Tom Toparis completes Supersport trifecta at P.I.

2019 ASBK
Round One – Phillip Island
Supersport Race Three

ASBK Round TBG WSBKPI PI SS R Start TBG — Supersport Race Three – TBG Image

Sunday’s racing at the opening round of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) got underway bright and early today with Race 3 of the Supersport class, held during the FIM World Superbike Championship (WSBK) weekend here at Phillip Island.

ASBK Round Phillip Island SS Saturday Rob Mott Tom Toparis Grid — Tom Toparis – Image Rob Mott

It was Tom Toparis’ (Landbridge Transport Yamaha YZF-R6) chance to make it a clean sweep of the weekend and he delivered, putting on an absolutely clinical performance to finish the race more than six seconds ahead of the rest of the field. This performance meant that he took the honour of being the ASBK’s first round winner for 2019.

ASBK Round Phillip Island SS Saturday Rob Mott Tom Toparis Nic Liminton — Tom Toparis – Image Rob Mott

Second place for the round belonged to Nic Liminton (Yamaha Motor Aust. Yamaha YZF-R6), who had a trio of second places but had to work for the final one- bumping Callum Spriggs (Allsite Concrete Cutting Yamaha YZF-R6) down to third in the last-minute dash for the finish line after Spriggs had spent nearly the whole race in second spot.

ASBK Round Phillip Island SS Saturday Rob Mott Tom Toparis — Tom Toparis – Image Rob Mott

Toparis once again started on pole ahead of Liminton and Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing Yamaha YZF-R6). Liminton, battling a shoulder injury picked up earlier in the weekend but had been putting in good performances nonetheless.

ASBK TBG WSBKPI PI Ty Lynch TBG — Ty Lynch – TBG Image

Ty Lynch (Russell Phillips Motorsports, Yamaha YZF-R6) couldn’t replicate the performances in the previous races and was down in ninth by lap four and ten seconds off the leaders.

At half distance and Toparis was four seconds up. Spriggs was at the head of the chasing train of riders, having a good day way up from his finishing position of eighth in Race 2 yesterday.

ASBK Round Phillip Island SS Friday Rob Mott Callum Spriggs — Callum Spriggs – Rob Mott Image

With three laps to go it was, Toparis, Spriggs, Liminton, Broc Pearson (Yamaha YZF-R6), and Bayliss, and it looked like it would stay that way until Liminton pulled off the move of the race to pip Spriggs on the line by a miniscule 0.04 seconds to secure second.

Tom Toparis – P1

“It’s been an awesome weekend; pole and three wins is exactly what we wanted to do for this round. Leading into Wakefield Park we’ve got a 16 point advantage now so pretty happy with that.”

ASBK Round Phillip Island SS Saturday Rob Mott Tom Toparis Parc — Tom Toparis – Image Rob Mott

South Australia’s Nic Liminton was thrilled to finish second in the round standings.

Nic Liminton – P2

“It’s been such a good start getting second overall on the new Yamaha R6” he said. “That last race was hard though, Callum was in a solid second position but on the last lap I just managed to get in his slipstream on the line and get second overall.”

ASBK TBG WSBKPI PI Nic Liminton TBG — Nic Liminton – TBG Image

Oli Bayliss – P3

“I was hoping at the start of the weekend that I could get a top three and that’s exactly what I did in the last race” said Bayliss. “We struggled a bit off the start and managed to lose Nic and Cal but other than that had a really good race.”