Billy Van Eerde Achieves Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 ‘Over’ Championship
Races Two & Three of the hotly contested Hi-Tec Batteries Australian Supersport 300 Class at the Spokes.com.au presents Round 7 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK). Taking the championship for the ‘Over’ class was Billy Van Eerde (KTM Australia, RC 390).
Race Two of the Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300’s saw a near capacity grid leave the start line, the field quickly funneling away in the first few corners into familiar single file race format.
The opening laps were marred with incidents on a damp track, including Tayla Relph (Yamaha YZF-R3) going down hard on the exit of Turn One in the gravel track, bring out the red flag. Her YZF R3 worse for wear. The incident forced a race restart that was reduced to six laps.
After aggressive overtaking maneuvers by Tommy Edwards (Alpinestars Yamaha YZF-R3) and Max Croker (KTM Australia, RC 390) in the opening laps, the race had a new leader in Edwards who started to pull a gap in front of Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing, Kawasaki EX 300).
The large field began to fragment into groups with the lead pack consisting of top three contenders Edwards, Bayliss and Jack Mahaffy (JDS Moto Yamaha YZF-R3).
Seth Crump began to work his way through the field to fourth position with Locky Taylor (LTR Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) in pursuit. The two locked in a battle for the duration of the race swapping positions through out.
Bayliss crashed out on lap 5 on turn 11, he was up and ok managing to remount. that left Edwards and Mahaffy to battle for first place. Zac Levy (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3) was a man possessed on the final lap, just about catching up to Edwards.
Quotes from the Riders
Shelby Turner – “So happy to be standing here with my first win and first podium, I just tried to ride my race and never thought that I’d be up here! I also managed to smash my lap time by a full four seconds! I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry!”
Tom Edwards – “It was tricky conditions out there with the damp track. I really like the track here at AT Phillip Island. The Pirelli wets really helped me out with consistency on track. It was a really good race that s put me back in the running for the championship again. Bring on race three!
‘Over 300’
Finishing on top of the podium in the end was top ‘Over’ 300 rider Edwards , finishing in front of his fellow riders Mahaffy and Levy.
‘Up To 300’
Turner was the best for the ‘Up To’ category, finishing ahead of his second place rival Drew Sells (Race Centre, Kawasaki EX300) and Zac Johnson (Rebuilder, Kawasaki EX300) following in third in category.
Race Two Top 10 Provisional Results
1. Tommy EDWARDS (Alpinestars, Yamaha YZF- R3)
2. Jack MAHAFFY (JDS Moto Yamaha YZF-R3)
3. Zac LEVY (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3)
4. Locky TAYLOR (LTR Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3)
5. Seth CRUMP ( Jason Crump KTM RC 390)
6. Shelby TURNER (Pro Cycle Dyno, Kawasaki EX 300)
7. Troy RYAN (Taree Motorcycles, Yamaha YZF-R3)
8. Ty LYNCH (Adelaide Motorcycle Recovery, Yamaha YZF-R3)
9. Jonah SITA (Flashpoint Motosport, Yamaha YZF-R3)
10. Dan THOMAS (Inglis Plumbing, Yamaha YZF-R3)
Race Three
The Hi-Tec Batteries Australian Supersport 300 Championship Race Three was another thrilling encounter in the championship. Up to 41 bikes lined up on the start grid for the eight-lap race of attrition.
A monumental battle ensued at the front of the pack between Van Eerde, Mahaffy, Tom Bramich (Ron Angel Classic Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3), Croker, Edwards, Hunter Ford (Ford Brothers Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) and Bayliss that would last the duration of the trace. Van Eerde took the overall win on his ‘Over’ KTM machine.
Up To 300
Bayliss again proved to be a force on the Kawasaki. He climbed to the top of the combined ‘Over’ 300 race. Reid Battye (BCperformance Junior Team Kawasaki EX 300) took second place in class. In third was Yanni Shaw (BCperformance Junior Team Kawasaki EX 300), also a Kawasaki rider.
Over 30
Van Eerde was the rider of the moment and finished first in class ahead of ‘Over 300’ counterpart Mahaffy. Bramich was third in class rounding out the ‘Over 300’ podium for Race Three of the Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 category.
Race Three Provisional Top 10 Results
1.Billy VAN EERDE (KTM Aust. KTM RC 390)
2. Jack MAHAFFY (JDS Moto Yamaha YZF-R3)
3.Tom BRAMICH (Ron Angel Classic Racing Yamaha YZF-R3)
4. Max CROKER (KTM Aust. KTM RC 390)
5. Tommy EDWARDS (Alpinestars Yamaha YZF-R3)
6. Hunter FORD (Ford Brothers Racing / Yamaha YZF-R3)
7. Oliver BAYLISS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki EX 300)
8. Zac LEVY (QLD) / Puma RV’s Yamaha YZF-R3)
9. Reid BATTYE (BCperformance Junior Team Kawasaki EX 300)
10. Locky TAYLOR (LTR Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3)
2017 Hi- Tec Batteries Austraian Supersport 300 Championship – Up To Provisional Top 10 Results
Pos Name Machine Total
1 Reid BATTYE (NSW) Kawasaki 409
2 Yanni SHAW (NSW) Kawasaki 341
3 Drew SELLS (VIC) Kawasaki 330
4 Oliver BAYLISS (QLD) Kawasaki 320
5 Laura BROWN (NSW) Kawasaki 263
6 Bronson PICKETT (WA) Kawasaki 257.5
7 Gregory FARRELL (NSW) Kawasaki 212
8 Scott NICHOLSON (VIC) Kawasaki 211
9 Shelby TURNER (QLD) Kawasaki 198
10 Keegan PICKERING (NSW) Kawasaki 134
2017 Hi- Tec Batteries Austraian Supersport 300 Championship – Over Provisional Top 10 Results
Pos Name Machine Total
1 Billy VAN EERDE (NSW) KTM 327
2 Tommy EDWARDS (NSW) Yamaha 319
3 Jack MAHAFFY (VIC) Yamaha 302
4 Tom BRAMICH (VIC) Yamaha 298.5
5 Zac LEVY (QLD) Yamaha 296
6 Brandon DEMMERY (NSW) Yamaha 264
7 Max CROKER (NSW) KTM 255.5
8 Hunter FORD (NSW) Yamaha 236.5
9 Ben BRAMICH (VIC) Yamaha 194.5
10 Corey BRIFFA (NSW) Yamaha 163.5
Quotes from the Riders
Yanni Shaw:
“That last race was crazy! I don’t really know what happed but I lost a bit of confidence in the front end which held me back a bit. It was an awesome race out there as usual, slicing and dicing with the guys!
Billy Van Eerde:
“This was a really great round and I am so happy to come away with the win. It was great racing from all the guys. I’d like to thank all my sponsors and family in getting me here to this point. I am really looking forward to what’s in store for 2018 now.”
‘Under 300’ Podium
‘Over 300’ Podium
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Photo Credit: Andrew Gosling I tbgsport
Picture 1: Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 start
Picture 2 and 3: ‘Under’ and ‘Over’ Podiums
