2003 SAASC - Round 4 - Queensland Raceway - Supersport

Kevin Curtain has been the dominant force in Australian Supersport this year but was upstaged by his 19-year-old team-mate Brendan Clarke in the opening race yesterday.

In this second bout it was Clarke who got the run out in front before being challenged at the end of the back straight by Reece Bancell. Russell Holland put a big out-braking move on Bancell in to turn 4 for 2nd place before doing it again in to the final turn under Curtain to take the lead. Clarke got going on the second lap and got Bancell for 3rd around the middle of the circuit.

Holland held on to his lead with Curtain right behind him for the opening laps with Clarke gaining on the leading duo. Curtain got Holland under brakes in to turn 3 on lap 4, and Clarke joined in to make it a 3-way battle up front.

Curtain pulled a small gap on lap 5 while Clarke got the better of Holland. Josh Brookes got Reece Bancell for 4th position after putting in some fast laps while his team-mate and reigning Australian Supersport Champion Shannon Johnson appeared to be struggling down in 8th position.

Curtain and Clarke both pulled out unbelievable 1-minute 12.7-second laps at the halfway point of the race, half a second better than the next best. The Nikon Yamaha duo then stringed together a sequence of high 1-minute 12s to leave the field in their dust, class riding at its best in Queensland today with this duo.

Allerton got the better of Brookes for 4th place as they formed a little battle of their own in the closing laps with Bancell not far behind. Holland was on his own in a clear third spot and running a great pace but the Nikon Yamaha riders stepped up to another level today, the pace will have the Kawasaki boys gasping, let alone the rest of the paddock.

Clarke continued to follow Curtain in the closing laps as they encountered a few backmarkers. But on the final lap it was Brendan Clarke who once again upstaged Curtain to take the win on home soil in what was a titanic battle, played out at an awesome pace. Their race lap times would have placed them 11th on the Superbike grid.

Clarke breaks his own lap record by 3-tenths setting the new Supersport benchmark at 1-minute 12.73-seconds. Amazing stuff, the scene is set for an awesome battle when the Superbikes come out to play.