2024

One Raceway delivers top class action in Supersport, Supersport 300 and R3 Cup

By MA Media 0

Round six of the 2024 m-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK) at One Raceway produced myriad blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments across all the classes.

While Broc Pearson was the man of the moment in Pirelli Superbike, let’s take a closer look at what transpired in Michelin Supersport, Race and Road Supersport 300 and the ShopYamaha R3 Cup.

Jack Mahaffy was the overall Supersport winner, and banked his first class win

Michelin Supersport
Stop and Seal Yamaha rider Jack Mahaffy seized the moment at One Raceway, with his 1-2 scorecard easily securing the overall spoils ahead of Jonathan Nahlous (Yamaha, 2-4) and Hayden Nelson (Kawasaki, 3-3).

Mahaffy’s victory in race one was his first in Michelin Supersport, and he added some cream on his breakout performance with the inaugural lap record (1:00.859) on the final circuit.

Mahaffy’s teammate and polesitter Archie McDonald was seemingly on track to claim victory in the opener before he went down just before the halfway mark after losing the front at turn seven.

Mahaffy then filled the void, while Nahlous finished a fighting second after circulating in sixth early on. Nelson was third from Olly Simpson (Yamaha), Tom Bramich (Yamaha) and Sean Condon (Yamaha).

McDonald would not repeat the same crashing faux pas twice, and in race two he passed long-time leader Mahaffy on lap 11 and won his third race of the year – the Albury ace also setting a new lap record of 1:00.588.

Mahaffy was second, with Nelson bringing up a brace of third positions.

In terms of the championship, race two was significant with Nahlous’ closest challenger Simpson crashing out of third position.

As a result, Nahlous now leads by 40pts (238 to 198) heading into the final round at The Bend from November 8-10. If the teenager keeps his powder dry in South Australia, he will be crowned the Aussie champion.

Simpson is now seriously feeling the heat in the battle for second from Bramich (195), Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha, 193) and McDonald (190). Mahaffy (152pts) has catapulted into sixth position.

Meanwhile, Condon was fifth in race two after a tight stoush with Farnsworth and Glenn Nelson (Yamaha), while Bramich was eighth.

The Michelin Supersport riders also continued their battle for the honours in the FIM Oceania Circuit Racing Championship at One Raceway, which Hayden Nelson leads on 65pts from Mahaffy, Nahlous and Bramich all on 62.

Michelin Supersport round podium (L to R): Nahlous, Mahaffy and Nelson

Race and Road Supersport 300
The Race and Road Supersport round saw three different winners – Kawasaki duo Josh Newman and Casey Middleton, and Yamaha pilot Will Nassif – but it was Middleton who was the overall winner thanks to a trio of podium visits that no other rider could match.

The first and third races followed the normal pattern of going to the wire, but Middleton’s winning margin in race two was a comparative walk in the park as he crossed the finish line with over two seconds to spare – light years in Supersport 300 terms.

Other riders to finish on the podium at One Raceway were Jordan Simpson (Yamaha), Calvin Moylan (Yamaha) and polesitter Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha).

Knezovic’s championship aspirations received a huge dent in race one when he crashed, although he did remount and snare some points in 14th position. Kiwi hard-charger Jesse Stroud fared even worse, crashing out of the opening two races.

Newman extended his lead to 32pts (334 to 302) over Knezovic, while Harrison Watts (Kawasaki, 297) remains in third.

Middleton was the model of consistency in Race and Road Supersport 300 to claim the round win

ShopYamaha R3 Cup
A trio of trifectas in round two of the ShopYamaha R3 Cup! Will Nassif, Jordan Simpson and Valentino Knezovic filled positions 1-3 in the three races, which typically all went down to the wire with wafer-thin margins deciding the outcomes.

Polesitter Jesse Stroud was the only other rider who could circulate with the same pace as the leaders, but after finishing fourth in race one, the New Zealander didn’t start the balance of the program as his weekend turned sour.

William Hunt, Hudson Air and John Pelgrave also scored top-five R3 Cup finishes.

Knezovic (124pts) leads with one round remaining over Nassif (111) and Simpson (111) deadlocked in equal second.