Mixed conditions mastered by Dunker for Supersport overall

In just his second Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) round on a 600 Cameron Dunker secured the Supersport overall in Sydney thanks to a clinical race two victory in mixed conditions.

Yamaha-mounted Condon did exactly what he needed to get his championship back on track in race one, converting pole position to take the win in the overcast, but dry weather and track.

Despite getting shuffled back in the early stages of race one, Condon maintained his composure in the opening laps and took the lead from Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) through turn two on lap four.

The number 26 dropped the hammer to post a 1m32.9s and stretch his advantage out to nine-tenths. The gap remained around the one-second mark for the laps that followed, with Farnsworth riding to an unchallenged second position while keeping pressure on the lead.

A clean ride from the fast-starting Tom Bramich (Yamaha) saw him finish third, ahead of Olly Simpson in P4 who recovered from running wide at turn four on lap three, while battling for the lead. Dunker (Yamaha) emerged in fifth, in front of round one winner Ty Lynch (Yamaha) who overcame reigning champion John Lytras (Yamaha).

Just two-tenths from Lytras, Hayden Nelson (Yamaha) finished P8, as Tarbon Walker (Yamaha) and Jack Favelle (Honda) completed the top 10.

Dual Supersport 300 and R3 Cup champion Dunker mastered the tricky mixed conditions under lights to take his first victory onboard the 600 in national Supersport.

Drying track conditions left competitors torn on tyre choice, with Lynch, Simpson and Dunker all opting for wets and breaking away in the early stages.

Three soon became two as Simpson and Dunker cleared the number 85, the pair opening up a sizeable advantage in the laps that followed. Simpson led Dunker until two laps to go, when the GTR MotoStars rider capitalised on a mistake from the South Australian to take the lead and ride to a 1.040s victory.

Simpson finished a clear second, 18 seconds ahead of Scott Nicholson who charged to third on slicks. Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha) and Nelson were fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Skeer, Passfield, Lynch – who suffered in the closing stages, Lytras and Luca Durning (Yamaha).

Notably, race one winner Sean Condon – who was riding on slicks – crashed at turn six with five laps to go, and Farnsworth was pulled off the grid prior to the race start.

Dunker’s race two victory elevated him to the round victory on 41 points, ahead of Simpson with 37 and Nelson on 29. In terms of the championship standings after round two, Lynch leads on 82 points, Simpson is second courtesy of 74 and Lytras is third with 72.

A race three victory secured Brandon Demmery the overall in both the Supersport 300 class and R3 Cup, the race one winner drafting Cameron Swain – who stood tall in race two – to the line in the final bout. Swain was second overall for the round in both categories, as Brodie Gawith completed the top three.

After two rounds, Demmery leads the Supersport 300 Championship on 128 points, ahead of Swain with 114 and Russo in third on 109. Sydney marked the first round of the 2023 R3 Cup, with Demmery leading the series on 70 points, Swain P2 courtesy of 63 and Gawith third on 52.

In the Oceania Junior Cup (OJC), race one and two winner Haydn Fordyce prevailed when it came to the overall, and leads the series in its early stages on 64 points ahead of Valentino Knezovic (57) and Riley Nauta (50). Race-three winner Bodie Paige recovered from a fall in yesterday’s encounter to leave Sydney fifth in the standings.

Detailed results