Yamaha’s Mike Jones continued his mid-season purple patch at round four of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul (ASBK), at Morgan Park Raceway. Report: ASBK Media/Ed Stratham Photos: RbMotoLens

mi-bike insurance Australian Superbike
The Queenslander was the Sunday supremo yet again, winning both races to claim the overall Alpinestars Superbike honours on his Yamaha YZF-R1 ahead of polesitter Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati), championship leader Josh Waters (McMartin Racing Ducati) and Penrite Racing Yamaha duo Cameron Dunker and Max Stauffer.

Read our ASBK Round Three 2024 Reports here…

It was his second maximum-point haul in succession this season and his fourth and fifth victories at Morgan Park in ASBK Championship mode, where his speed, temperament and metronomic consistency are a perfect fit for a circuit, which can throw massive curve balls at the unsuspecting.

“Both races were super hard, and most importantly I was able to pull back a few points on Josh”…

The dominant performance has also given the 30-year-old’s 2024 championship aspirations a massive boost. He’s now on 162.5pts, only 17 behind Waters ahead of round five at Phillip Island on September 7-8. Jones’ teammate Cru Halliday is third on 145pts.

“It’s great to get two wins, which is super critical for the championship,” said Jones. “Both races were super hard, and most importantly I was able to pull back a few points on Josh.

“The Yamaha worked a treat, in what was basically the same setup I used last year, although the track and weather conditions have been a lot different this time around. Tough racing today, and I’m just pleased to take the wins.”

Superbike Race One
Despite feeling stiff and sore after a huge crash in qualifying, Stauffer came out all guns blazing in the opening 14-lap Alpinestars Superbike race, setting the fastest lap and keeping his Yamaha at the sharp end of the pack for most of the journey.

Jones was glued to his bumper the whole way, though, before making his move on lap 10 – around the same time as Stauffer’s battered body started to cry enough.

Pearson then pushed Stauffer back to third two laps later, and that was the podium locked in for the opener with Waters in fourth from the fast-finishing Dunker, Halliday, Glenn Allerton (GT Racing BMW) – on his spare bike after also crashing hard in qualifying – and Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha).

There were two DNFs, with veteran Bryan Staring one of them after a bingle on lap three left behind a very second-hand MotoGo Yamaha.

Race One Results

  1. Mike Jones
  2. Broc Pearson (+2.378)
  3. Max Stauffer (+4.183)
  4. Josh Waters (+4.408)
  5. Cameron Dunker (+8.909)

Superbike Race Two
Staring didn’t front for race two, which began in a similar vein to the opener, as Stauffer nailed the start with Pearson and Jones in tow. On lap nine, both Jones and Pearson passed Stauffer, who would slip further back to finish seventh.

However, all signs were pointing to a box-office battle for the win, and that’s how it panned out. Pearson passed Jones at turn one on the second last lap and, just when a maiden Superbike victory was in sight, he lost traction exiting turn four on the final lap – an opportunity to reclaim the ascendancy that a wily customer like Jones wasn’t going to leave begging.

Pearson didn’t wave the white flag, though, and Jones’ final winning margin was just 0.044 seconds as they flashed across Morgan Park’s short front straight.

Only a few laps earlier, Waters looked like making it a three-way scrap for the win before he settled for third – with preservation firmly at the forefront of his mind as he heads to Japan next weekend to compete in the Suzuka 8 Hours world endurance race, which will also feature West and Stauffer.

Arthur Sissis (Stop and Seal Yamaha) was an excellent fourth after being shunted off the track in race one, ahead of Dunker, Halliday, Stauffer and West. Allerton crashed on lap five, but remounted to finish 14th.

Race Two Results

  1. Mike Jones
  2. Broc Pearson (+0.044)
  3. Josh Waters (+3.211)
  4. Arthur Sissis (+7.022)
  5. Cameron Dunker (+7.062)

Championship Points

  1. Josh Waters – 179.5 Points
  2. Mike Jones – 162.5 Points
  3. Cru Halliday – 145 Points
  4. Broc Pearson – 139.5 Points
  5. Max Stauffer – 130 Points

Michelin Supersport
Qualifying saw polesitter Nahlous joined on the front row by Tom Toparis (Stop and Seal Yamaha) and Tom Bramich (Yamaha), before all chaos ensued in race one after a major oil spill.

The race was promptly halted, but the collateral damage was already massive: Bramich, Olly Simpson (Yamaha), Callum Barker (RaceDNA Yamaha) and Stop and Seal Yamaha duo Glenn Nelson and Marianos Nikolis all went down. Only minutes earlier, McDonald had also crashed after tucking the front end at turn six.

Bramich’s bike was totalled, and he was forced to ride his spare YZF-R6 for the remainder of the day – while also gritting his teeth with a very sore right rib cage.

After a long clean up and bikes repaired and/or replaced, the race restarted as a 10-lapper with Nahlous and Toparis in close quarters for a majority of the journey before the latter high-sided on the final lap, bringing out the red flag. The race was then declared with Nahlous the winner (his fourth of the season) from McDonald, Simpson, Jack Favelle (Addicted to Track Yamaha), Bramich and Hayden Nelson (BC Performance Kawasaki).

A battered Toparis called it a day early, but it was McDonald who held up the Stop and Seal cause with aplomb in race two after an arm wrestle with Nahlous.

Hayden Nelson was third in his first Supersport podium, ahead of Favelle, Simpson and Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha).

Nahlous (46pts), McDonald (45pts) and Simpson (33pts) were the top three overall at Morgan Park, while Nahlous has extended his championship buffer to 32pts (176 to 144) over new second place man, McDonald. Simpson (137pts) is third.

Supersport Race One Results

  1. Jonathan Nahlous
  2. Archie Mcdonald (+5.200)
  3. Olly Simpson (8.458)
  4. Tom Bramich (+8.685)
  5. Hayden Nelson (+10.501)

Supersport Race Two Results

  1. Archie Mcdonald
  2. Jonathan Nahlous (+0.299)
  3. Hayden Nelson (6.203)
  4. Jack Favelle (+8.460)
  5. Olly Simpson (+10.577)

Championship Points

  1. Jonathan Nahlous – 176 Points
  2. Archie Mcdonald – 144 Points
  3. Olly Simpson – 137 Points
  4. Tom Bramich – 133 Points
  5. Jake Farnsworth – 132 Points

Race and Road Supersport 300
Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha) was in the Race and Road Supersport 300 hot zone since he arrived at Morgan Park, and it showed in race one as he bolted from pole position and cruised to a four-second victory – his third of the season after previous successes at Sydney Motorsport Park and Queensland Raceway.

While the imperious Knezovic made the 10-lapper his own, the battle for second was a five-way doozy and eventually fell the way of Casey Middelton (Yamaha) ahead of Josh Newman (Kawasaki), Will Nassif (Yamaha), Harrison Watts (Kawasaki) and Jordan Simpson (Yamaha).

New Zealander Jesse Stroud (Yamaha) was in the early mix as well before crashing at turn six – the same piece of tarmac that also claimed Georgia Stephens (Yamaha) a few laps later. They were the only two DNFs in the 17-rider field.

After crashing out in race one, Stroud (Yamaha) won the final two races with winning margins of 0.026 and 0.159 seconds respectively – down to the wire heart-stoppers compared to Knezovic’s four-second runaway success in race one.

The championship battle has now tightened appreciably, with Newman just one point (224 to 223) in front of the charging Knezovic, followed by Harrison Watts (Champions Ride Days Kawasaki, 211).

Championship Points

  1. Joshua Newman – 224 Points
  2. Valentino Knezovic – 223 Points
  3. Harrison Watts – 211 Points
  4. Jordan Simpson – 160 Points
  5. Will Nassif – 141 Points

ShopYamaha R3 Cup
It was a breathtaking way to start the new ShopYamaha R3 Cup season, with Knezovic’s insatiable Morgan Park appetite continuing with his 1-1-2 results, while Stroud (2-2-1) and Jordan Simpson (Yamaha, 4-4-4) were second and third overall.

Knezovic’s race two victory was resounding (3.4 seconds), while the opening and closing bouts remained up for grabs until the death knell. Will Nassif was third in race one, while John Pelgrave claimed the final podium position in race three.

The ShopYamaha R3 Cup will return in round six of the ASBK Championship at One Raceway from October 4-6, while Michelin Supersport and Race and Road Supersport 300 will be back in action at Phillip Island’s round five on September 7-8

Championship Points

  1. Valentino Knezovic – 70 Points
  2. Jesse Stroud – 65 Points
  3. Jordan Simpson – 51 Points
  4. John Pelgrave – 49 Points
  5. Ryder Gilbert – 47 Points

Oceania Junior Cup
A typically tight and robust weekend of racing unfolded at Morgan Park Raceway for round three of the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup (OJC) from July 12-14, as Ethan Johnson broke through for his first race and round win.

First to greet the chequered flag in race one on Saturday, the 13-year old then continued his strong form into Sunday when he was involved in tight battles with Hunter Corney, Nikolas Lazos, Hunter Charlett, Elijah Andrew and impressive debutant Jai Strugnell.

Several lead changes unfolded in race two as Corney, Charlett, Johnson and Lazos traded places over the six-lap encounter. However, it was Charlett who had the final say, overtaking Johnson for the lead at turn nine on the penultimate lap and going on to win his second race of the season.

That same quartet continued their battle into race three, regularly running four-wide through turns in yet another example of the emerging young talent in the OJC. Corney eventually prevailed to put himself back on the winners’ list.

Corney remains the championship leader on 205pts, ahead of Johnson (moving to second on 163), Lazos (153), Charlett (132) and Andrew (132).

Round four will be held at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit from September 7-8, again in conjunction with the 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul.

Championship Points

  1. Hunter Corney – 205 Points
  2. Ethan Johnson – 163 Points
  3. Nikolas Lazos – 153 Points
  4. Hunter Charlett – 132 Points
  5. Elijah Andrew – 132 Points

All detailed ASBK Championship class results are here…

The 2024 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul will continue at Round 5: Phillip Island Raceway, September 7 – 8.

ASBK ROUND FOUR GALLERY

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