2021/2022 Summer Night Series Round 3

Words by Half Light – Images by Half Light and RbMotoLens

The St George MCC Pirelli Summer Series is in its second season and makes full use of the excellent floodlights that were installed at Sydney Motorsport Park late in 2019.

St George MCC were an integral part of proving that racing was viable under the SMSP lights and the Summer Series is becoming immensely popular with racers and spectators alike.

Summer Series 2021/22 Round 3, held on January 8, was the only meeting of the series to be held on a Saturday night, the other rounds in the four-round series being Friday night events. A good turnout of spectators were rewarded with another short, sharp dose of excellent racing with a handful of top end ASBK racers joining the clubbies.

The Summer Series is a quick-fire event with on-track action commencing at 6:30 pm, sunset rolling in around the 8 pm mark and racing winding up no later than 10:30 pm. The short duration available for racing had presented some challenges in Rounds 1 and 2 (early/mid-December respectively).

The schedule for these meetings saw each of three classes have a single qualifying session and four, five-lap races but this left little margin for those unexpected support activities such as track clearance or medical activities and, as a result, both Rounds 1 and 2 had to wrap up before all planned races had been run.

For Round 3, the dance card was modified to adapt to this reality and rather than four races per class, a revised schedule called for three, six-lap races per class instead. This modification proved to be a sensible compromise as, despite some minor delays through the evening, all races were completed before the 10:30 pm deadline.

Given the success of this regime, we should expect to see this arrangement repeated for Round 4 on January 28.

The three classes are Pirelli Unlimited, for riders expecting to lap at 1:40 or quicker, AGV Unlimited for riders outside of this bracket and IPONE 600 for mixed twin, triple and four-cylinder supersport class bikes.

In Unlimited, the 1:40 limit is only enforced for Rounds 1 and 2 on the assumption that riders who might be just outside the 1:40 limit early in the season might be expected to run faster than 1:40 in the later rounds. Consequently, some of the lap times in the class that is notionally for slower-than-1:40 laps were actually faster than the bracket time at this round.

Pirelli Unlimited includes the Pirelli Unlimited Outright sub-class for factory supported ASBK riders. Unlimited Outright only features as part of Summer Series Rounds 2 and 3 as Round 1 conflicted with the ASBK 2021 race weekend at The Bend in SA and Summer Series Round 4 is on the same weekend as the ASBK 2022 test at Phillip Island.

Returning for another dose of Unlimited Outright were Cru Halliday (#65, Yamaha Race Team), Glenn Allerton (#14, Maxima Racing Oils BMW) and Josh Waters (#21, Maxima Racing Oils BMW).

Joining the Unlimited Outright party were Troy Herfoss (#17, Honda Penrite Racing) and Lachlan Epis (#83, Evolution Sports Groups/ResponseRE BMW).

For Herfoss, the event was especially valuable as it provided much needed race-pace track time as part of his ongoing recovery from injuries sustained at the ASBK Round at Hidden Valley back in June.

Oli Bayliss, who had drawn much attention at Summer Series Round 2 with his first race outing on the Panigale V2, ahead of his 2022 World Supersport campaign with Barni Racing, was unable to return for this round.

A number of riders who had registered for the event elected to not attend the meeting, most likely because the weather forecast for race night was poor throughout the week and positively awful come Saturday morning. A forecast of damaging thunderstorms with possible hail isn’t appealing to even the most hard core of racers.

However as is so often the case in Sydney, the weather didn’t accord to the forecast and, even better, what foul weather that did eventuate missed SMSP completely and, as a result, the event was conducted in steamy, humid conditions but not a drop of rain fell from start to finish. Two St George MCC events in a row without rain? Inconceivable!

The fourth and final round of St George MCC Pirelli Summer Series will be at Sydney Motorsport Park, Friday January 28, with qualifying starting at 6:30pm.

Pirelli Unlimited/Outright Unlimited

The Unlimited Outright points table coming into the meeting saw Glenn Allerton on 70-points holding a seven-point lead over Cru Halliday (63-points) with Josh Waters (55-points) still on a learning curve with the M 1000 RR but in the hunt.

Sadly Allerton was not able to defend his series position as a sensor failure and no available replacement part meant the #14 bike had to stay in the garage for the evening.

Waters got straight down to business on the M 1000 RR in the eight-minute qualifying session with a 1:31:782 good enough to give him pole position. Halliday on the R1 took second spot just 0.225s behind the BMW, edging out Herfoss on the Honda by 0.073s.

Lachlan Epis took fourth on the grid with a 1:33.439 and Ben Burke, best of the Unlimited-but-not-Outright runners took out fifth position on the grid with a 1:34:113.

Honourable mention goes to Max Stauffer (#27, GTR MotoStars R1), having only just stepped up to Superbike class from ASBK Supersports, who took out sixth spot. Filling out top 10 on the grid for Pirelli Unlimited were Tim Griffith, Nick Marsh, Brendan McIntyre and Adrian Pelegrín.

Griffith (#18, BC Performance ZX-10RR) held a narrow points lead in the not-Outright series coming into Round 3 having established a strong points lead in Round 1 but he lost ground in Round 2 after a challenging evening that had ended up in the gardening section of Turn 1.

Griffith’s most immediate challenger, Yanni Shaw (#333, SHA Suzuki) was unable to attend Round 3 which gave Griffith some breathing room but the consistency of Nick Marsh (#15, Superbike Source Racing R1M), and the form of Ben Burke (#60, BC Performance ZX-10RR, absent from Round 1 but quick in Round 2), meant everything was up for grabs.

Pirelli Unlimited Race 1 saw Halliday get his head down and go for it, pulling a lead on Josh Waters and pumping out quick laps to give him a 1.5-sec lead at the flag. Herfoss looked a little tentative in traffic and his best lap of 1:32.75 wasn’t on the pace of the two men ahead of him, but a measured ride saw him bring the Honda home ahead of Ben Burke and Lachlan Epis.

Burke’s fourth spot was the standout effort from the not-Outright contenders with McIntyre, Marsh, Stauffer, Pelegrín and Soderland taking out fifth through 10th. Series leader Griffith could only find the pace to give himself a 12th position with lap times well off his best.

Troy Herfoss was 100 per cent back in the game for Race 2. After passing Waters early in the race, Herfoss set about getting on the tail of Halliday and crossed the line just 0.257 behind the Yamaha man. Even more impressively, his best lap of 1:31.028 was the quickest of the evening by any rider.

This takes nothing away from Halliday’s victory, he did exactly what he needed to do and kept his rhythm even as Herfoss piled on the pressure late in the sprint. Waters, in third, continued to put in consistent fast laps and it is very much worth remembering that this is only his second competitive hit out on the BMW, whereas Halliday and Herfoss both have significant track time with their machines.

Lachlan Epis continued to show improvement on the Evolution Sports Group BMW, coming home fourth with Ben Burke in fifth, and once again the leading not-Outright rider. McIntyre, Stauffer, Griffith, Marsh and Pelegrín took out the remaining top 10 positions.

Pirelli Unlimited Race 3 didn’t make a full lap before the red flags came out. Troy Herfoss, in an incident that was eerily similar to his Darwin crash, low sided out of T3. It’s another fast place to have an off but the fencing is set well back at this point of the track and no lasting harm was done.

Despite the red flags, and the attendant delay in getting the rider and bike back to the paddock, the rest of the field lined up for a re-start, there was sufficient room in the scheduled to allow the race to run the full six-lap race distance. Once again, Halliday took charge and ran consistent low 1:31s to give himself his third win of the evening, leading Waters over the line by two-seconds with both riders pulling well ahead of Epis in third.

In the not-Outright Unlimited class, Ben Burke rounded out his evening by taking Race 3 giving him three from three and a perfect 75-point haul. Fifth spot (second in the not-Outright class) went to Max Stauffer who would have to be happy with the progress he made through the evening. Stauffer led home McIntyre, Griffith, Marsh, Soderland and Pelegrín.

With Summer Series Round 4 on January 28 not featuring the Unlimited Outright class, that marked the end of the Unlimited Outright mini-series. Only Cru Halliday and Josh Waters completed both rounds and Halliday took the series with 138 points to Waters’ 113. Allerton, Bayliss, Epis and Herfoss rounded out the ladder, each of them only competing in one of the two rounds.

The Pirelli Unlimited (non-Outright) class will be back in action for Round 4 with Tim Griffith (171-points) holding a narrow lead over Nick Marsh (165). Ben Burke, who missed Round 1 but has shown excellent form in Rounds 2 and 3 could be within striking distance on 145-points.

Cru Halliday – Pirelli Unlimited Outright – P1

“Another great night St George Motorcycle Club put on! It’s always fun racing under lights, racing against with the likes of Troy Herfoss and Josh Waters. It’s purely fun, you don’t have the pressure behind you but at the same time you want to win. I ended up with three race wins which is good. Didn’t really change much on my bike all night so I just got to enjoy riding. The times were pretty decent especially with all the damp patches in turn 5 and 12. Really looking forward to the next one and I’m sure a lot of other fast guys will be starting to attend a lot more.”

Josh Waters – Pirelli Unlimited Outright – P2

“Another great night at the St George Summer Series. I was happy to improve my pace and qualify on pole and have three decent finishes. It was great to be able to try things throughout the night in race conditions also. We definitely got lucky with the weather but with the heat and amount of rain NSW, there was a lot of water was coming through the circuit which kept you on your toes. Again, a big thank you to Shane and Megan from Next Gen Motorsports and their sponsors and team for supporting me at this round.”

Lachlan Epis – Pirelli Unlimited Outright – P3

“The Sydney night events are always good fun and a nice reset from the stress of ASBK. We had a reasonably successful hit out and managed to get on the podium. It was great to see such a great turn out last night and to see a lot of familiar faces. Looking forward to ASBK now and the official test at the end of the month. Thanks again to St George and all the officials for such a good event.”

Troy Herfoss – Pirelli Unlimited Outright – P4

“Firstly a huge thanks to the St George club for such a fun event at arguably Australia’s best track layout. Racing under lights was a real treat and I can’t wait to have another ride there soon. The day worked perfectly for me, I got test my body and get to work with the team for season 2022. I gradually got faster and more confident, Race 1 I felt nervous riding in a pack, but Race 2 I was able to pass and push the bike in the way I need to if I want to challenge at the front again. Race 3 I had the identical style crash to Darwin on lap one but thankfully the Sydney Motorsport track has plenty of run off and I walked away completely pain free. Overall that little competitive shake down showed the team and I that we will be as competitive as ever by the time Round 1 of ASBK kicks off.”

Brendan McIntyre – Pirelli Unlimited – P2

“A good fun night under lights again. I liked the program which has evolved well to the three-race format. My Western Motorcycles Suzuki didn’t miss a beat and it was great to get my hands on the $225 Link International prize for second Privateer for the night.”

Max Stauffer – Pirelli Unlimited – P3

“I really enjoyed getting out under lights at SMSP, to be able to do a few race starts with some fast guys and starting learning the ways of the bigger bike. I had heaps of fun and learnt a lot and I can’t wait for the next time I can ride. Thank you to the St George motorcycle club for putting on a great meeting. Thanks to all the people who help me out.”

Pirelli Unlimited Race 1

Pirelli Unlimited Race 2

Pirelli Unlimited Race 3

Pirelli Outright Unlimited Standings

Pirelli Unlimited Standings

AGV Unlimited

Round 2 of AGV Unlimited had been a bit of a reset after the dominance of Andrew Black (#134, Multivalve Flow Solutions CBR1000RR) and Zsolt Veres in Round 1. Neither rider scored points in Round 2 after incidents took them out of the running and only Black was able to return for Round 3 to resume the series chase.

Despite not scoring in Round 2, Black’s clean sweep at Round 1 meant that he still sat in third position on the ladder, trailing series leader Greg Avery (#900, Ourselves, S 1000 RR, 89-points) by just 14-points with Hussein Ayad (#20, Gixa Core Cut R1, 82-points) splitting them.

Jacob Hatch (#99, MotoCity RSV4, 73-points) and Luke Ruckley (64-points, but absent from Round 3) held the remaining top five positions with Craig Boyd, Zsolt Veres, Talal Sbbet, Harley Borkowski and Stephen Kairl filling out the top 10.

Paris Hardwick (#72, The Construction Team ZX-10R) is a relative newcomer to road racing but that counted for nothing in qualifying where he took out pole position with a 1:37.538. Andrew Black had to settle for second spot on the grid with a 1:38.475 with Rees, Davies and Avery taking the remaining top five spots. Hussein Ayad, second in the series, took out sixth spot.

Hardwick translated his pole position into an immediate and commanding lead in Race 1 and he was never headed, bringing the ZX-10R home seven-seconds clear of second placed Sam Davies (#451, All Stage Racing S 1000 RR) and running lap times that will surely see him elevated to the the Pirelli Unlimited Class next season if this is his natural pace. Andrew Black crossed the finish line less than half a second behind Davies and the top five was completed by Avery and Ayad with the top 10 filled out by Edwards, O’Rourke, Rees, Burke and Borkowski.

AGV Unlimited Race 2 was more closely contested than Race 1. Hardwick still took out fastest lap with a 1:37.292 but he was beaten to the line by Sam Davies who finished just 0.351s ahead. Avery, Black and Ayad took the remaining top five positions and sixth through 10th consisted of Edwards, O’Rourke, Hatch, Borkowski and Rees.

Davies was able to land back-to-back wins by taking out Race 3 and once again it was Hardwick who followed him home albeit this time with a three-second gap. Ayad took out third just ahead of Black with Joshua O’Rourke (#59, LNS Mechanic ZX-10R) claiming fifth. The remaining top-10 positions went to Edwards, Rees, Avery, Borkowski and Sbbet.

With Davies and Hardwick taking out all the wins and second place finishes between them, it’s no surprise that they headed the meeting points with Davies’ two wins giving him the meeting win on 70-points, while Hardwick took out second on 65-points. Black (52-points), Ayad (50) and Avery (48) held third through fifth.

Both Greg Avery and Hussein Ayad ceded a handful of points to Andrew Black at Round 3 but it wasn’t enough to change the positions at the head of the table. Going to Round 4, Avery holds the series lead on 137-points, Ayad holds second spot on 132 and Black is in third position on 127. Given the level of competition in the class and with three races to run at Round 3, this championship is far from over.

Special mention in AGV Unlimited goes to Andrew Burley (#121 Duc-Pen Ducati 1098S). Burls banged himself up somewhat in Round 1 after a brake issue ended up with a T2 highside and some unpleasant consequences for his shoulder and ribs and, discretion being the better part of valour, Andrew sat out Round 2. Well, sort of – he exchanged his leathers for an orange army outfit and manned a marshal point instead.

Andrew returned to action at Round 3 on his backup bike and finished the evening with a best lap of 1:42.72, six-points to his name and a pained expression on his face.

Sam Davies – AGV Unlimited – P1

“There’s just something spectacular about racing under lights. St George always has great competition and to come away with a second and two wins, I couldn’t be happier. I owe a big thanks to All Stage Racing for their support throughout the year and I can’t wait to see how the final round turns out.”

Paris Hardwick – AGV Unlimited – P2

“I’ve been enjoying the racing. It’s only my third road race, so I still have a lot to work on especially my starts. I’m happy with the ZX thou, I’m feeling really comfortable on it and looking forward to the next round, thanks to Al Samuals and Graeme for the help.”

Andrew Black – AGV Unlimited – P3

“It was really great to be back racing at night again with St George. It was touch and go if I was going to get the bike back together after last round’s off at the old T9 but with a bit of help from Multivalve Flow Solutions, we were able to get the Honda up and away. There was some really good racing between myself, Sam Davies, Paris Hardwick, Hussein Ayad my old sparing partner Greg Avery. Ahhhh racing motorcycles, if there is something better than it, I certainly haven’t found it. Looking forward to next round!”

Andrew Burley – AGV Unlimited

“After a bit of reflection over the Christmas break, I made the decision to return to racing five weeks after dislocating my left shoulder at Round 1. Still waiting on parts for the Ducati V4S, the trusty old 1098s was pulled out of retirement. I have to admit that I was nervous heading out for qualifying wondering if I had made the right decision, but that soon went away as I got back in the groove and only felt minor physical discomfort. Although I was a fair way off my usual pace, I had some fun battles but the ultimate goal, and the outcome, was for bike and rider to return in one piece.”

AGV Unlimited Race 1 Results

AGV Unlimited Race 2 Results

AGV Unlimited Race 3 Results

AGV Unlimited Standings

IPONE 600

Standout in IPONE 600 at Round 2 had clearly been Senna Agius (#81, JMT Civil CBR600RR) who was running a pace that no one else in the field could match.

A 1:33.833 was good enough to give Agius pole ahead of Jack Passfield ((#42, Stay Upright Rider Training R6, 1.35.745) and Aidan Hayes (#46, Hayes Johnston Chartered Accountants R6, 1:37.327) and it was these three riders who would take the podium positions, in that order, for all of the evening’s races. Remaining top 10 positions in qualifying were held by Kitson, Murphy, Rees, Dunne, Boldrini, O’Donnell and Soderland.

Agius picked up where we left off in Race 1, was in a class of his own and his 1:32.568 on lap 5 is a new absolute lap record for a 600 class machine, taking a record that has stood since 2008. By that point of the race, he was already well on his way to a 13 second win over Passfield.

To his credit, Passfield kept his pace up despite Agius disappearing into the distance and he held a 10 second gap over Hayes in third place at the flag, with Darragh Murphy (#222, CBR600RR) in fourth, and Carl Kitson (#52, K-Werx R6) in fifth. Remainder of the top 10 were Rees, Dunne, Kean, Huckstepp and Prentice.

Race 2 followed much the same form with Agius compiling another 13 second lead ahead of Passfield at race end with Hayes six-seconds back in third. Murphy took out fourth ahead of Kitson, with Rees, Dunne, Kean, Prentice and Armone holding down the remaining top 10 positions.

Race 3 ended with a 10-second win to Agius over Passfield who crossed the line eight-seconds ahead of Hayes. This time it was Simon Rees (#322, Castle Hills Motorcycles ZX-6R) to take out fourth and another fifth place finish to Kitson who was followed home by Murphy (who had collected a 10-second penalty for a jump start), then Dunne, Kean, Prentice and Johnston.

With three from three for the evening, Senna Agius took out the meeting on 75 points, Passfield took second with 60 points and Hayes took third with 54 points. Darragh Murphy’s 49 points was good enough for fourth best-in-meeting, edging Kitson into fifth spot by just one point.

A number of the leading IPONE 600 runners will miss Round 4 through ASBK testing commitments but, as it stands, Passfield leads the series from Hayes, Agius, Murphy and Kitson.

Senna Agius – IPONE 600 – P1

“The St George’s Night Series for me is pure fun. It’s a different style of event to others but perfect to do in the off-season. We do take it seriously and use it as a chance to test new things. We had a plan to go under the lap record at some point before I return to Europe and I’m happy to get it done quite early as it gives me more time to go faster again as I’m pretty certain there’s a 31 out there. But this all couldn’t be done without my family and crew from JMT CIVIl and Coach49.”

Jack Passfield – IPONE 600 – P2

“I had a fun night! Thanks to the St George Club for organising another great night. We got lucky with the weather and fit in all the planned racing. Unfortunately we’ll have to miss the last round as we will be at Phillip Island for the first ASBK test but it’s been a fun series. Thanks to Stay Upright and all the supporters that keep us on track!”

Aidan Hayes – IPONE 600 – P3

“St George has done it again! Against all odds from the weatherman, the meeting went ahead as planned with storms and rain predicted for the whole night. Fortunately for us the day was hot and the rain clouds blew past SMSP. The track stayed dry apart from turn 5 which had water seepage through the tar in places and the track temp stayed high all night. There was still a dry line through turn 5 if you had your eye in and weren’t trying to pass anyone. Starting from third on the grid I was aiming for a good start and to improve my position but a bad start in Race 1 and a few rear slides on lap one had me a fair way behind Jack Passfield and third was where I stayed. Races 2 and 3, I tried to improve my starts which I did, but my positions didn’t change. I would have liked to be able to battle Jack Passfield for second but I didn’t have the pace to stick with him. Thank you to St George MCC for another awesome night and to all the Marshalls who make the event happen. A huge thank you to my family and all of my sponsors for their support. Congratulations to Senna on taking the 600cc outright lap record!”

IPONE 600 Race 1 Results

IPONE 600 Race 2 Results

IPONE 600 Race 3 Results

IPONE 600 Results

Source: MCNews.com.au

Herfoss & Penrite Honda Racing join Summer Night Series January 8

Troy Herfoss and Penrite Honda Racing will fast track their 2022 return to competition by joining the Summer Night Series at Sydney Motorsport Park, this Saturday January 8, for Round 3.

With the opportunity to compete in a night series race run by the Saint George Motorcycle club, Herfoss wastes no time when it comes to getting himself prepared for the season ahead.

Troy Herfoss

“It’s a bit earlier in the year than usual for us to start racing, but we figure there’s no better way to get me as prepared as possible than doing race starts and riding on a track with other fast riders. We’ll go out there on Saturday to enjoy a bit of competition again.”

Herfoss’s sole focus during the break was to improve his strength ahead of the first official test for 2022 at the Island on 27-28th January.

“I’m definitely making progress. I’ve still got some pain in my hip, but to be honest, it’s not going to hold me back too much on the bike. I can hold my body weight in chin-up position now, which I couldn’t do even as recently as December when I rode at Tailem Bend so, I know I’m getting a lot stronger really quickly. I think it will be good to do a couple of short races to force me to put my body through a bit of physical stress, at a practice day you think about ailments more when you’re just riding around but in a race situation, you just get on with the job and definitely learn a lot faster on where you’ve got to be stronger. It will be great to get out there.”

Penrite Honda Racing Director Deon Coote is pleased with Herfoss’s progress.

Deon Coote

“We’re looking forward to Troy getting back on track with more body strength and for him to find that winning feeling as early as possible in 2022.”

Source: MCNews.com.au

St George MCC Pirelli Summer Night Series Round 2 Report

Words and Images by Half Light Photographic and RbMotoLens

Given that recent St George MCC events have been hit by rain ranging from mist-like showers to full-on downpours with rivers running across T4 and T5, some racers may have thought they’d got the date wrong for the running of St George MCC Pirelli Summer Series Round 2, as the weather forecast was for dry and warm conditions.

For once, the forecast was correct and the weather held delivering almost perfect evening conditions under the Sydney Motorsports Park floodlights.

Summer Series Round 1, held just two weeks earlier on December 3, had run on the same weekend as the final round of ASBK at The Bend which meant just a handful of ASBK racers, like Yanni Shaw, who had elected not to go the South Australia, were at SMP for that event.

With no ASBK commitments on the weekend of Summer Series Round 2, there was some serious talent and weaponry on display. Josh Waters (#21) joined Glenn Allerton (#14) on a second Maxima Racing Oils, BMW M 1000 RR, marking his first race appearance with the team and hopefully foreshadowing a 2022 tilt at the title with the same outfit.

Factory supported riders Cru Halliday (#65, Yamaha Race Team R1) and Oli Bayliss (#32, DesmoSport Ducati/Barni Racing/ Pirelli/Motul, TCX, Macna Race Suits Ducati Panigale V2) were also on-board for the round along with independent ASBK racers Yanni Shaw (#333, Team Specialist Suzuki GSX-R) and Matt Walters (#12, Kawasaki Connection/Repsol/Swann Insurance ZX-10R).

Oli Bayliss is heading to World Supersport next year to ride the Panigale V2 with Barni Racing and the St George meeting gave him some valuable track time on the twin after a year spent campaigning the V4 R.

The Summer Series runs three classes of racing. Riders expected to card sub 1:40 laps, which includes the ASBK crew and a good haul of the Clubbies, run in the Pirelli Unlimited class.

Within Pirelli Unlimited there were two sub-classes, Pirelli Unlimited ‘Outright’ for the factory ASBK boys which consisted of Allerton, Waters, Halliday and Bayliss for this round. The remainder of the Pirelli Unlimited field consists of ASBK independents Matt Walters and Yanni Shaw plus the Clubbies.

While sharing the track, full points were awarded to each sub-class so that first in Unlimited Outright and first in Unlimited would both score 25 points per race. Because of ASBK commitments, Unlimited Outright is a feature that only appears at Rounds 2 and 3 of the Summer Series.

Racers expected to run slower than 1:40 run in the AGV Unlimited class and Supersport entrants run in the IPONE 600 class.

All three classes were expected to have a single eight-minute qualifying period and four five-lap races through the course of the evening. This is quickfire racing at its best. With only four hours available for all the track action, with qualifying kicking off at 6:30 pm, there is little or no time for delays as the field of play has to be vacated by 10:30 pm.

Any delays can result in races at the end of the night being cancelled due to time constraints and, as it did with Round 1, this limitation did have an impact on Round 2. Interruptions early in the evening, with red flags in both AGV Unlimited and IPONE 600 mean that all classes were restricted to three races each rather than the planned four.

Pirelli Unlimited/Outright Unlimited

Glenn Allerton on the BMW M 1000 RR laid down a 1.31.6350 lap in qualifying to give himself pole position 0.4910 ahead of Cru Halliday on the factory R1. Josh Waters, demonstrating that he was adapting quickly to the second BMW M 1000 RR secured third place on the grid just 0.0420-sec off Halliday’s pace.

Sean Condon (#26, BikeBiz/Digbiz Earthworx CBR1000RR), quickest of the non-ASBK factory riders secured fourth place on the grid but unfortunately a gearbox issue prevented him from taking advantage of this position and he did not return to the track for the remainder of the evening.

Oli Bayliss, on a bike that is classed as Supersport rather than Superbike in the 2022 world classifications, posted a 1.33.0190 to give himself fifth place on the grid.

Behind the top five, Mark Vaartjes (#7, West Sliders ZX-10R) was just 0.2690-sec off the pace of Bayliss, giving him sixth spot on the grid with ASBK independent Walters, Nick Marsh (#15, Superbike Source Racing RSV4), Ben Burke (#60, BC Performance, Landscape Supplies ZX-10R) and Tim Griffith (#18, BC Performance, TAG Avionics, Leafy Landscapes ZX-10R) taking out the remainder of the top 10 positions.

In Pirelli Unlimited Race 1, Allerton converted pole position to lead in the early stages of the race but was unable to shake Halliday who was able to make a hard move stick giving him the win by 0.1290-sec and Halliday’s fastest race lap of 1.31.5480 demonstrated just how quick the racing had been.

Josh Waters, still learning his way around the M 1000 RR came home in third place six-seconds behind his teammate with a best lap just three quarters of a second slower than Allerton. Bayliss trailed Waters by a similar six-second margin.

ASBK regular Matt Walters, returning the track for the first time since ASBK Round 4 at Hidden Valley in June, took out fifth place giving him the win in the not-factory Unlimited class. Burke, Vaartjes, Shaw, Dominic De Leon (#63, AT1 ProRace Suits ZX-10R) and Marsh filled out the top 10.

Tim Griffith, who came into Round 2 leading the Pirelli Unlimited class, was not able to match his Round 1 pace finishing 12th and losing some ground to his challengers in the series points table.

Pirelli Unlimited Race 2 showed just how quickly Waters was finding his mark on the BMW. Allerton took out the win from Waters by just 0.119-sec with Waters’ fastest lap being just a shade less than 1/10sec quicker than Allerton’s.

Despite putting in the fastest lap of the race, nearly half a second quicker than Waters, Halliday was not able to repeat his Race 1 victory with a mistake allowing the BMW duo through for the win and second spot. Halliday did recover to keep the pressure on in the closing stages to finish 0.21-sec behind the race winner.

Oli Bayliss, on the less powerful V-twin Ducati came home some five-seconds behind Halliday. Ben Burke was running into fine form as the evening progressed and he was lead rider of the non-factory boys just holding off Matt Walters to the line with Shaw, Vaartjes, Griffith and Marsh filling the remaining top 10 positions

Josh Waters was left facing an uphill battle in Pirelli Unlimited Race 3 as a sensor issue meant that he had to start from pitlane. Despite this handicap, he was able to push his way through to seventh place at the flag but this did put him in fourth place for the Unlimited Outright class for Race 3.

Up front, Allerton kept the hammer down and took the win from Halliday by the narrowest of margins with Bayliss five-seconds back from Halliday. Of the not-factory crew, it was Ben Burke who once again held the lead at the finish, this time building a two-second gap ahead of Mark Vaartjes at the finish with Matt Walters, Josh Waters, Yanni Shaw, Brendan McIntyre (#62, Western M/C/Ric Pobjoy Racing/Suzuki Australia GSX-R) and Nick Marsh completing the top 10.

Round 1 points leader Tim Griffiths had the front end wash out on him going into T1, which is a never a good place to go gardening but both Griffith and the ZX-10R came out of this remarkably unscathed.

Special mention should go to the #64 entry of Aaron Morris on the Harvest Pools/Longwall Haul/Maxima Racing Oils/ Cornish Racing/C&M Motorcycles Suzuki Katana. Here’s a bike that’s nearly 30 years older than the next oldest in class and while the team had a few technical challenges to overcome of the night, a best lap of 1:37.45 is quite an achievement for team, bike and rider. Watch this space, they’ll only get quicker…

Allerton took the meeting win in Pirelli Unlimited Outright scoring 70 points to Halliday’s 63 ahead of Waters (55 points) and Bayliss (52 points). These will be carried forward to Summer Series Round 3 where the Unlimited Outright class will have its second and final outing of the season.

In Pirelli Unlimited class, Ben Burke’s two class wins and one second place saw him take the meeting out with 70 points from Matt Walters (63), Mark Vaartjes (55), Yanni Shaw (52) and Nick Marsh (45).

Despite not having the best of evenings, Tim Griffith, on 124 points, holds a one-point lead over Yanni Shaw going to Round 3 in January. Nick Marsh (115), Joshua Soderland (94) and Joel Taylor (83) hold the remaining top five spots with Rose, Pelegrin, Burke, Franco and Walters filling out the top 10.

Glenn Allerton – Pirelli Unlimited Outright

“Absolute buzz to race under lights again with St.George MCC, the racing is just getting stronger and stronger every time. Qualifying went well for myself with a pole position and all three races were hard fought to the finish. To come away with two wins and a second place, and a fastest lap under lights, made it a great night Thanks to my Maxima Racing Oils BMW team for the support and Shane for making it happen. Great work also by Josh Waters to be so competitive right away on the other Maxima Racing Oils BMW. Can’t wait for the next round on eighth of Jan.”

Josh Waters – Pirelli Unlimited Outright

“It was great to race for the first time under lights at SMP at the St George Pirelli Summer Series. It was my first time racing the BMW and first time working with the Next Gen Motorsports team. The racing was short sharp and exciting. The competition was tough with the guys who finished second and third in ASBK 2021 competing and I was happy with how I rode after a long time off the bike. A big thanks to Shane from Next Gen Motorsports and their support in giving me the opportunity to race.”

Oli Bayliss – Pirelli Unlimited Outright

“Had a great Friday and night at Sydney Motorsports Park for the St George Summer Series race meeting. First time racing under lights and I absolutely loved it, the track was lit up perfectly.”

Ben Burke – Pirelli Unlimited

“The St George night series is a great night out. Its relaxed atmosphere and competitive classes are why we all go racing. Personally, I had a great time on track. We are still coming up to speed but getting closer to putting down some competitive times. I would like to thank all the St George volunteers for their efforts in making a great little race series.”

Matt Walters – Pirelli Unlimited

“Once again St George motorcycle club ran a great night event. My night was tough as I haven’t been on bike much or doing a lot of training since Darwin ASBK but it was great to get a few races under my belt before the start of 2022 and the night series is the perfect place to start. Thanks for a great night, see you next year.”

Mark Vaartjes – Pirelli Unlimited

“What an exhilarating night of racing! The races made me push hard against some really competitive riders from ASBK and in doing that I’ve managed to improve my personal best lap. My ZX-10R performed perfectly, the setup for ideal for the conditions. Racing under lights was a new experience for me so I’m stoked to come away with a podium finish. A big thanks for the support of my major sponsors – Motocity Wollongong, West Sliders and 4SR Leathers. I’m really looking forward to the next St George MCC event.”

Cru Halliday – Pirelli Unlimited Outright

“Friday night was a great event and it’s great to see how many people turned up to a club race and the atmosphere there was unreal. We didn’t try too much on our bike, we used the practice bike, not the race bike but it’s good that you can go out there and have a little battle with some of the boys that race in ASBK, it sharpens your skills, They’re only five lap races so it’s a good little sprint, You see guys from Queensland, like Bayliss, turning up and that’s before he heads to Europe next year. I get guys like Herfoss asking me if I’m doing the next one, it’s starting to get more attention and a lot more riders are starting to look at this club’s racing. It’s going to be a good scene and it would be good to see ASBK rock up to Eastern Creek with a race under lights in the future, I think it would be a great event. Roll on to the next one!”

Pirelli Unlimited Race One Results

Pirelli Unlimited Race Two Results

Pirelli Unlimited Race Three Results

Pirelli Unlimited Round Two Points

AGV Unlimited

Summer Series Round 1 had seen Andrew Black (#134, CBR1000RR) and Zsolt Veres (#977, S1000RR) take out three wins and three second places respectively, which put them in an enviable position going into Round 2.

Black and Veres continued their good form into AGV Unlimited qualifying, once again taking out the top two slots with Jacob Hatch (#99, Hatch Investments RSV4), Paris Hardwick (#72, The Construction Team ZX-10R) and Greg Avery (#40, S 1000 RR) rounding out the top five.

AGV Unlimited Race 1 really turned things on their head with two red flag incidents side-lining series leaders Black and Veres for the evening and leading to the race being abandoned with no points awarded.

In Race 2, Jacob Hatch, who will be heading off to the UK in 2022 to race In BSB in Leon Haslam’s Supersport team, took an emphatic win leading home second place Paris Hardwick by seven-seconds. Greg Avery, Sam Davies (#9, All Stage Racing S 1000 RR) and Hussien Ayad (#20, Gixa Core Cut R1) took out the remaining top five positions.

Hatch overcooked it on cold tyres at the start of Race 3 which ended his evening. Paris Hardwick took advantage of Hatch’s miscue to bring the ZX-10R home for a race victory ahead of Davies, Avery, Ayad and Joshua O’Rourke (#59, LNS Mechanic/PB Physio/Honey Moto Racing/Superbike Accessories ZX-10R).

Sadly that was all she wrote for AGV Unlimited. The abandonment of Race 1 due to the red flags and cancellation of Race 4 die to time constraints was an unfortunate outcome for the class but with so little leeway for delays in an event that has just four hours of track time, everyone knows that this may be how the evening rolls.

Points score for Round 2 mirrored the result of Race 2 with Paris Hardwick taking the meeting win on 45 points with Davies (37), Avery (36), Ayad (33) and O’Rourke (31) rounding out the top five scores for the evening.

Andrew Black and Zsolt Veres came to Round 2 in first and second spots on the ladder but with neither scoring points in this Round’s two AGV Unlimited races, the championship has a different look heading to Round 3 in January.

Series leader now is Greg Avery on 89-points ahead of Hussein Ayad (82), Andrew Black (75), Jacob Hatch (73) and Luke Ruckley (64). The rest of the top 10 is Craig Boyd, Zsolt Veres, Talal Sbbet, Harley Borkowski and Stephen Kairl.

Harley Borkowski – AGV Unlimited

“The almost perfect weather had me excited to be back for Round two of the Summer Night Series after the dodgy conditions at Round 1, and laying down a nice easy qualifying lap of a 1.40.2 put me in the right headspace for a great night. The lap times across the field were super tight, with that only being good enough for 10th place, but it was setting up for some great close racing. The competition got a little too hot, with multiple crashes and red flags saw Race 1 abandoned, but once everyone settled down a bit, we had some great racing with the top ten positions separated by not much more than a few seconds. I managed to claw my way to a seventh and sixth place finishes respectively after some good clean racing and consistently running under the 1.40 mark. The St George club do such a great a great job running these events, and to all the folks who give up their Friday nights to make the racing possible, a massive thanks guys, can’t wait for Round 3.”

Andrew Burley
(Usually AGV Unlimited, working as a flaggie at 15.3 for this round after dislocating his shoulder at Round 1)

“After crashing out of round one and not being healed enough to race in Round 2, I was finally able to give back to the sport I love as part of the Orange Army. What an initiation it was being on one of the most action-packed corners. A couple of crashes to deal with and seeing some of the nation’s best racers power slide out of the hairpin on the back wheel! It was perfect conditions, I really enjoyed the evening and seeing the racing from a different perspective. I will be back to help out again if I’m still not right to race at Round 3.”

AGV Unlimited Race One Results

N/A

AGV Unlimited Race Two Results

AGV Unlimited Race Three Results

AGV Unlimited Round Two Points

IPONE 600

Jack Passfield (#42 Stay Upright Rider Training R6) took a narrow series points lead into Round 2 ahead of Aidan Hayes (#46 Hayes Johnston Chartered Accountants R6) with Simon Rees (not present at Round 2), Darragh Murphy (#222 CBR600RR) and Timothy Hunt (#75 Assetnote Triumph Daytona) holding down the remaining top five positions.

Neither Senna Agius (#81 JMT Civil CBR600RR) or Tom Edwards (a late entrant on the #26 BikeBiz R6) were available for Summer Series Round 1 with both riders at The Bend fulfilling ASBK Supersport duties where Edwards narrowly missing out on the championship win to Broc Pearson.

Agius got straight down to business in qualifying putting in a 1.34.712, a full second faster than Edwards and 1.5 seconds clear of Passfield in third. Hayes and James Macintyre (#221 R6) held fourth and fifth spots on the grid going to Race 1.

Race 1 was red flagged after a minor incident on Lap 1 led to Sarah Batten’s beautiful Triumph Daytona being badly damaged by fire after the tank was holed and sparks ignited the leaking fuel. Batten was unhurt although understandably upset by the amount of damage to her race bike which was engulfed in flames before the fire was eventually extinguished.

The incident was able to be cleared quickly enough to allow the race to be restarted and Agius was able to convert pole position into a tight win over Edwards with Passfield in close company with  Hayes and Murphy rounding out the top five.

Races 2 and 3 of IPONE 600 followed the same form with Agius taking both races from Edwards, with the one second gap in race 2 being his largest margin of the evening. In both races, Hayes and Murphy completed the top five.

As with the other classes, IPONE 600 race 4 was cancelled due to time constraints.

No surprises with three from three that Senna Agius took out the meeting win with Passfield in second and Hayes in third. But with Passfield and Hayes carrying points forward from Round 1, the series scoreboard going to Round 3 in January will see Passfield still at the head of the ladder on 124 points with Hayes (116), Murphy (99), Kitson (82) and Kean (78) holding the remainder of the top five positions. Sixth to tenth are Agius, McIntyre, Prentice, Boldrini and Edwards.

Senna Agius – IPONE 600

“It was awesome fun to sign off 2021 at a night event run by St George MCC. Everyone from the JMT Civil Honda team is working so well and this new 2021 CBR600RR is only getting better. I have to thank Stephanie Redman, she has put in a lot of her personal time to learn how to work the telemetry as well as her being my rider coach. It’s nice to have people around me that put in as much, or even more, effort than me to help me evolve.”

Tom Edwards – IPONE 600

“I had a super fun night first time racing under lights at The Creek. It was good to have some great competition, I enjoy riding with different fast people. I wasn’t very prepared for the meeting due to short notice but considering the circumstances BikeBiz did an amazing job to get everything ready for me!”

Jack Passfield – IPONE 600

“It was another great night racing under lights with a great turn out of riders and spectators. The pace was not far from what you would see at ASBK level and whilst I was still a little ‘off’ from the long break, it’s been good to have this series to get back up to speed going into next year and we made a step in the right direction on the night. Hopefully I can make it to the last two rounds. A big thanks to St George MCC and the volunteers for the event along with Stay Upright and everyone that continues to support me.”

IPONE 600 Race One Results

IPONE 600 Race Two Results

IPONE 600 Race Three Results

IPONE 600 Round Two Points

2021 Pirelli Summer Night Series at SMSP Round 2 Gallery

Source: MCNews.com.au

St George MCC Pirelli Summer Night Series Round 1 Report

Words and Images by Half Light Photographic

The St George MCC Pirelli Summer Night Series is back at Sydney Motorsports Park for a second season under the magnificent floodlights at the Blacktown facility. Summer Nights is a quickfire racing experience with three classes running of – if time permits – four races each from 1830 to around 2230.

Underlining the intensity of the action, there are no practice sessions for any class. It’s straight into qualification with eight minutes per class which only allows for a handful of laps to post a time to determine grid positions.

The atmosphere under lights is a fantastic experience for everyone on and off the track. Sunset is around 8 pm and with another 20 minutes or so of twilight, the only light for the last hour and a half comes from the floods.

The Unlimited class is split into two with the Pirelli Unlimited Division 1 class for riders expecting to post sub 1:40 laps (in dry conditions) and AGV Unlimited Division 2 for the remaining riders.

The IPONE 600 class has riders fielding not only 600 four-cylinder bikes but also a good mix of Triumph 675 triples alongside Suzuki and Yamaha 650/700 twins.

Round 1 of the Series on December 3 coincided with the final round of ASBK at The Bend so there were fewer ASBK riders at the round than is usual but, with the ASBK season concluded, expect to see a more of them in attendance for Round 2 of the series on December 17. More on that later.

St George MCC events have had an unfortunate funny/not funny reputation of being rain magnets recently and the weather going into Round 1 was, once again, quite threatening.

Fortunately, SMP was spared the heavier storms that were making noise elsewhere in the metro area but there was constant, light, almost mist-like rain for the whole evening which didn’t put enough rain on the track to force riders to swap to wet tyres but it did make for tricky and variable conditions in every race.

SMP recently hosted four rounds of Supercars on consecutive weekends and the riders reported that there were a couple of areas where cracks in the surface were allowing a bit more water to seep onto the track but not to the extent that it caused any concerns.

With four hours for three classes to qualify and run four five-lap races each, there’s not much margin for time delays. The track must be clear by 10:30 pm so if time is lost to recovery or medical interventions, there’s a high risk that the last round of races can be affected.

That was the case for Round 1 with the final races of AGV Unlimited Division 2 and IPONE 600 having to be cancelled. That meant qualifying and three races for those classes, with four races for Pirelli Unlimited Division 1.

Pirelli Unlimited

Sean Condon (Bike Biz Fireblade) headed qualifying with a 1:33.7240 which was a spectacular time spectacular given the conditions. Peter Graham (R1) and Timothy Griffith (BC Performance, TAG Avionics ZX-10R) rounded out the top three.

ASBK rookie Yanni Shaw would have been disappointed with only being able to post 13th, which gave him a lot of work to do in the races. However this is a reflection of him being well out of practice, this being the first time on track for the big Specialist Heights Access Gixxer since ASBK Darwin back in June. The meeting follows a progressive grid format which means a poor qualifying performance can be overcome with good race results.

Race 1 saw the worst of the conditions for the evening and lap times were in the low 1:40’s. Pole sitter Sean Condon decided that the conditions weren’t worth the risk and pulled into the pits at the end of the sighting lap and played no further part in the evening’s event.

Paul Rose on the Avvero Solutions R1 adapted quickest to the slippery race conditions and was able to translate that into a 5 second lead over Timothy Griffith on the BC Performance at the flag. Josh Soderland on the Gowanloch sponsored R1 crossed the line in third less than a second behind Griffith. This was a spectacular result for Solderland on his first outing on the R1.

By the time Race 2 came around, conditions had improved and it was Timothy Griffith who was able to post the fastest lap of 1:36:6530 and take out the win with Nick Marsh tight on his tail on the Superbike Bike Source Racing R1. Yanni Shaw was starting to get back into the racing groove and bought the Team Specialist Suzuki home in third place.

Conditions for Race 3 weren’t quite as favourable and Timothy Griffith while on the ZX-10R was able to maintain his form from Race 2 taking out the win, it was Paul Rose on the R1 who took fastest lap with a 1:38:200 and able to hold on for third place from a hard charging Nick Marsh.

Yanni Shaw, continued to build confidence and bought the big Gixxer home in second spot, less than half a second behind Griffith.  Early in the race, St George regular Andrew Burley took a nasty tumble in Turn 2 after a brake issue coming out of T1. Both bike and Andrew came off a bit second-hand but he’s hoping to have everything back in shape before the series ends in late January.

Pirelli Unlimited was the only class that managed to get a fourth race in before the time limits on track use expired and once again it was Griffith, Rose and Shaw who took out the top three spots with Griffith pulling out a two-second lead for the win, also taking out fastest lap of 1:36:6940 along the way. Once again, Nick Marsh was just out of the top three trailing Yanni Shaw by just two-tenths of a second.

Timothy Griffith’s strong performance in all four races gave him the meeting win and puts him on 95 points heading into Round 2. Paul Rose, Yanni Shaw, Nick Marsh and Josh Soderland round out the top five with just 9-points covering the four of them.

Timothy Griffith – Unlimited Div 1 – P1

“Super happy to come away with the round win. Misting rain tested the confidence levels, but wow! How fantastic to be able to race under lights again.”

Yanni Shaw – Unlimited Div 1 – P3

“It was so good to be out there and get an eye in on riding these superbikes again. After having our bikes stuck in Queensland for so long it was a relief for everyone to be riding again. The goal for the night was to shake the cobwebs both rider and mechanics and have fun doing it. We tested the bike and spent the night pulling data from various setups so it was a big win for us. It had been almost 6 months since the last race meeting so was well worth it. Conditions were tricky with light rain playing havoc on the mind. The pace across the board definitely showed it had an effect. Hats off to St George for another well run night event at one of the best tracks in Australia.”

Josh Soderland – Pirelli Unlimited

“Great to be sitting on the R1 for the first time at a race meeting and what a race meeting to choose. Under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park, love this Summer Night fast paced event. Got bumped into the Pirelli Unlimited (fast group) after my qualification time in the AGV Unlimited saw me break the time cut off. Was awesome racing with the fast boys and learnt so much getting pulled around by a few and bumping bars with them by the end of the night. Awesome event, cannot await Round 2 on December 17th.   None of this would be possible without the great support from Gowanloch Ducati, Alpha Team fitness and Evo Racing Suspension.”

Pirelli Unlimited Results/Standings

AGV Unlimited

In AGV Unlimited qualifying, Josh Soderland posted the fastest lap with a 1:37:8140. As mentioned above, this was the first time Soderland had raced the R1 and he came into the meeting uncertain what his lap times would be and had taken a cautious approach and nominated for the slower class.

But with AGV Unlimited class being for riders expected to card no faster than 1:40, his qualifying time gave him the confidence to switch to the faster Pirelli Unlimited for the remainder of the night where he put in some impressive rides. This made Andrew Black (Fireblade), Zsolt Veres (S 1000 RR) and Greg Avery (Ficeda/MotoDNA GSX-R1000) the top three going into the races.

With Soderland promoted to Pirelli Unlimited, the three AGV Unlimited races followed the form established in qualifying with Andrew Black taking the win and Zsolt Veres taking second place in each race.

Greg Avery took out third spot in Races 1 and 2 but Jacob Hatch (Motorcity, Jekyl&Hyde, Kabuto Aprilia), who will be heading on to BSB in 2022 to run in Leon Haslam’s Supersport team, scored a podium in Race 3 with Avery coming home in fourth.

No surprise with this run of results that Andrew Black took out the meeting win and heads to Round 2 leading Zsolt Veres and Greg Avery in the championship. Hussein Ayad (Gixa Core Cut) and Jacob Hatch (Motorcity, Jekyl&Hyde, Kabuto Aprilia) filled out the top five.

Jacob Hatch – AGV Unlimited

“It was my first time racing the RSV4 and we didn’t do so well in qualifying but as the night went on we got light misty rain in all three races but I was happy to come away with eighth, fourth and third and not crashing due to the conditions! I had an awesome time and the meeting was put together great , thank you to the St George Motorcycle Club for putting it on and MotoCity for lending me the bike to race on to help with my preparation for big plans in 2022.”

AGV Unlimited Results/Standings

IPONE 600

IPONE 600 series always puts on some exciting racing and even with the dodgy conditions requiring riders to show a bit more restraint than normal, the three races delivered some excellent battles.

James McIntyre (R6) took out qualifying with a 1:40.2260, a full second ahead of Simon Rees (Castle Hill Motorcycles ZX6). Jack Passfield (Stay Upright Rider Training R6), Carl Kitson (K-Werx R6) and Trent Kilner (R6) rounded out the top five.

Aidan Hayes (Hayes Johnston Chartered Accountants R6) was only able to qualify eighth but come the drop of the flag in each race, it was Hayes and Jack Passfield who made the running.

Passfield took out two wins and one second place, Hayes took one win and a brace of second place finishes. Race 1 saw the closet finish with Hayes crossing the line just a fraction of a second later than Passfield. The Stay Upright rider was able to take more control of the second and third races finishing two-seconds and nearly 10-seconds ahead respectively.

Behind them, Simon Rees showed great consistency carding two third place finishes and one fourth place with Darragh Murphy taking out third place in the first race.

Passfield’s consistency sees him take a narrow five-point margin over Hayes into Round 2 of the series with Rees, Murphy and Timothy Hunt (Assetnote Triumph Daytona) holding the other top five positions.

Aidan Hayes – P600

“Friday night racing is back!! Finally after months of no riding or racing we got to race SMSP under lights for round 1 of the St George Summer Night Series and it was a hit! We finally had a hot day leading into it but there was storms predicted and everyone was nervously waiting for qualifying as we could see the clouds coming in and very light rain. Lucky for the hot day the track stayed mostly dry even with light rain in every session with white flags out on most corners it was tricky conditions as the track felt grippy but at the same time we were never sure how much water was going to be on the tar throughout each corner. This didn’t stop the tight racing battle with Jack Passfield and I as we swapped positions multiple times in race 1 before I got the win by 0.008 secs! Race 2 was not so tight with Jack taking the win & me chasing him. Race 3 I was hoping for a really good battle but I made a mistake in T2 missing a gear shift and giving Jack a nice gap which I couldn’t chase down unfortunately. The night was a hit, 10 races for spectators to watch plus three qualifying sessions all done in four hours it was an action packed night and we are planning on more action in Round 2!”

Special mention goes to Brian Bolster (Sydney West Riders, Well Sprung OZMC Leathers SV650) whose line around Turn 1 on Lap 1 of Race 2 was wide. Really wide. Like ‘what the hell is this green stuff underneath me?’  wide. Bolster had found himself on the outside going through T1 when the rider to his inside had a small moment.

This pushed him wide and he took evasive action on to the grass. Onboard footage confirms that he didn’t back off and re-joined the track before T2 without losing a place. Bolster finished the race in 14th and the evening in 12th and laid down his fastest lap, of 1:43:0400, in the third race. On an SV650. Respect.

Brian Bolster – P600

“Riding my SV650 against the 600s presents many challenges, namely in top speed differences, but also opportunities to work on my riding, like corner entry and mid corner speed. Race two presented me with a new challenge: high speed gardening! I got a decent start, managing to pass a few 600s off the launch. The run into Turn 1 saw a lot of bikes bunching up, so I took the wide outside line to avoid the melee. Unfortunately a few riders ran wide avoiding water and I was forced wider. I decided taking to the dirt was a better option than wet ripple strips and exited the track at 140-ish. Turns out the dirt was reasonably dry, I managed to keep it upright, and after a brief look to make sure it was safe to do so, I re-entered the track just after the 50m board. I was able to tip into a clear spot on the racing line and continue with my race like nothing happened. It was bloody exciting I’ll tell you that much…”

IPONE 600 Results/Standings

St George MCC Pirelli Summer Night Series Round 2

Looking ahead to Round 2 on December 17 the usual suspects will be back for another round of fun under lights and, as mentioned earlier, some more of the ASBK regulars will be on deck. It’s a real buzz for the club guys to have some of the top riders in Australia on board even if the talk after the races is mostly about them disappearing into the distance.

As of the time of writing, St George MCC are expecting Glenn Allerton, Josh Waters, Cru Halliday and Oli Bayliss to join Yanni Shaw for Round 2 of the Series.

This will be one of the last chances to see Oli Bayliss before he heads off to Europe to start his World Supersport adventure with Barni Racing on the V2 Panigale.

Oli’s progress in the last few years from Supersport 300 through Supersport and then to Superbikes, scoring his first Superbike win at Darwin, has been phenomenal and it will be fantastic to see a competitive Australian presence in the WorldSBK arena again. St George Pirelli Summer Series Round 2 will be the first time he’ll be racing on the V2 bike.

The series takes a break over the Xmas period and resumes in the New Year with Round 3 of the series on January 8, and the final round on January 28. All at Sydney Motorsports Park and all under lights.

Mick O’Brien – St George MCC

“Summer Night racing is back. Just a shame that the climate still thinks it’s spring. The series is again proving very popular with riders and spectators and truly forging itself into a series that will one day be recognised across the country as a series riders want to be part of. Thank you to Pirelli Tyres Australia, AGV Helmets and IPONE Oils for supporting the series and the riders. Each brand brings something different to the nights and we are excited to see such formidable brands and the growing IPONE brand using this series to showcase their products. It was great to see Round 1 continuing the close racing from lasts year’s series. The short format ensures close racing and plenty of on track action for all to admire. With the added commentary keeping all up to speed from corner to corner with the gap fillers that the two Ronnie’s would be proud of. With the ASBK series finished, we’ve already seen up to 10 of the best established and up and coming racers best join us for Round 2 on December 17. So make sure you get on out to the track with qualifying starting at 6.30pm to see some spectacular action and watch Oli Bayliss’s first race meeting on the V2 Ducati.”

Bel Kyle – Flaggie

“Flagging at night certainly has more challenges than daytime, mostly with visibility. Throw in some on and off drizzle rain and it certainly increases those challenges. The racers did a great job in the conditions, with very few incidents. It’s still great fun flagging no matter what the weather is doing, and where else can you get that close to the action?”

2021 Pirelli Summer Night Series at SMSP Round 1 Gallery

Source: MCNews.com.au