2017 Swann Super Series launches at Eastern Creek

The 2017 Swann Super Series has kicked off with the first two rounds run and won at Sydney Motorsport Park, with over 140 competitors competing across the Superbike, Formula Oz, Supersport, Formula Xtreme, Pro-Twins and Nakedbike classes. Dunlop is the official tyre of the series, and supplies control tyres for all categories.

The 2017 Swan Super Series will be held over six rounds, with three double round weekends held over the course of the year, starting in SMSP which was just run, before heading to Queensland Raceway in July for rounds three and four, and returning to SMSP for the final set of rounds in November.

The race weekends will follow a three-day format, with the Friday providing a non-mandatory practice day open to all classes, with qualifying held on the Saturday before racing, followed by a progressive grid. Sunday second round of the weekend will likewise use a starting grid from qualifying for the first race, then use progressive grids.

Swann Super Series Rounds 1 & 2 - Sydney Motorsport Park - Image: Keith Muir
Swann Super Series Rounds 1 & 2 – Sydney Motorsport Park – Image: Keith Muir
Superbike

In the Superbike field it was Brad Swallow (Kawasaki) who won the opening round of the season on Saturday with two race victories ahead of final race winner Lucus Vitale (Kawasaki) and Simon Galloway (Yamaha).

Lucus Vitale - Image: Keith Muir
Lucus Vitale – Image: Keith Muir

On Sunday for round two it was Vitale who was able to rise to the top with 2-1-1 finishes from race one winner Galloway and Brendan McIntyre (Suzuki). Swallow finished fifth.

Superbike Round 1 & 2 Results
Rider – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd1 Total – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd2 Total – Rnd1&2 Total
  1. Lucus Vitale – 18 – 17 – 25 – 60 – 20 – 25 – 25 – 70 – 130
  2. Simon Galloway – 20 – 20 – 20 – 60 – 25 – 18 – 18 – 61 – 121
  3. Brad Swallow – 25 – 25 – 18 – 68 – 10 – 17 – 20 – 47 – 115
  4. Brendan McIntyre – 1 – 17 – 18 – 15 – 50 – 18 – 20 – 17 – 55 – 105
  5. Dominic De Leon – 16 – 16 – 17 – 49 – 17 – 15 – 16 – 48 – 97
  6. Kelvin Reilly – 14 – 15 – 16 – 45 – 16 – 14 – 12 – 42 – 87
  7. Brett Harpur – 15 – 12 – 13 – 40 – 15 – 12 – 14 – 41 – 81
  8. Simon Barbacetto – 10 – 13 – 12 – 35 – 12 – 16 – 15 – 43 – 78
  9. Brett Kitchin – 13 – 14 – 14 – 41 – 14 – 10 – 11 – 35 – 76
  10. Somphot Roesner – 12 – 10 – 11 – 33 – 11 – 11 – 10 – 32 – 65
2017 ASC Round 2 - SMP - Superbike Podium - Image: Keith Muir
2017 ASC Round 2 – SMP – Superbike Podium – Image: Keith Muir
Formula XTreme C & D
Rider – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd1 Total – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd2 Total – Rnd1&2 Total
  1. Tim Griffith – 20 – 20 – 25 – 65 – 18 – 20 – 25 – 63 – 128
  2. Con Kokkoris – 1 – 25 – 25 – 20 – 71 – 13 – 17 – 16 – 46 – 117
  3. James Fruin – 15 – 16 – 15 – 46 – 17 – 18 – 17 – 52 – 98
  4. Jean-Gabriel Laine – 0 – 17 – 17 – 34 – 20 – 25 – 18 – 63 – 97
  5. Hamish McMurray – 16 – 15 – 14 – 45 – 16 – 16 – 15 – 47 – 92
Formula Oz

Formula Oz (A) belonged to Damian Sutton (Kawasaki) during both rounds, as Christian Carroll (Kawasaki), Con Kokkoris (Ducati), Jean-Gabriel Laine (Yamaha) and Tim Griffith (Kawasaki) all emerged victorious in the graded Formula Xtreme class between Saturdayand Sunday.

Formula Oz Round 1 Overall Results
Rider – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd1 Total
Formula Oz A Grade
  1. Damian Sutton – 1 – 25 – 25 – 25 – 76 – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75 – 151
Formula Oz B Grade
  1. Richard Zaja – 1 – 25 – 17 – 25 – 68
  2. Carlos Rendon – 16 – 25 – 18 – 59
  3. Brett Kitchin – 18 – 20 – 20 – 58
  4. Michael Witchard – 15 – 15 – 16 – 46
  5. Harry Boyadjian – 12 – 16 – 17 – 45
Formula Oz C Grade
  1. Mark Nassif – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75
  2. Jean-Gabriel Laine – 20 – 20 – 20 – 60
  3. Jon Howie – 15 – 18 – 18 – 51
  4. Mark Badgery – 18 – 16 – 17 – 51
  5. James Fruin – 17 – 17 – 16 – 50
Formula Oz D Grade
  1. Aaron Smith – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75
  2. Will Steuart – 20 – 18 – 25 – 63
  3. Craig McNaughton – 18 – 20 – 18 – 56
  4. Daniel Crook – 16 – 17 – 16 – 49
  5. Baran Colpan – 17 – 16 – 0 – 33
Supersport

The Supersport class was largely dominated by Sam Lambert (Yamaha) as he won five of six races contested across the weekend, but a crash in race one on Saturday denied him of the opening round overall. That enabled Giuseppe Scarcella (Kawasaki) to top round one, but Lambert pulled through on Sunday.

Matris Dampers Supersport Round 1 & 2 Overall Results
Rider – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd1 Total – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd2 Total – Rnd1&2 Total
  1. Sam Lambert – 1 – 25 – 12.5 – 38.5 – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75 – 114
  2. Hayden Spinks – 25 – 18 – 8 – 51 – 17 – 18 – 16 – 51 – 102
  3. Giuseppe Scarcella – 12 – 20 – 10 – 42 – 20 – 20 – 20 – 60 – 102
  4. Callum Barker – 20 – 17 – 9 – 46 – 18 – 17 – 17 – 52 – 98
  5. Simon Rees – 18 – 16 – 8.5 – 42.5 – 16 – 16 – 18 – 50 – 92.5
  6. Ryan Sellen – 16 – 14 – 6.5 – 36.5 – 15 – 14 – 15 – 44 – 80.5
  7. Jimmy Broadbent – 15 – 13 – 7 – 35 – 12 – 15 – 14 – 41 – 76
  8. Keith Feely – 13 – 11 – 6 – 30 – 13 – 12 – 12 – 37 – 67
  9. Stephanie Redman – 17 – 15 – 7.5 – 39.5 – 14 – 11 – 0 – 25 – 64.5
  10. Fernando Peres – 14 – 12 – 5.5 – 31.5 – 0 – 13 – 13 – 26 – 57.5
AM-Sport 600
  1. Carl Kitson – 20 – 20 – 12.5 – 52.5 – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75 – 128
  2. Grant David – 18 – 18 – 8 – 44 – 15 – 16 – 16 – 47 – 91
  3. Jamie Aitken – 14 – 14 – 9 – 37 – 17 – 18 – 18 – 53 – 90
  4. Brian Bolster – 17 – 9 – 8.5 – 34.5 – 20 – 17 – 15 – 52 – 86.5
  5. Robbie Tesoriero – 16 – 13 – 7.5 – 36.5 – 16 – 15 – 17 – 48 – 84.5
400 Supersport

In 400 Supersport KTM RC390 Racing Team rider Max Croker delivered a demonstrative whitewash of the weekend’s opening rounds of the 2017 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship, at Sydney Motorsport Park.

After qualifying second-fastest for the round, Croker was perfect across Saturday’s three races to dominate the first round of the championship, utilising a perfectly-timed finish line straight slipstream move to win the second. Croker then returned to the podium three more times for Round Two a day later.

The KTM RC 390s enjoyed the lion’s share of the podium presence on both days, filling two of the three steps on both days as Keo Watson finished second ahead of Yannis Shaw on Saturday before backing up with a third behind Hunter Ford on Sunday.

Croker now takes a sizeable, 40-point lead in the 400cc class of the 2017 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship.

Max Croker leaves Rounds 1 and 2 the 400 Supersport leader
Max Croker leaves Rounds 1 and 2 the 400 Supersport leader – Image: Keith Muir
Max Croker

“Saturday I won all three races, and then it was an exact repeat for Sunday – we ended up winning 6 out of 6! The KTM was going very well all weekend and the Bridgestone tyres were awesome. I’ve ridden all my bikes around Eastern Creek in the past, but that was my first time on the KTM RC390 there. We’d tweaked a few things here and there, but the varying temperatures meant that getting the correct tyre pressure was pretty difficult. Still, we came away with the wins so we had a good setup. Most of the races I made a winning gap, but the second one on Saturday I battled with Hunter Ford all the way to the line and I think we passed three or four times. I got a really good run out of the final corner and got him on the start/finish. It was the perfect weekend and I’m feeling very confident on the bike now. The more laps of the bike you do the more you can find the limits, so it’s a massive confidence boost with the times we were doing. I think we’ll have a good chance at the next round. I couldn’t believe how easy I’ve adapted to the bike. It’s very stable and fits the way I ride – it’s an awesome bike to ride.”

Keo Watson took an impressive second for Round 1 (Saturday) and third for Round 2 (Sunday)
Keo Watson took an impressive second for Round 1 (Saturday) and third for Round 2 (Sunday) – Image: Keith Muir
Keo Watson

“The C&M Motorcycles RC 390 was fantastic. This was the first time I’d raced it and it had great handling and power compared to the other bikes out there. We ran the dead stock suspension and it performed great. I was just hoping to score semi-decent points for the championship, so to be on the podium in every race except one was great – heaps better than we expected. I had a ball, it was awesome fun dicing with the other boys at that level. Now I just want to have a go on one of the 2017 models. Max says they’re a step above.”

400 Supersport Round 1 & 2 Overall Results
Rider – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd1 Total – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd2 Total – Rnd1&2 Total
  1. Max Croker – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75 – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75 – 150
  2. Keo Watson – 20 – 18 – 18 – 56 – 20 – 18 – 16 – 54 – 110
  3. Yannis Shaw – 18 – 17 – 20 – 55 – 17 – 17 – 17 – 51 – 106
  4. Hunter Ford – 1 – 0 – 20 – 15 – 36 – 18 – 20 – 20 – 58 – 94
  5. Ryan Sellen – 16 – 15 – 16 – 47 – 16 – 13 – 13 – 42 – 89
  6. Dan Thomas – 15 – 14 – 14 – 43 – 15 – 16 – 14 – 45 – 88
  7. Tom Toparis – 17 – 16 – 17 – 50 – 0 – 14 – 18 – 32 – 82
  8. Ryan Young – 14 – 13 – 13 – 40 – 8 – 15 – 15 – 38 – 78
  9. Trent Thomson – 11 – 10 – 9 – 30 – 10 – 10 – 10 – 30 – 60
  10. Robert Penman – 13 – 12 – 11 – 36 – 0 – 7 – 11 – 18 – 54
FOB
  1. Scott Chapman – 20 – 20 – 20 – 60 – 25 – 25 – 20 – 70 – 130
  2. Robert Penman – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75 – 0 – 20 – 25 – 45 – 120
  3. Greg Burt – 18 – 18 – 18 – 54 – 20 – 18 – 18 – 56 – 110
  4. Richard Draper – 16 – 17 – 17 – 50 – 18 – 17 – 17 – 52 – 102
  5. Andy Staig – 17 – 16 – 16 – 49 – 17 – 16 – 16 – 49 – 98
Supersport 400 Podium - Image: Keith Muir
Supersport 400 Podium – Image: Keith Muir
Pro-Twins & Nakedbikes

It was Heath Griffin (Ducati) who was unbeaten in the Pro-Twins division by winning all six races in his class, while Adrian Pierpoint (Aprilia) won both rounds of the Nakedbikes in Sydney with five wins in six races.

FX Pro-Twins, Nakedbike, SuperTwins Round 1 & 2 Overall Results
Rider – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd1 Total – R1 – R2 – R3 – Rnd2 Total – Rnd1&2 Total
  1. Heath Griffin – 1 – 25 – 25 – 25 – 76 – 25 – 25 – 25 – 75 – 151
  2. Ben O’Connor – 20 – 18 – 17 – 55 – 20 – 18 – 18 – 56 – 111
  3. Adrian Pierpoint – 18 – 20 – 20 – 58 – 17 – 15 – 20 – 52 – 110
  4. Grant Barratt-Thompson – 16 – 17 – 18 – 51 – 18 – 20 – 17 – 55 – 106
  5. Brendan Watson – 15 – 16 – 15 – 46 – 15 – 16 – 16 – 47 – 93
  6. Adam Hend – 14 – 15 – 14 – 43 – 13 – 14 – 14 – 41 – 84
  7. Aaron Breese – 17 – 16 – 33 – 16 – 17 – 15 – 48 – 81
  8. Stephen Hopper – 13 – 14 – 12 – 39 – 12 – 13 – 13 – 38 – 77
  9. Alex Matijevic – 12 – 12 – 13 – 37 – 14 – 10 – 24 – 61
  10. Mark Wall – 11 – 9 – 8 – 28 – 10 – 11 – 9 – 30 – 58
 Sebastian Mincone – Dunlop national motorcycle manager

“Congratulations to all of the competitors racing on Dunlop tyres this weekend in Sydney. It is shaping up to be an exciting series and Dunlop is proud to once again be the official tyre of the Australasian Superbike Championship.”

Visit www.dunloptyres.com.au or find Dunlop Tyres Australia & New Zealand on Facebook and @ridedunlopau on Instagram for further information on the brand.

The 2017 Swann Super Series will continue at Queensland Raceway on 15-16 July for rounds three and four.

2017 Swann Super Series Calendar
  • Rounds 1 & 2: 7-9 April – Sydney Motorsport Park NSW
  • Rounds 3 & 4: 14-16 July – Queensland Raceway Qld
  • Rounds 5 & 6: 3-5 November – Sydney Motorsport Park NSW

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