2027 Australian Superbike Championship
Round Two – The Bend
Superbike Race Two
There had been just 0.138s in it at the end of the morning race at The Bend. Cam Dunker had come from ninth on the grid to take the lead from Jonathan Nahlous on lap seven, and Nahlous had saved his quickest lap for last. They went into the afternoon race separated by two points, 63 to 61 in Dunker’s favour.
They had shared the first two places in the season opener at Phillip Island as well, when Nahlous took his first Superbike win. Glenn Allerton was next in the standings on 51 points after holding off John Lytras by seven tenths for third in the morning.
Mike Jones had taken pole on Saturday and finished fifth in Race One. Olly Simpson had made the best start from that front row and led the opening lap for DesmoSport Ducati before losing pace and coming home sixth. Dunker had qualified tenth and would start eighth for the afternoon’s 11-lapper.
The track was dry and the wind was still up when they lined up on the grid in the afternoon. Cru Halliday was back on the second row looking to make amends after his morning crash. Jack Favelle had been moved back to 11th on the grid following their clash. The Honda rider was absent when the 15 starters got away.
From the third row to the lead
Simpson got the jump again. Allerton came through from seventh on the grid to slot in behind him, with Nahlous third. Dunker took fourth from Jones a few turns into the opening lap, with Halliday sixth and Josh Waters seventh. Simpson had less than four tenths over Allerton at the line, and Dunker was already within a second of the lead.
Dunker went up the inside of Nahlous as they started lap two, then picked off Allerton late in the lap. He had made two passes and still put in a 1m50.900, the only lap of the race in the 1m50s. Simpson was just a tenth ahead when they came across the stripe.
Dunker got it done early on lap three, using the change of direction to park the Blue Marlin Pools East Racing R1 in front of the DesmoSport Ducati. He had half a second in hand at the end of that lap. A 1m51.202 next time around took the gap out to a second, with Simpson and Allerton still being stalked by the two Yamaha Racing Team riders.
Further back, a clutch problem brought John Lytras into the pits. He got the Addicted to Track Yamaha back out in the hope of picking up a few points, then came in for good after completing just three laps.
Nahlous slipped under Allerton on lap six and was soon on Simpson’s wheel. By the end of that lap, six tenths covered Simpson, Nahlous, Allerton and Jones. Dunker had taken nearly nine tenths out of Simpson on that lap alone and was more than two seconds up the road.
Allerton fights his way back onto the podium
Nahlous got past Simpson halfway through lap seven and immediately began pulling away. Jones took fourth from Allerton on the same lap and was within two tenths of Simpson at the line. While Jones was looking for a way past the DesmoSport Ducati, Allerton pounced to take fourth back on lap eight. A lap later he went past Simpson himself. Jones followed him through later that lap, leaving the local rider fifth.
At the last-lap board Dunker still had the better part of three seconds over Nahlous. Jones started the lap four tenths behind Allerton and took time out of him in each of the first three sectors. Allerton found a little in the last sector and held off the pole-sitter by three tenths.
Nahlous took a couple of tenths back on the last lap. Dunker had two and a half seconds to spare at the chequered flag to complete the double, with the same three riders on the podium in the same order as in the morning.
Halliday finished a second ahead of Waters. Harry Khouri made it two eighth-place finishes for the weekend.
Glenn Allerton
“That was a tough race. It was a good battle there. Have to say a big thanks to the team. Simon found a fuel leak on one of the fuel lines about ten minutes before the race. So lucky to catch it in between the races.”
“I wanna say hi to the family and big, big hi to Lee and his family from Superbike Advocates for making this whole team happen. Just having a blast out there on my Ducati.”
Nahlous had gone after the win in both races and taken 40 points from the day. He credited the Yamaha Racing Team for its work across the weekend and was already looking ahead to One Raceway.
Jonathan Nahlous
“Obviously I wanted to win … the team worked really good this weekend, and we really gotta be happy with this. Moving on to the next round and we’re in a good spot.”
Dunker credited his Blue Marlin Pools East Racing crew with getting to the bottom of his qualifying troubles. They’d found one of the Yamaha’s outer fork tubes was out of whack and sorted it overnight.
Cam Dunker
“Massive, massive thanks to my guys over here. They worked really hard overnight to come up with what the problem was. Very happy that we were able to work it out ’cause obviously we were fast.”
“Just really struggled a lot yesterday, just to find my feet, I guess. We fixed the problem overnight, and here we are, two race wins from the third row.”
Dunker does The Bend double to head to Goulburn with the championship lead on 88, seven clear of Nahlous. Allerton is a further 12 back on 69, with Jones fourth on 60.
Simpson had led both races at home and improved to fifth in the afternoon. His arms are going away from him as the races wear on as he gets accustomed to the Superbike.
Jones will rue leaving with a fifth and a fourth after starting both races from pole.
Halliday put some points on the board after the morning crash, and Waters will have wanted more than a pair of sevenths.
They don’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption as ASBK heads to One Raceway near Goulburn on December 4–6. Let’s hope the new-look summer series gets some summer weather for round three.
ASBK Superbike Race Two
The Bend – Provisional Results
 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | C. Dunker | Yam | 20m30.762 |
| 2 | J. Nahlous | Yam | +2.479 |
| 3 | G. Allerton | Duc | +4.375 |
| 4 | M. Jones | Yam | +4.687 |
| 5 | O. Simpson | Duc | +7.399 |
| 6 | C. Halliday | Duc | +13.188 |
| 7 | J. Waters | Duc | +14.234 |
| 8 | H. Khouri | Yam | +24.728 |
| 9 | L. Durning | BMW | +31.029 |
| 10 | M. McLaren-Wood | Yam | +31.698 |
| 11 | J. Martin | Yam | +45.062 |
| 12 | C. Holding | Yam | +1m27.133 |
| 13 | M. Edwards | Yam | 2 Laps |
| Retirements | |||
| DNF | M. Stauffer | Duc | Retired |
| DNF | J. Lytras | Yam | Retired |
Results remain provisional until the protest and appeal time limit expires.
ASBK Superbike Championship Standings
After Race Two at The Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | C. Dunker | 88 |
| 2 | J. Nahlous | 81 |
| 3 | G. Allerton | 69 |
| 4 | M. Jones | 60 |
| 5 | J. Waters | 55 |
| 6 | C. Halliday | 52 |
| 7 | J. Lytras | 45 |
| 8 | H. Voight | 44 |
| 9 | M. McLaren-Wood | 40 |
| 10 | L. Durning | 35 |
| 11 | J. Martin | 35 |
| 12 | O. Simpson | 31 |
| 13 | J. Roulstone | 26 |
| 14 | H. Khouri | 26 |
| 15 | C. Holding | 22 |
| 16 | B. Pearson | 19 |
| 17 | J. Newman | 16 |
| 18 | B. Wilson | 13 |
| 19 | J. Favelle | 11 |
| 20 | T. Binaisse | 9 |
| 21 | M. Edwards | 8 |
| 22 | J. Quinn | 8 |
| 23 | M. Hamod | 5 |
| 24 | S. Bleazby | 3 |
| 25 | E. Leeson | 1 |
Provisional championship points after The Bend
