ASBK Season Recap

After pre-season testing, it was all about Wayne Maxwell and his Ducati Panigale V4S - the question at this point was: could he be beaten.. at all?

Round One - Phillip Island, Victoria

Alpinestars Superbike

After pre-season testing, it was all about Wayne Maxwell and his Ducati Panigale V4S - the question at this point was: could he be beaten.. at all?

A fast and consistent Bryan Staring took the round one victory of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK).

In Alpinestars Superbikes race one at Phillip Island, Wayne Maxwell (Ducati V4R) was the only rider in the 1:31’s and was looking untouchable until a stumble on lap saw last year’s ASBK champion crash out at turn eight. Maxwell walked away unscathed, but the error left Bryan Staring (Ducati V4R) a clean road ahead with a four-second margin over the rest of the field.

An emotional Staring was almost lost for words on the podium, saying that he’d been “pretty patient for a pretty long time” waiting for this victory.

“We were chasing (Wayne) all weekend,” said Staring.

“I knew that we had good race pace, but I didn’t know how good it needed to be though. Once we set out I could see the areas where we were strong and in the end, I kept the pressure on.”

Despite nursing a sore ankle from his excursion at Hayshed in race one, Maxwell kept it neat and clean in race two and was able to slowly edge a two-second gap to the fellow Ducati rider to take victory ahead of Staring and Cru Halliday (Yamaha YZF-R1). Maxwell commended his team on preparing the number two bike to give him the win.

“It was good to get a bit back,” said Maxwell.

“I’ve got a few bruises so I’ll go and get the body healed up.”

Michelin Supersport

Pole sitter Senna Agius (Honda CBR RR) found himself way back in the pack early in race one, but after a red flag stopped the race early on, he was able to launch the Honda closer to the front. While Tom Edwards (Yamaha YZF-R6) was the leader early on, Agius was able to take the lead. Agius started to grind out a small advantage and Edwards made an incredible save coming onto the main straight as his rear tyre deflated, and with it his chances for the race.

Agius took the victory ahead of Tom Bramich (Yamaha YZF-R6) and Jack Hyde (Yamaha YZF-R6).

In race two, Agius got a better start, but it was Tom Edwards who lead the field into turn one, but it was Agius who was

P1 after lap one. After several laps, Agius was out to a small lead, but Edwards found himself yo-yoing off the back of the race leader, and falling into the clutches of Bramich who obliged Edwards by running wide and letting him have some breathing space.

In the end, it was Agius’ weekend, with the internationalbound youngster taking the double in race two ahead of Tom Edwards, with Bramich this time occupying the final step of the podium.

Dunlop Supersport 300

An exciting round for the Dunlop 300 at the Phillip Island opener.

Free practice on the Friday produced a great lap from Liam Waters who had the fastest lap of the day of 1:48.475 on the Yamaha YZF-R3. It was a brilliant practice for the season opener by Waters as he was 3 tenths up on Cameron Dunker on the Yamaha YZF on pace.

Although Waters’ pace was there in practice, he did not manage to clinch a podium. Race one’s win went to Henry Snell (Yamaha YZF-R3), second to Glen Nelson (Yamaha YZF-R3) and third to Cameron Dunker (Yamaha YZF-R3). Nelson might have taken the top step but it was Snell that snached the win from him.

Snell also won the second race, followed by James Jacobs in second and Taiyo Aksu in third. Race three had Varis Fleming win, followed by Jacobs for second and Joseph Marinello for third.

However, an after-event inspection found both Fleming and Brodie Gawith disqualified due to machinery ineligibility. This brought Snell to third and bumped up Jacobs and Marinello.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

Round one was underway at Phillip Island with Henry Snell dominating the practice sessions with a 1:48.958 along with Brodie Gawith.

The first race had pole sitter Glenn Nelson out in front of Varis Fleming and Jonathon Nahlous, as Nelson fought hard to stay in front. Fleming initially crossed the line first but Fleming had exceeded track limit warnings earlier and was demoted to second.

The podium went to Nelson for first, followed by Jonathon Nahlous and then Taiyo Aksu, after an event inspection led to Varis Fleming and Brodie Gawith disqualified due to machine ineligibility.

Race two had Asku racing strong and putting in great laps, but it was Snell who managed to grab first place, followed by Asku and then Nelson. The final race was also a strong race for Fleming who rode smoothly and took the lead a few times throughout the race. Jai Russo also rode well with Asku right behind. Russo finished in first, Aksu in second and Nelson in third. Fleming missed out on podiums from the weekend’s races due to a disqualification following a post-race inspection.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup opened with nine new riders for the 2022 season on the series spec Yamaha YZF-R15 bikes.

The Friday practice session was mostly dominated by Bodie Paige. Qualifying had Levi Russo take pole ahead of Teerin Fleming and Paige - ensuring full effort was used to dominate the grid.

For race one, Cameron Rende took victory with a 2:11.343 time, followed by Hudson Thompson in second and Harrison Watts in third.

Race two included a restart after Cape Barren Geese joined the fun on the circuit. Marcus Hamod used the restart to take victory followed by Sam Drane in second and Fleming in third.

Race three had the familiar names take the podium spots with Watts in first, Hamod in second and Fleming in third. Watts finished just six-hundredths ahead of the second.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Round Two - Queensland Raceway, Queensland

Alpinestars Superbike

Mike Jones completed a perfect weekend to take two wins from two races at Round Two of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at Queensland Raceway.

Bryan Staring (DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4-R) got the early jump on Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing YZF-R1) to take the lead in race one, 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 timed 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 penultimate lap with mechanical issues.

Staring would shadow Jones more closely in the afternoon race, albeit two-seconds adrift. Eventually, Jones took his second win by 4.6 seconds ahead of Bryan Staring and Wayne Maxwell.

Jones now leads the championship on 86 points over Bryan Staring on 70 points with Josh Waters on 67 points. Jones, by his own admission, was surprised to be so competitive so early.

“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,” added Jones.

Second-placed Staring was circumspect after a crash in race one effectively lost him the championship lead to Jones, but philosophical nonetheless about his return to form.

Third-placed Maxwell was happy to score two podiums on what he deemed to be his ‘bogey’ circuit.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Michelin Supersport

On the day, Tom Edwards would take the Michelin Supersport race win, but a technical breach would see his points – and championship lead – taken away.

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 Edwards (Yamaha YZF-R6) to the honours 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 Edwards. Tom Drane would make an impressive start to vault to fifth position. Edwards would eventually take two from two, only to see the championship lead go to Simpson after a technical infringement.

Dunlop Supersport 300

The start of practice found James Jacobs dominating the session. Taiyo Aksu and Laura Brown also rode well but it was Aksu ahead by just three-hundredths. The fastest overall went to Cameron Dunker for free practice. In qualifying, Glenn Nelson pushed himself to take pole position for the weekend. James Jacobs started fifth on the grid and confidently worked his way through the pack to take first place for race one, followed by Dunker and Aksu.

An eventful start for race two had two riders, Aksu and Liam Waters, crash, forcing a race restart. Nelson and Dunker took the opportunity at the restart and gained control of the front early on. It was Nelson who clinched first place, Dunker for second and Jonathon Nahlous for third.

In race three, Nelson and Dunker broke off from the pack early again and led the front, while Nahlous was left to fend off the other riders. It was Henry Snell who snuck through and took third place from Nahlous. The race finished with Nelson in first, Dunker in second and Henry in third.

In race three, Nelson and Dunker broke off from the pack early again and led the front, while Nahlous was left to fend off the other riders. It was Henry Snell who snuck through and took third place from Nahlous. The race finished with Nelson in first, Dunker in second and Henry in third.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

TThe practice on Friday for round two of the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup was topped by Taiyo Aksu, who was ahead of Cameron Dunker and Nate O’Neil.

Dunker clinched pole with a time of 1:21.916 in the qualifying. Glenn Nelson and Marcus Hammond were close behind with Dunker only half a second ahead.

In race one, Dunker dominated from start to finish, leaving everyone behind him. It was Nelson who finished second and Aksu in third. Henry Snell was unable to finish due to a crash at turn three, luckily Snell was left uninjured and came back for the other two races.

Race two began with a plethora of riders missing from the grid, and many had to start from pitlane. Dunker was challenged by Nelson and Henry Snell but in a huge effort from Sam Pezzetta, he took the third spot from Snell. The podium finished with first to Nelson, second to Dunker and a first time podium to Pezzeta in third.

Race three finished with Dunker in first, Snell in second and Nelson in third. An impressive race weekend by all Yamaha Finance R3 Cup riders.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

The first practice session of round two had Ryan Larkin topping Marcus Hamod by one-tenth of a second while in practice two, Teerin Fleming brought himself from fourth to first. In Qualifying one, Levi Russo did slightly better than Hudson Thompson with Hunter Convey closely behind.

In race one, Ryan Larkin had an outstanding race coming from sixth on the grid to lead for the four remaining laps. However, other hungry riders targeted the front and pushed through, finishing ahead of Larkin. Convey placed first, Cameron Rende in second and Hamod in third.

Race two had the lead change frequently between Rende, Larkin, Fleming and Thompson but the win went to Rende, second to Drane and third to Thompson in a close race.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

The final race only had 1.2 seconds between 8 riders, ensuring a tight competition. Harrison Watts finished first, followed by Larkin and then Thompson leaving the other riders behind.

The final race only had 1.2 seconds between 8 riders, ensuring a tight competition. Harrison Watts finished first, followed by Larkin and then Thompson leaving the other riders behind.

Round Three - Wakefield Park Raceway, New South Wales

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 Friday and had conceded ground in every session from then on. In the warmup it was Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) from Maxwell with Cru Halliday third.

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 in P1 with the fastest lap of the race, he was somehow not riding away. Smooth, yes, alone; no. A 0.3 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 immovable arm wrestle. Every fast Maxwell lap saw Jones follow suit. The gap between the two sat at less than 0.2 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 0.8 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. Finally putting a pass on the 2021 champion to take the lead into turn three - much to the surprise of onlookers and riders alike.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

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 0.6 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

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 led 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 championshippoints situation. Staring’s tyre woes appeared to have struck as Herfoss also put a pass on the Western Australia’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 0.3 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.

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 about suspicion of 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. 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 John Lytras, Ty Lynch and Scott Nicholson ahead.

On lap two, all hell broke loose with Tom Bramich, Nicholson and Noel Mahon all crashing in the space of 30 seconds. Nicholson would remount but go 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 led 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.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Polesitter 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 gifting the lead to Lytras with Lynch and Nicholson filling the top three.

Lytras took the lead and immediately got down to business, pressing home the advantage out to seven tenths 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. 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 0.520 from Lynch, with Condon on the podium some 1.7s behind.

Nicholson and Bramich were fourth and fifth.

Lytras now ascends to the seemingly cursed leadership of the Michelin Supersport in a season where there have already been three leaders (and nominal leaders) by round three.

Dunlop Supersport 300

As of the race weekend at Wakefield Park, Henry Snell was the current championship leader but Glenn Nelson, Cameron Dunker and James Jacobs are all high contenders going into the rest of the rounds.

The first practice session was far from great for Snell as he sat at ninth before dropping to 13th in session two. A great session by Dunker who was the only rider in the 1:05s - absolutely dominating the practice. Dunker continued this great pace to the other sessions as well. Brodie Gawith also rode well in the practice sessions, showing the grid what he’s made of.

In race one, Dunker and Nelson were challenging each other for the lead but it was Dunker who finished in first by five thousandths of a second in front of Nelson, followed by Jacobs in third. The second race had Dunker putting the pressure on after having dropped from the lead in the start. The pressure from Dunker reflected in Nahlous as he was trail braking behind Dunker, he broke too far and crashed out after he folded the end.

Two packs sectioned off the grid; Dunker, Hayden, Nelson, Aksu and Glenn, followed by Jacobs, Waters, Nikolis, Swain, Gawith and Snell. It was first for Dunker, second for Nelson and third for Jacobs for race two.

The final race had Dunker in the lead again using his highly aerodynamic profile. A “classic supersport 300 situation” had lots of passing and leading with quick changes in the leaderboard.

Asku dominated the lead for the last lap, but Dunker took a gap and finished in first, followed by Asku and Nelson. Snell’s weekend didn’t go to plan, finishing eighth in race three.

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

A consistent season so far by both Cameron Dunker and Glenn Nelson, but Nelson had the season lead going into the Wakefield Park round.

Practice had three riders; Dunker, Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson in the top performing field. The qualifying also had Dunker, Swain and Hayden Nelson in the top qualifiers, securing the front row of the grid.

The first race had Dunker trying to break away to lead but Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson worked hard to ensure Dunker was not allowed to break away. By mid-race the three had a five-second gap between the rest of the group.

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ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

The race ended with Dunker first, Glenn Nelson in second and Hayden Nelson in third.

Race two again had Dunker, Hayden Nelson and Glenn Nelson close to each other at the front but close by was Cameron Swain and Taiyo Aksu. In the end, Glenn Nelson used the slipstream and secured first place, followed by Dunker then Hayden Nelson - Aksu missing out on a podium.

Race three brought the classic R3 conditions and had a long line of riders. By the last two laps there was still nothing between them and the riders were hunting each other down in a long line. It was Liam Waters who took the slipstream to win by 0.050 to Dunker in second and Glenn Nelson in third.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

Hudson Thompson, Marcus Hamod and Harrison Watts had great pace, topping the practice, along with Alexander Codey.

Race one had Thompson, Watts, Hamod, Cameron Rende and Levi Russo zipping through the circuit fighting for a podium. With lots of chasing, Watts put himself in the perfect position to win taking first, followed by Thompson and then Rende.

The second race on Sunday began with light rain but the riders rode with care. Breaking out to the front was Thompson and Watts while the rest of the riders formed a group to chase. However, after the race Thompson and Watts were penalised one place due to weaving over the white line when racing down. On the podium in first was Russo, then Watts for second and Thompson for third.

The last race had a large front group of Thompson, Hamod, Watts, Rende, Russo and Sam Drane. First place went to Thompson, followed by second to Hamod and third Watts.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Round Four - Hidden Valley Raceway, Northern Territory

Round Four was a Superbike-class-only event as part of the terrific Darwin Triple Crown format alongside Supercars and a drag racing event...

Alpinestars Superbike

There are some standard “Darwin situations;” the first is that it will be ideal Darwin hot- dry and consistent. Anyone who complains about the heat only need have a weekend back “down south” to appreciate how good the winter break is. The next situation is hot racing. This situation has transcended eras and teams. The racing is always good. After the round was done, noted motorsport commentator Richard Craill said that not only was ASBK the best racing of the weekend, “if that’s what it’s like, can we have more?”.

And lastly, you always get an amazing story out of a Darwin taxi driver.

Anyway, to the racing in 2022...

The races on both Saturday and Sunday meant a full day of practice for Friday. There was no time for errors as riders needed to be prepared to bring great results over the weekend.

The pressure of practice led to the creation of team “who would like to crash?” as Josh Waters, Luke Macdonald, Marc Chioda and Ant West all found themselves off-track but fortunately uninjured.

The Alpinestars Superbikes put on a great show for qualifying, with Wayne Maxwell, Bryan Staring and Cru Halliday in the top three spots after Q1, all pushing to take the better positions.

The Q2 session set the grid for all three races over the weekend and saw Maxwell take pole with a blistering 1:04.962, with Jones second and Staring narrowly taking third by 0.001 from Waters.

Herfoss found himself in sixth on the second row, and Glenn Allerton was unfortunate to have his fastest lap cancelled for exceeding track limits, relegating him to 10th.

Race one started off at the expected frenetic pace with the magnificent DesmoSport Ducati in its one-off indigenous livery, firing off the line from third into first for turn one. The then-second placed Arthur Sissis also had a huge start from seventh.

After leading for five laps, Staring found himself second to the number 46 Yamaha after Jones decided that he had the pace and tyres to go to the line. As soon as he hit the lead, Jones focused on smooth, consistent laps and eked out a small, but noticeable gap.

In the final few laps, after working his way through the field, Herfoss arrived upon the second placed Staring for what would be the battle of the day. With respect for each other, but a championship and the day’s honours to battle for, they traded positions multiple times and nearly sent themselves off track on the last lap. It was nail biting, exciting and brilliant dicing with Herfoss coming out the winner- albeit for second place on the day.

While the Staring/Herfoss fight was holding the attention of the TV directors and fans, Jones quietly took the

Championship by the scruff of the neck as he took race one. He might have missed the bonus point for pole, but the 25 points for the win was ample compensation.

It was an impressive race by Herfoss. His determination to get back on the track after a horrible crash at Darwin just 12-months earlier meant a special podium for the first race in Darwin.

“Far out, this is probably the proudest moment I’ve had on a motorbike” said Herfoss after race one.

A great ride by Jones and an essential one for important points towards the championship.

“Bryan was being a bit conservative in the early phase, and I was feeling pretty good,” said Jones. “I pushed past Bryan and got a good gap. Nice and easy race for me, no dicing so it was a great outcome.”

Race Two on Sunday morning was full of battles on the track. A poor start by Maxwell meant he had to work his way back up the grid. Arthur Sisiss had the start of champions, from seventh to first by turn one. For five solid laps Sissis contested the lead and was P1 every time over the finish line. The South Australian gave as good as he got, showing that a good start was not all he had.

By the end of race two, a battle between Maxwell, Staring, Jones and Herfoss created a tight podium finish. Maxwell managed to take first place after charging back through the field, followed by Jones in second and Starring in third in a thrilling encounter that had something for everyone.

Race Three was shaping up to be a duel for the championship, until an unfortunate mistake by Maxwell gifted Jones a largely uncontested win. Jones was able to make the most of the gap formed from Maxwell’s low-side and steam away to an emphatic win, 6.5 seconds ahead of second by the finish line.

But the big mover of the afternoon was Allerton, coming from 10th to fourth on lap one to set up a thrilling battle for the podium in the closing stages of the race. In the last few laps Staring, Allerton and Herfoss all diced for the second step and crucial points, and in the end Allerton played bike-chess best to set up moves on Staring and eventually Herfoss to take a hard fought second place.

“He’s (Troy) always going to go to the inside up there on those last two corners and I knew it,” said Allerton. “All I wanted for him to do was to commit more than he wanted to so that we would roll wide on the exit so that I could drive down the last turn and it pretty much played out exactly how I wanted it.”

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ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Round Five - Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick, Queensland

Round Five saw the ASBK circus make a long overdue return to Morgan Park for the first time since 2019. After the Superbike-class-only Darwin Triple Crown, the full field of classes returned to put on a fantastic display of racing over a dynamic weekend.

Alpinestars Superbike

The first practice session saw the bulk of the running before the rain set in for the day with only Jed Metcher, Troy Herfoss, Max Stauffer and Mike Jones managed more than five laps.

Wayne Maxwell set the time to beat before the rain set in for the day – a 1:14.426 that stood until Broc Pearson and Lachlan Epis hit the low 1:14s in qualifying the next day.

The conditions kept the majority of the field in their boxes, with only five riders venturing out through in practice two and three

Saturday’s qualifying was a different beast to the usual. Ordinarily, heading out in Q1 isn’t ideal. It means you missed the top nine in timed practice.

This time, things were different – and weirder. Matt Walters, Broc Pearson and Lachlan Epis all had their TP times disallowed after tyre violations.

And while it may have felt like a penalty, the opportunity to complete additional laps in the dry might have been of benefit.

At the end of the session, it was Pearson, Epis and Stauffer going through to the main qualifying session with additional dry running laps under their belts.

The early running in qualifying two saw the top two from Q1 – Pearson and Epis, straight to the top. Wayne Maxwell – as is his usual want – went out and posted a time early to encourage people to throw caution to the wind and there he would stay for much of the session.

As always, the excitement came late in the session as the Yamaha team duo of Jones and Halliday pressed their claims for pole – but both came up slightly short in second and third respectively.

Herfoss was all green in two sectors for pole but fell away. Epis from nowhere jumped up to fourth and the Ducati teammates, Staring and Pearson, were 6th and 7th.

With seconds to go, the riders set out for their final flying lap, but it was all done. Maxwell took pole by a healthy 0.414 and broke the qualifying record for good measure.

He was followed by the blue two of Jones and Halliday then Epis, Herfoss, Staring, Pearson, Sissis, Metcher and Allerton rounding out the top ten.

Maxwell took the extra point and gave himself every opportunity to take the full points on offer.

RACE ONE

Lachlan Epis jumped away from downtown to take the lead off the line and he and Wayne Maxwell headed away. Late in the lap, Maxwell put in a pretty brutal pass and Epis went off track, re-joining in 13th and taking away any opportunity the BMW Alliance squad had for a much-needed podium finish.

Classic Maxwell. Head down, bum up and setting sail for the finish line- on lap two. With Cru Halliday now in second place and Mike Jones in third, it was the stuff of nightmares for the Yamaha Factory squad. Halliday had made it clear at the Friday presser that he wasn’t just going to give up a spot for Jones as “I need to get wins.”

But on lap six, Jones finally got past his teammate and set off for the now 2.4 seconds-ahead Wayne Maxwell.

At half distance, the pressure valve blew with Cru Halliday sliding off at turn six. Jones was a lonely second, while Maxwell was a lonely but-happy first, but the gap was down to 1.7 from 2.4 seconds. Maxwell’s cunning plan to create pressure on Jones by getting out to a good lead was being brought undone as Jones played the reverse card and put the pressure back on the 2021 champion.

By lap 10, Pearson had overtaken teammate Staring for fourth in his first outing aboard the DesmoSport Ducati while Maxwell’s lead had fallen to 1.4 seconds.

By lucky lap 13, it was under a second. Jones was now able to start lining-up the K-Tech Ducati Panigale and think about where he wanted to pass. “The number one machine is in trouble” said Steve Martin and while he is the expert, it was now obvious to all. As if we didn’t need anything else to add to the tension; the back markers came into play.

A 0.6 second gap on lap 14. Jones could now surely feel the heat from the Ducati exhausts and the blue R1 was now in contact with the gap now just two tenths. The time doesn’t matter. They are together as we headed into the final lap.

Tension? Yeah… all of it. Maxwell had to use everything he had in his skill bag and 20 years of top-level racing experience to just get a tiny, but vital gap. At the bottom of the circuit, he’s too good, and as navigated the last chicane, the Ducati can pretty much take it from there and he crossed the line first.

Jones was home for second with Herfoss third to round out a podium of past winners at Morgan Park.

Broc Pearson brought home his Ducati in a startling and betterthan-expected fourth place, ahead of teammate Staring in fifth, Glenn Allerton in sixth, a valiant ride from Epis, working his way into seventh, Arthur Sissis in eighth, in ninth Jed Metcher and Max Stauffer rounded out the top ten.

RACE TWO

It was Mike Jones with the holeshot in race two with Maxwell tucking in behind. Bryan Staring was into third, with Lachlan Epis (4th) and Cru Halliday (5th).

It was apparent even after lap one that Jones was looking to pop off the front to avoid any shenanigans with second placed on track and second in the championship Wayne Maxwell.

But Maxwell was having none of that, pushing back into the slipstream and immediately looking to pounce. While the Ducati has the horses, as the late Ken Wootton said of a younger Jones “he has the biggest brake rotors in the paddock” and there was no out braking the R1 into turn one.

After three laps, there was plenty of tension but little passing as the riders seemingly settled in. Troy Herfoss moved up into fourth, while Staring made contact with the leading duo and the two Ducatis started to stalk the lone blue Yamaha. Herfoss within a second of each other.

Further down, Broc Pearson led Epis, Halliday, Arthur Sissis and Glenn Allerton as they tried to work their way to the leading quartet.

In the space of three corners, Herfoss worked his way from fourth into second place “like carving up backmarkers” according to commentator Steve Martin.

While we were collectively distracted by Herfoss, Maxwell had taken the lead into turn one after a solid draft and late braking move.

Staring fell away slightly, while teammate Pearson began to catch the leaders. Gary Crilly from Pirelli was interviewed and noted that Herfoss was the only rider in the leading group who had gone with the softer tyre option. As that was happening, Herfoss took the lead.

But by lap 11, Jones had taken the lead from Herfoss while Maxwell was shuffled back to third. Pearson was now the fastest man on circuit and Jones was trying to pull away from the hungry Herfoss and Maxwell.

Pundits began to speculate on Herfoss’ tyre life while Jones just pushed out to a near one second lead on lap 12. Pearson was now on the back of Staring and the decision by DesmoSport to offer the rookie Superbike rider a seat mid-season began to look like a very clever move.

Into the last laps and it was Jones, but now he had Maxwell back with him at just 0.3 behind. Pearson passed Herfoss as Staring did the same- the two Ducati teammates began sizing each other up for the final podium spot. The soft tyre option for Herfoss was now starting to go away from him and he dropped seconds a lap to the leaders.

Into the final lap, with Maxwell, just 0.1 behind at various points. Further back, the Ducatis diced and then in an incredible turn around, Maxwell found a way through the #46 Yamaha and Jones immediately had a huge moment that nearly ended off track. It was an unbelievable finish.

Maxwell banked the maximum 51 points, Jones continues to lead, Pearson has arrived and there’s just two rounds to go…

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Michelin Supersport

Qualifying Two for Michelin Supersport got underway with Ty Lynch setting the pace early. A 1:17.187 on his second lap was a statement, with not many riders even in the 1:18s that early in the session. With his head down and the early momentum on his side, Lynch went about improving lap-by-lap, getting down to the low 1:16s after a few laps.

But while Lynch was improving on-track, John Lytras was waiting…

After eight minutes in the pits, Lytras took to the track, and after a couple of cool as-you-like warm-up 1:16s, he took control of the session. 1:15.981 became the time to beat, and it was evident that only Lynch was on-pace to have a shot.

In the end, Lytras proved too strong on the day, taking pole with a 1:15.534, with Lynch sitting close behind with a 1:15.840. Tom Bramich rounded out the front row in third with a 1:17.094.

RACE ONE

Pole sitter John Lytras gave up one spot after the start to Ty Lynch who was able to jump away. The alliteration friendly pair of Lynch and Lytras were away to a small, but important lead.

Lap three, Lytras found his way past Lynch and within a few corners, the white R6 was a few bike lengths off the front.

Meanwhile Tom Bramich has worked his way to the back of Jake Farnsworth who was in third place.

Suddenly, Lytras was seen stopped trackside frantically trying to restart his bike and… reboot it. “It looks like the bike turned itself off” noted commentator Steve Martin. It was a painful sight as the championship leader worked frantically to get his machine going again, as his rivals zipped past.

Just like that, Ty Lynch found himself in the lead and – at that point – very close to Lytras in the championship points. With Lytras down in 13th- but with his ears pinned back, every rider he passed meant a few points ahead in the championship. Finishing thirteenth meant that Lynch was just one point behind. An extraordinary situation.

And then it happened again. Lytras again stationary trackside with the bike showing a blue screen of nightmares. Any hope of some extra consolation points went away and suddenly Lynch found himself a few seconds up the road. The machine eventually restarted, but he was 13th and three laps down on 12th.

Meanwhile Bromich and Farnsworth were locked in a riveting arm wrestle for second. Bromich finally worked his way past and was able to get a small but decisive gap.

The last laps were by comparison quiet at that front, but Mitch Kuhne, Tom Drane and Luca Durning were fighting it out for fifth place and traded places several times before finishing in that order.

RACE TWO

The mood on the grid of race two was tense. After his 13th placed, three-laps-down race one, John Lytras and his team were understandably nervous after his nightmare race where his bike cut out twice, costing him any chance of victory.

It was Ty Lynch who jumped away and led the field into turn one, with a rejuvenated and focused Lytras in pursuit. The leading pair would do exactly that, and after a few laps they would get out to a multi-second lead, with Tom Bramich in third, but losing contact.

Jake Farnsworth crashed out in turn one, while fourth through seventh diced for position. A group of Rhys Belling, Tom Drane, Luca Durning and Scott Nicholson would stay in contact with each other until the race-end.

Lytras meanwhile had moved past Lynch and by lap eight, was out to a 1.7 second lead with a 14 second gap back to third placed Bramich.

At lap 12, Lytras just needed to stay upright, and for the bike to stay happy. There were no signs of the electrical gremlins that had plagued him in race one. With a near-five-second lap, he was inevitable.

Lynch had served up everything he had, but Lytras sought and received some redemption for his issues in race one and crossed the line some 6.2 seconds back to Lynch with Bramich third and then the Drane (4th) led bunch finished together with Nicholson (5th), Belling (6th), Durning (7th) and Troy Guenther (8th).

Dunlop Supersport 300

RACE ONE

A sizeable group of nine riders managed to get out to a ten second gap and there they diced for the remainder. Pole sitter Aksu set off with Nahlous, Waters and Nelson Glenn and Hayden the protagonists in the ten-lap show and they took turns to lead a close, but clean group.

Morgan Park lends itself to close racing, but also doesn’t really offer anyone in this class the opportunity to creep away. Late in the race, despite every effort, there was just no rider able to stamp themselves on the race, but it was Taiyo Aksu who- having taken the lead multiple times, was able to be in front when it counted.

While Championship leader Cameron Dunker was down in sixth, his points situation was not overly damaged with second in the Championship James Jacobs not racing, third in the Championship Glenn Nelson fifth and fourth in the Championship Henry Snell crashing out.

Fifth in the Championship Taiyo Akso took the 25 points for the win plus the single point bonus for pole, but starting the weekend with a 61 point deficit to Dunker… it’s going to be quite a task.

RACE TWO

There are no gentleman’s agreements in Supersport 300. It’s all “I’m gonna get mine” and listing the lead changes is a fruitless exercise.

But we can say that it was Taiyo Aksu who led them away, while variously Jonathan Nahlous, Glenn Nelson and others appeared to lead, but the important fact was that nine riders got away to a five second lead from another group comprising seven more riders.

The leading group of Aksu, Nahlous, Liam Waters, Cameron Swain, Jonathan Nikolis, Cameron Dunker, Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson raced hard and fair and the slightest gap was an open invite to be passed. That’s fine, you just have to wait a few corners and repay the favour.

With two to go Aksu was late on the brakes into turn one to take the lead. It really felt like he meant business and was clearly prepping for the run to the line. Championship leader Dunker was down in fifth and while a part of the lead group, he did not appear able to press a claim for race leadership.

Last lap and Aksu led them over the line. Nahlous was inside and into the lead at turn one, Swain lurked and showed the leaders a wheel here and there, but Aksu held second place and had eyes only for leader Nahlous.

Bunching up through the final turns, it was impossible to work out who would take the minor placings- Aksu had just enough to hang on for first place, but it was Waters in second, Swain up for third, Nahlous would be disappointed to be shuffled from first down to fourth and Dunker in fifth.

At the start of the weekend, Aksu was the only rider seemingly capable of genuinely chasing Dunker for the title, and yet another Aksu win with Dunker in fifth started to make the complicated maths to take the Championship lead a reality.

RACE THREE

The final race of the weekend for the Supersport 300 crew was always going to be tense. Championship leader Cameron Dunker was blessed because despite his results not being quite where he needed them to be, his main rivals were either absent or not at the front either.

Taiyo Aksu was the standout rider of the weekend, but starting the weekend fifth in the Championship meant that the challenge to get to the top of the standings was rather large

So at the jump it was Aksu again leading from Liam Waters and Glenn Nelson. On this occasion the leading group consisted of ten riders, and they would stay close for the duration of the 10-lap journey.

Variously, Marianos Nikolis and Waters lead the race, with Aksu unhappily in third, trying everything to stay in contact and work his way back to the lead. Cameron Swain sat happily in fourth, content to let the leading trio trade the lead- and fairing paint- while he waited to pounce.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Aksu found himself back in the lead by lap six and managed the impossible- a small gap to the pursuing pack. The pack called for a brief ceasefire, realising that their common enemy was off the front.

Jonathan Nahlous was able to catch and pass Aksu for 2-3 corners, before Aksu would once again take the lead. Nahlous and Aksu swapped the lead several times before Swain tired of the Nahlous/ Aksu show back in fourth and took the race lead on lap nine.

The final lap board came out, and Nahlous took the lead into turn one. Swain passed him back, while Aksu worked back up to second. With the corners running out, Swain led from Aksu and Nahlous.

Aksu took the lead with a few corners to go and tried to sneak to the line. Swain had the perfect sit and like a pro cycling sprinter, pulled out of the slipstream to take his first win in Supersport 300 by 3/100th of a second.

POST-ROUND

At the completion of Round Five, ASBK Race Direction advised the disqualification of #181 Liam Waters from Rounds Two, Three and Five, due to a technical regulation breach. Consequently, results from the listed rounds were amended. See the full post-race notice from ASBK Race Direction and the amended standings at asbk.com.au

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

RACE ONE

An eventful first lap saw Jonathan Nahlous and Jack Favelle both end their races at turn-10, while Glenn Nelson took an early lead from pole sitter Cameron Dunker. Cameron Swain was the biggest loser off the start, dropping from fourth to eighth and with a lot of work to do after lap one. The leading pack of eight, led by Glenn Nelson, found their collective rhythm, and while the front three and the back three of the leading pack would jostle for position repeatedly throughout the race, Dunker and Hayden Nelson remained calm and consistent in their fourth and fifth places throughout.

By lap four, it was apparent that we had a battle on our hands, as Taiyo Aksu made a move on Glenn Nelson for the lead. Not to be outdone, Liam Waters took the spot back from Glenn Nelson after losing it on the start.

Coming to the finish, a tight battle between Waters and Aksu made for a great spectacle. The two exchanged positions on lap six, and then again on seven, before the final push for the finish line on lap eight – and the result could not have been closer, Aksu coming out on top by 0.005, requiring a video review to confirm the result.

Dunker managed some redemption after the poor start, taking the final podium position from Glenn Nelson on the last lap.

RACE TWO

Cameron Dunker was swallowed off the line down to fourth by turn one while Liam Waters had a great start into first. Aksu down one spot to sixth was the one to watch on the back of three wins through the weekend already.

The field was tight as they settled into the race, after one lap there was barely a gap of half a second. Glenn Nelson took advantage of the slipstream onto the main straight to take second place with sights set on Waters ahead.

The next lap, Glenn Nelson made the move on Waters at the back end of the lap but lost the spot again on the straight – Waters and Cameron Swain both coming through.

On lap three, Aksu made his way through, up to third and looking strong. By the final chicane, Aksu was right on the back of Swain and cruised by on the main straight to take the lead – setting back of back-to-back fastest laps in the process.

Swain wasn’t done, taking the position back from Aksu but it didn’t last – only a few corners later Swain crashed out of the lead while trying to battle with Aksu. Swain was okay but that was his race done.

Into lap five and Aksu looked to build on the lead, now out to 0.35 and holding out now comfortably from Waters on the straight.

As the leading pack settled in for a few laps, there was a great little scrap happening from ninth down to 13th with Henry Snell holding out the pack, separated by less than a second.

Waters, not to be outdone, got the head down and reeled Aksu in, taking the lead on lap seven, holding off a charge from Aksu at turn one on the start of the final lap.

Marianos Nikolis has worked his way up into a potential podium, fighting with Dunker with the Nelson duo in fifth and sixth.

Heading into the final chicane Waters set himself up with a clean exit to hold on and win by 0.143, while Aksu had to defend a fiery Nikolis, who very nearly pipped second on the line.

In the midfield, a trio of Jack Favelle, Snell and Jonathan Nahlous hit the line three-wide separated by just 0.051 with Favelle taking a hard fought ninth.

RACE THREE

A lightning start from Liam Waters could only be bettered by the one and only Taiyo Aksu who continued to show his weekend form, moving from fifth to second and right on the tail of Waters.

At the start of lap three, Aksu made the move on Waters to take the lead, but nothing is a given here and there were seven bikes behind all in the mix.

The final race of the weekend had given these riders countless laps to figure out the right race plan and setting up the chicane exit onto the main straight looked a crucial element of any good race.

The movement within the leading pack of eight was constant and countless while seven seconds up the road was essentially the other half of the field with Cooper Rowntree at the head of ninth to 15th split by less than a second.

Into lap seven it was Hayden Nelson looking to make the big moves, up into second as they headed to the line, with Swain falling to seventh.

Waters led the final lap with Aksu and Marianos Nikolis close behind. Aksu went for a move on Waters but couldn’t hold on to it, and it looked like that could be a good thing heading into the chicane- the tow awaited.

But Waters managed a clean-as-you-like exit out of the final corner and somehow managed to hold off the attack from Aksu, staying just ahead by 0.047 to take the race and overall weekend win. Nikolis held on for a well fought third place ahead of Cameron Dunker with less than a second back to eighth.

POST-ROUND

At the completion of Round Five, ASBK Race Direction advised the disqualification of #181 Liam Waters from Rounds Two, Three and Five, due to a technical regulation breach. Consequently, results from the listed rounds were amended. See the full post-race notice from ASBK Race Direction and the amended standings at asbk.com. au

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

“Come to Queensland” they said, “It’s a lovely winter getaway”. Well, they got the winter part right with rain and cooler temps and while the earlier runners got some dry track for most it was moist.

…and that created its own set of circumstances. For most riders that meant sitting in their garage and not out on their bike, but not for the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) riders.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

It was a perfect storm for chaos as the OJC field were out in droves throughout the treacherous conditions. The bLU cRU OJC riders showed their progress and talent, managing – perhaps even

enjoying – the conditions like absolute pros, with most banking at least nine laps in the 15-minute first practice session and incredibly, not a single rider coming undone in these conditions.

Sam Drane took the honours in Practice One as the quickest to adapt to the wet, comfortable no doubt thanks to a month’s worth of Flat Track in the USA. He finished just 0.064 ahead of Hudson Thompson.

Practice Two saw the conditions the same- if not worse- and the field would once again follow the Alpinestars Superbikes on track. This time out though, only four of the premier class managed any laps in the preceding 35-minute session, compared to 19 in the OJC where most again managed around nine laps.

By the end of Practice Three, the vast majority of the OJC field were nearing 30-laps on a day that saw most other classes with their feet up (and dry) – invaluable experience in conditions many had yet to face.

QUALIFYING

An almost dry track greeted the OJC riders on Saturday morning for Qualifying One as the 11:30 AM session got underway. While the rain had finally departed in the very early hours of the morning, the track took much of the day to work its way to fully dry, and so the 19-strong OJC class took to the track in “mostly dry” conditions.

Harrison Watts led the way early, starting with a 1:39.580 and working his way down to a 1:39.019 before Hudson Thompson brought the first 1:38 of Qualifying One. As the session was declared dry, Bodie Paige and Harrison Watts exchanged fastest laps to end the first qualifying session in the 1:36s.

Into Qualifying Two, with the track now properly dry, Levi Russo came alive. After setting a fastest time of 1:39.131, Russo’s fourth lap of the session was already a second faster, and faster he continued to get – taking pole position and a new qualifying record for the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup, setting the highly aesthetically pleasing time of 1:36.666 on lap 12 of 13 in Qualifying Two. Watts took second row with his Q1 time of 1:36.864 and Hudson Thompson took third to round out the front row with a 1:37.547 set in Q2.

RACE ONE

Result subject to video review and penalties.

Not something fans of any racing like to see- especially when it comes to junior racing.

But the reality is when one rider jumps, others tend to go with them and for the OJC, it’s a learning process and even when their coach Gary McCoy has drummed it into them, there’s no teacher quite like experience.

Three jumped starts aside, the riders settled into a race rhythm that saw six riders slowly work their way up the road. Watts, Thompson, Paige, Russo, Rende and Hamod worked together and – as befits OJC- against each other.

Hamod and Rende would face ten second penalties for their jumped start, so while they were seemingly fighting for the lead, the end of the race would see them relegated outside the top four.

RACE TWO

Levi Russo was missing from the grid following a crash in the warmup, giving the leaders an easier task, and it was Hudson Thompson who made the most of the opportunity from the start. It wasn’t long before a leading pack broke away, establishing a little over a second between Marcus Hamod in fifth and Ryan Larkin in sixth by the end of lap one.

As they crossed the line for the first of six laps, it was already evident that this race would be hard fought, as Harrison Watts made the move on Thompson to lead by 0.047, with less than half a second separating first from fifth.

Larkin and Alexander Codey did their best in sixth and seventh to catch the leading group, but without the tow it was very difficult work.

Three laps down the leading pack of five was three seconds ahead of the next riders, with plenty of jostling for position throughout each lap. Crossing the line to start lap four – the gap to fifth was under a third of a second.

Watts was still looking strong, taking the bulk of the time in the lead, even if it’s never more than a few corners at a time as this group was not afraid to put the moves on each other on a near-constant basis…

Starting lap five, Bodie Paige with the bright red helmet decided the time was right and took the lead down the straight, continuing to hold on for the entire lap and even over the line – holding off Watts in the tow.

Rende managed to claw his way back in to take the lead once more from Paige, setting up the move on the exit of Michelin corner to hold on through Suzuki corner and into the Yamaha chicane. But right on the back of Rende coming out of the last corner was Paige, who tucked in with a perfectly timed tow to take the win by just 0.011, barely the width of a tyre.

Rende held on to second place with Watts right behind rounding out the podium.

RACE THREE

Levi Russo made the grid this time out and with a solid start held the lead into turn one.

In the usual OJC fashion the lead group exchange the lead numerous times throughout the first lap and by the end of lap one it was Harrison Watts leading Bodie Paige with Hudson Thompson and Russo in third and fourth.

From second place on lap two, Thompson made a mistake at the entry to Suzuki corner ending his race early, losing the front under brakes into the right hander.

A bit of a gap emerged as the leading group reacted to the collapse of Thompson, but by the start of lap four it was all back to the usual tight racing with Paige leading the way. Marcus Hamod and Paige battled throughout lap four exchanging the lead, with Cameron Rende, Watts and Russo keeping them honest.

In the midfield, a second group was tucked closely together led by Hunter Corner with another five bikes, all within half a second of each other.

Into the final lap, Rende took the lead, but we’ve seen time and time again that it means almost nothing if you can’t find a good halfsecond gap before the tow kicks in onto the main straight.

A mistake by Hamod, drifting out onto the grass, gave Watts a great little gap coming into the Yamaha chicane. The gap was about 0.25 but it wasn’t enough, and Watts was completely swamped heading across the line.

The timing board showed Rende the winner by 0.73 over Watts and Paige in third 0.05 behind Watts, and it took a video review to confirm the result. Hamod did well to hold onto fourth after his excursion on the grass, holding out Russo in fifth.

The second pack came across the line eight seconds adrift of the leaders, with Ryan Larkin taking sixth from Sam Drane, and only 0.577 splitting sixth from tenth.

Round Five – bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup at MotoGP, Phillip Island, Victoria

The bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup ran as a support class for the Australian MotoGP round, with round victors up on the podium in front of 40,000 fans, in the same spot the MotoGP race winners would stand shortly thereafter.

Ryan Larkin banked enough points from his two race wins to finish on the overall podium, while Levi Russo finished in second place, equal on points with the inaugural Mick Doohan Trophy winner and top OJC racer of the weekend, Hudson Thompson.

Friday saw three sessions of on-track action, starting with Free Practice, into Qualifying and finishing with the first race of the weekend.

Larkin took pole with a 2:12.175, Hunter Corney placed second 0.389 behind and Marcus Hamod completed the front row 0.419 behind the pole time.

RACE ONE

Sam Drane, who started in seventh on the third row, had a fantastic start, moving to second by the end of the first lap, while Cameron Rende took crossed the line in first from fourth.

It was apparently very early in the race, that the traditional trading places game would be on the cards, with numerous leaders over the first two laps. Rende fell to ninth by the end of lap two, while Watts took the lead.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

On lap three, Watts looked to build a lead but as they crossed the line, he had fallen to seventh while Rende had returned to battle at the front to dice with Larkin for the lead. Ella McCausland became the unfortunate first to crash at turn ten and did not return to the race.

Lap four saw Marcus Hamod, Alexander Codey and Drane come together in a crash at turn two, dropping the leading group from nine riders to just six. While the trio thankfully returned to their feet, their races were over.

After a tussle for position throughout the final lap, Larkin played the best hand with the perfect run to the line, edging out Levi Russo by just 0.008 and Rende by 0.012. Watts came home in fourth an agonizing 0.013 behind the podium, missing out on a step for the first time in seven straight races.

RACE TWO

Following the completion of Moto2 Free Practice 3, the bLU cRU OJC riders took to the track for what would be an incredible second race.

Cameron Rende was first to jump to the front, working from fourth to first on the first lap, with Harrison Watts, Ryan Larkin, Marcus Hamod and Alexander Codey, all within 0.127s at the line.

The 30,000 strong crowd were treated to lap-after-lap of incredibly tight racing, and a five-wide battle to the line for almost every single lap.

By the end of the third lap, the front group of 12 had broken away from the rest of the field, but within this dozen, it was still anyone’s race to win as they were split by only 1.233s, with Rende having to battle with almost half the field to try and hold onto first.

Ella McCausland managed to work her way up as high as fourth on lap four and was right in the mix throughout, while Levi Russo had fallen to 12th only to move to fourth on the very next lap.

On lap five, it was Larkin who took the lead with two-to-go as the pack of 12 continued the fight, separated by less than one second as they jostled and toyed with how best to use the precious tow down Gardner Straight.

The final two laps finally saw a crack appear, splitting off the front seven from the pack of twelve, but it was no more than a crack. Hunter Corney led the chasing group that included Hudson Thompson, James Weaver, McCausland and Teerin Fleming.

Up front it was Russo who took the lead – from 12th two laps prior – into the final lap, thrilling the crowd as the top three of Hamod, Alexander Codey and Russo, were split by 0.009 at the line.

The final lap went to the wire as expected. It was all down to who could set up the best on the exit of turn 10 onto the big sweeping final two corners. Larkin played his cards to perfection to take back-to-back wins, while Rende managed to hold off Russo to take second by 5 thousandths of a second.

RACE THREE

The final race of the weekend for the OJC took to a wellrubbered, but cooling track. All eyes were on Ryan Larkin from the outset, with a perfect-points weekend on the cards.

From the moment the lights went out at the start, it was clear that the field of 20 were growing in track knowledge and confidence, and while the lap times had dropped by around two seconds from the midday race, the racing had become closer.

On lap three, Harrison Watts had taken the lead to start the lap, only to low-side his Yamaha YZF-R15 mid-way through the newly named Miller corner – Turn four. Watts managed to pick the bike back up and finish the race to score what could be crucial points come the finale at the Bend next month.

On the next lap, Miller corner became the sight of ‘the big one’. Larkin was looking to make a move to line up on the inside of the pack of riders coming into turn four, but just as he made the move, so did Andrew. Larkin made contact with the rear of Andrew’s YZF-R15 from behind, resulting in a crash that also collected Cameron Rende.

Andrew hit the ground quite awkwardly, resulting in a trip to medical, but thanks to the wonderful protection afforded by his Shark helmet and Ricondi leathers, the likeable and distinctive young man that is Elijah Andrew was cleared the following morning of any serious injury.

The chaos of Miller corner opened the door for a number of extraordinary big moves. Bodie Paige went from 14th to first, Levi Russo made it to second from 13th and Weaver was sizing up the podium along with a rapid Ella McCausland. While McCausland joined the series mid-season, her rapid rise from back marker to contender was noted by many.

But it was the Bodie Paige show for the rest of the race. After capitalising on the chaos of lap four, Paige edged out to a half-second lead coming into the last lap – an eternity on a circuit like Phillip Island where the tow can be so powerful.

As the pack rounded the crucial turn 10 one final time, it looked like Paige could be swamped by the trio of Sam Drane, Hudson Thompson and McCausland. But the #74 kept his cool, became one with the bike, and brought it home for the win.

Drane was next just 0.169 behind, while Thompson managed to hold off McCausland to take a critical third place.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Round Six - Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria

FRIDAY

ASBK ‘22: Round 6 Friday. There’s No Take Away Here...

The Friday of Round Six - held alongside the World Superbike event - saw all classes in the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Moul (ASBK) on track in the morning for first practices followed by afternoon sessions that were made up of qualifying for Dunlop Supersport 300 & Michelin Supersport, a second practice session for Alpinestars Superbike and the first race of the weekend with the 300s rounding out the day with an eight-lap journey.

A dry (and incredibly- a sunny) day today, it was interesting to see what the riders were capable of and just what takeaways they would have for when it turns damp- tomorrow...

Dunlop Supersport 300

First Practice

The day opened to the sweetest sunshine one could possibly imagine. After the doom and gloom of the recent MotoGP event and the still gloomy forecast for the weekend ahead, it was just what the assembled crowd wanted.

Ryan Larkin opened up early with the fastest lap, but soon it

was down to the proper business of going fast with the 300s feeling the pressure of a single practice session.

Championship contenders and race winners alike in Hayden Nelson, Snell, and Dunker all took a turn at the top and then 29th-in-the-championship rider Peter Nerlich uncorked a 1:49.488 to take the top spot for the session aboard a Kawasaki.

Whatever predictions had been made ahead of round six were sinking into the soft Phillip Island grass.

Qualifying

Qualifying was also held in bright sunshine, with the merciful weather Gods apparently happy to lull the Superport 300 crew into some sense of complacency and comfort.

As they are want to do at a fast circuit like Phillip Island, the Dunlop Supersport 300s formed a formidable pack with the fast guys exchanging lap times and fairing paint. Third overall Taiyo Aksu was fastest for much of the session, but as the

minutes wound down it was Cameron Dunker up into P1, with second-in-the-championship Glenn Nelson 11th and struggling. While Supersport 300 racing can and does offer many opportunities to pass, being 1.2 seconds off pole will make life very tough if Nelson wants to contend for the title.

At the end of the session, it was Aksu from Snell, Hayden Nelson, Dunker and Gawith.

Race 1

For all the efforts the riders make in qualifying, in Supersport 300, more often than not it makes nearly no difference.

For Taiyo Akso, the back half of the season has seen him hit a purple patch that could still propel him to the championship, but Phillip Island rarely respects form. As Troy Herfoss had

noted earlier in the day “Everything has to be right here and you can still find yourself P10”. For Taiyo that meant a slide from P1 to P5 by lap three. While he remained close to the front- indeed spending some time in second late in the race, P5 was all he could manage at race’s end, just .4 behind the eventual winner Henry Snell who started alongside Aksu from position 2.

Where Aksu had slipped down to fifth, Snell had gone big and dropped as low as seventh on lap two. Riding a mature and calculated race, Snell didn’t allow this setback and the short 8-lap race to deter him, immediately working back into third place within in a lap and at this point, he might have just bided his time for the all-important run to the line- a critical skill in Supersport 300 racing at any time, but super-mega critical at Phillip Island.

Instead, Snell ran afoul of some pretty heavy passing and “rubbin’s racin’” shenanigans and found himself eighth with a lap to run. A brilliant -and his fastest - lap saw Snell’s #12 Yamaha salute in first place and take the maximum 25 points. Championship leader Cameron Dunker played a sensible hand to finish second and Hayden Nelson was third.

Dunker maintains a healthy points advantage over Glenn Nelson who was unable to substantially lift from a lowly 11th qualifying position, ending up in ninth.

Michelin Supersport

Free Practice 1

Another early session, but bright sun and near-perfect conditions greeted the Supersport riders as they ventured out for their single practice session of the event.

With the single practice in mind, there wasn’t much time to mess about, and just three minutes into the 25 minute session it was Jack Passfield who dropped into the 1:30s with a 1:39.551 He would better his own time shortly after with 1:37.776

Tom Bramich would signal his intentions for the weekend as he topped the table, just dipping under Passfield’s time with 1:37.717

Passfield would beat Bramich’s time (1:37.512) and then dip lower again (1:37.029) and this time would sit in the hot seat right up until the last few minutes of the session before Bramich would assert himself and bite off a significant and valuable couple of tents to top the session with 1:36.905.

The Championship conders in first and second places -Lytras and Lynch- were third (1:37.390) and fifth (1:37.925) respectively as practice one ended.

Qualifying

A rude shock for the riders with just the one 25-minute practice session before launching into a 20-minute qualifying session after lunch.

“It’s the same for everyone” opined Tom Bramich- but he would say that after being fastest in the first and only practice session.

Jack Passfield was fastest out of the gate again and his methodology appeared to be “post something fast early, make ‘em chase you down”.

With only 20 minutes in the session, Ty Lynch had one out lap before heading back to the pits. An interesting strategy with the session short and the speed high from the get-go.

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Jacob Hatch crashed out at Turn four and could only wait and see if his time would hold. Bramich made it business as usual with a 1:36.756 placing him back to P1 per the morning’s practice.

With half the session gone, Ty Lynch’s absence was not a strategy, it was a problem. A technical issue had seen him return to the pits early. As a result, he was yet to post a fast lap and was languishing down in 18th- last. His only chance of winning the championship was via taking advantage of Lytras’ non-domination of the PI circuit and instead Lytras was up in P3.

It was a full-on panic. Eight minutes to go, the R6 of a clearly injury-ridden Ty Lynch finally posted a top-ten time, but the opportunity to get to the front row was fast running out. Eight became sixth, but he was still 1.2 seconds behind the leaders.

Bramich was comfortably .3 ahead of second-placed Passfield and .7 ahead of third-placed Lytras.

Eleventh-placed Tom Drane crashed at fashionable-forthis-round-spot turn four. With his home region flooded, it appeared that the flat track champion may have had other things on his mind. He remounted and returned to the pits.

At the end of the session, it was Bramich from Passfield and Lytras to set up an interesting race on Saturday.

Tom Bramich (centre) will start from pole alongside Passfield (left) and Lytras (right)

Alpinestars Superbike

With the apparently “luxury” of two practice sessions for Friday, there wasn’t the sort of pressure on the Superbike riders as the other classes, but with the championship tight, a number of guest and new riders aboard some fast machinery, the pressure was still on at the jump.

Some 27 riders took to the circuit and it was Troy Herfoss who was at the top (1:33.700), enjoying some quality time as the fastest man at the circuit.

Glenn Allerton showed that the M1000RR likes it at the PI layout, while his former teammate from earlier in the year Josh Waters showed his hit out at MotoGP aboard a Boost Mobile with K-Tech Panigale was more than helpful as he too put in multiple bids for the top spot.

Reigning champions and the go-to man at PI Wayne Maxwell was top five as expected but not P1 as one might reasonably expect. The team had swapped bikes to ensure both were at their best, only to have the bike expire at Turn One. Maxwell thumbed a ride back to the pits and quickly ventured out on his #1 bike.

For all of Maxwell’s dramas, the real intrigue was with Mike Jones. Sixth and seventh for much of the session, he found himself in the unenviable position of needing to find a second to contend.

It was Josh Waters on lap ten who would set the fastest time of the session and with teammate Maxwell second, they found themselves some half a second ahead of surprise thirdplaced and top Yamaha runner, Ant West.

It was an intriguing first session and with rain predicted for the afternoon, perhaps the only dry session ahead of the weekend’s racing.

Free Practice Two

After FP1, the two Boost Mobile with K-Tech riders in Josh Waters (p1) and Wayne Maxwell (P2) could afford a little

smile of satisfaction after not only going 1-2 but doing so by half a second over third-placed Ant West. Importantly for Wayne Maxwell Mike Jones was 1.2 seconds adrift in seventh.

But it’s hard to keep a good man down and even harder to keep a champion under wraps. While Waters was soon up to P1 again, it was Mike Jones aboard his Yamaha who was up to P2 early in the session.

All teams were working on setup and not all were in sync with their runs for the session, so while Cru Halliday moved up to P2, Maxwell was just heading out for his final run of the session.

But it was Josh Waters comfortably atop the timing screens, impressing the pundits in just his second event aboard the clearly dialled-in Craig McMartin prepared Panigale V4R.

Cru Halliday just willed his Yamaha into P2 from Ant West third and Wayne Maxwell in P4.

Overall for the day, it was Josh Waters, Wayne Maxwell and Cru Halliday.

The takeaways from the day were few with the weather set to play a bigger role from tomorrow onwards.

One takeaway of note was that the top riders in ASBK would have been well up the WSBK table, an impressive result for the local heroes against the more technically advanced and expensive World Superbike-spec machines.

Josh Waters: “Both our bikes were pretty good, but for me, the feeling was pretty good. We just went with what we had last time (at the MotoGP event). “Obviously the bike’s quite good, so I’ve just been trying to customise it to me and we just keep chipping away”

SATURDAY

ALPINESTARS SUPERBIKE

QUALIFYING

The conditions for this morning’s Alpinestars Superbike qualifying were as good as one could currently imagine for fast times: overcast and cool with a dry track.

And so it was. Josh Waters departed pit lane, completed his out lap and then put his bike on pole with a record-breaking 1:31.286 He pitted for a time, but honestly if he had just stayed in and perhaps lit a cigar it would have been the stuff of legend.

No one would top his time for the rest of the session, and that is not to say the other riders were slow. By the end of the session, the top eleven were into the 32s, and four riders were in the 31s. Nearly every rookie set their fastest-ever Superbike lap time. Yeah, the conditions were good!

Championship leader Mike Jones struggled at times and found himself as low as 8th while teammate Cru Halliday didn’t bother the timing screens until halfway through the session.

The times fell as the time on the clock ran down. Staring dipped into the 1:31s by 1/1000th second with ten minutes

to go, and finally, Halliday graced us with his presence on track and immediately placed himself one spot ahead of teammate Jones.

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Glenn Allerton found himself outside the top eight and would stay thusly.

And while beating Waters was proving to be impossible, Daniel Falzon unleashed his R1 and bettered his own personal best by over half a second, nailing down an incredible 1:31.596 to go to number two and claim fastest Yamaha of the session

The bloke who needed to be the fastest Yamaha - Mike Jones - was 8th at this point. While Maxwell wasn’t in P1, it was still a worrying sight for the championship leader.

Meanwhile, Waters was out again and to show it was no fluke, he just consistently lapped under Maxwell’s fastest lap.

With five minutes to go, Jones knocked out a 1:32.148 - 7th. Third row of the grid.

Maxwell put in a new tyre with five minutes to go. A final run beckoned and with it the chance to not only take pole and grab that precious single point.

But traffic and time would beat him and he was unable to pull out the desperately needed magic lap, despite managing to do the fastest first sector time twice without result.

At the podium receiving the AMX Superstores pole cheque was Josh Waters with Daniel Falzon (second) and Wayne Maxwell (third) rounding out the front row.

Mike Jones managed to work his way to fifth and would now start from the second row of the grid. Wayne Maxwell would be in front and slightly to his right at the start of the three races. With Ant West to Mike’s right, the starts would now be very, very interesting.

And... it was now raining.

RACE ONE

And while it was not actually raining for the start of race one, it was most certainly wet. The riders tip-toed out on their wets and speculation in the paddock peaked. Westy from sixth? Mike to fire it up the inside of Maxwell? Would it dry up?

From the jump it was Falzon, but by turn one it was Josh Waters in the lead and before we really had a chance to consider who was where, Wayne Maxwell crashed on the exit of turn two and took with him his Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati Panigale V4R and perhaps his chance of winning the 2022 title.

After just one lap, Herfoss led from Staring, Allerton and Waters with West hanging on in fifth.

Jones was down in 13th and at any other time this would be a catastrophe, but with Maxwell out, it was a near non-issue.

At the front, the leading four traded spots like Supersport 300 racers and Sissis worked his way past West to set sail for the fast four out front.

After just five laps of twelve, the action and passing had been almost too much. Staring led, Allerton kept nudging towards the front and Herfoss was as low as fourth, but also set to lead if that wasn’t confusing enough.

Sissis had now wisely just measured his run towards the leading foursome but was knee down on wets through turn three just to keep all assembled a tad nervous and an absent Casey Stoner happy.

On lap six, Staring completed the fastest lap of the race and pushed out to a .8 gap. Josh Waters put his head down and chased hard and attached his Ducati to the back of the

DesmoSport Ducati shortly after. Sissis passed a slowing Troy Herfoss.

There was a brief settling of the order, with Starting leading from Waters and Allerton, a gap back to Sissis and a further and growing gap back to the next group. Metcher and Pearson had overtaken Troy Herfoss and then Ant West who might have preferred it wetter to display his prodigious wet weather skills and be kinder to his Dunlop.

Mike Jones got ahead of Ted Collins and teammate Halliday to move up to 11th to just gather up a few more points.

With ten laps completed, Allerton got the better of Waters for second, while Staring continued to push hard in first place.

A frankly unwanted dry line had emerged and Staring now had a one-second gap off the front with a lap to run and further pushed it out to 1.2 as the chasing pair of Allerton and Waters waved the white flag.

At the line, it was Bryan Staring in a repeat of his round one, race one victory with Glenn Allerton second and Josh Waters in third. Arthur Sissis had one of the better rides of the day to finish a valiant fourth. Jed Metcher could feel justifiably pleased with his fifth place, Senna Agius admitted he had been rather nervous just exiting pit lane, but rode a mature and sensible race to finish in sixth, Broc Pearson was similarly sensible and measured in seventh.

Troy Herfoss wound up back in eighth, a disappointing outcome after variously leading and dicing with the front runners early on. Daniel Falzon was ninth after starting from second, but he had stated earlier that his fast lap in the dry was one for the ages and that race pace might be an issue.

Mike Jones finished a remarkable race in tenth place to bank 11 points and stretch his Championship lead over Wayne Maxwell. Cru Halliday and Ant West were 11th and 12th respectively

With his DNF on lap one, not only did Maxwell concede more points to Jones, but also saw second place go to Bryan Staring on what was an extraordinary day for the championship.

Staring played the cards he had to perfection

Tomorrow sees the riders back for two more races to round out the weekend. As it has been in recent times, rain is of course forecast and the random nature of Phillip Island might be the king maker once again.

Bryan Staring: “Yeah, that was a really tough race, just reading the conditions every lap. Everything was changing

and trying to stay consistent was difficult. And I made some pretty amateur mistakes out there.

“Everything was changing underneath us so quickly, now that it’s finished, it seems like it was an enjoyable race. But honestly, like you’re you’re on a knife’s edge the whole time trying to keep the bike on two wheels.

“I worked out, I had some drive grip on the guys and then I could use my top speed to my advantage. And after I sort of understood that, then I just worked it to where I needed to be. I knew I was slow in a few areas, but I thought ‘I’ll concentrate on my strengths here, minimize the mistakes and where I can’t push it’ and in the end, I’m so glad we got there!”

Glenn Allerton: “A lot happened. It was a race of attrition.

“With all the guys, what was great about that race was that

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

we are all champions in our own right - that whole front four. I could have reached out and touched Bryan a couple of times, we were that close to each other, that close on the edge of grip. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

Josh Waters: “It’s good to be on the podium! The race was close in parts and it was good to be a part of it!

“There are a few areas we can make better for tomorrow if the conditions are wet again..”

MICHELIN SUPERSPORT

RACE ONE

Pole sitter Tom Bramich ought to have been feeling reasonably confident ahead of race one this morning, having topped the timesheets in practice and qualifying reasonably comfortably.

It’s been a confident and affirming time for Bramich who started the year well, but had a series of falls, issues and subpar results that makes a championship unlikely, even if it’s mathematically possible.

Bramich lead the field early and found himself at the front

of a group of three with Passfield and Lytras for company. Scott Nicholson hung on in fourth and the injured and mechanically plagued-on-Friday Ty Lynch.

For Lynch to have any chance of challenging Lytras for the title, he would need to not just challenge him at Phillip Island, he would need to beat him and get a few other riders between them.

On lap four, Passfield overtook Bramich for the lead and managed to grind out a 0.6 second gap. Fourth through sixth (Nicholson, Lynch and Skeer) were able to then attach themselves to the lead group to keep it interesting for championship watchers and race fans alike.

Rain flags came out on lap six, as we apparently didn’t have enough drama. Scott Nicholson crashed and valiantly tried to get going again from the gravel trap at turn nine.

..and then there were five at the front. Tom Drane was up in sixth, but some 6 seconds behind fifth. Skeer pitted.

Bramich found the pace a little tough and dropped to fourth, Declan Carberry crashed at turn eleven and...

The red flag came out and we called a ceasefire.

The rain pulled a “classic Phillip Island” and refused to fall in earnest, but certainly damped things. Then it did rain in earnest, we all looked at the dismal radar images and the grid was a flurry of teams swapping to wets for the restart.

The assembled foreign media asked local media what they thought the weather would do and received a collective shrug.

The Island does what The Island does.

Several riders departed pit lane for what was perhaps a sighting lap and Lynch and Lytras found themselves apparently set to start from pit lane.

And then they declared the race done - with partial points awarded - and we all ran to the podium to see who won.

In the end, it was Passfield from Bramich and Lynch. Lytras was fourth to keep the championship reasonably safe and the half points for the shortened race did him no harm whatsoever.

To quote Werner Herzog, “ There is no harmony in the universe”.

Race Two

Unusually and perhaps outrageously, race two for Michelin Supersport started on the dry track in bright sunshine. Weird, we know.

John Lytras jumped pole sitter Bramich to take the lead while a keen-to-get-involved Ty Lynch moved up to third.

Keer moved past Lynch to make things tricky for the challenger while Lytras was being simultaneously passed by a determined Tom Bramich.

At MG, turn 10, Skeer and Lynch came together and both slid off and out of contention. It was a tough blow for the already injured Lynch, who would now also concede more points to Lytras. ASBK Race Direction placed the incident under investigation.

Passfield was now promoted to third, but some 1.3 seconds behind the leading duo of Bramich and Lytras. Nicholson was some seven second further back, so the battle for the podium seemed settled.

Passfield pulled out the fasted lap of the race on lap four and this brought him to the leaders and a new battle began. Passfield was happy to show Lytras a wheel into turn one and do the same again at turn four.

Lytras clearly felt Passfield presence and rode slightly defensively as a result. Passfield completed yet another fastest lap of the race and celebrated by passing Lytras through turn one. Passfield was inevitable with his pace and took the lead at the Hayshed and lead the trio onto the straight to complete lap six.

While he was fast when chasing, leading is another caper altogether and Bramich was able to get ahead. Passfield returned the favour and Lytras just sensibly watched on. Passfield was able to gap Bramich a fraction and this prevented a main straight slipstream, so he lead into the 8th lap.

John Quinn had crashed heavily, but uninjured to end his run.

Through the final lap, Passfield continued to lead and then had a brain fade at MG- turn 10- and ran wide, allowing a surprised Bramich to use his considerable skill through turns 11 and 12 to advantage to take the win by 59/1000th of a second.

Tom Bramich: “I knew it was going to be a close race, Jack and Johnny are always good in a close battle. I knew that there were going to be a few of us fighting at the front.

“I was planning to overtake him (Passfield), but when the door opened I was pretty happy, I just needed to hold on through the last sector and I got to the line..!

Dunlop Supersport 300

Race One

Aksu leads the field away and of course he only does so to allow Dunker, Snell at al to get a run on him. A pack of eight forms by lap one and they trade spots.4

Dunker consistently placed his R3 at the front of the pack, perhaps reasoning that the best way to stay out of trouble is to keep it behind you. While a solo break away in the Supersport 300 class is unusual, it’s also not impossible so Dunker just kept plugging away, but never found himself too far from his octet of willing sparring partners.

At the halfway point, the leading eight riders were- in no particular order as it’s impossible: Snell, Aksu, Swain, Pezzetta, Hayden Nelson, Dinker, Gawith and Glenn Nelson who managed to latch on to the lead group. Nerlich and Larkin rounded out the top tan, but Nerlich fell on the second last lap.

The final lap saw Dunker drop as low as eighth, Pezzetta lead, Aksu close to the front and Nelson and Snell there abouts as well.

As noted previously, The Island rewards the clever in the Supersport 300 class and while Cameron Dunker was able to time his run pretty well, it was Henry Snell who saluted in first place after playing his cards to perfection.

Another brilliant 300 race- and all before 10am!

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

SUNDAY

Phillip Island Round Six Sunday: We Have Some Answers, But Not All of Them...

The final day of Round Six saw Phillip Island at its absolute best in the morning and then remind everyone during the lunch break who’s boss with a solid shower followed by some sun, then rain... look, we’re all a bit traumatised by The Island weather so let’s just leave it there.

How was the racing? When is it not fantastic?

It was fantastic. The intrigue and the what-could-have-been factor was high for some, while the championship favourites played the game to their advantage across the board.

Alpinestars Superbike

Race Two

The predicted rain of course stayed away, mostly to spite the forecasters.

A clichÈ we apparently can’t stop using, but nonetheless continue to use unabated is: “this could be the one that decides the title”.

The tension was evident amongst the field as they sat on the media grid, with stern faces all round. At the start, Falzon jumped away and Maxwell blew it to create more apparently necessary drama and found himself back in eighth. Waters settled into second with Herfoss rounding out the top three.

Simultaneously, Herfoss went into second, Allerton up to third with Waters shuffled down to fourth. Maxwell was now sixth and had Mike Jones for company in seventh. While we were looking the other way, Herfoss took the lead from Falzon and Waters.

Waters started lap two fourth and was first by turn four, Herfoss was down to second, Allerton third and Falzon had been passed by a seemingly desperate and loose Wayne

Maxwell. Agius tried a slightly ambitious move on Halliday but was unable to move up to seventh.

Mike Jones had shuffled about and was now eighth. Maxwell’s charge continued and somehow he was now up to second. The intriguing scenario was finally upon us; new teammate Waters was leading and Maxwell needs those 25 points. Waters was 1.6 seconds up the road, so pulling over and waiting for his teammate was not yet necessary.

Mike Jones, seeing Maxwell near the front, realised he needed to limit his losses and passed Falzon to move up to seventh.

Maxwell was on near-lap-record pace in unfavourable windy conditions, some .3 of a second a lap faster than Waters. The gap was still 1.3 seconds as they hit the line to complete lap five.

Herfoss was under attack from Halliday for third and it felt inevitable that the Yamaha R1 would make the pass on the Penrite Honda.

Herfoss made the CBR1000RR as wide as possible, but Halliday was dogged after a less-than-satisfactory (for him) Saturday result. The two riders would continue their hard dicing corner after corner.

Ant West’s charge came to an end at turn four when he went

in a little too hard while trying to pass Allerton when he ran in deep and folded the front end.

Mike Jones was now pushing hard, realising that Maxwell was heading towards Waters and potentially a race win. The championship leader moved up to sixth after taking Allerton and then had a good look at Bryan Staring who was in fifth.

Halliday and Herfoss continued their battle into lap eight and Maxwell found himself on the pipe of teammate Waters and then into the lead as they swept into turn one. There were some murmurs in the media centre, but Waters always knew how this scenario would pan out.

While this was going on, Cru Halliday finally found a way past Herfoss for third and Jones was past Staring for fifth to limit his losses. Staring wasn’t going quietly however and was showing Jones a wheel at every opportunity, putting the DesmoSport Ducati’s horsepower to good use.

Maxwell was now .6 ahead of Waters and just needed to stay calm and bring it home. Waters had an insurmountable 5 second lead over third placed Halliday.

As they hit the line, Maxwell took the win and as they cooled down into turn two, had his head on a swivel to see where Jones had finished. Jones was down in fifth and doing all he needed to continue his seemingly inexorable run to the title in a week’s time.

Was the championship now decided? Some certainly thought so, with Jones on schedule- just needing to finish fifth for the remaining races to secure the title.

There were now 76 maximum points left in season 2022 and Jones led by 31 points.

Waters led Maxwell, but not for long.

Race Two result: Maxwell (centre) from Waters (left) and Halliday (right)

Race Three

The World Superbikes had just completed their Superpole race as the ASBK bikes rolled out of their garages and where there was confusion ahead of the start in WSBK about whether to start on wets, dry tyres or a combination of both, it was far clearer for the ASBK crew; dry, dry, dry!

For all the talk of two wet races for Sunday, we were now on the verge of a second fully dry race and it was hard to see if the riders were relieved or disappointed. There was agreement that fast-drying wet track race like we had in race one would be a nightmare, the past was now exactly that, as we stared down the barrel of the third last race of season 2022 for the Alpinestars Superbike class.

Away we went into the unknown. Falzon got another good jump, but it was Josh Waters who lead them away.

Through southern loop they settled briefly and then Mike Jones effectively secured the title when Maxwell booped the back of Herfoss and fell off as they went into turn four and the Boost Mobile with K-Tech Ducati Panigale hit the deck.

Wayne Maxwell: Two DNFs and a win for 25 total points on a weekend where 76 points were needed.

Waters continued to lead with a resurgent Mike Jones in second and Herfoss in third. Then came Allerton (4th), Falzon up in fifth and Staring (6th).

Cru Halliday found himself down in ninth at a circuit he has always been close to the podium spot or at the front.

For all this drama, we were only on lap three.

Turn four claimed three more riders on riders on lap four after Daniel Falzon lost the front end and took Cru Halliday and Senna Agius with him.

Up front Herfoss was now up to second place but Josh Waters was 3.5 seconds up the road and setting fastest lap

times, but half a second off the race two pace.

Herfoss was now towing a long line of riders: Allerton, Jones, Staring and resurgent Ant West.

At half-race distance the action and aggression from the

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

chasing packs was unrelenting. The dicing amongst the various packs was allowing Josh Waters to set off for the finish.

Staring overtook Herfoss down the straight but was unable to hold the spot. Staring continued to show him a wheel as often as possible. Jones and West were clinging on to the chase group as Waters just continued to plug away.

Ant West’s miserable run -when he was showing genuine form- continued when he suffered a flat tyre on lap seven and retired. A tough weekend for the hugely talented and enigmatic racer.

With three to go, Waters was five seconds away from the main chase group that was led by Jones, from Staring and Allerton. Herfoss was seemingly having the fade out that has punctuated much of his weekend and then had an ambitious lunge at Allerton at turn four on lap ten. Allerton ran wide and onto the MotoGP long lap asphalt and both riders now found themselves with work to do if they wanted to get on the podium. Staring and Jones decided to have their own incident into turn four and the resulting touch sent winglet of Staring’s bike flying off his Ducati. While these two fought tooth and nail, Waters headed into the final lap with a smaller but still comfortable three-second lead while Herfoss was back up to the back of third-placed Jones.

At the finish, it was Josh Waters for the race and round win, salvaging something for the team after the disaster that was Wayne Maxwell’s double DNF situation. Staring saluted for second with resurgent Mike Jones on the box in third. Herfoss had muscled his way to fourth with Glenn Allerton fifth, Jed Metcher up to sixth, Arthur Sissis in seventh, Broc Pearson topping the rookies with eighth, a happier Max Stauffer in ninth and Matt Walters on his Kawasaki rounding out the top ten.

The overall result saw Waters from Staring with Allerton in third.

The championship? It’s not over, but race one at The Bend could see it all over. Jones sits comfortably atop on 269 points with Staring up to second on 238 and Wayne Maxwell third on 229.

With a maximum of fifty-one points on offer for the season, Mike Jones could be excused for making some room in his trophy cabinet.

Staring ahead of Mike Jones in race three

Race three saw Waters from Staring and Jones third.

Round result: Waters, Staring and Allerton. An important result for Staring who is now second overall.

Michelin Supersport

Race Three

The riders form firmly established, we looked to Bramich, Passfield and Lytras at the start to jump away and they delivered in that order, although Nicholson was able to slip up into third and Lytras now found Ty Lynch directly behind him in fifth.

Up front, Passfield was now leading with Bramich settling for second... for now.

Lytras had returned the favour to Nicholson and was back in third and then we completed the first lap. Whew!

Bramich was back into the lead shortly after and Lytras was now challenging for that lead in second. He and Passfield traded spots and showed each other a wheel time and time again to keep it fun. Their shenanigans allowed Bramich to just slip away by a second. Further back, Nicholson (4th), McDonald (5th), Farsnworth (6th), Skeer (7th) and the clearly injured Lynch (8th) battled on.

Gaps opened everywhere, perhaps due to the strong breeze that took away some of the usual Phillip Island drafting. Bramich was now out to a 1.2 second lead and Passfield in second had a 2.0 second gap back to Lytras.

The race settled in for several laps and the gaps stayed steady. Lytras didn’t need to push to protect his title chances and Passfield just slowly worked his way back to Bramich, narrowing the gap to the lead and moving to less than a second. On lap eight, Passfield put a pretty hard pass on Bramich, ran wide, understandably shut the door and was in front through the rest of the lap.

Bramich was either happy to follow or unable to pass and

settled in to follow and let Passfield know he wasn’t going anywhere. The pressure saw Passfield push the bike too hard and HE folded the front into turn six (Siberia) and crashed out of the race.

Bramich now enjoyed an eight-second advantage and Lytras inherited second place.

With the luxury of this large lead, Tom Bramich took his second win by 8.1 seconds to round off a terrific weekend for the Victorian-based former Supersport 300 champion.

The trio of (in race order) Bramich, Lytras and Passfield spent a lot of quality time together all weekend.

The overall weekend podium result was Bramich (centre) from Lytras (left) and Nicholson (right)

ASBK SEASON RECAP CONT.

Dunlop Supersport 300

The 300s jumped away in the kindest possible bright sun and Snell led them out of southern loop to turn four. As a sign of the field’s growing maturity through the year, all riders made it to turn four in all three races upright and racing.

That said, ASBK Race Direction placed the start under review for jumped start/s.

Dunker led through the back half of the circuit onto the straight. The leading group consisted of Dunker, Snell, Hayden Nelson, Pezzetta, Cameron Swain, Glenn Nelson and polesitter Taiyo Aksu.

Through lap three, Cameron Dunker put his head down to try to get a gap or force errors and moved out to a .3 second advantage. The leading trio of Dunker, Snell and Hayden Nelson were now out to an overall 1.4 gap and the second bunch appeared to decide to work together to ensure they weren’t out of the podium running.

The battle for ninth was so tough there was a brief swapping of paint on the main straight to remind everyone that 300s race hard no matter where they are or who they are against.

Diminutive Dunker was hard at it lap after lap and somehow worked his way to a near two second gap and with two laps to go, a rare solo win in the 300s seemed possible.

Glenn Nelson’s tough weekend got tougher with a crash that made challenging for the championship far tougher.

Dunker however was sublime. A 2.5 second gap was now too much for the followers to chase down. The only person who could beat him was Dunker himself. Three riders went down at turn four, an overly optimistic passing move up the inside saw Aksu, Swain and two race winner at this event Snell go down.

Dunker hit the line alone with an extraordinary 2.4 second gap from Hayden Nelson and Sam Pezzetta.

The 300s weekend was done, but the recriminations and “discussions” continued amongst the stranded riders at turn four.

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