2027 Australian Superbike Championship
Round Two – The Bend
Supersport Next Generation Race Two
Archie Schmidt went into Race Two at The Bend as the Supersport Next Generation points leader after winning on debut from ninth on the grid. A shower before the morning start had sent crews scrambling for wets. The 17-year-old South Australian put his Unitek Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 in front early on lap four, with Cam Dunker and early leader Tom Toparis completing a Yamaha sweep in the class’s season opener.
Jake Farnsworth’s crash brought out the red flag and the race was declared with half points. Hayden Nelson’s point for pole put him third in the standings, with just 3.5 points covering the top four. Eighteen riders started the afternoon’s nine-lapper on a mostly dry track, with damp patches and a strong wind to contend with.
Four riders in the hunt
Fresh from his Superbike win, Dunker got the jump on the Addicted to Track R6, with Tom Edwards giving chase. Toparis worked his SBG Racing R9 into second and was right with Dunker by the end of the opening lap. Nelson, Edwards and Riley Nauta made it three Kawasakis in the next three places, with Farnsworth sixth.
Toparis was already looking for a way past on lap two. Dunker still led by less than a tenth at the line, but Toparis was ahead by the first split on lap three. Nelson had been quickest on lap two and cut his deficit in half. He slipped inside Dunker halfway around the third lap, lost second again before the line and took it back early on lap four.
Nauta went quickest on lap four, and just over half a second covered the leading four at the line. He swept past Dunker on the main straight with five laps to run, then got by Nelson later that lap. His 1m55.9 was the only lap under 1m56 and it put him within two tenths of Toparis at the line. Dunker peeled into the pits with a technical problem before the lap was out.
Nauta hits the front before Turn 12 drama
Nauta briefly got his nose in front before Toparis came back at him. The Kawasaki rider had another go midway through lap six and made it stick, opening up four tenths at the line. Nelson was a little over a second back in third.
Joshua Newman went down at Turn Four on lap seven while running seventh. Then Nauta high-sided at Turn 12 in front of Toparis, who went off trying to avoid him. Both riders were up. Nauta retired, and Toparis rejoined to finish 12th, salvaging nine points.
Nelson inherited the lead and had almost seven seconds over BC Performance Kawasaki team-mate Edwards by the end of the lap. He set his own quickest lap next time around and went on to win by almost 11 seconds.
Tom Edwards, who had crashed out of the morning race on the opening lap, brought the second ZX-6R home for a team one-two.
Farnsworth closes on Schmidt
Schmidt had worked his way up to fifth before the Turn 12 incident left him third. Farnsworth took almost a second out of him on each of the last two laps and saved his best for the final lap. Schmidt still had just over a second in hand at the flag to go with his win from the morning.
Sam Pezzetta was 11th after the opening lap and came through to fifth. John Pelgrave reclaimed sixth on the final lap and held off Eddie Leeson by half a second, with Jordy Simpson eighth. Less than three tenths covered Tayla Collins, Josh Soderland and Matthew Ritter in the fight for ninth.
Nelson won the round and left The Bend four points clear of Schmidt, 34.5 to 30.5. Pezzetta and Leeson both scored 21 points, with Pezzetta’s better Race Two finish earning him the last spot on the round podium.
It was a case of what might have been for Nauta, who set the fastest lap and was just starting to edge away when he went down. Toparis went off trying to avoid him, Dunker’s race had already ended in the pits and defending champion Jake Farnsworth had crashed out of the morning race. There’ll be a few riders looking to make amends at One Raceway on December 4–6.
ASBK Supersport Next Generation Race Two
The Bend – Provisional Results
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|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | H. Nelson | Kaw | 17m43.099 |
| 2 | T. Edwards | Kaw | +10.852 |
| 3 | A. Schmidt | Yam | +13.464 |
| 4 | J. Farnsworth | Yam | +14.597 |
| 5 | S. Pezzetta | Yam | +21.615 |
| 6 | J. Pelgrave | Yam | +27.620 |
| 7 | E. Leeson | Duc | +28.078 |
| 8 | J. Simpson | Yam | +38.540 |
| 9 | T. Collins | Yam | +42.045 |
| 10 | J. Soderland | Yam | +42.237 |
| 11 | M. Ritter | Yam | +42.331 |
| 12 | T. Toparis | Yam | +42.986 |
| 13 | T. King | Yam | +43.216 |
| 14 | F. Jacobs | Yam | +53.069 |
| 15 | H. Li | Yam | 1 Lap |
| Retirements | |||
| DNF | J. Newman | Yam | Retired |
| DNF | R. Nauta | Kaw | Retired |
| DNF | C. Dunker | Yam | Retired |
Results remain provisional until the protest and appeal time limit expires
ASBK Supersport Next Generation Championship Standings
After Race Two at The Bend
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|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
| 1 | H. Nelson | 34.5 |
| 2 | A. Schmidt | 30.5 |
| 3 | S. Pezzetta | 21 |
| 4 | E. Leeson | 21 |
| 5 | T. Edwards | 20 |
| 6 | J. Pelgrave | 19.5 |
| 7 | T. Toparis | 18 |
| 8 | T. Collins | 18 |
| 9 | M. Ritter | 17.5 |
| 10 | J. Farnsworth | 17 |
| 11 | J. Soderland | 15 |
| 12 | T. King | 14.5 |
| 13 | J. Simpson | 13 |
| 14 | C. Dunker | 10 |
| 15 | R. Nauta | 8 |
| 16 | F. Jacobs | 7 |
| 17 | H. Li | 6 |
| 18 | J. Newman | 5.5 |
Provisional championship points after The Bend
