2017

Reid Battye declared ‘Under 300’s’ Champion in Classic Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 Battles

Races Two & Three of the hotly contested Hi-Tec Batteries Australian Supersport 300 Class at Round 6 of the 2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) at Sydney Motorsport Park, again saw Zac Levy and Jack Mahaffy winning races outright. Reid Battye was declared ‘Under 300’s’ champion after securing enough points to win his respective championship.

Race Two
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 and it was Billy Van Eerde (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) to take the lead but it wasn’t long until Tommy Edwards (Alpinestars, Yamaha YZF-R3) overtook Van Eerde up the inside.

The opening laps were extremely chaotic, with the leading pack of Van Eerde, Edwards, Jack Mahaffy (JDS Moto, Yamaha YZF- R3), Max Croker (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) and Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing, Kawasaki EX 300) constantly trading places. YMF straight was the ideal overtaking spot with the 300’s slipstreaming each other into Turn One on every lap. Bayliss collided with another rider putting him back as far as seventh early in the race.

In the final stages of the race, it was truly anyone’s game and the KTM’s in particular were looking strong in the hands of Van Eerde and Croker. Mahaffy and Edwards managed to get their YZF-R3’s amongst the KTM’s and led for sections of the trace. Behind this group was Zac Levy (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3), who was biding him time with an opportunity to strike.

Very late in the race, Battye ran wide and dropped down the field and Mahaffy had a damaged fairing, but was still running at the front.

Heading into the final corner and YMF straight, Edwards, Van Eerde, Mahaffy and Levy had a drag to the checkered flag. Quite incredibly, it would be Levy to win the drag race to win overall and for the ‘Over 300’s’ Class. Yanni Shaw (BCperformance Junior Team, Kawasaki EX 300) would be the highest placed ‘Under 300’s’ runner after Battye’s incident near the front.

The front running positions were dominated by ‘Over 300’s runners in the top five. Fastest lap of the race went to Hunter Ford (Ford Brothers Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3), which is also a new 300’s race record for SMSP.

Zac Levy: “That definitely wasn’t what I expected after yesterday! I knew if I stood out of trouble I could get a nice slipstream to the finish line. I stuck with the leading group into the final corner and it worked out for nicely!

‘Over 300’
Finishing on top of the podium in the end was top ‘Over’ 300 rider Levy , finishing in front of his fellow riders Van Eerde and Edwards.

‘Up To 300’
Shaw was the best for the ‘Up To’ category, finishing ahead of his second place rival Bayliss and Battye following in third, in category.

Race Two Provisional Results
1 Zac LEVY (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
2 Billy VAN EERDE (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) OVER
3 Tommy EDWARDS (Alpinestars, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
4 Broc PEARSON (YRD, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
5 Jack MAHAFFY (JDS Moto, Yamaha YZF- R3) OVER
6 Yanni SHAW (BCperformance Junior Team, Kawasaki EX 300) UP TO
7 Hunter FORD (Ford Brothers Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
8 Oliver BAYLISS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki EX 300) UNDER
9 Max CROKER (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) OVER
10 Tom BRAMICH (Ron Angel Classic Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER

Race Three
The Hi-Tec Batteries Australian Supersport 300 Championship Race Three was one of the absolute highlights of the day. 37 bikes lined up on the start grid for the nine-lap race of attrition.

This time, it would be Van Eerde who would get the hole shot into turn one. After a few exciting opening laps, a battle began to escalate between nine riders at the front.

Riders Van Eerde, Mahaffy, Edwards, Pearson, Battye, Levy, Croker and Bayliss all battling hard to challenge for wins. Bayliss suffered an early retirement with a mechanical issue.

A monumental battle ensued, allowing the riders to duke it out to the finish. Of the leading group, Mahaffy crossed the line to become the overall winner.

As a result of his ‘overall’ fifth place Battye had become the 2017 ‘Under 300’s’ Champion. It’s been a very impressive and consistent season from the young star and he was clearly ecstatic to take the championship on the penultimate round.

Reid Battye: “Consistency was the key to winning this year’s championship with very little mistakes made all year long. To get the race wins and podiums was extremely important. I’m hoping to make my debut in the Motul Supersport class at Phillip Island and I have plans to graduate to the class next year.”

Team Manager Kelvin Reilly: “Having Reid on board with our junior team has been fantastic, he is definitely a talent to look out for in the future and I can confirm that he will hopefully be riding a 600 with our team next year.”

The ‘Over 300’s is a much closer affair with the championship fight going to the final round with only 10 points separating the top four.

Up To 300
Battye again proved to be a force on the Kawasaki Ninja as he blitzed the field. He climbed to the top of the combined ‘Over’ 300 race. Shaw took second place in class. In third was Drew Sells (Race Centre, Kawasaki Ninja EX 300), benefitting from Bayliss’ retirement.

Over 300
Mahaffy was the rider of the moment and finished first in class ahead of ‘Over 300’ counterpart Van Eerde. Edwards was third in class rounding out the ‘Over 300’ podium for Race Three of the Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 category.

Race Three Provisional Results
1 Jack MAHAFFY (JDS Moto, Yamaha YZF- R3) OVER
2 Billy VAN EERDE (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) OVER
3 Tommy EDWARDS (Alpinestars, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
4 Broc PEARSON (YRD, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
5 Reid BATTYE (Kawasaki BCperformance Junior Team, Kawasaki
6 Zac LEVY (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
7 Max CROKER (KTM Australia, KTM RC 390) OVER
8 Hunter FORD (Ford Brothers Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
9 Tom BRAMICH (Ron Angel Classic Racing, Yamaha YZF-R3) OVER
10 Yanni SHAW (BCperformance Junior Team, Kawasaki EX 300) UP TO

The concluding round of the Hi-Tec Batteries Supersport 300 Championship will take place at Round 7 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit (6-8 October).

To access the digital program, simply click on the photo below. If you wish to download the program to take it on the go, sign up and create an ISSUU account.

2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul Pirelli Calendar:

Round 7 Spokes.com.au presents Phillip Island Circuit, VIC 6-8 October

Photos Courtesy of Andrew Gosling TBG Photography
Photo One: 300’s Battle at the front
Photo Two: Brandon Demmery scraps with Reid Battye
Photo Three: Billy Van Eerde
Photo Four: Reid Battye ‘Under 300’s’ Champion