ASBK 2023
Round Two – Sydney Motorsport Park
Supersport 300 / Yamaha Finance R3 Cup
Due to the readjusted program because of the time constraints of the two-day night meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park, the Australian Supersport 300 Championship and the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup that normally run as separate races at a conventional ASBK meeting, saw the two classes raced as one, but with separate points scored for the two classes in each of the three races…
As has become the norm in 300cc category the competition was top notch with intense battles throughout the 26-rider field.
After two rounds it appears that the battle for major honours is going to be a case of the young vs the old. Or, maybe a case of a class master versus a bunch of apprentices?
In this case, Brandon Demmery is the experienced top dog and the likes of Cameron Swain, Jai Russo, Brodie Gawith (pronounced “Gorth”), Marcus Hamod, Cooper Rowntree, Harrison Watts, Valentino Knezovic, Ryan Larkin, Henry Snell, Casey Middleton, Luke Jhonston and a host of other young pups are keen to dethrone their older and more experienced rival.
Demmery, who is considered the elder stateman of the class, has been competing in the class for over a decade. He won the second season of what was then the 250cc Production Championship back in 2013 as a 16-year-old. The now 25-year-old has been a regular entrant into the class since then with the major hurdle of not progressing to the 600cc Supersport class the one of finances. As such his passion for racing has keep him in the game so much so that he has overcome debilitating, life-threatening injuries suffered in a horrific start line crash, in the pouring rain at the 2017 Australian GP support events and is now well and truly back.
Additionally, he has “retired” from the class a number of times but that passion has dragged him back to the grid and this year has teamed up with Troy Corser as mentor and team manager. This came about due to the fact that both live in the Wollongong district.
The three races on the weekend were exceptional battles with the total winning margin of the three races just 0.070. Yes, you read it correctly, that was the combined difference of the three races.!
The opening stanza on Friday evening under lights was an absolute ripper. Situation normal for the class, really.
Up until the final lap of the eight-lap dash, there were seven riders – Demmery, Russo, Swain, Rowntree, Gawith, Snell and Hamod, line astern seeking an advantage. All bikes were fitted with a red tail light for safety and it was an impressive sight to see a conga line of bright red lights negotiating the sinewy length bitumen that is Sydney Motorsport Park
It was soon apparent in the slip streaming duel on the front straight that whoever led out of the final turn was not in front when they crossed the start/finish line and at times they were four or five wide, as they all battled for the advantage.
When the chequered flag was displayed, it was Demmery across the line first by just 0.006 of a second ahead of Russo, with Swain third 0.082 behind Russo and Gawith missed out on a podium spot by just over a tenth of a second.
For the two races on Saturday, we may have dodged a bullet with the forecast amount of rain that was expected but we still copped a ricochet as ominous dark clouds were hanging with a bit of rain threatening, that eventually the heavens opened, albeit not as severe as expected.
The second leg was even more intense and, arguably the race of the entire weekend’s program.
After the opening lap just 1.7 seconds covered the top 11 riders and by the end of the next lap eight riders – Swain, Gawith, Rowntree, Hamod, Russo, Demmery, Gawith and Middleton were basically glued together.
The drag down the main straight was enthralling as they fanned out to take advantage of the slip-stream but it was either Demmery or Swain who led over the line each time. It wasn’t just the straight that there was passing as there probed, prodded and passed each other numerous times each lap, it was hard to keep up!
This time, it was 14-year-old Swain’s turn to take the top spot from Demmery by 0.016 second, Russo third 0.034 behind Russo or just an agonising 0.05sec off the win. Gawith was again fourth from Snell, Middleton Hamon and Rowntree, the entire octet separated by just 0.880 second.
The final race was held under lights soon after the extended dinner break. During the break there was a shower ensuring the track was soaked but with a 90 minute interval, it soon started to dry.
The track was officially deemed dry before the start, but it was still very sketchy, the track greasy and as such slippery as some opted for slicks while others for wets.
Caution was the name of the game for the majority of the field as they tool off and provided a magnificent spectacle in the dark with the lights and mist creating a somewhat surreal scene, the bitumen reflecting the light as part of the track was perfectly dry while other parts appeared to be wet. Another feature of racing under lights in such conditions is that no one can tell if the rain would return from the blackened skies.
From “lights out” Swain, Gawith and Demmery broke away to be just over three tenths of a second apart and after two laps it was just the duet of Demmery and Swain as the young teenagers set their own pace although there were plenty of little groups having fun.
Demmery led the first lap, Swain the second and from then the race turned into a real game of cat-and-mouse.
Demmery won the slip stream battle to lead across the line at the end of the third and fourth lap but then the wily “old” rider played the game of follow the leader. It was obvious he was playing possum as he sat up on the bike cruising behind Swain as if he was heading to the shops to pick up a pint of milk! He wasn’t going to get sucked into passing Swain. It was obvious what Demmery had in mind and that was a last lap lunge.
Conversely, Swain seemed to be aware of what his older rival was doing as the teenager showed wise race craft. Heading into the Turn 8 hairpin for the final time, Swain purposely ran wide trying to entice Demmery to take the bait but “Brando” was having none of it, the pair slowing right down in the process. From the exit Swain realised his ploy didn’t work and tried to make a break as he knew what was coming on the exit of the final turn.
Demmery closed right onto his rival’s back wheel as they went through the final two left handers.
Then the drag began. Swain moved safely across the track trying to negate Demmery’s chance of slip streaming him but Demmery rode it to perfection, pulling aside to move into the lead to take the win by a bike length, with Gawith over three seconds away in third.
With two wins, and a second place Demmery took the round win from Swain’s 3-1-2 results for second place on the night.
Gawith and Russo finished on equal points for third place with Gawith claiming the third-place trophy after his better result in the last race.
Supersport 300 Round Points
Pos | Rider | Bike | Pole | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
1 | Brandon DEMMERY | Yamaha | 1 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 71 |
2 | Cameron SWAIN | Yamaha | 18 | 25 | 20 | 63 | |
3 | Brodie GAWITH | Yamaha | 17 | 17 | 18 | 52 | |
4 | Jai RUSSO | Yamaha | 20 | 18 | 13 | 51 | |
5 | Henry SNELL | Yamaha | 16 | 16 | 17 | 49 | |
6 | Marcus HAMOD | Yamaha | 15 | 14 | 16 | 45 | |
7 | Casey MIDDLETON | Kawasaki | 14 | 15 | 14 | 43 | |
8 | Valentino KNEZOVIC | Yamaha | 8 | 6 | 15 | 29 | |
9 | Lincoln KNIGHT | Yamaha | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | |
10 | Cooper ROWNTREE | Yamaha | 11 | 13 | 5 | 29 | |
11 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha | 5 | 11 | 12 | 28 | |
12 | Joshua NEWMAN | Kawasaki | 12 | 11 | 23 | ||
13 | Ryan LARKIN | Yamaha | 12 | 9 | 2 | 23 | |
14 | Sam PEZZETTA | Yamaha | 13 | 8 | 21 | ||
15 | Harrison WATTS | Yamaha | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 | |
16 | Jordy SIMPSON | Yamaha | 7 | 3 | 8 | 18 | |
17 | Calvin MOYLAN | Kawasaki | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 | |
18 | Tara MORRISON | Kawasaki | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | |
19 | Steve SFORZIN | Kawasaki | 2 | 9 | 11 | ||
20 | Will NASSIF | Yamaha | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
21 | Brock QUINLAN | Kawasaki | 4 | 4 | |||
22 | Ryder GILBERT | Yamaha | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
23 | Daley MILLS | Kawasaki | 1 | 1 |
Supersport 300 Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
1 | Brandon DEMMERY | Yamaha | 128 |
2 | Cameron SWAIN | Yamaha | 114 |
3 | Jai RUSSO | Yamaha | 109 |
4 | Henry SNELL | Yamaha | 102 |
5 | Brodie GAWITH | Yamaha | 102 |
6 | Casey MIDDLETON | Kawasaki | 88 |
7 | Marcus HAMOD | Yamaha | 86 |
8 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha | 79 |
9 | Cooper ROWNTREE | Yamaha | 71 |
10 | Lincoln KNIGHT | Yamaha | 61 |
11 | Joshua NEWMAN | Kawasaki | 49 |
12 | Valentino KNEZOVIC | Yamaha | 48 |
13 | Harrison WATTS | Yamaha | 44 |
14 | Jordy SIMPSON | Yamaha | 34 |
15 | Calvin MOYLAN | Kawasaki | 33 |
16 | Sam PEZZETTA | Yamaha | 31 |
17 | Tara MORRISON | Kawasaki | 25 |
18 | Steve SFORZIN | Kawasaki | 25 |
19 | Ryan LARKIN | Yamaha | 23 |
20 | Ryder GILBERT | Yamaha | 14 |
21 | Brock QUINLAN | Kawasaki | 8 |
22 | Daley MILLS | Kawasaki | 8 |
23 | Peter NERLICH | Kawasaki | 7 |
24 | Will NASSIF | Yamaha | 6 |
25 | Abbie CAMERON | Yamaha | 3 |
Yamaha R3 Cup Round Points
Pos | Rider | Bike | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
1 | Brandon DEMMERY | Yamaha | 25 | 20 | 25 | 70 |
2 | Cameron SWAIN | Yamaha | 18 | 25 | 20 | 63 |
3 | Brodie GAWITH | Yamaha | 17 | 17 | 18 | 52 |
4 | Jai RUSSO | Yamaha | 20 | 18 | 14 | 52 |
5 | Henry SNELL | Yamaha | 16 | 16 | 17 | 49 |
6 | Marcus HAMOD | Yamaha | 15 | 15 | 16 | 46 |
7 | Cooper ROWNTREE | Yamaha | 12 | 14 | 10 | 36 |
8 | Lincoln KNIGHT | Yamaha | 10 | 12 | 12 | 34 |
9 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha | 7 | 13 | 13 | 33 |
10 | Valentino KNEZOVIC | Yamaha | 9 | 8 | 15 | 32 |
11 | Ryan LARKIN | Yamaha | 13 | 11 | 7 | 31 |
12 | Harrison WATTS | Yamaha | 11 | 9 | 8 | 28 |
13 | Sam PEZZETTA | Yamaha | 14 | 10 | 4 | 28 |
14 | Jordy SIMPSON | Yamaha | 8 | 7 | 11 | 26 |
15 | Will NASSIF | Yamaha | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 |
16 | Ryder GILBERT | Yamaha | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
17 | William HUNT | Yamaha | 5 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
18 | Abbie CAMERON | Yamaha | 3 | 3 | 6 |
Yamaha R3 Cup Series Points
Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
1 | Brandon DEMMERY | Yamaha | 70 |
2 | Cameron SWAIN | Yamaha | 63 |
3 | Brodie GAWITH | Yamaha | 52 |
4 | Jai RUSSO | Yamaha | 52 |
5 | Henry SNELL | Yamaha | 49 |
6 | Marcus HAMOD | Yamaha | 46 |
7 | Cooper ROWNTREE | Yamaha | 36 |
8 | Lincoln KNIGHT | Yamaha | 34 |
9 | Luke JHONSTON | Yamaha | 33 |
10 | Valentino KNEZOVIC | Yamaha | 32 |
11 | Ryan LARKIN | Yamaha | 31 |
12 | Harrison WATTS | Yamaha | 28 |
13 | Sam PEZZETTA | Yamaha | 28 |
14 | Jordy SIMPSON | Yamaha | 26 |
15 | Will NASSIF | Yamaha | 18 |
16 | Ryder GILBERT | Yamaha | 18 |
17 | William HUNT | Yamaha | 14 |
18 | Abbie CAMERON | Yamaha | 6 |
2023 ASBK Calendar
2023 ASBK Calendar | |||
Round | Circuit | Location | Date |
R1 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | VIC | Feb 24-26 |
R2 | Sydney Motorsports Park | NSW | Mar 24-25 |
R3 | Queensland Raceway (Masters Round Two) | QLD | Apr 28-30 |
R4 | Hidden Valley Raceway | NT | Jun 16-18 |
R5 | Morgan Park Raceway | QLD | Jul 14-16 |
R6 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit (Masters Round Three) | VIC | Oct 27-29 |
R7 | The Bend Motorsport Park (Masters Round Four) | SA | Dec 1 – 3 |