Nerlich Consistency Leads to Sporties Club Challenge Win
In the three Sporties Club Challenge Race here at Morgan Park Raceway as part of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK), overall winner Peter Nerlich (Kawasaki Ninja 300), stood on all three steps of the podium. His efforts of first, second and third were enough to hand him the overall victory.
After not practicing on Friday Matthew Bushell (Honda CBR 300) adapted quickly to the Morgan Park Circuit on his Honda, finishing all three races on the podium to take second overall.
Rounding out the podium was Anthony Carrol (tyga-performance.com, Honda CBR 300) in tough windy conditions throughout the three races.
Race Two
Nerlich started from second on the grid and after taking second in race one yesterday, he turned the tables to take the win in race two.
Throughout the race Nerlich was sitting in second positon about five seconds behind race one winner Luke Power (Graeme Williams Eng, Kawasaki Ninja 300), but a fall on the final lap saw Nerlich pass Power and take the win.
Bushell pushed his way around the Morgan Park Circuit and put his Honda into second position, a great ride again to back up his third place in race one on Saturday.
Anthony Carrol (tyga-performance.com, Honda CBR 300) found the final spot on the podium and really seemed to enjoy the windy conditions facing the field.
Just missing the podium in race two was Mark Organ (Rose City Caravan Park, Kawasaki Ninja 300) who took out fourth position.
Rounding out the top five was Leigh Holmes (Shark Leathers, Honda CBR 160) after he pushed through the windy conditions.
ASBK Sporties Club Challenge Race Two Provisional Results
1. Peter NERLICH (Kawasaki Ninja 300) 11:47.794
2. Matthew BUSHELL (Honda CBR 300) 11:54.146
3. Anthony CARROLL (tyga-performance.com, Honda CBR 300) 12:02.715
4. Mark ORGAN (Rose City Caravan Park, Kawasaki Ninja 300) 12:07.827
5. Leigh HOLMES (Shark Leathers, Honda CBR 160) 12:10.826
6. Liam VAN BOOMA (HuaHua Racing, Honda CBR 300) 12:10.929
7. Sarah FAIRBROTHER (Honda CBR 300) 12:19.659
8. John CARPENTER (Honda CBR 300) 12:45.328
9. Casimir BOYER (Bike Therapy, Honda CBR 300) 12:56.845
10. Hunter DIPLCOCK (Diplock Racing, Yamaha R3 321) 12:56.853
Race Three
Power was back to his best in race three after his unfortunate fall late in race two, taking the race three victory by over seven seconds.
After two third place finishes Bushell made an improvement in race three, grabbing second position to end the weekend on a high.
Nerlich took third in the final race of the weekend, meaning he was on every step of the podium throughout the round with a first, second and a third in the three races.
Missing the podium was Carrol who had a consistent race pace but just couldn’t catch Nerlich on this occasion.
Rounding out the top five for the second time today was Holmes, who leaves Morgan Park with a pair of fifths on Sunday.
ASBK Sporties Club Challenge Race Three Provisional Results
1. Luke POWER (Graeme Williams Eng, Kawasaki Ninja 300) 11:48.928
2. Matthew BUSHELL (Honda CBR 300) 11:56.437
3. Peter NERLICH (Kawasaki Ninja 300)
4. Anthony CARROLL (tyga-performance.com, Honda CBR 300) 12:04.741
5. Leigh HOLMES (Shark Leathers, Honda CBR 160) 12:06.191
6. Mark ORGAN (Rose City Caravan Park, Kawasaki Ninja 300) 12:14.010
7. Liam VAN BOOMA (HuaHua Racing, Honda CBR 300) 12:14.300
8. Sarah FAIRBROTHER (Honda CBR 300) 12:15.076
9. Hunter DIPLCOCK (Diplock Racing, Yamaha R3 321) 12:48.605
10. John CARPENTER (Honda CBR 300) 12:48.858
The next time you will see ASBK in action will be at Winton, Victoria on September 7-9.
ASBK is pleased to announce the arrival of the digitalised Official ASBK Round 5 Program.
The program can be found on the website ASBK.COM.AU.
Public access to the digital ASBK Program will feature many interesting and informative sections including; rider entry lists, race schedules, previous round wrap ups, championship points standings, track information, biographies, getting started in racing information, partnership information, race pictures and so much more.
2018 ASBK Calendar
Round 6- Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla, VIC September 7 – 9
Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14
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Photos courtesy of Andrew Gosling tbg sport
