The support acts that took to the track for round two produced sensational racing as Stop & Seal’s Tom Toparis (Yamaha) triumphed in the Supersport class and Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha) came away with the win in the Race and Road Supersport 300 category.

Read our ASBK Round One 2024 Reports here…

mi-bike insurance Australian Superbike
The McMartin Racing man Josh Waters continued his strong form at the Western Sydney circuit to make it back-to-back across two seasons, while local Sydney rider Cru Halliday (Yamaha) brought home the chocolates with friends and family watching on. While Waters and Halliday were the ultimate stars of the show in the premier class, it was a dirty day for Troy Herfoss (Ducati), who was unable to take the grid in race one, following ongoing issues as a result of a crash in the warm-up session, and then crashed while leading on the second lap of race two.

Race One
With Herfoss failing to complete the warm-up lap due to an electrical gremlin, grid number three was left vacant for the start of race one, where McMartin Racing’s Harrison Voight (Ducati) made a great initial jump, but played cat and mouse with teammate Waters over the first couple of laps as the field sorted themselves out.

Waters retook the lead of the race on lap two and headed an angry pack of Superbikes that included Voight, Halliday, Yamaha Racing’s Mike Jones and Pearson. Lap three saw the red flag come out, as Matt Walters (Aprilia) made a spectacular crash at turn one, with all riders returning to pitlane as officials recovered the motorcycle.

At the restart, Waters again got a nice jump to lead the rescheduled 10-lap race from Voight, Halliday, Jones and Penrite Racing’s Max Stauffer (Yamaha). As the race reached the half-way mark, Waters remained in control of his opposition, but would go on a downward slide as his tyres started to wear and fell into the clutches of his closest rivals.

As Halliday passed Voight on lap seven, he then set off on a mission to chase after Waters, where he succeeded in his quest with a nice pass on lap nine. It was clear afterward that the tyre performance of Waters’ Ducati was shot as he came under attack from his teammate, but managed to not succumb to the pressure and held on for second, with Voight third.

Race One Top 5

1. Cru Halliday
2. Josh Waters (+0.526)
3. Harrison Voight (+0.271)
4. Mike Jones (+0.285)
5. Cameron Dunker (+6.567)

Race Two
As the rain arrived for race two, the racing initially got going under the lights, but the race was red-flagged moments later, as it became apparent that the track was too wet and greasy for the riders to safely navigate their way around.

With most changing to a wet tyre, just like the opening act, the second encounter was rescheduled to a 10-lap affair, as Waters again led off the start-line. Not a lap would go by before he was passed by the DesmoSport Ducati rider of Herfoss, who played pioneer of the slippery circuit ahead of the field.

His taste of front-running would be brief, however, as he came off at turn seven, which gave teammate Pearson the race lead. Pearson and Waters would dice at the front for several laps afterwards as the field behind gently cruised around the circuit, taking opportunities to make a pass where the risk of crashing was minimal. Not all riders were lucky to get through the race unscathed, as Glenn Allerton (BMW) crashed on lap nine in the same spot as Herfoss, which promoted Halliday forward.

True to the professional he is, Waters did what he needed to do by taking it easy to the finish line, greeting the chequered flag first and maintaining a solid lead in the championship ahead of Pearson, Stauffer and Halliday. “The conditions made it very sketchy, I was really lucky to have stayed on the motorcycle to cross the line first,” explained Waters. With a second-place finish in race two doubling with third overall for the round, Pearson also took great confidence from this event and looks forward to the season ahead.

Race Two Top 5

1. Josh Waters
2. Broc Pearson (+3.678)
3. Max Stauffer (+4.339)
4. Cru Halliday (+2.198)
5. Harrison Voight (+0.184)

Championship Points

1. Josh Waters – 109.5 points
2. Cru Halliday – 84 points
3. Harrison Voight – 82 points
4. Broc Pearson – 71.5 points
5. Mike Jones – 61.5 points

Michelin Supersport
Race One
Despite an initial red-flag brought out on the opening lap of race one due to a Luke Sanders (Yamaha) crash at turn four, it did little to deter Toparis’ mindset as he got a great jump over his competitors at the restart and it was immediately evident that he meant business, as he took off and was never headed by his rivals for the remainder of the rescheduled nine-lapper.

And that in itself was clear, with the lap record set on Michelin tyres giving a clear indication to the field that he was prepared to do what was necessary to put them away early and stay out in front.

With the race virtually over at the half-way mark, it was a battle against the rest as the field sorted themselves out with plenty of moves made. The most significant of the movers and shakers was Mark Chiodo (Honda), who from second on the grid fell to 10th. With Toparis crossing the finish line 3.384 seconds clear of Sean Condon (Yamaha), the top five was rounded out by Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha), Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) and Archie McDonald (Yamaha).

Race One Top 5

1. Tom Toparis
2. Sean Condon (+3.384)
3. Jonathan Nahlous (+0.058)
4. Jake Farnsworth (+6.341)
5. Archie Mcdonald (+2.322)

Race Two
The opening lap of race two saw the usual flurry of chaos with riders racing to the first couple of corners to get into the best position possible, but the field was quickly brought to a halt as a Hayden Nelson’s (Kawasaki) crash at turn three brought out the red flag. At the restart, points leader Nahlous threw a spanner in the works for the momentum of Toparis with a great jump to lead the opening lap, but it didn’t last long as the Stop & Seal man made a pass for the lead on the second lap. The next several laps saw plenty of great battles as Condon and Nahlous fought over second while Farnsworth and Chiodo had their own scrap for fourth.

With the intensity reaching a climax as the mission to obtain the best outcome possible became the clear focus, it all became too much for Condon and McDonald as they crashed simultaneously at turn four on the final lap, promoting those behind them up two positions.

At the finish line, it was Toparis, Nahlous, Farnsworth, Chiodo and Tom Bramich (Yamaha) rounding out the top five. “We achieved what we set out to do this weekend by taking pole position, two race wins and a new lap record in the Supersport class,” insisted a delighted Toparis. Despite not getting a win this weekend, Nahlous remains the championship leader and takes great confidence knowing he is in with a genuine shot of winning the Michelin Supersport Championship.

Race Two Top 5

1. Tom Toparis
2. Jonathan Nahlous (+2.952)
3. Jake Farnsworth (+4.686)
4. Mark Chiodo (+0.225)
5. Tom Bramich(+2.933)

Championship Points

1. Jonathan Nahlous -114
2. Jake Farnsworth – 85
3. Tom Bramich – 76
4. Olly Simpson – 70
5. Marcus Hamod – 66

Race and Road Supersport 300
Race One
It was Jesse Stroud (Kawasaki) who took the honours in race one under lights at Sydney in Race and Road Supersport 300.Topping the timesheets in practice, and then in qualifying, the Kawasaki racer fought a close battle with his fellow competitors over the eight-lapper, but ultimately came up short as Stroud stole the show under lights for race one. The top five was rounded out by Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha), Ryan Larkin (Yamaha) and Mitch Simpson (Yamaha).

Race Two
Aiming to go one better than his outing in race one on Friday night, Newman managed to do just that by leading from start to finish in race two to put himself in a great position heading into race three under lights sitting pretty. The field sorted themselves out behind him as second to sixth were caught in a constant jostle, with the top five at the chequered flag following Newman being Watts, Mitch Simpson (Yamaha), Jesse Stroud (Kawasaki) and Jordan Simpson (Yamaha).

Race Three
The start of race three saw the usual scrap for positions as Newman settled in and led the first three laps before the bunched up, slipstreaming action typically seen in this class shone through as riders jostled for position over the ensuing laps to the end. With the heightened intensity that comes with trying to finish in the best position possible at the chequered flag, it all came to a head on the final lap, when an attempted dive bomb by Stroud at turn nine went horribly wrong, as he crashed into Newman who was running third. With an opportunity for those behind to capitalise presenting itself, the mad rush to the finish resulted in a first ASBK victory for Knezovic followed by Will Nassif (Yamaha), Calvin Moylan (Kawasaki), Simpson and Watts.

Championship Points

1. Joshua Newman -106
2. Harrison Watts – 106
3. Valentino Knezovic – 97
4. Mitch Simpson – 92
5. Jordy Simpson – 83

Superbike Masters
The popular Superbike Masters class produced some great racing where the legendary motorcycles of old put on a great show, as part of the spectacle that was the ASBK Night Race. The race victories were taken out by Jack Passfield (Yamaha) in races one and two, while Keo Watson (Yamaha) got one back on the former in the final race of the weekend under lights.

Those to feature on the race podiums included Alex Phillis (Suzuki) and Josh Mathers (Yamaha), while Passfield was the overall round winner from Watson and Mathers.

Championship Points

1. Jack Passfield – 70
2. Keo Watson – 65
3. Josh Mathers – 48
4. Dean Oughtred – 47
5. Ryan Taylor – 45

Oceania Junior Cup
The two ‘Hunters’ – Corney and Charlett – captured most of the headlines in the ASBK Night Races, with the former claiming the overall honours with a 1-1-3 scorecard and the latter scoring his first class win in race three.

The OJC riders kicked of the racing at SMSP on Friday night, with Corney taking maximum advantage of pole position to win by nearly two seconds ahead of Ethan Johnson, with Nikolas Lazos close behind in third. Corney then produced another powerful performance in race two, using his smarts to cross the line first ahead of Charlett and Connor Lewis – the trio separated by less than half a second.

Rossi McAdam and Lazos completed the top five. “I felt like I did good in the race,” Corney beamed afterwards. “I had a two-second lead and made a mistake that enabled them to catch up to me which is where Charlett passed me on a few occasions. But luckily, I took him back and crossed the line first.”

In race three, Lewis led until lap three before he was passed by Corney and McAdam and then spectacularly crashed out. Corney then looked on track for a three-peat before he erroneously thought the race was over when he was heading into the final lap. He then relinquished the lead and dropped several positions, with Charllett the main benficiary as he claimed his first race win in OJC followed by McAdam, Corney, Lazos and Johnson. “It felt really good to win my first race in OJC,” said Charlett. “I had heaps of fun this weekend, as I was running around at the back of the grid last year, so to be at the front is a sign of how much I’ve improved in 12 months.”

All detailed ASBK Championship class results are here.

The 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul will continue at Queensland Raceway for round three of the championship on April 26-28.

The post ASBK Round Two SMSP | Brilliant Waters Victorious Again appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Having showcased remarkable potential during his debut year in the Supersport, Hayden made headlines with an impressive pole position at Morgan Park in the 2023 season. Despite being his first year in the championship, Hayden secured an admirable 8th place overall. Now, with BCperformance making a bold return to the Supersport category after a hiatus since 2018, the anticipation for the upcoming season is palpable.

Hayden Nelson expresses equal enthusiasm for this new chapter, eagerly embracing the challenges that come with riding the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636. The young rider is poised to make waves in the Australian Supersport Championship, and BCperformance Racing Team is confident that Hayden’s skill and determination will contribute to a thrilling and successful season.

“I’m really excited to join BCperformance for 2024. Although the new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 has not been raced in ASBK before. Its Australian debut at the Sydney Summer Night Series has shown it to be a competitive bike. I can’t wait to ride the bike and continue the development process with the team. I will be working hard to get up to speed with the bike and tyres as quickly as I can and pushing to be ready to achieve strong results from round 1.”

Using Kawasaki machinery for a 12th year, BCperformance will be throwing all their weight behind Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR mounted Paris Hardwick, who rejoins the team for a 2nd term after finishing his debut season as the Superbike Rookie of the Year and is also eager to get back to business…

“2024 will be my second year with BC Performance, I’m feeling really settled in the team and really appreciate Kelvin and the team helping me learn my way around the superbike. I’m looking forward to my second year in ASBK and really want to make the move up to be in the mix of the top ten.”

Team Manager Kelvin Reilly is looking forward to getting things underway… “It’s going to be a busy and challenging year with 2 riders in 2 different classes and I am keen to get started, we are excited to have Hayden onboard and looking forward to seeing what we can do with the new ZX-6R 636. Paris has been working really hard in the off-season and with his rookie season behind him, I feel he will start to show his speed. Thanks to Kawasaki Motors Australia, Landscapesupplies.com.au, Australian United Timbers, Maximair, and New Holland for their continued support”

The post BCperformance Racing Team Ready For The 2024 ASBK Season appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Read all the race reports from Sunday here…

Superbike Wakefield Park Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1
2 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R
3 Cru Halliday – Yamaha YZF-R1

Alpinestars Superbike Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1 132
2 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R 109
3 Bryan Staring -Ducati V4R 102

Michelin Supersport 600 Wakefield Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6
2 Sean Condon – Yamaha YZF-R6
3 Ty Lynch – Yamaha YZF-R6

Michelin Supersport Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6 117
2 Ty Lynch – Yamaha YZF-R6 100
3 Scott Nicholson – Yamaha YZF-R6 82

Dunlop Supersport 300 Wakefield Round Podium (Full Results Here)

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

Dunlop Supersport 300 Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 184
2 James Jacobs – Kawasaki Ninja 159
3 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 158

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Round Podium (Full Results Here) 

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

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 188
2 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 178
3 Hayden Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 158

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Round Podium (Full Results Here) 

1 Hudson Thompson – Yamaha YZF-R15
2 Harrison Watts – Yamaha YZF-R15
3 Levi Russo – Yamaha YZF-R15

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Harrison Watts – Yamaha YZF-R15 176
2 Hudson Thompson – Yamaha YZF-R15 163
3 Cameron Rende – Yamaha YZF-R15 152

The post ASBK Gallery: All The Best Shots From Rd3 At Wakefield Park appeared first on Racing, Riding, Motorcycle Reviews, Race bikes, Tech Tips, Rider Training....

Alpinestars Superbike
Ordinarily, the morning warm-up would pass with barely a mention. But Wayne Maxwell had noted at the Saturday evening press conference that the Boost Mobile with K tech team would be returning to previous settings, so interest was piqued. The #1 plate was up by a lot on the Friday and just conceded ground in every session from then on. In the warmup it was that Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) from Maxwell with Cru Halliday third.

Check out all the reports from the weekend here…

Notable news from the warmup were crashes from both Lachlan Epis and Broc Pearson- in Pearson’s case, the Racesafe Medical team were dispatched to attend to him. Shortly after the session concluded, Race Direction sent out a bulletin indicating that Pearson was to be transferred to the hospital for further investigation and would play no further part in the day’s proceedings.

As they say, once the flag drops, the BS stops and it was Wayne Maxwell who took the lead into turn one, showing the Yamaha Racing Team pair of Jones and Halliday the way around the 2.2km Wakefield Park Raceway. It remained thus: Maxwell, Jones and Halliday. Local lad, the much-improved Troy Herfoss, worked his way up to fourth and when Halliday had a small glitch early in the race, Herfoss found himself in contention for a podium spot.

At the front, Jones was probing and poking the bear that is Wayne Maxwell. While Maxwell was not only in P1 and had nailed the fastest lap of the race, he was somehow not riding away. Smooth, yes, alone; no. A .3 of a second lead was the most he could manage and as ASBK Commentator Phil Harlum would note “that’s a Wakefield zero”.

Behind the leading quartet, Bryan Staring found himself in no man’s land while Sissis, Waters, Allerton, Falzon and Epis all fought for position. Marcus Chiodo was having a solid dice with this second group until a crash at turn one ended his race and turned his bike into a collection of spare parts. He walked away, seemingly uninjured, but an ankle injury would see him out for the day.

At the front, it remained tense. At half distance, Maxwell and Jones remained locked in an immoveable arm wrestle. Every fast Maxwell lap saw Jones follow suit. The gap between the two sat at less than .2 of a second and the pundits wondered aloud if Jones was just content to stay where he was and wait for the final act.

While Halliday had fallen into Herfoss’ clutches for a time, he just put his head down and worked his way back into contention, but with six laps to go, he sat just a tantalising .8 off the back of the leading pair. Herfoss had been unable to stay with Halliday and a four-second gap opened. Jones stopped biding his time with three to go and showed Maxwell a wheel at every opportunity and finally put a pass on the 2021 champion to take the lead into turn three, much to the surprise of onlookers and riders.

It was as unexpected as it was brilliant, and Maxwell seemed to have no answer. Immediately, Jones pushed his Yamaha R1 ahead and opened a seemingly unbeatable .6 gap to Maxwell’s familiar Boost Mobile Ducati.

Jones would hit the finish line by 1.118 seconds to take a tactically perfect victory and increase his lead in the Alpinestars Superbike Championship. Halliday would finish third with the top ten made up of Herfoss, Staring, Sissis, Allerton, Waters, Falzon and West.

Superbike Race Two
In race two, Jones got the good start he needed, and a motivated and aggressive Cru Halliday held on for second with Wayne Maxwell similarly aggressive. These two came together as they came onto the straight and set the tone for the rest of the 20 lap journey.

Halliday would get shuffled back to fourth by Bryan Staring as Jones again tried to get away from the pursuing pack. Maxwell- who lead the first race- now found himself as the hunter and settled happily into second place. Meanwhile, fifth-placed Troy Herfoss stayed in contention behind Halliday. Up front, Maxwell was all over Jones but these two had now opened a one-second gap to the riders behind. Arthur Sissis showed he’s realising his huge potential by sitting in sixth with a German triumvirate of BMWs behind him in the form of Waters, Allerton and Epis.

Out front, Maxwell seemed to be playing the numbers and saving his tyres. While Jones happily – in Maxwell’s words “did the donkey work”, the 2021 champion did the same thing Jones did in race one; observed, poked and prodded. Halliday got past Staring in an important championship-points situation. Staring’s tyre woes appeared to have struck as Herfoss also put a pass on the Western Australian’s DesmoSport Panigale.

At the halfway point it was Jones and Maxwell out front with Maxwell “shadowing Jones perfectly” according to ASBK commentator Steve Martin. The tactic also seemed to suit Maxwell physically who had complained of arm pump in race one. Herfoss and Halliday were trading lap times in third and fourth, but neither was able to set off after the leaders, while Staring was clearly struggling with his Ducati.’s rear grip.

On lap 14, Maxwell ran out of patience- or saw an opportunity- and took the race lead into the last turn. Immediately he did the expected thing and banged out a fast lap. But he might as well have been actually towing Jones around as the blue R1 stayed glued to his tailpipe. Meanwhile, Herfoss was as brave as he was confident, and tried to get around Halliday, only to run wide and let Halliday get away.

At the pointy end, the tables were turned, with Jones now in hot pursuit. Maxwell was riding 10/10ths and while there were only a few laps left, it was far from over. Maxwell got out to a .3 second lap, but for all that effort, Jones reeled him in again with a lap to go to get back on terms. For all his efforts, Jones seemed to be losing some drive and Maxwell was clearly hungry for the win.

Maxwell played the last lap to perfection and drove the Ducati to the line to take the win to put himself well into the championship contention in terms of points and perhaps even more importantly, put himself psychologically back in the game. Superbike Full Results.

Superbike Wakefield Park Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1
2 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R
3 Cru Halliday – Yamaha YZF-R1

Alpinestars Superbike Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Mike Jones – Yamaha YZF-R1 132
2 Wayne Maxwell – Ducati V4R 109
3 Bryan Staring -Ducati V4R 102

Michelin Supersport
Sean Condon stepped in for the absent Tom Edwards and there were murmurs in the paddock about how a retired rider with a seven-year absence from racing could turn up and take pole. The talk was not suspicion about Condon’s pace, but rather the lack of it from the rest of the field who, once the flag dropped for Race One, needed to show that season-long racers would beat a one-off guest rider.

Almost immediately after the race started, Tom Drane had an excursion at turn two and that brought out the red flag. Drane remounted and returned to the track. Sean Condon was one of the few riders pleased to see the red flag after he literally missed the start. While being interviewed by Kate Peck for ASBK TV, he admitted that he not only missed the start, but he also wasn’t even sure about how the light sequence worked.

At the restart, Condon repeated his poor start and immediately dropped to fourth, with Lytras, Lynch and Nicholson ahead. On lap two, all hell broke loose with Bramich, Nicholson and Mahon all crashing in the space of 30 seconds. Nicholson would remount but finish a lap down.

Out front, Lytras and Lynch diced for the lead, trading places while Condon looked on. The leading trio would push out to a 6+ second lead. Lytras tried to push hard in the middle part of the race to get a gap, but Lynch and Condon gave him nothing. Condon seemed to be checking out potential passing points while biding his time.

With two laps to go, the lap times dropped under one minute and Condon tried to push past Lynch, but could not find a gap. Lytras lead them into the final lap and ground out a small, but handy lead. Meanwhile, Condon finally took second place from Lynch, while Lytras saluted for the win.

Mitch Kuhne and Jake Farnsworth were fourth and fifth while Scott Nicholson salvaged some championship points by finishing 10th. For the post-lunch break race two, the light rain that had threatened to derail everyone’s best-laid plans did the honourable thing and disappeared with some cloud and sun setting up a tantalising battle.

Race Two
Polesitter Sean Condon had- courtesy of a restart in race one- two race starts and both were ugly. Race two was no different as the bike reared up briefly and he gifted the lead to John Lytras with Ty Lynch and Scott Nicholson filling the top three. Lytras took the lead and immediately got down to business, pressing home the advantage out to 7/10th of a second while the following trio of Lynch, Nicholson and Condon tried to stay in touch.

Things would remain that way for much of the early and middle part of the race and while Lytras was keen to get away, the pursuers still had him in sight and were not letting go. In the final third of the race, the leading foursome split into two pairs of Lytras and Lynch and then Nicholson and Condon. Mitch Kuhne ran out of luck after several heart in mouth moments and crashed, remounting in 12th place.

With two to go, Condon got past Nicholson and set off after the leading pair. Lytras and Lynch started the last lap nose to tail, and it became clear that only they could take the top spot on the podium. Lytras again showed his determination and stamped not only his authority on the race, but showed he is capable of taking the 2022 title, winning by .520 from Ty Lynch, with Sean Condon on the podium some 1.7 behind. Scott Nicholson and Tom Bramich were fourth and fifth. Supersport 600 Full Results.

Michelin Supersport 600 Wakefield Round Podium (Full Results Here)

1 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6
2 Sean Condon – Yamaha YZF-R6
3 Ty Lynch – Yamaha YZF-R6

Michelin Supersport Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 John Lytras – Yamaha YZF-R6 117
2 Ty Lynch – Yamaha YZF-R6 100
3 Scott Nicholson – Yamaha YZF-R6 82

Dunlop Supersport 300
At the start of race one, the question was whether Dunker could sneak off and not tow anyone around for the 10 lap journey. But it was not to be, as Dunker fluffed the start, dropped back to fourth and gifted Jonathan Nahlous, Hayden Nelson and Taiyo Aksu the top three spots.

But Dunker had been the fastest 300 rider all weekend and would not be denied. With less than three laps completed, he was back in the lead. The pressure that Dunker created took its toll immediately, with Nahlous trail braking too far into the final turn and folding the front end to crash out of the race.

Dunker now put his head down and tried to eke out a lead. While he would stretch the rubber band between him and the chasing pack, the main straight would see them re-attach to the Dunker freight train. It was now a race of packs. The lead group of Dunker, Hayden Nelson, Akso and Glenn Nelson had a 6 second lead over pack two of Jacobs, Waters, Nikolis, Swain, Gawith and Championship leader Snell.

With just a few laps to go the leading quartet swapped turns and leadership with Dunker as far down at fourth – but also often leading, Of course, it would come down to the final corner. Dunker desperately strove for the line with Aksu breaking out from the slipstream to also dive for the finish. It would be Dunker by 9/1000th of a second to Aksu, Hayden Nelson and Glenn Nelson.

Race Three
The final race of the weekend for the Dunlop Supersport 300s again saw a hotly contested start with Dunker taking the holeshot, in the absence of an apparently injured Jonathan Nahlous who was due to start from P2.

Dunker again tried a magic trick in an attempt to disappear from view and got out to a .4 lead early in the race. Glenn Nelson sensed danger and pushed hard on lap two to get back on terms with Dunker and dragged Taiyo Aksu and Hayden Nelson with him.

The leading four gapped the field with a lonely James Jacobs on the lone Kawasaki caught between two groups. Thanks to his diminutive stature, Dunker was able to maintain a highly aerodynamic profile that prevented- for a time- any riders from being able to get a solid draft behind him for the overtake.

At half race distance, Glenn Nelson slipped by and lit up the back half of the race. Dunker realised he was not going to be able to sneak off the front and began to dice for lead, taking it back from Glenn Nelson and then giving it back in what can only be described as a “classic Supersport 300 situation”. The lead changed too many times to mention, but the riders were just marking time to position themselves for the finale.

Taiyo Akso showed he wanted to get involved and took the lead while Dunker was shuffled down to fourth and was lucky just to stay on the bike. There were just two laps to go and while the literal gloves were on, the metaphorical ones were off. Dunker pushed hard to get back into second place on the last lap with Aksu in the lead. Dunker had a look at Aksu here and there, but the assembled crowd were watching for the last turn where Dunker finally took the lead again.

Dunker did all he could to prevent the pursuing riders from making use of the slipstream and he did exactly that, taking the win by .051 from Taiyo Aksu in second and Hayden Nelson in third. Glenn Nelson – who was in the lead for a time- finished fourth with a four-second gap to James Jacobs in fifth, Liam Waters (6th), Cameron Swain (7th),  former championship leader Henry Snell (8th), Brodie Gawith (9th) and Marianos Nikolis (10th). Supersport 300 Full Results.

Dunlop Supersport 300 Wakefield Round Podium (Full Results Here)

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

Dunlop Supersport 300 Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 184
2 James Jacobs – Kawasaki Ninja 159
3 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 158

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup
The baby-faced assassin that is Cameron Dunker took his familiar pole position for the opening Sunday race for the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup and while the pack tried to swamp him into turn one, Dunker’s flouro yellow Yamaha still exited the opening turn in first position.

As the race settled in, Dunker naturally tried to check out of the race, the track and his hotel, but second-placed Hayden Nelson stayed in touch with Glenn Nelson on the move, lapping one second faster than the leading pair as he reeled them in.

Soon it was a train of six: Dunker, Hayden Nelson, Glenn Nelson, Cameron Swain and Taiyo Aksu. And, as is almost always the case, once you have that many R3’s in close proximity, the lead started to change hands regularly. Dunker found himself down as low as third with the (unrelated) Nelsons at the front. Into the last lap, Dunker played all of his aces, taking the lead and absolutely riding on the limit “A pretty impressive move” noted former ASBK champion and official commentator Steve Martin.

As always, it was the last corner and the drag to the line and it was Glenn Nelson who played it to perfection, slipstreaming and pulling alongside Dunker to record a cosy 7/1000th of a second win at the line from polesitter Cameron Dunker with Hayden Nelson rounding out the podium.

Race Three
In the final race, Dunker would again take the holeshot, but this time 2021 OJC champion Cameron Swain would find himself second with Glenn Nelson in third. After a day of separated pack racing, this final race settled into classic R3 conditions- a long, long train of ten riders all in contention.

Dunker and Glenn Nelson traded places several times and between them created a small gap to Liam Waters in third. With two laps to go, there was still nothing between them. Liam Waters lead for a time while Dunker and others tried to position themselves for the final salvo. Into the last lap and the inevitable R3 shenanigans really kicked off. Dunker found himself down in fourth, but as always, not out of the running. He moved into the lead by the last corner, but was now the hunted.

The ol’ run to the line saw a deserving Liam Waters take the slipstream win by the biggest margin of the day – .050! Second was Cameron Dunker followed by Glenn Nelson to round out the podium. The top ten was made up of Hayden Nelson, Brodie Gawith, Cameron Swain, Taiyo Aksu, Marcus Hamod, Henry Snell and Sam Pezzeta. R3 Cup Full Results.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Round Podium (Full Results Here) 

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

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Glenn Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 188
2 Cameron Dunker – Yamaha YZF-R3 178
3 Hayden Nelson – Yamaha YZF-R3 158

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
It was an unusually subdued and cautious bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup field that made its way to the start line for their first race of the Sunday. A mist/light rain had descended upon the Wakefield circuit and as the riders gridded up on slick tyres the field, families, fans and officials all looked skyward for answers. Mercifully the track was warm enough to dry the rain before it had a chance to cause carnage. From the get-go, most of the riders rode with care, maturity and the sort of mindfulness that Garry McCoy has been teaching all season.

The race itself saw Hudson Thompson and Harrison Watts aggressively break away from the rest of the riders who – for a change- were not hunting in packs but were rather in a single file with oddly sensible gaps between them. As the laps wound down, Hudson Thompson seemed to have all he needed in terms of pace to take the win. Watts was close and of course, this being the OJC, being close means you’re still well in the hunt.

The riders chasing Thompson and Watts started to form into a chase group but they did not have enough laps remaining to mount a serious challenge. The stage was set: Thompson v Watts for the win. Then Hudson Thompson made a mistake he will probably never make again, saluting for the win while actually greeting the one-lap-to-go board. Realising his mistake, he put his head down again to chase after Harrison Watts.

Thompson was able to immediately get on terms with Watts, at the line, commentators couldn’t call the win and this time neither rider celebrated. Official timing providers Computime gave the win to Watts by a tiny 2/1000th of a second, with Thompson second and a gap back to Marcus Hamod in third.

It would not end there. After the race, Thompson and Watts were penalised one place each for – in the words of the Clerk of the Course – “…breaching the safety of other competitors”. This was a serious situation and as younger riders in a development series, this was a necessary penalty for weaving over the white line while racing down the start-finish straight. This elevated third-placed rider Levi Russo to the race win with Watts and Thompson in second and third respectively.

Race Three
The final race started out in typical manner, but it was Hamod and Rende who joined Thompson at the front as part of a group of six: Thompson, Hamod, Watts, Rende, Russo and Drane. Thompson managed to get out to a .4 second lead and was hoping to remove the drafting option for those following behind.

At the halfway point, just four riders remained in contention for the podium and the win: Thompson, Hamod, Watts and Rende. The lead group were mindful of each other as they traded spots, with all four taking a turn at the front.

The final lap beckoned and once again it was 14 (Watts) and 41 (Thompson) at the front as they went into the last corner.  And there, a lot happened; Rende made a lunge up the inside for the lead from third, Thompson took the lead from Watts, Watts went back to fourth and Hamod was just happy to be in the hunt in second. There they would finish. Hunter Thompson, Marcus Hamod, Harrison Watts and Cameron Rende in fourth. OJC Full Results here.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Round Podium (Full Results Here) 

1 Hudson Thompson – Yamaha YZF-R15
2 Harrison Watts – Yamaha YZF-R15
3 Levi Russo – Yamaha YZF-R15

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup Standings After Round 3 (Full Standings Here)

1 Harrison Watts – Yamaha YZF-R15 176
2 Hudson Thompson – Yamaha YZF-R15 163
3 Cameron Rende – Yamaha YZF-R15 152

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Often affectionately described in the paddock as the “600s”, Supersport’s enduring appeal has been its ability to maintain costs at a manageable level, with bikes predominantly production-spec with limited modifications.

For Michelin, racing has been an integral and critical aspect of the company’s activities, serving not only as a marketing channel but also offering proof-of-concept for the company’s extensive R&D process.  Founded in 1889, the Michelin Group provides tyres to over 170 countries. The Michelin Group makes tyres locally for customers’ specific needs and road conditions in one of their 69 production facilities around the world.  

Doug Sharp, Michelin Australia: “Michelin Australia is proud to support the Supersport Championship, a category which always puts on a great show and has also become a launching pad for riders to create overseas opportunities in WorldSBK, WorldSS and BSB. In recent years, we’ve seen the likes of Oli Bayliss, Tom Toparis, Max Stauffer and Broc Pearson show their talent in the Supersport category. We’re sure that 2022 will again deliver great racing and we are all looking forward to the first round of the 2022 ASBK Championship and the Michelin Supersport Championship.”

Check out Michelin’s extensive stock here…

Motorcycling Australia (MA) CEO Peter Doyle: “Motorcycling Australia are excited to see Michelin throw their support behind Supersport. Supersport is well established as one of the jewel in the crown categories of ASBK, with many riders honing their craft and showing their potential in this fantastic category.”  

2022 ASBK Calendar

• Round 1 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC 25 – 27 February SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC, SBK Masters
• Round 2 Queensland Raceway, Ipswich QLD 18 – 20 March SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC, Sidecars
• Round 3 Wakefield Park Raceway, Goulburn NSW 22 – 24 April SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC, Sidecars
• Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT 17 – 19 June * With Supercars – SBK Only
• Round 5 Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD 5 – 7 August SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC
• Round 6 Symmons Plains Raceway – Launceston TAS 20 – 23 October SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup
• Round 7 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Cowes VIC TBA – November TBC
• Round 8 The Bend Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend SA 2 – 4 December SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC
• ASBK Night of Champions Dinner – The Bend 4 December
  

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