Editorial Notes:

HERE are the Superbike Race One results, and HERE are the Superbike Race Two results.

American Travis Wyman, riding his Addicted to Track Yamaha YZF-R1, finished 16th in Superbike Race One and 18th in Superbike Race Two.

American Cody Wyman (Travis’ younger brother), riding his Addicted to Track Yamaha YZF-R6, finished 13th in Supersport Race and 14th in Supersport Race Two.

Sunday Sees All Our Champions Crowned: Jones, Lytras, Dunker and Watts

Of course, there was talk of rain in today’s edition of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK), but it never materialised.
Instead, we had some of the best racing of the season with all the things that make motorcycle racing brilliant.

Alpinestars Superbike- Race Report

The morning warm-up was very short and sweet with most riders happy to carry their setup from Saturday into race day.

The overseas contingent who have been chasing setup from Friday- including riders like Marcel Shrötter and Travis Wyman, were keen to find some time and pace so were indeed going out with some new things on the go.

Jack Miller said he was happy to leave things as they were and given his P2 position the only real challenge for Jack will be the non-launch control starts on his Panigale V4R.

For the record, Sissis was quickest in the warm-up and those in the know nodded.

Race One

And so it was. Sissis just sent it from the line and jumped away into the lead while Miller slipped back to fifth. Allerton was second with Jones in third. Maxwell, Herfoss and Starting got great starts.

Halliday was caught napping and was 12th.

Sissis worked up a small gap over Allerton and Jones and no one who had been watching the Unitech Yamaha with Sissis aboard all weekend were surprised.

Jones tried a move into turn one of lap two and it cost him a place as the wry contender Miller pounced.

As our eyes were rightly on Miller, Staring and McConnell came together and both went down at turn one and that brought out the red flag.

The riders went to the grid for another go at the starting caper. Staring was allowed to rejoin (McConnell was excluded) and Halliday would be thanking the racing gods, having been given another chance after his first start nightmare where he was 12th at the red flag.

Agius was missing with a clutch issue and Staring went late from pit lane. An electrical issue would end Staring’s charge shortly after.

At the restart, it was Sissis all over again with Glenn Allerton again second. Herfoss was faster this time and third, while newly minted SBK champion Jones was fourth. Miller did a better job off the line this time and yet was only fifth. Halliday would perhaps have been happier with sixth at this point and Maxwell settled for seventh from his 12th on the grid.

Miller pulled up with a chain issue and did not complete lap one, but was able to circulate to pit lane. His long face in his pit box told the story.

Meanwhile, Herfoss got past Allerton and Arthur Sissis was up the road a little, just .6 ahead.

In a fascinating and potentially explosive situation, teammates Waters and Maxwell were upon Mike Jones who was sixth. For all the potential of this situation, both riders passed the championship-leading #46 Jones without incident.

It was apparent that Jones was indeed happy to ride for the points needed to take the title.

Up front, the sentimental local favourite Arthur Sissis was doing his best work of the season with Herfoss for company. Waters was up to third, Maxwell fourth while Glenn Allerton found himself down in fifth.

Maxwell had an easy pass on teammate Waters, but for those who thought there were team orders, Waters nearly repassed the #1 Ducati shortly after. he would later reveal it was just due to a very hot tow down the straight from his team mate.

At half distance, Arthur Sissis was putting his speedway skills to good effect and was sliding here and there. Maxwell was now second on a huge charge and we could only ponder the tyre life on the Pirellis.

Lap six, and Maxwell took the lead and pulled out to a .4 second gap. He was riding like a man possessed and some consideration really had to be given to tyre life for the powerful Ducati.

Marcel Shrötter was doing the job for the Thriller Motorsport Team in tenth with West ahead and Metcher behind him.

Herfoss had Maxwell down to under .4 but it was clear there were some tyre degradation issues for some more than others as Sissis dropped to fifth. Shortly after, Herfoss took the lead into turn one of lap nine.

We now had a group of three with Herfoss, Maxwell and Allerton battling on. Waters could see them, but was just a little further back.

The last lap and Herfoss was hungry for his first win of 2022. Maxwell needed the 25 points and Allerton was similarly keen to salute for a win in a winless year.

As we headed to turn 17, the most likely passing point for The Bend, Herfoss did all he could to get a gap. Maxwell looked to be too far back. Allerton and Maxwell were briefly out of their seats and so were the crowd.

Herfoss’ gap was enough. He took his first win of the year at the second-to-last race of 2022.

That would be enough cause for an enormous celebration but for one factor.

By finishing fifth, YRT’s #46 Mike Jones was now the 2022 Alpinestars Champion.

RACE TWO

From the start line it looked like Sissis did it again, but it was that guy Jack Miller from full send mode Senna Agius and the always reliable Arthur Sissis.

At turn one, Schrotter and Waters came together to end their run.

Jones was now fourth with Herfoss and Maxwell for company.

Sissis was now feeling some heat and Jones was able to slip by and up into third.

And now we had a scenario for all the fans: Seventeen-year-old occasional Moto2 racer Senna Agius was in second position and chasing full-time MotoGP rider Jack Miller with the 2022 Alpinestars Superbike Champion Mike Jones chasing them both from third place.

So yeah, that happened.

Maxwell was on the move while Jones and Maxwell slipped by Agius to set off after Jack Miller.

Herfoss was close to his new teammate, but Allerton slipped in between the Hondas.

At lap five, Miller was under pressure from Jones, but Jones was under pressure from Maxwell.

It was all we had dreamed of. Lap after lap of racing perfection from the nation’s finest.

Miller was never more than .2 ahead and Jones was stalking the back of the Thriller Motorsport bike, but Maxwell – in his final ASBK race- was very, VERY hungry to go out on a win.

Miller had Jones get past into turn one of lap six and Maxwell capitalised as well and was up to second. A few corners later, Maxwell took the lead and Allerton moved up to third. Miller was slipping back, but knowing Jack, he wasnt going to go out without a fight.

Maxwell, like Miller before, was leading, but also unable to get away. It was the showdown we all wanted, between the reigning champion and the heir apparent. The leading pair swapped the lead, but Maxwell restored the order while Agius passed Miller for fifth.

It was fast becoming a race for the ages. Maxwell, Jones and Allerton all on the limit. Herfoss working his way to the back of that group, while the future of Australian racing Senna Agius gave chase ahead of the man of the MotoGP moment, Jack Miller.

Lap eight. Jones was up the inside of Maxwell at turn one, Herfoss was now up to third and Agius was the fastest man on circuit.

Herfoss muscled his way past Maxwell and set off after Jones, who was now .6 ahead.

It felt like Maxwell was losing grip while Jones was able to maintain the pace. Herfoss was keen to repeat his race one victory. Rarely have we seen a top ten with so much hunger for the podium and for the win.

Agius and Allerton swapped spots briefly, with the 40 year old asserting himself over the 17 year old, then Herfoss folded the front and Allerton went out in sympathy with him at turn five.

With less than half a lap left for the season, Jones was now two seconds ahead and kept it on track to take his sixth victory of the year.

Senna Agius took a sensational second place to ensure all assembled keep an eye on him in the coming years.

Maxwell was third in the final race of his ASBK career.

Jack Miller was an outstanding fourth, Sisiss fifth, Halliday in sixth, Ant West in a valiant seventh, local lad Falzon in eighth, Broc Pearson did well to be up to ninth and Joel Kelso was very impressive in tenth.

And so ended season 2022… and what a way to go out.

Michelin Supersport

Race One

With the championship still live, it was the non-championship players who were well involved with Dallas Skeer taking the holeshot with Harrison Voight close by. Championship challengers Bramich and Lynch were thereabouts, but Lytras- the heir apparent- was back in 10th early.

Voight pulled out a sensational opening lap and took a second-plus lead into lap two. Bramich and Lynch were dicing for fourth, but really needed to push to the front to put Lytras under any pressure.

Scott Nicholson was in third, three seconds behind second-placed Dallas Skeer who was feeling rejuvenated at the 4.95km Bend International Circuit.

Lynch got past Nicholson on lap four and pushed on towards Skeer, while Thriller Motorsports Harrison Voight just scooted away. On lap five he was four seconds up and the interest then remained with Lynch, Nicolson and Bramich.

Despite the race being just a nine-lap journey, tyre life was going to feature so some riders were just holding back a tad to ensure they could run to the finish.

Lynch set his fastest lap of the race to date to cement his third place and Bramich realised he had to chase and set off, passing Nicholson as the fight was on for third place for the race and second for the title.

Lynch responded and pulled another fast lap and was 3.6 seconds ahead while Tom Bramich in fifth fell away from Nicholson in fourth.

Meanwhile, Lytras was up to seventh, but not enough points to take the title with a lap to go.

Harrison Voight sensibly backed off a little on the run to the line and the Thriller Motorsport racer took a four-second victory to post the first win for the team for the day.

The title championship would require just one more race to be decided.

Race Two

Harrison Voight came to play and was out of the gate fast and loose and looking to escape. Thanks to an epic and fast lap two, the 16-year-old worked his way up the road lap by lap, leaving the championship regulars in his wake.

Lynch set after the Thriller Motorsport Yamaha, but by lap five, the gap was 4 seconds. Skeer was third, some 2 seconds further back.

And so it was for multiple laps. Voight was on the edge and yet in control and you could not help but be impressed.

In the title race, Bramich was sixth and out of the hunt, while Lytras was eighth and on track to take the title. Lynch was in second, but would need to get the win and have Lytras DNF.

Meanwhile, Lytras had his hands full with Farnsworth challenging, but Lytras wisely let him go. All he needed was some points as a safety barrier for the title and Lynch was now six seconds behind Voight.

Voight went over the line for the win, Lynch in second, Skeer third.

John Lytras crossed the line in ninth, but rightfully took the 2022 Michelin Supersport title..!

Editorial Notes:

American Travis Wyman, riding his Addicted to Track Yamaha YZF-R1, qualified 22nd in Superbike.

American Cody Wyman (Travis’ younger brother), riding his Addicted to Track Yamaha YZF-R6, qualified 16th in Supersport.

Saturday: Jones Sets Himself For the Title, Supersport Still Open

Alpinestars Superbike

While normally not the most important session of the day, there was a lot more tension and effort in this morning’s Timed Practice. With the top nine automatically progressing in top 12 qualifying session later today, the 30 riders in superbike were very keen to get a time near the top of the sheets to secure their ticket into the next session.

Troy Herfoss banged out a single solitary lap that put him some .277 ahead of Mike Jones and Arthur Sissis.

Of the international and one-off-round visitors, it was a mixed bag: Miller was inside the top nine as needed, Shrötter was hot early but unable to lift later in the session, Hook was only able to do an out lap before his injured wrist said “let’s go in”, McConnell was also inside the top 15 but was unable to push forward, while Travis Wyman was outside the top 20.

Both DesmoSport Ducatis didn’t make the top nine, an unsurprising outcome after their crashes in FP3 yesterday. The team worked hard yesterday evening and this morning to ensure they were race ready.

In Qualifying Two the top three go through to the final Qualifying and effectively back into the main game.

At the end of the session, it was Daniel Falzon back in after clocking the fastest time with Senna Agius and Jed Metcher for company. Both DesmosSport Ducatis were again absent with Bryan Staring fourth and .147 from third place, while Broc Pearson was seventh.

Of the one-round riders, Thriller Motorsport’s Marcel Shrötter was fifth and Livson’s Joel Kelso sixth.

So to Qualifying Two and the last qualifying session of the year. Just 12 riders were present and so plenty of clear track was available.

Billy McConnell had progressed from struggle town to the top nine and was now into this all-important final qualifying session.

Jed Metcher and Daniel Falzon were busy turning their bikes around from Q1 and were not on the circuit at the session’s start.

Wayne Maxwell ran wide early at turn six just to ensure he was placing himself under maximum pressure to either produce a diamond or find himself further back.

Arthur Sissis and Mike Jones posted fastest laps early to take some pressure off and Jack Miller banked a top two “safety” as well.

Herfoss, McConnell and Maxwell were in the pits and yet to complete a flying lap with seven minutes left in the session.

The lap record seemed safe at six minutes to go with the order Jones, Miller and Sissis.

While Jones and Miller were in the pits, Herfoss and Maxwell were out on track trying to respond. Maxwell was eleventh at three minutes to go and you had to wonder what the plan was.

At two minutes to go the leaderboard was awash with riders on target for the fastest lap of the day.

Halliday suddenly went P1, and Waters to P2. Miller stuck it into provisional pole.

Maxwell pitted without a fast lap and with that went any hope for the championship.

Jones put his YRT R1M on pole with seconds to spare just to underline his justifiable claim to the title for 2022. Jack Miller was an outstanding second and Cru Halliday ensured the YRT squad would be well-represented on the front row of the grid.

In fourth was the outstanding Glenn Allerton who was not favourited to be this close to the front based on earlier results and fifth was Arthur Sissis who would be disappointed after beingg second in basically every other session

Senna Agius pipped teammate Troy Herfoss for seventh with Billy McConnell ninth, Daniel Falzon tenth, and Jed Metcher eleventh.

Incredibly, Wayne Maxwell was 12th and the last finisher in this final qualifying session of 2022 and indeed his Australian Superbike career, some 2.753 seconds behind pole-sitter Jones.

With Staring well outside the top ten for tomorrow’s pair of races, Jones will sleep well tonight and rightly dream about another Alpinestars Superbike title o’ the morrow.

Michelin Supersport

The first qualifying for the Saturday Michelin Supersport Squad was an early one and the man of the session was Harrison Voight who just went bang, bang, bang.

To play that out, he went fastest on lap two (1:56.908), lap four (1:56.337) and lap five (1:56.058). No one else got a look in.

Tom Bramich made life difficult for himself and his team, crashing halfway through the session. Passfield also went down.

Dallas Skeer was able to work his way to second, surprising even himself while a somewhat fortunate Bramich was third, the clearly injured Ty Lynch fourth and Scott Nicholson fifth.

Championship leader John Lytras was back in eighth, but that spot still comfortably delivers the championship if replicated in the race.

In Qualifying Two it was a session split by both rain and a serious crash requiring a red flag after Luca Durning went down at turn 10 with 18 minutes to go.

The results from the second qualifying reflect the rain situation with Morgan McLaren-Wood P1, Scott Nicholson second and the unfortunate Luca Durning third.

On combined times, the grid for tomorrow reflects the results from First Qualifying with Thriller Racing’s Harrison Voight on pole from Dallas Skeer, Tom Bramich, Ty Lynch and Scott Nicholson.

Dunlop Supersport 300

Dunker was straight bossing in much of Qualifying One, at one stage he was some .6 up on the field until Pezzetta was able to do some reeling in and narrowed the gap to .279 at the end. Cameron Swain was third.

In qualifying two in damp conditions, there was oil on track at 13 minutes in and Pezzetta had a spectacular crash and long slide to an eventual stop. The session was red-flagged and ultimately declared with the merged result bringing Q1 results to the fore that saw Dunker on pole from Pezzetta and Swain

In race one, Dunker led as he is want to do, but had Hayden Nelson and Sam Pezzetta for company.

On lap one, Port and Rende came together at turn one and both crashed out of the race. Cameron Swain pitted with his gear lever hanging off. Glenn Nelson was found to have jumped the start and there his slim titles ended.

On lap four, Pezzetta and Hayden Nelson got past Dunker, but Dunker returned the favour before the lap was done.

Into the last few laps of the race and the hard racing began in earnest. Any thoughts Dunker had about a solo break were quelled when he was shuffled down to fourth while Pezzetta and a resurgent Aksu took the top spots with Hayden Nelson third.

With two turns to run Aksu ran wide and found himself down in fourth while Dunker set himself for the run to the line.He was unable to slip past and a deserving Sam Pezzetta saluted for first with Hayden Nelson second.

Cameron Dunker was third at the line and this points haul saw the baby-faced assassin take the Dunlop Supersport title for 2022. Dunker paused at the entrance to pit lane to don the traditional champion t-shirt and a gold helmet to boot. His crew- including superbike rookie Max Stauffer- posed for a pic and he headed to the podium.

At the post-race presser, he sat next to Jack Miller, drank it all in and perhaps dared to dream. As he ought.

Yamaha R3 Cup

Qualifying 

Tension was mountain coming into Saturday’s R3 Cup race with #3 Cameron Dunker and #39 Glenn Nelson both tied for Season first place at 239 Points with Hayden Nelson trailing at 193 points.

Qualifying one saw a stacked field set the grid on fire with Cameron Dunker not disappointing. With exceptionally strong winds providing unpredictable conditions, Dunker looked to really test out the track throughout the session, getting faster each lap until he posted both his fastest and the dominating lap of qualifying on lap six with a 2:11.119.

South Australia’s own Sam Pezzetta put on a show in front of the hometown fans locking in his fastest on lap 5 at 2:11.890 and third place Cameron Swain trailed closely with his fastest just marginally behind Sam with a 2:11.917.With winds continuing to gust over the track, we are expecting exciting times ahead for Race 1 later today.

Race 1

Tension was mounting just at the start it was the perfect run into an exceptionally eventful race. Straight off the line Dunker, Aksu and Pezzetta were at another level until Pezzetta was squeezed back to sixth place down the main straight. This wouldn’t be the only time Pezzetta would find himself on the sharp end of some pointy racing.

Not giving up, Pezzetta clawed back to third place over Snell, Hamod and Aksu through lap three and then Pezzetta was again back into fourth.

He was not to be denied, however, and a late charge saw him back up to second at the line.

But today was Dunker’s to savour. Fresh from winning the Dunlop Supersport 300 title, he was the smooth operator and was dominant throughout the entire race posting his fastest lap of 2:11.144 on lap two.

Taiyo Aksu was third but won’t be able to make an impact on the title chase, while Dunker has moved 13 points ahead and dares to consider the double SS300 and Yamaha Finance R3 Cup double.

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

It’s a tough caper both racing and predicting what will happen in the OJC. The dominant-til-now Ryan Larkin was absent from the first 15-minute qualifying session this morning, leaving the door open for Hudson Thompson who took the top spot from Marcus Hamod and John Pelgrave.

Championship leader Harrison Watts was 11th and some 2.2 seconds from the front.

Post-lunch and mercifully post some wet weather, the OJC took to the 4.9km International circuit configuration later than scheduled, but on a dry track.

In Qualifying Two, Larkin returned to the track and returned to his business as usual, posting the fastest time by .435 of a second to a resurgent Bodie Page and Hudson Thompson who was now contending near the front in every session.

In the race, fastest rider Larkin was not on pole after incurring a six-grid spot penalty from the Phillip Island MotoGP support race round.

It mattered not, he was at the front of the pack by the end of lap one after lapping seconds ahead of the field and then just danced off into the distance. Thanks to consistent, clean and fast laps, it was never in doubt.

Terrin Fleming and Bodie Page battled on and were second and third with championship leader Harrison Watts down in tenth, leaving the door open to the title challengers Rende (5th) and Thompson (6th) who will need a lot more tomorrow to bridge the 20 and 22 points deficit they face.

Sureflight Superbike Masters

Sureflight Superbike Masters qualifying was tight as ever with David Johnson showing the field what he’s made off by posting a cracker flying lap of 2:01.801 later in qualifying on lap 5, leading a marginal gap of .535 in front of Aaron Morris.

Rounding out third place Murray Clarke was not quite able to follow the pace set following David back with his fastest lap of  2:03.911 posted on lap 5.
In the race, the riders jumped away with a couple a little too keen and race direction placed the start under investigation.

Aaron Morris jumped over Dave Johnson for the lead, only to have his bike expire a few laps later. Johnson went back into P1 with Strugnell and Coote for company.

And there they would remain to the line, with Johnson aboard his 1100 Suzuki taking the win by 2 seconds over William Strugnell on a 750 Suzuki with another 11 seconds back to the third place Honda 750 of Aiden Coote.

Horsell Sidecars

Qualifying 1

There was very little between first and second with bike Patrick Clancy and Stephen Bonney just pipping Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoato the biscuit with a .298 difference. Phillip Underwood and Tristan Vercoa wanted to cement a dominant start early stamping the fastest lap of a 2:11.228 on Lap 2.

Patrick Clancey and Stephen Bonney were more than happy to fire back slapping down a 2:10.610 and 2:09.454 on laps 3 and 5.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing with J. Brown / P Halsey stopped at Pit entry with a dropped chain 3 minutes into the session and bike A. Shanks / J Whitfield stopping on turn 13.

Race 1 

Patrick Clancy and Stephen Bonney continued their reign taking out the fastest lap with a 2:09.661 on lap six.

Underwood/Vercoe held second for the entire race and looked to be able to finish in second until the charge of Harvey and Marshal caught them in the final lap making sure they settled for third.

Work was done early with Harvey and Marshal jumping into third place on lap one of the race chasing down and planning a successful attack on Underwood and Vercoe.

The race was largely incident-free, with only mechanical issues striking a few victims in the race. Jones and Boggiano were 2 of these such victims stopping on turn 13, halfway through the race and the Turner/Turner machine stopping on turn 6 but being able to resume.

The last race of the day- race two for the sidecars- was eventful with multiple mechanical and other issues facing the field. We lost Watson/Hegarty, then Rayner/Warne with plenty of smoke and excitement…

At the finish, it was Patrick Clancy / Stephen Bonney from the formerly unassailable Underwood/Vercoe second with Harvey / Marshall in third.

Editorial Notes:

American Travis Wyman, riding his Addicted to Track Yamaha YZF-R1, was 23rd overall when the lap times from all three of Friday’s free practice sessions were combined. See the combined Superbike practice results here.

American Cody Wyman, Travis’ younger brother, was 15th overall in Supersport free practice on Friday at The Bend. Travis Wyman is riding an Addicted to Track Yamaha YZF-R6. See the combined Supersport practice results here.

A full day of practice for all classes in the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) from 8:30 am with clear skies, bright sun and near-perfect conditions for getting out on a racing motorcycle with some good friends/mortal enemies.

Alpinestars Superbike

In Superbike FP1, Josh Hook hit the top of the sheets when he completed the first flying lap of the day as 30 Superbikes made their way out on track.

The Thriller Motorsport trio of Hook, Shrötter and Miller were very keen to bank as many laps as possible on their untested machines.

It was soon business as usual; Maxwell, Herfoss and very-keen-to-perform-at-home Arthur Sissis the top three early.

Other early fast guys included West, Allerton, Jones and Waters. Jack Miller was into the top ten, a very good sign that his Thriller Motorsport bike was good out of the crate and an ominous sign for the regulars.

Fellow Thriller Motorsport rider Josh Hook and Marcel Shrötter were not unreasonably down in the mid-teens for the session, along with Moto3 regular Joel Kelso who was having his first hit out on a Superbike.

Troy Herfoss was fastest for the session with a late fast lap of 1:51.737, narrowing the gap to the lap record of 1:50.972 and pole record of 1:50.520. It was very solid for a first practice.

At the very start of FP2, Josh Hook crashed on his out lap at turn 12 due to an electronics issue that resulted in a high side. He was icing his wrist in the paddock ahead of FP3, but indicated he would not join that session and see how he pulled up Saturday morning to decide if he would participate in the rest of the round.

While Hook was picking himself up, Maxwell went back up to the top with Arthur Sissis again second. Cru Halliday sorted out earlier issues to push into third with FP1 fast man Herfoss close.

Jack Miller spent some time at the top of the timesheets before Cru Halliday delivered for the regular ASBK competitors and took P1 ahead of Arthur Sissis and Troy Herfoss.

Earlier in the morning, Sissis had bemoaned the number of times he had been P2 during practice sessions at The Bend over the years and it had happened again…

Jack Miller was an outstanding fourth with Wayne Maxwell fifth.

Championship leader Mike Jones was down in eighth, but ahead of second-in-the-championship Bryan Staring who was 12th and Jones was close enough to third placed Wayne Maxwell to be justifiably unconcerned.

Higher track temperatures appeared to take some of the pace out of the field early in Free Practice Two, but they apparently worked it out and Halliday’s 1:51.518 was 2/10ths quicker than Herfoss’ time from the morning, still working towards the lap record of Maxwell from 2021 of 1:50.972.

In FP3, Herfoss was again up top early. Mike Jones responded brilliantly to all the pressure and other things from this weekend to go to the top with 15 minutes to go. Arthur Sissis – as he had done in every other session- was in the top three with Cru Halliday and Wayne Maxwell fourth and fifth respectively.

Jack Miller was down in tenth with 12 minutes to go and was a second slower than his best FP2 time. We all waited for him to let loose something special.

At ten minutes to go, Cru Halliday put his Yamaha first for a YRT 1-2 with he and Jones at the top of the standings.

Bryan Staring’s tough practice day got worse with crash at turn six, but the timing screens indicated “rider up” to the relief of all.

With six minutes left for the day it was Halliday, Jones and Herfoss on top. Maxwell (4th) was followed by two of SA’s finest in Sissis and Falzon in that order.

DesmoSport Ducati’s day got even worse when Broc Pearson went down at Turn 12 and again we were pleased to see “rider up” but it was shaping as a rough evening for the factory Ducati squad with two bikes off in ten minutes.

The red flag came out with 4:57 left, perhaps effectively ending the session as a useful exercise. While they recovered the Pearson Ducati, riders went back to their garages to reset and that’s when we found out Miller had crashed as well; somewhere late in the lap and had ridden back to the pits. He was unharmed and the damage to his bike didn’t look severe, but it was also not minor. Screen gone, left winglet gone and some work to do to get the Thriller Racing Caterpillar machine back to race-ready.

When the session restarted, everyone was there at the end of pitlane ready to go. It was like a race start with riders desperate to get a few flyers in ahead of the chequered flag.

Sissis put in his fastest lap of the session to go to P2, then Jones, Herfoss and Allerton were up in sector one as the chequered flag came out.

At the end of the session it was again Halliday from Sissis with Mike Jones third.

Maxwell was fourth with Herfoss in fifth.

Overall for the day result saw Halliday top dog and the only rider in the 1:50s with Arthur Sissis in P2, Mike Jones third and Maxwell and Herfoss completing the top five.
Merged results from all three practice sessions.

Michelin Supersport

Ty Lynch set the agenda for the Michelin Supersport crew with he and Tom Bramich going 1-2 in first practice while John Lytras was back in seventh, just adding a little warmth to the ingredients for the title fight in that class.

The points situation sees Lytras able to not have to win this weekend, simply keeping Lynch and Bramich in sight will see him take the title.

In the second session, Harrison Voight- the only Supersport racer from the Thriller Racing stable -went P1 early and stayed there. Lynch and Bramich were two and three while Lytras slipped back to ninth.

In the final session for the day Scott Nicholson went down early in Turn 13 after 6 laps.

Tom Bramich managed to pip Thriller Motorsport’s Harrison Voight for P1 with Ty Lynch in third. Lytras was sixth, but comfortably close to the leaders to avoid any panic stations vis a vis the title situation.

Dunlop Supersport 300

In FP1, 2021 OJC Champion Cameron Swain stepped up to P1 with a small but useful gap to Sam Pezzetta and Hayden Nelson.

Championship leader Cameron Dunker was sixth and a second off that pace.

By FP2 however, Dunker apparently made some changes and immediately leapt to the top of the standings to assert himself. Pezzetta worked his way past Dunker to P1 late in the session and Dunker responded, posting his fastest lap – good enough for P2- on his final lap. Taiyo Aksu was third with Henry Snell fourth and Brodie Gawith fifth.

The final practice session of the day saw Hayden Nelson bounce back and post the fastest time and ensure that he isn’t forgotten in the title chase. Cameron Swain was second and Dunker rounded out the top three.

The overall results for the day saw Hayden Nelson first, then Cameron Swain, Cameron Dunker, Sam Pezzetta and Taiyo Aksu fifth.

Third in the title chase, Henry Snell did not post a time in the final practice of the day.

R3 Cup

If Dunker was going to play it quiet in the R3 Cup while he focussed on the Dunlop Supersport 300 title, then he sure messed up when he was sure not playing it right as he was at or near the top in multiple sessions.

In FP1, Cameron Dunker was top of the table from Glenn Nelson and Cameron Swain.

Cameron Swain was able to place his R3 up top in FP2 from Pezzetta and Gawith. Dunker was down in sixth, but was safe (for now!) with second overall Glenn Nelson in ninth while third in the title chase Hayden Nelson was seventh.

In the final practice session of the day, Dunker was on top by .2 of a second with Hayden Nelson second and Marcus Hamod third. Sam Pezzetta was fourth with Taiyo Aksu fifth to setup a fascinating weekend in the currently tied R3 Cup!

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

Ryan Larkin was at the top – or near enough – in both early practice sessions and showed a real affinity for The Bend layout, comfortably out front with a second over the field at times.

The interest remains with championship leader Harrison Watts who just needs to be thereabouts in qualifying and then ensure he buys a ticket on the leading group train come race time.

In FP2, Cameron Rende – currently second in the title chase – was 10th, while third overall Hudson Thompson was 14th.

In the final practice of the day -FP3, it was that Ryan Larkin fellow again and this time by an unimaginable 1.4 seconds to Hamod and Fleming in third.

For the current Championship 1-2-3, Harrison Watts was in 12th, Cameron Rende fourth and Hudson Thompson in eighth.

Sureflight Superbike Masters

One of the popular-for-a-look-in-the-paddock classes, the Superbike masters were on track for three practice sessions.

In FP1 it was local rider Strugnell on his Suzuki 750 who was P1 against higher capacity machines, but showing how good his machine was at The Bend.

In FP2 it was David Johnson on another Suzuki- an 1100 this time who was top of the table.

The final session late in the day saw Aaron Morris finally push his Suzuki 1200 into the top spot and take the fastest lap honours for the day.

Horsell Sidecars

The pairing of Underwood and Vercoe abord their F1 class Suzuki were dominant all day with some 12 seconds (not a typo!) between them and the field in the first two sessions.

Harvey and Marshall were the best of the rest in FP1 with Gorrie/Gorrie second fastest in FP2 and fastest in the F2 class.

In the final session of the day, it was… Underwood and Varcoe again on top, this time by under 2 seconds as Harvey and Marshall got down to business in the F2 class- and overall.

For the day it was Underwood Varcoe from Harvey/Marshall with Clancy/Bonney just .8 behind.

The earlier outrageous advantage enjoyed by the leaders was now under two seconds..!