so many competitors that are capable of winning a race – and the championship – but there is one rider that is gaining a massive amount of attention as he battles in his rookie year in the class. Fifteen-year-old Cameron Dunker is a revelation.

The way he has adapted so quickly is simply astonishing. In only his fifth race in the class (at Sydney Motorsport Park in March) Cam’ broke through to become the youngest-ever winner of a race in the class. In that race, he conquered the changing wet conditions to put on a master class of controlled yet rapid riding to streak the field. To prove it was no fluke, at QR this weekend he claimed another piece of history to be the youngest rider to grab Pole Position in the class. He certainly sets some challenges for himself, but he converts them into reality as he did on the weekend. Equally impressive is his race craft and riding maturity for one so young but with a successful career in dirt track that saw him win five national titles it is understandable that he is a rising star and has an innate talent for racing either on the black, or the brown, stuff.

While Dunker has set tongues waxing lyrical since his arrival in the class, there are a number of more experienced rivals like series leader, Ty Lynch, dual Australian Champion Tom Bramich, South Australian Ollie Simpson, and others who are aiming to deny the youngster any further glory.

Simpson was like an exocet missile off the line as he charged into the lead, endeavoring to break the spirit of the opposition early. Easier said than done with this year’s pack of hard chargers as they gave chase like a bunch of greyhounds stalking a rabbit on a Friday evening but Simpson had a lead of over two seconds after five laps as Dunker and Lynch duked it out until Dunker grabbed second and set about closing downs Simpson’s lead with Lynch riding shotgun. Dunker hunted down the leader and the pair had some dramatic passing moves as the lead changed numerous over the remaining laps but it was Dunker who held on to win his second win on the trot by just 0.011 sec from Simpson with Lynch right on their tails.

Race Two
In the second race, Simpson again scythed his way from the second row, and Bramich tagged onto his rear wheel as Dunker was off to an uncustomary slow start to be fourth after the first lap. Simpson looked like he was going to disappear into the distance but Bramich sure had the race face on as he pulled back the gap with some impressively fierce late braking to keep Simpson just in front as he searched for a way past.

It appeared to be a two-bike race as the pair had a lead of over 2.5 seconds over third-place Dunker after eight of the 14 laps but Dunker had other ideas. He hunted down the pair overtaking Bramich on the twelft lap and was 1.55 seconds behind Simspon with two laps to go. It didn’t seem possible but Dunker went within 0.232 of a second of pulling off a remarkable win with Bramich scoring his best result in a long time to finish third.

Michelin Supersport Queensland Raceway Front Row (Full Results Here)

1 Cameron DUNKER – Yamaha YZF-R6
2 Olly SIMPSON – Yamaha YZF-R6
3 Scott NICHOLSON – Yamaha YZF-R6

Supersport 300 & R3 Cup
For Sunday’s races, Hamod continued his stellar performance from the day before as he added another victory to his resume taking out the third and final Production 300cc race. Each of the four races featured conga lines of up to fourteen bikes battling for the lead and the relegation and promotion of positions was astounding as a rider could be in the lead in one corner and in eighth – or worse – at the very next.

The four races were decided by a total of 0.074 seconds. The closest gap between first and second was 0.003 sec between Hamod and Henry Snell in the final 300cc race with Brandon Demmery a “massive” 0.179 sec away on third. The largest gap was 0.034 in the final R3 Cup race between Cameron Swain and Brandon Demmery with the top six covered by half a second.

Swain finally managed to claim another victory after going so close during the weekend but after leading races many times he was in the wrong spot at the wrong time, being shuffled back rias he was swamped and relegated at critical times of the races.

Supersport 300 Queensland Raceway Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Marcus HAMOD – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Brodie GAWITH – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.045)
3 Brandon DEMMERY – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.270)

Yamaha R3 Cup Queensland Raceway Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Cameron SWAIN – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Marcus HAMOD – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.024)
3 Brandon DEMMERY – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.174)

The post ASBK RD3: All The Action From Queensland Raceway appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

To prepare for this round I was drinking lots of water and I spent time watching videos of people riding the track because it was my first time riding at Queensland raceway, so it was important to learn all the tricks and braking points of QR.

I was super excited to hit the track on the Friday morning, nice and early for practice. After a few laps around, I started to get a hang of the track. I think my favourite sector of QR was the first one because it has two fast right hand corners meaning I just throw the R15 through them.

It wasn’t my favourite track though, the thing that I disliked about it was the bumps and how it is not as challenging to ride as some of the other tracks on the calendar. My R15 was a bit hard to turn around the tight corners at this track, out of the second corner it was running wide so I couldn’t hold the throttle on as much I could of.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on the track this weekend. I’m having lots of fun this year on track and off track, which is the main thing”…

On the Friday morning I started to feel sick but I thought that is was dehydration so I drank some more water but that didn’t help. On the first session on Friday I had a headache, it was hard to focus and in qualifying I felt even worse because my throat was starting to feel bad.

To be safe, on Saturday I took a COVID test and it said negative so I kept on riding but it was getting worse! Every time I put my helmet on my face would get really hot and and after I was done riding I would need to sit down. On Sunday it was the worst so before the last race we went to race safe and they said I should not ride.

Check out our Guide To Riding Wakefield Park by Andrew Pitt here…

I was a bit disappointed that we had to leave early but I just couldn’t race any longer. It was lucky that we left when we did as when I got home I took another Covid test and it was positive. I had to do seven days in isolation, it wasn’t all bad as all I did was stay in bed and eat pineapple!

Now I’m fully recovered but unfortunately I did not make it to the unofficial test at Wakefield Park, which I was a bit sad about. It’s not a big deal though as I have experience at Wakefield which makes my hopes higher for next round. But, any practice is good practice and the fact I did not get to do the testing will make me fall behind a bit.

I’ve been trying to keep up with the MotoGP this year for some racing inspiration. To be honest, I think that the MotoGP world champion will be Enea Bastianini he seems to be the best at keeping the tyres fresh during the race and he’s already got a good points lead.

I’m looking forward to getting back on the track this weekend. I’m having lots of fun this year on track and off track, which is the main thing. On track I get to race really aggressively and off track everyone is mates! Make sure you head down to Wakefield Park this weekend to see the action. If you can’t get there, check it out on TV or on the live FB feed on the ASBK page. Wish me luck – James #71

Congratulations to the Queensland podium, you can see all of the results for the OJC here… 

My sponsors are: motoDNA, motoCHAMPIONS, Bendix Brake Pads, Bendix Workshop
Series Sponsors are: Ricondi, Shark, Dunlop, Ohlins, IRC Components, DID chains, Yamaha bLU Cru

The post Column: James ‘ROCKET Weaver, OJC appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Australian Superbike Round Results (Full Results Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1
2 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R
3 Josh Waters – BMW M RR

Supersport 600 Round Results (Full Results Here)

1 Tom Edwards – Yamaha YZF-R6 (prior to disqualification) Post Race – John Lytras.
2 Scott Nicholson – Yamaha YZF-R6
3 Olly Simpson – Yamaha YZF-R6

Dunlop Supersport 300 Round Results (Full Results Here) 

1 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3
3 James Jacobs – Kawasaki Ninja

Yamaha R3 Cup Round Results (Full Results Here)

1 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3
3 Hayden Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3

Oceania Junior Cup Round Results (Full Results Here) 

1 Harrison Watts – Yamaha YZF-R15
2 Ryan Larkin – Yamaha YZF-R15
3 Hunter Corney – Yamaha YZF-R15

The post ASBK Gallery: All The Best Shots From Rd2 At Queensland Raceway appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Friday Reports
Mike Jones gave his hometown fans plenty to smile about after topping the timesheets in Friday Practice for Round Two of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Queensland Raceway.

Jones (YZF-R1) hit-out early to clock just under a second ahead of Josh Waters (BMW M RR) and Cru Halliday (YZF-R1), while defending ASBK champion Wayne Maxwell (V4R), spent the first segment of practice cutting installation laps on his new bike (after damaging the front-end at Phillip Island a few weeks ago). Round one winner and championship leader, Bryan Staring (V4R) would eventually split Jones and Halliday, with Maxwell in fourth.

In the afternoon, it was Jones and Maxwell topping the order, with Jones’s 1:07.967 three-tenths quicker than Maxwell’s best, with Halliday a further tenth away in third. Most were expecting times to drop, but spots of rain in the afternoon thwarted any chance of improvement. Jones was comfortably inside the official lap-record at Queensland Raceway and pleased to make his mark on home turf so early in the weekend.

“It’s been a long time away for ASBK, but for me it’s my home circuit. I’ve cut so many laps around here and I’m really looking forward to the weekend,” said Jones. “This circuit has a simple layout, but having only a handful of corners makes it hard to go fast.”

Australian Superbike Practice (Full Results Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1 (1:07.967)
2 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R (1:08.281)
3 Cru Halliday – Yamaha YZF-R1 (1:08.335)

Supersport 600
In Michelin Supersport, Jack Hyde (Yamaha YZF-R6) lead the way in Practice One, ahead of Olly Simpson (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Tom Bramich (Yamaha YZF-R6). In the afternoon sessions, but it was Simpson who stepped-up to go quickest outright by three-tenths of a second over John Lytras (Yamaha YZF-R6), with Hyde rounding out the top three by virtue of his earlier time.

Supersport 600 Practice (Full Results Here)

1 Olly Simpson – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:11.784)
2 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:11.864)
3 Jack Hyde – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:12.188)

Dunlop Supersport 300
James Jacobs (Kawasaki Ninja) dominated the Dunlop Supersport 300 class early, ahead of the ever-improving Taiyo Aksu (Yamaha YZF-R3), while Aksu himself was a mere three-hundredths ahead of Laura Brown (Yamaha YZF-R3) before Glenn Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) shot to the top of the order – three-tenths up on Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Aksu. Dunker would leap ahead in Practice 2 to go fastest overall with a 1:22.801 ahead of Nelson and Aksu.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Practice (Full Results Here) 

1 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 (1:22.801)
2 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 (1:22.926)
3 Taito Aksu – Yamaha YZF-R3 (1:23.306)

Yamaha R3 Cup
Taiyo Aksu (Yamaha YZF-R3) topped the morning session of the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup, ahead of Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3) and Nate O’Neill (Yamaha YZF-R3). Dunker would top the final session of the day, but the overall order remained unchanged.

Yamaha R3 Cup Practice (Full Results Here)

1 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 (1:22.653)
2 Taiyo Aksu – Yamaha YZF-R3 (1:23.918)
3 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 (1:23.011)

Oceania Junior Cup
In Oceania Junior Cup, Ryan Larkin (Yamaha YZF-R15) edged Marcus Hamod (Yamaha YZF-R15) in practice one by one-tenth of a second, with a similar distance back to Hudson Thompson (Yamaha YZF-R15). Teerin Fleming would bounce back in the afternoon to jump from fourth to first in practice 2.

Oceania Junior Cup Practice (Full Results Here) 

1 Teerin Fleming – Yamaha YZF-R15 (1:35.580)
2 Ryan Larkin – Yamaha YZF-R15 (1:35.892)
3 Hudson Thompson – Yamaha YZF-R15 (1:36.031)

Australian Sidecar Championship
The Horsell Australian Sidecar Championship made its return for 2022, with Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoe (Suzuki LCR 1000) staking an early claim ahead of Des Harvey and Stephen Marshall (Kawasaki RHR 1000), with Jamie and Shelby Turner (Suzuki LCR 1000) rounding out the top three. Underwood would again top the order in practice two, with Turner this time usurping Harvey in the afternoon to complete the final three.

Australian Sidecar Championship (Full Results Here)

1 Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoe – Suzuki LCR 1000 (1:20.559)
2 Neil Turner and Danyon Turner – Suzuki LCR 1000 (1:21.517)
3 Des Harvey and Stephen Marshall – Kawasaki RHR 1000 (1:22.331)

Saturday Reports
Practice form certainly dictated the outcome, with Mike Jones setting a time of 1:07.673 enjoying a two-tenths margin over Staring, but for the first time on the weekend – after much speculation – the top three riders finally dropped into the 1:07’s during ASBK RD2 at Queensland Raceway…

“Track knowledge is a key part of being able to go fast around here and being able to refine each corner to the absolute maximum,” said Jones. “I just need to make a good start, get my head down and put in some quick lap times and see what happens towards the end of the race.”

Starting behind Jones, P2 was grabbed by Bryan Staring who was not drawn on being the top Ducati on the day – ahead of Wayne Maxwell. “That’s fine, it’s not a big deal to me. I’m really happy with that qualifying session- to be back on the front row-  I actually don’t know the last time I was on the front row. It’s all about getting a good start for the two races tomorrow…”

For Wayne Maxwell, P3 was a good outcome, but there’s work to be done if the 2021 Champion is going to claw back from seventh in the title chase. “Look, it’s been a bit of a struggle. We’re on the back foot compared to these guys… we’ll try to make some more improvements to the bike overnight and come out tomorrow and try to close that last bit of the gap. We’ll just do our thing tomorrow.”

In Q1, Jed Metcher, Aiden Wagner and Mark Chiodo progressed to the final stage of Superbike qualifying, while in Q2, Troy Herfoss would run into technical issues, forcing him to swap onto his second bike with five minutes remaining in the session.

Australian Superbike Qualifying (Full Results Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1 (1:07.673)
2 Bryan Staring – Ducati V4R (1:07.861)
3 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R (1:07.996)

Supersport 600
After a close-fought qualifying, Tom Edwards (Yamaha YZF-R6) took the Michelin Supersport pole after securing a time of 1:11.180 – pipping Friday Practice fast man John Lytras (Yamaha YZF-R6) by two-tenths of a second, with Olly Simpson (Yamaha YZF-R6) a further three-tenths adrift. Until he put the bike on pole, Edwards had not topped the timesheets in any session but knew the incremental improvements the team had made was heading the bike in the right direction.

Supersport 600 Qualifying (Full Results Here)

1 Tom Edwards – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:11.180)
2 Olly Simpson – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:11.655)
3 Tom Drane – Yamaha YZF-R6 (1:12.478)

Dunlop Supersport 300
Glenn Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) edged Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3) by a tenth of a second to take pole for Dunlop Supersport 300, with Henry Snell (Yamaha YZF-R3) rounding out the top three. After starting from fifth of the grid, James Jacobs (Kawasaki Ninja) edged his way into the lead, taking out Race One ahead of Cameron Dunker and Taiyo Aksu (Yamaha YZF-R3) in a typically exciting and varied Dunlop Supersport 300 race.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Race One (Full Results Here) 

1 James Jacobs – Kawasaki Ninja (13:57.201)
2 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.246)
3 Taito Aksu – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.258)

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup
The Yamaha Finance R3 Cup grid was the first to get locked away just after lunch, with Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3) taking pole with a 1.21:916 – half a second ahead of Glenn Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) and Macus Hamod (Yamaha YZF-R3).  In Race One, Dunker would lead from lights to flag ahead of runner-up Nelson, with Aksu rounding out the top three. A crash at Turn 3 saw Henry Snell walk away unscathed but out of contention.

Yamaha R3 Cup Race One (Full Results Here)

1 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 (11:08.181)
2 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+0.082)
3 Taiyo Aksu – Yamaha YZF-R3 (+5.419)

Oceania Junior Cup
It was going to be a tight bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup with Levi Russo (Yamaha YZF-15) just edging Hudson Thompson (Yamaha YZF-15) in Q1 by just 2-hundredths of a second and Hunter Corney (Yamaha YZF-15) a further tenth away. In Race One, Ryan Larkin would vault from sixth place on the grid to take the lead with four laps remaining. After a close dice with Hunter Corney and Cameron Rende, it was Hudson Thompson who would prevail from Corney and Rende with just four-tenths of a second covering the top five riders.

Oceania Junior Cup Race One(Full Results Here) 

1 Hunter Corney – Yamaha YZF-R15 (9:46.237)
2 Cameron Rende – Yamaha YZF-R15 (+0.221)
3 Marcus Hamod – Yamaha YZF-R15 (+0.304)

Australian Sidecar Championship
Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoe (Suzuki LCR 1000) laid down a hot time to take pole position for the Sidecars ahead of Jamie and Shelby Turner (Suzuki LCR 1000), with Howard Ford and Corey Blackman (Suzuki RHR 1000) rounding out the top three. Underwood and Vercoe went on to claim Race One victory, with Ford and Blackman edging Des Harvey and Stephen Marshall (Kawasaki RHR 1000) for the final podium spots. In Race 2, Underwood and Vercoe would go the double, with the Turners again taking the runner-up spot ahead of Jeff Brown and Paris Halsey (Suzuki JBR 1000).

Australian Sidecar Championship Race Two (Full Results Here)

1 Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoe – Suzuki LCR 1000 (8:04.717)
2 Jamie Turner and Shelby Turner – Suzuki LCR 1000 (+18.514)
3 Jeff Brown and Paris Halsey – Suzuki JBR 1000 (+26.659)

Sunday Reports 
Bryan Staring (DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4-R) got the early jump on Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing YZF-R1) to take the lead in Race 1, with Glenn Allerton (Maxima Oils Racing BMW M1000RR) also making a big first lap move up to fourth. Jones would briefly retake the lead on lap two, but left the door open enough for Staring to nudge through.  

A mid-corner error from Staring saw the Championship leader drop out of contention and hand second place to Wayne Maxwell (V4-R). Jones would cruise to a 5.6-second lead to take victory ahead of Maxwell and Josh Waters (Maxima Oils Racing BMW M1000RR).

Maxwell would time his launch perfectly to take an early lead in Race Two ahead of Jones and Staring. It would be short-lived however as Jones ran past the Ducati through the outside of turn two. Arthur Sissis (Unitech Racing YZF-R1) and Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing YZF-R1) would argue over fourth and fifth respectively. This duel would be settled before the chequered flag when Halliday stopped on the final lap with mechanical issues. 

“All the guys at Yamaha have put in a big effort to help me adapt to this bike. The last win for me was in 2019 so to come and get a couple of wins is just fantastic,” said Jones. “I was hoping as the season went on to get to grips with the Yamaha and be able to challenge, so to lead the championship is a little bit above my expectations,” 

Second-placed Staring was circumspect after a crash in Race One effectively lost him the championship lead to Jones. While, third-placed Maxwell was happy to score two podiums on which he deems to be his ‘bogey’ circuit.  

Australian Superbike Round Results (Full Results Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1
2 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R
3 Josh Waters – BMW M RR

Supersport 600
John Lytras (Yamaha YZF-R6) ran out to an early two-tenths of a second lead in Race One for Michelin Supersport, but couldn’t hold on – eventually being usurped by Tom Edwards (Yamaha YZF-R6) to the honours in ahead of Scott Nicholson (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Lytras. Nominal Championship leader (With actual leader Senna Agius now overseas) Tom Bramich crashed out of the race, giving him a challenge to work back into contention over the next six rounds.

Lytras would get the jump in Race Two, only to get pushed down to third in the first few corners by Olly Simpson and Tom Edwards. Tom Drane would make an impressive start to vault to fifth position. Tom Edwards was later found with illegal modifications, handing the round win to John Lytras.

Supersport 600 Round Results (Full Results Here)

1 Tom Edwards – Yamaha YZF-R6 (prior to disqualification) Post Race – John Lytras.
2 Scott Nicholson – Yamaha YZF-R6
3 Olly Simpson – Yamaha YZF-R6

Dunlop Supersport 300
After two riders went down at turn two (including Saturday front-runner Taiyo Asksu), the Dunlop Supersport 300 Race Two was restarted with five laps remaining. At the restart, Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3) and Glenn Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) immediately grabbed an early break on the opposition. They were never challenged, with Nelson capitalising on a last-corner error from Dunker to take victory with Jonatha Nahlous (Kawasaki Ninja) in third.

In Race Three, Nelson and Dunker would get an early break on the field, with Nahlous fending off the rest of the pack. Dunker would pull a late race challenge, but Nelson would close the gate to take victory with Henry Snell eventually sneaking through to for third.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Round Results (Full Results Here) 

1 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3
3 James Jacobs – Kawasaki Ninja

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup
With a number of riders missing the grid for Race Two of the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup, a large contingent would be forced to start from pit-lane. Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3) got the early jump but would be challenged by both Glenn Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) and Henry Snell (Yamaha YZF-R3).

Nelson would survive a tight-fought battle to take victory in a thriller from Dunker and first-time podium placer Sam Pezzetta (Yamaha YZF-R3). Dunker would make amends to take the victory for Race Three ahead of Henry Snell and Glenn Nelson.

Yamaha R3 Cup Round Results (Full Results Here)

1 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3
2 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3
3 Hayden Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
In Race Two of the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, it was another tense battle between Cameron Rende, Ryan Larkin, Teerin Fleming and Hudson Thompson (all Yamaha YZF-R15), with the lead changing multiple times each lap.

After dropping as low as sixth, Rende would time his run perfectly to take the chequered ahead of Larkin and Harrison Watts by five-hundredths of a second. However, applied penalties saw an amended result of Cameron Rende, Sam Drane and Hudson Thompson on the final podium.

In Race Three, Hunter Corney would lead into turn one ahead of Thompson and Watts. With only 1.2 seconds covering the top eight riders, getting the timing right would be crucial on the run to the flag. Rende would have no such luck after dropping out from third place, leaving Watts to take a narrow victory over a fast-closing Ryan Larkin and Hudson Thompson in third.

Oceania Junior Cup Round Results (Full Results Here) 

1 Harrison Watts – Yamaha YZF-R15
2 Ryan Larkin – Yamaha YZF-R15
3 Hunter Corney – Yamaha YZF-R15

Horsell Australian Sidecar Championship
Completing an almost perfect weekend, Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoe win Race Three of the Horsell Australian Sidecar Championship with the Turner family fighting out the final spots – Neil and Danyon Turner taking second place ahead of Jamie and Shelbey Turner in third.

Australian Sidecar Championship Round Results (Full Results Here)

1 Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoe – Suzuki LCR 1000
2 Jamie Turner and Shelby Turner – Suzuki LCR 1000
3 Patrick Clancy and Amanda Williams – Suzuki LCR 600

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Jones (YZF-R1) hit-out early to clock just under a second ahead of Josh Waters (BMW M RR) and Cru Halliday (YZF-R1), while defending ASBK champion Wayne Maxwell (V4R), spent the first segment of practice cutting installation laps on his new bike (after damaging the front-end at Phillip Island a few weeks ago). Round one winner and championship leader, Bryan Staring (V4R) would eventually split Jones and Halliday, Maxwell in fourth.

In the afternoon, it was Jones and Maxwell topping the order, with Jones’s 1:07.967 three-tenths quicker than Maxwell’s best, with Halliday a further tenth away in third. Most were expecting times to drop, but spots of rain in the afternoon thwarted any chance of improvement. Jones was comfortably inside the official lap-record at Queensland Raceway and pleased to make his mark on home turf so early in the weekend.

“It’s been a long time away for ASBK, but for me it’s my home circuit. I’ve cut so many laps around here and I’m really looking forward to the weekend,” said Jones. “This circuit has a simple layout, but having only a handful of corners makes it hard to go fast.”

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Supersport 600
In Michelin Supersport, Jack Hyde (Yamaha YZF-R6) lead the way in Practice One, ahead of Olly Simpson (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Tom Bramich (Yamaha YZF-R6). In the afternoon sessions, but it was Simpson who stepped-up to go quickest outright by three-tenths of a second over John Lytras (Yamaha YZF-R6), with Hyde rounding out the top three by virtue of his earlier time.

Dunlop Supersport 300
James Jacobs (Kawasaki Ninja) dominated the Dunlop Supersport 300 class early, ahead of the ever-improving Taiyo Aksu (Yamaha YZF-R3), while Aksu himself was a mere three-hundredths ahead of Laura Brown (Yamaha YZF-R3) before Glenn Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) shot to the top of the order – three-tenths up on Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Aksu. Dunker would leap ahead in Practice 2 to go fastest overall with a 1:22.801 ahead of Nelson and Aksu.

Yamaha R3 Cup
Taiyo Aksu (Yamaha YZF-R3) topped the morning session of the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup, ahead of Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3) and Nate O’Neill (Yamaha YZF-R3). Dunker would top the final session of the day, but the overall order remained unchanged.

Oceania Junior Cup
In Oceania Junior Cup, Ryan Larkin (Yamaha YZF-R15) edged Marcus Hamod (Yamaha YZF-R15) in practice one by one-tenth of a second, with a similar distance back to Hudson Thompson (Yamaha YZF-R15). Teerin Fleming would bounce back in the afternoon to jump from fourth to first in practice 2.

Australian Sidecar Championship
The Horsell Australian Sidecar Championship made its return for 2022, with Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoe (Suzuki LCR 1000) staking an early claim ahead of Des Harvey and Stephen Marshall (Kawasaki RHR 1000), with Jamie and Shelby Turner (Suzuki LCR 1000) rounding out the top three. Underwood would again top the order in practice two, with Turner this time usurping Harvey in the afternoon to complete the final three positions.

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