Recapping a scorching second St. George Summer Series bout at SMP

2025 St. George MCC Summer Series
Round Two – SMP

With Nick Edards – Images by Half Light

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The second round of the St George MCC Summer Nights series (SNS06) hit the track at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMP), during one of the most brutal heatwaves this year. I think it’s fair to say that no one really wants to go through a race meeting like that again anytime soon.

Weather conditions were horrible at the opening round in early December, but January’s second round was even more brutal with the mercury still rising into the early evening. After the ambient temperature passed 40 degrees, I decided not to check it anymore.  The track temperature in the early afternoon was 68 degrees, yes, that’s Celsius, and likely went even higher before the sun dipped towards the horizon and gave us a little relief.

We’ll come back to the weather, as it had consequences for the meeting, but before we get there, let’s look at the event format.

This round diverged from the usual schedule as described here in the Round One report. A much earlier start saw track action scheduled from 1400 through to the 2230 curfew. It was just bad luck that the plan involved being on track when the sun on that particular day was intent on air-frying anyone crazy enough to stand under it for five minutes.

Summer Night rounds usually consist of 12 sessions, including a qualifying session and three races for each of the three groups of classes. These groups of classes usually follow a set pattern, and the classes in each group share track time. The usual spread of groups and classes looks like this:

• Pirelli Unlimited Superbikes F1 (international and national class racers) and F2 (fast clubbies).
• AGV 600, with the same F1/F2 split.
• Unlimited F3 for the clubbies not expected to break the 1m40sec lap time mark, and Retro Superbikes for the bikes I grew up with, like the Honda RC30.

So, for example, Unlimited F1 and F2 are on track together, and normally they’ll have a ten-minute qualifying and then three nine-minute plus one lap races, which usually results in a seven-lap race, through the evening.

For Round Two, with the extended time allowed by the 1400 start, there were five groups rather than three. A late reshuffle of this was needed when the planned sidecar category didn’t attract sufficient entrants, leading to its cancellation.

Subsequently, the AGV 600 classes were split, with F1 and F2 having their own track sessions. As a result of this approach, the five ‘groups’ for SNS06 Round Two were as follows:

• Pirelli Unlimited Superbikes F1 and F2.
• Unlimited F3 and Retro Superbikes.
• AGV 600 F1.
• AGV 600 F2.
• Formula St George/Supersport 300 & 400 (FSG) making its first appearance at SNS06.

Given the additional time afforded by the extended event duration, the plan was for each group to have the usual 10-minute qualifying, followed by 5 races rather than 3.

This was always an ambitious plan as it meant trying to fit 30 sessions into eight and a half hours compared to a ‘normal’ event that would see 12 sessions crammed into four hours.

We’ll never know how well that plan might have played out under more appropriate conditions because, come 1400 and the scheduled start time, the consensus was that the conditions posed too great a risk to riders, machinery and volunteers.

It wasn’t doing photographers much good either. I could only stand outside for ten minutes or so before I had to crawl back into the car to get the air conditioning on ‘Ice Age’ to revive me.

The sensible decision was to delay qualifying until 1630, with racing from 1800, and to return to a qualifying-plus-three-races format.

With five groups still in the mix, there was the obvious risk that the 2230 curfew would arrive before all races were run, and, with there being a few delays between races for bike and rider recoveries, the actual outcome was that only Unlimited F1/F2 completed three races; the rest of the groups were limited to two.

A disappointment given the intention of more racing given the extra time available, but the weather had the final word, and you know how the story goes – if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.

During the interim period between the planned 1400 start and the commencement of qualifying at 1630, groups were given a 15-minute practice session if they wanted track time. A few brave souls took the option, but the majority of riders cooled their heels until the qualifying started, and then it was game on.

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Unlimited F1 & F2 Race One

Coming from Round One, the Unlimited F1 points table was led by Senna Agius, who was not on deck for Round Two after experiencing a bike failure during a test at Phillip Island earlier in the week. JJ Nahlous (Yamaha), Glenn Allerton (Ducati), Joshua Newman (Ducati) and Josh Brookes (Honda) ranked second through fifth heading into the second round and were very much in attendance, so it was an opportunity for them to really make a mark on the points table.

Absent from Round One but joining the fray for Round Two were Harrison Voight and Cru Halliday, both Ducati-mounted and expected to be playing at the sharp end.

Marcus Hamod, Jack Favelle, and Jacob Roulstone were also present and expected to feature in what looked like a really strong class. There was some hope that Desmosport Ducati might make an appearance, to give Agius a chance to consolidate his lead and to give Ant West more time to familiarise himself with the V4R ahead of the abbreviated ASBK 2026 season, but it wasn’t to be.

Come 1630, the show started to roll, and Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2 hit the track for their ten-minute qualifying.

Nahlous took out pole with a 1:31.694, which equates to a 154 km/h lap average speed. Allerton took second spot just a tenth behind the Yamaha man. Nahlous and Allerton were the only pair to crack 1:32 in qualifying, with Voight taking the last front-row place while Favelle, Halliday and Hamod locked down the second row.

Josh Brookes held seventh spot, which gave him a lot of work to do, given the speed of the riders ahead of him on the grid. Less than one second separated pole from fifth, and yet it was hard to read too much into qualifying, as the weather conditions were still pretty unstable and expected to cool, even if only slightly, as the evening progressed.

At the start of Race One, Glenn Allerton was blazingly quick off the start line and got his nose well and truly ahead of Nahlous going into Turn One.

Voight held down third place for the first lap and then started to make his moves, going underneath Nahlous into T1 at the start of lap two and then making a move stick on Allerton to take the lead into T15 on the same lap.

Halliday isn’t known for being fast off the line, but he is quick around SMP, as demonstrated by his catching and passing Nahlous on lap two, then showing some great form and speed to hunt down Allerton and pass him on the main straight on lap three.

The race was then red-flagged, and the result was called after a bike malfunction left some bits on the track in a dangerous position.

Halliday might have felt aggrieved, as his pace suggested that, had the race run to full distance, he might well have been able to get to Voight for the lead, but the record books will show that Harrison Voight took maximum points, crossing the line some half a second ahead.

Halliday, in turn, had Allerton less than four-hundredths of a second off his tail, also perhaps looking to make further progress had the race not been abbreviated.

Nahlous was a little over a second adrift from Allerton. Hamod completed the top five. Brookes was only able to card a seventh-place finish with a best lap nearly two seconds off the race fastest, as laid down by Halliday with a 1:30.576.

Unlimited F1 & F2 Race One Results

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Unlimited F1 & F2 Race Two

Progressive grid means how you finish in Race One sets grid positions for Race Two, and so on. So Voight, Halliday and Allerton held down the front row for the start of Race Two, which kicked off around 1945, with the ambient temperature still ridiculously high, nudging 40C.

The absence of direct sun meant the track had cooled a little, and it would take longer to fry an egg on it than it had a few hours earlier.

The front row all made good starts, maintaining their 1-2-3 positions into T1. Hamod was quicker out of the blocks than Nahlous, and the #20 had to work hard to get back into fourth spot, which then turned into third place when Allerton had to retire with a mechanical issue.

Brookes had a lot of work to do having started from the third row of the grid but really got his head down and started working his way up through the field.

Halliday was able to stay close to Voight until the latter stages of the race when the #29 pulled out a two-second lead, which he held to the finish. Nahlous finished a rather lonely third place, 2.5 seconds away from Halliday, with Brookes trailing some seven seconds back.

The top five was completed by Hamod after the youngster put in another fine effort, finishing the race a little under 15 seconds back from the winner, Voight.

Unlimited F1 & F2 Race Two Results

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Unlimited F1 & F2 Race Three

Race Three rounded out the dance card for Unlimited F1/F2 and SNS06 Round Two. Riders took to the track shortly after 2200 by which time, the air temperature had moderated significantly, although no one would describe it as cool.

The progressive grid put Voight, Halliday and Nahlous on the front row with Brookes, Hamod and Favelle on row two. Glenn Allerton didn’t take to the grid for Race Three.

The front three again made good starts, Halliday demonstrating that he starts better on the Ducati than he ever did on the Yamaha. Jack Favelle, starting from sixth, got his head into the game really quickly and moved himself up to fourth spot.

Favelle was taking no prisoners, and after Halliday dropped a place back to third, after a strong move from Nahlous, Favelle was all over the back of the #65. Brookes was close on Favelle’s tail and ready to make a move if #33 missed a beat.

The strength of the V4R was demonstrated as Halliday ripped past Nahlous on the main straight to regain second spot, leaving both Nahlous and Favelle no opportunity to challenge him into T2.

Halliday then made a huge (aka ballsy) move on Voight into T1, which demonstrated his confidence in the Ducati’s front end and didn’t surrender the lead after that, crossing the line nine-tenths of a second ahead of Voight.

For the third race in a row, Halliday netted the fastest lap, a 1:30.272 – roughly half a second off his best of the night in Race Two. Nahlous took third, with Favelle taking an extremely well-deserved fourth.

Brookes rounded out the top five, never losing touch with the riders in front of him, but not having enough in reserve to challenge them.

In the second group, teammates Roulstone and Hamod were swapping places with Newman and Nelson in close company to take advantage if #12 or #10 got in each other’s way, and it was Hamod who was able to make a break from the second group in the latter stages of the race to net himself sixth spot.

Unlimited F1 & F2 Race Three Results

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Unlimited F1 & F2 Overalls

Voight’s two wins and a second were enough to give him the meeting points win ahead of Halliday, with Nahlous in third. Given that neither Voight nor Halliday had taken part in Round One, Nahlous’ points haul was very important in the context of the series’ leaderboard.

Jack Favelle finished fourth on the ladder for the meeting with good results from all three races. Brookes would be disappointed with his points score, which only gave him fifth place on the night and dented his chances of taking out the series.

Official points positions after two rounds of SNS06 aren’t available at the time of writing, but by my calculations, JJ Nahlous leads the series on 111 points, ahead of Brookes on 92 points and Joshua Newman on 87 points. These numbers will, of course, be confirmed before Round Three in February.

A quick check on Pirelli Unlimited F2 told a sorry story for Dominic De Leon, who had come into Round Two holding the top spot on the class leaderboard. A second place in Race Two was the highlight for him, with DNFs in both Races One and Three.

An opening race off put him on his reserve bike in Race Two, but the second bike went down the road in Race Three, capping off an unhappy weekend for the normally unflappable De Leon.

It was Damien Adams on the Gixxer who swept the board, taking three from three, sparring with Kayne Gasbarri in Races One and Three, and De Leon in Race Two. That hat-trick of victories gave Adams the meeting points class win.

Gasbarri’s two second-place finishes and a third gave him second place. Harley Borkowski, on the immaculate RB Racing R1, took out third place on the night with a third-place finish in Race One, backed up by fourth in the second and third races.

Again, official series points are not available yet, but with a little help from Natsoft and Excel, my reckoning puts Damien Adams in the lead, 140 points ahead of Kane Gasbarri (113) and Harley Borkowski (94).

De Leon’s tough evening puts him in fourth spot on 88 points, which leaves a big margin between him and Adams at the top of the pile. And so to the other classes running at SNS06 Round Two…

Unlimited F1 & F2 Overall & Rider Quotes

Harrison Voight – Pirelli Unlimited F1

“It was great to be back and being a part of the second round of the St George Summer Night Series. It was very, very hot conditions to ride in, let alone for everyone else to be working in. A big thank you to all the flag marshals and everyone involved in this event working in the sort of conditions we all experienced. I look forward to coming back and doing more of it again soon.”

Cru Halliday – Pirelli Unlimited F1

“Round Two at Sydney Motorsport Park went pretty well, we had a hit out on the race bike. I haven’t ridden since Tailem Bend so the first couple of sessions were a bit rough. It was super-hot out there, like 40 degrees. Not sure what the track temp was but heard that it was about 68C and the tyres weren’t really coming in, they were just so worn and over-heating straight away. Basically got out there, wanted to cut some laps and get familiar with the bike again and yeah, first couple of sessions felt pretty off but by the end of the night, got a hold of it and felt really comfortable and it felt like my bike again.

“We just improved areas like braking and really concentrated on getting the bike to come off the corners so I think we actually worked that out better at the St George round than we did at the end of the last round at Tailem Bend. I think we’ve definitely capitalised on more grip for corner exit so I was exiting corners really good. Looking forward to the test at Phillip Island and yeah, it’s going to be a good year.”

Jonathan Nahlous – Pirelli Unlimited F1

“The last night race event was positive for me, we definitely had some extra competition this round and it was really good to be able to compare myself to them and learn from these riders. We had recently switched suspension brand and had to re-set up my bike with this which did take some time but eventually we got back down to the same times as before… we just need to make another step to go faster again.”

Jack Favelle – Pirelli Unlimited F1

“I felt that I qualified well in P4 considering that I had only ridden the bike once since my injury three months ago and I was confident for the races. But the conditions were quite challenging and I struggled to find my feet in the first two races, I just didn’t quite have the confidence to push fully and make up positions after two poor starts which then resulted in two P6s. Race three the team made some really good changes to the bike and the conditions cooled down, I felt really comfortable and confident on the bike and was able to set down some consistent fast laps and take home P4. Overall I’m really happy with this and it was a great way to kick off the 2026 season!”

Damien Adams – Pirelli Unlimited F2

“Round Two was a solid night overall, despite some seriously tough conditions. The heat made things far from enjoyable, but a well-planned nutrition and hydration strategy paid off and I felt strong throughout the night.
Unfortunately, my starts were poor in every race, which made things harder than they needed to be and forced me to work through the field each time. I qualified P2 and was able to make some strong passes, ultimately taking P1 in all three races.

“The Suzuki GSX-R1000 didn’t miss a beat all night, even in the brutal heat, which was a huge confidence boost. The first two races were a bit scrappy on my part, with a few too many mistakes creeping in. By race three, though, I felt like I really cleaned things up hitting my marks, riding with more intent, and finishing the night with a new lap PB, which I was stoked about.

“It was disappointing to see Dom De Leon go down in race one and then have further issues throughout the night. I was really looking forward to the battles we no doubt would have had. That’s racing sometimes, but the main thing is that he’s okay, and I know he’ll come out swinging in round three. A massive thank you to everyone who supports me and helps make this happen. I’m pumped to be heading into round three with the points lead and looking forward to more racing.”

Dominic De Leon – Pirelli Unlimited F2

“Well, what can be said other than Round Two of the St George Summer Night Series has been an absolute shocker for us. Felt great going into this round but it just did not come together as we would have thought.

“Qualified 11th overall, first in F2. In Race One, I had first place (in F2) covered and was locked onto the back of the F1 boys but then on lap 2 or 3, I lost the front on T11 so that was a DNF. For Race Two, the team got cracking on getting the wet bike setup changed to dry settings. I started at the back of the field but made my way up to P11 and finish second in class.

“In Race Three, I got a good start and had first in the bag (F2 class), then had issue with hand cramping up which prevented me from getting to the brakes. I had a big incident going into T4 which, by some miracle, I managed to save and avoid running head into the wall at almost 200 kays, just missing the wall, scrubbed off the speed but just lost the front as the bike got to the grass and had a slow lowside. Managed to bruise my ribs but so happy to come away from that one with only damaged ribs and nothing worse.

“So it’s time to get both bikes sorted and ready for Round Three. Massive thanks to the amazing team behind us for all they do and always making sure everything is on point. Matt Pace, Glenn Jackson, Emma De Leon, Al Harper and thanks to Paul Grant Mitchell for his assistance with getting the wet bike to a dry set up. You guys are all amazing and so sorry to the team for not securing the round as expected. Going to try my best to make up for it all at Round Three.”

Unlimited F1 Round Points

Unlimited F2 Round Points

Unlimited F1 Standings

TBC

Unlimited F2 Standings

TBC

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600cc F1

With AGV 600 F1 and F2 running separate sessions, there were just seven riders taking to the track in qualifying for AGV F1. Series leader Jake Farnsworth took pole with a 1:35.017, a second clear of Tom Toparis, who was not present at Round One, with Will Nassif nailing the final spot on the front row.

Farnworth maintained his perfect score for the series, taking out both Race One by 10 seconds from Toparis and Race Two by eight seconds from Will Nassif, with Ryan Yanko and Valentino Knezovic scoring a third-place finish each.

Farnsworth goes to Round Three with a commanding points lead in the series, and right now, he looks unstoppable. Nassif and Knezovic took second and third in the meeting points standings.

Where does this leave us for Round Three? Based on my well-worn calculator and bearing in mind that these numbers are NOT official, there’s no doubt who’s leading the series as Jake Farnsworth’s perfect four-from-four gives him the series lead on 100 points. Josh Soderland holds second on 67 points, and Kristian O’Donnell, on 65 points, sits in third.

Jake Farnsworth – AGV 600 F1

“Was great to be back on my Yamaha R6 with support from Stop & Seal on Friday. I’m really enjoying every second on the bike at the moment. I have one clear goal in mind for this year so I’m just focusing on the process. I’d like to thank all my sponsors – Worth Race Engines, Pirelli, Shop Yamaha, Kingsdene Automotive, Stop & Seal. Also a big shout out to St George MCC for holding the event!”

600cc F1 Race One Results

600cc F1 Race Two Results

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600cc F1 Round Overall

600cc F1 Standings

TBC

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600cc F2

The AGV 600 F2 class had a much bigger field of riders on deck than F1, with 32 riders taking to the track in qualifying.

At the conclusion of the first round, Amex Tamras held the series lead, but he was absent from Round Two. Timothy Rodley and Scott Newham secured second and third spots at Round One and were both back in the fray.

Mark Vaartjes, probably better known for his stunning ZX-7R in the classic racing series, and making his first appearance in SNS06, laid down pole with a 1:38.888 ahead of Newham and Rodley on the front row, with Keith Mulcahy, Shaun O’Neill and John Power filling row two.

Newham built on his good grid position by taking Race One from Vaartjes by three-tenths of a second with Rodley in third.

A DNF in Race Two was a disappointing end to the weekend for Newham after a fuel line problem ended his race early. Vaartjes was on fire in the second race and was the only man to crack a 1:38 laptime. Well actually, he smashed it rather than cracked it, his 1:37.158 was a second and a half quicker than any other rider’s fastest lap.

Rodley couldn’t match Vaartjes’ pace but got his head down and scored a valuable handful of points coming home second, some 13 seconds behind the rampant #7. Leonardo De Lorenzo took out third spot.

Vaartjes, Rodley, De Lorenzo was also the first-second-third order in meeting points for the night and, with the same disclaimers as above on these being my numbers, not the officially club endorsed ones which aren’t available yet, I believe, heading to Round Three, Timothy Rodley holds the series lead on 83 points, Leonardo Di Lorenzo has second with 66 points and Scott Newham is in third position with 61 points.

600cc F2 Race One Results

600cc F2 Race Two Results

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600cc F2 Round Overall

600cc F2 Standings

TBC

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Unlimited F3 Races One and Two

Unlimited F3 saw Joshua Bartlett take pole with a 1:42.136, ahead of Robert Salvia and Reece Gordon.

Salvia took the flag in Race One from Gordon and Glenn Columbin, while Clint McAnally kept Salvia at bay for the win in Race Two, with Andrew Lee coming in third.

Salvia was leading the series points total coming into Round Two, and took the meeting points prize ahead of McAnally and Gordon, to take an extended lead into Round Three.

Retro Superbikes run within the Unlimited F3 class and aren’t attracting many entrants yet, but fingers crossed that will change in time. Aaron Bennett, on the glorious GSX1100-styled-like-a-GS1000S, finished both races as best Retro and stayed mid-pack with the modern Unlimited F3 bikes. Impressive in so many ways.

Robert Salvia goes to Round Three with, I believe, the series lead on 108 points ahead of Reece Gordon on 97 points.

Unlimited F3 Race One Results

Unlimited F3 Race Two Results

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Unlimited F3 Round Overall

Unlimited F3 Standings

TBC

Supersport 300/400 Races One and Two

Formula St George/SuperSport 300 & 400 (FSG/SSP) was the perfect example of asymmetric combat. Unlimited class is a sea of Ducati Panigales, BMW S1000RRs and Yamaha R1s. AGV 600 is wall-to-wall R6, with the occasional Kawa, Gixxer, Triumph triple, or, yes, KTM Duke.

In FSG/SSP by comparison, you’ll see a Honda NSF250R, Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, Yamaha R7s, MT07s, R3s, KTM 690s, Kawa EX650s, EX300As, Ninja 400s and everything short of motorised skateboards. It’s epic.

The class was dominated by five players. Archie Schmidt on the NSF250R took out pole ahead of Brad Gander on the Husky 701, and in both races, the finishing order was the same.

Schmidt first, Gander second, Andrew Pitman (R7) third, Michael Jeffrey (KTM 690EVO) fourth, and David Nhan Cao (R7) in fifth.

There were some great battles throughout the field of 27 riders, and it’s great to see FSG/SSP making a return to the SNS program of races.

Supersport 300/400 Race One Results

Supersport 300/400 Race Two Results

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Supersport 300/400 Round Overall

Supersport 300/400 Standings

TBC