Another huge weekend for the riders in Australia’s best motorsport development series as the Australian Superbike Championship made its way to Goulburn, NSW to compete at Wakefield Park Raceway. Here’s what happened…!

Friday

Series coach Garry McCoy has been slowly but surely turning coal into diamonds as he works on all aspects of the rider’s skillsets in the development series that is the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup.

In the first session, it was Hudson Thompson up by an unusually high half a second over Marcus Hamod and then an equally unusual .909 back to third-placed Harrison Watts.

While the early sessions aren’t necessarily a true form guide, the early pace from Thompson sounded a warning to the field.

Into session two, it was Thompson again atop the standings, but second place Marcus Hamod found some more pace as he settled into the Wakefield layout. Alexander Codey was third, just .244 from the leader.

With session three starting late in the day when the temperatures had dropped, it was still Hudson Thompson out front, but by an ever-diminishing margin to Marcus Hamod, who was now just .101 behind. There was a more substantial gap of .327 back to third-placed Harrison Watts, and it was clear that the field was slowly coming to grips with the track.

For the day it was Hudson Thompson, Marcus Hamod and Alexander Codey.

Saturday

In qualifying one, Hudson Thompson’s seemingly unbeatable form took a hit when Harrison Watts put his R15 a scant .083 ahead. Marcus Hamod was just .158 behind the leader and .076 behind Thompson. It all added up to a must-watch race one.

..and it was. Five riders: Hudson Thompson, Harrison Watts, Marcus Hamod, Cameron Rende and Levi Russo all set sail for the finish line and were not taking passengers. This group were able to stretch their group lead while also fighting non-stop for the lead of the race. Trackside commentators Mark Bracks and Lachlan Mansell could barely keep up as the riders slipstreamed, dived in under brakes and otherwise diced for the lead. It was good, clean racing and it was riveting.

While the leading five were duking it out, some five or so seconds back another pack of six riders were similarly locked in combat. This group: Hunter Corney, Alexander Codey, Teerin Fleming, Sam Drane, Ryan Larkin and Bodie Paige also traded the lead of their group and as a result, were not able to get after the leading five.

As the laps ticked over, the leading quintet started to prepare themselves for the all-important track position for the final lap- and corner. As they rolled through the last corner, Harrison Watts was able to position himself perfectly and take the win from Thompson, Rende, Hamod, and Russo.

 

Sunday

It was an unusually subdued and cautious bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup field that made its way to the start line for their first race of the Sunday. A mist/light rain had descended upon the Wakefield circuit and as the riders gridded up on slick tyres the field, families, fans and officials all looked skyward for answers.

Mercifully the track was warm enough to dry the rain before it had a chance to cause carnage. From the get-go, most of the riders rode with care, maturity and the sort of mindfulness that Garry McCoy has been teaching all season.

The race itself saw Hudson Thompson and Harrison Watts aggressively break away from the rest of the riders who – for a change- were not hunting in packs but were rather in single file with oddly sensible gaps between them.

As the laps wound down, Hudson Thompson seemed to have all he needed in terms of pace to take the win. Watts was close and of course, this being the OJC, being close means you’re still well in the hunt.

The riders chasing Thompson and Watts started to form into a chase group but they did not have enough laps remaining to mount a serious challenge. The stage was set: Thompson v Watts for the win.

Then Hudson Thompson made a mistake he will probably never make again, saluting for the win while actually greeting the one-lap-to-go board. Realising his mistake, he put his head down again to chase after Harrison Watts.

Thompson was able to immediately get on terms with Watts, but at the line, the commentators couldn’t call the win and this time neither rider celebrated. Official timing providers Computime gave the win to Watts by a tiny 2/1000th of a second, with Thompson second and a gap back to Marcus Hamod in third.

It would not end there. After the race, Thompson and Watts were penalised one place each for – in the words of the Clerk of the Course – “…breaching the safety of other competitors”. This was a serious situation and as young riders in a development series, this was a necessary penalty for weaving over the white line while racing down the start-finish straight.

This elevated third-placed rider Levi Russo to the race win with Watts and Thompson in second and third respectively.

The final race started out in typical manner, but it was Hamod and Rende who joined Thompson at the front as part of a group of six: Thompson, Hamod, Watts, Rende, Russo and Drane.

Thompson managed to get out to a .4 second lead and was hoping to remove the drafting option for those following.

At the halfway point, just four riders remained in contention for the podium and the win: Thompson, Hamod, Watts and Rende. The lead group were mindful of each other as they traded spots, with all four taking a turn at the front.

The final lap beckoned and once again it was 14 (Watts) and 41 (Thompson) at the front as they went into the last corner. And there, a lot happened; Rende made a lunge up the inside for the lead from third, Thompson took the lead from Watts, Watts went back to fourth and Hamod was just happy to be in the hunt in second.

..and there they would finish. Hunter Thompson, Marcus Hamod, Harrison Watts and Cameron Rende in fourth.

Round results

Pos No Name Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Total
1 41 Hudson THOMPSON 20 18 25 63
2 14 Harrison WATTS 25 20 18 63
3 72 Levi RUSSO 16 25 16 57
4 13 Marcus HAMOD 17 17 20 54
5 80 Cameron RENDE 18 16 17 51
6 7 Sam DRANE 12 15 15 42
7 40 Hunter CORNEY 15 13 14 42
8 37 Alexander CODEY 14 14 11 39
9 34 Teerin FLEMING 13 11 13 37
10 68 Ryan LARKIN 11 12 12 35

2022 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK)

Round 1 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC 25 – 27 February
Round 2 Queensland Raceway, Ipswich QLD 18 – 20 March
Round 3 Wakefield Park Raceway, Goulburn NSW 22 – 24 April
Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT 17 – 19 June
* With Supercars – SBK Only
Round 5 Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD 5 – 7 August
Round 6 Symmons Plains Raceway – Launceston TAS 20 – 23 October
CANCELLED
Round 7 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Cowes VIC  – 18-20 November
Round 8 The Bend Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend , SA 2 – 4 December
ASBK Night of Champions Dinner – The Bend 4 December