Supports Return To Action As Riders Prepare For Pivotal Round Of Racing
Michelin Supersport
The 2023 Michelin Supersport Championship is the most competitive it has been for some years with a raft of talented riders adding to the depth of the class, but the revelation this year has been teenager, Cameron Dunker.
A rookie in the class, the lad from Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, won the Supersport 300 and Yamaha Finance R3 Cup last year in dominant fashion and has shown in the preceding rounds this year that he has the talent and race craft to transfer that success to the middleweight class. He proved his worth at the second round at Sydney Motorsport Park. In the second race which was run in very sketchy conditions, Dunker grabbed the lead at half distance after sustained pressure on Ollie Simpson forced him into an error to allow Dunker through. Cameron won the race from Simpson to grab his first win. In doing so he created history by becoming the youngest winner of an Australian Supersport Championship race.
Cameron Dunker (right), has been a revelation in the Michelin Supersport class in 2023
At the last round for Michelin Supersport in April at Queensland Raceway, he won the opening race in an absolute barnstormer from Ollie Simpson by 0.011 of a second after successfully pulling off a very brave move to go around the outside in the final turn that saw him hit the grass on the drag to the finish line. South Australian Ty Lynch was third to maintain the title lead. Simpson turned the tables on Dunker in race two by just two-tenths of a second, from the ever-improving Tom Bramich in third while Lynch’s fifth place behind Nicholson saw the championship lead swing to Simpson, from Lynch now three points adrift. Dunker’s consistent results have moved him into third place overall to be just 10 points off the lead.
Heading into the meeting some had competed in a recent round of the local titles with Dunker winning the round and going within a couple of tenths of a second of claiming a new lap record. Unfortunately for Michelin Supersport race winner Sean Condon, he crashed at the same meeting and broke his tibia and fibula, so will be out for the remainder of the season.
The field is packed full of talent, with riders such as Jack Passfield, Jake Farnsworth, Nicholson, Bramich, defending champion John Lytras, Dallas Skeer and another class rookie, Hayden Nelson that will ensure that the Supersport class battles will continue to entertain. What is for sure – is Michelin Supersport will be close racing and action-packed at Morgan Park so it will be fascinating to see who comes out as the winner of round five.
Supersport 300
At the halfway point of the Supersport 300 championship season, Brandon Demmery leads the way by 25 points over Brodie Gawith, with Marcus Hamod third, but there is any number of other riders that are aiming to encroach on their title aspirations at Morgan Park this weekend.
Demmery may have a healthy buffer of points but there is only 29 points separating second to eighth place and as we know, the possibilities are limitless as to how a race will unfold. Out of the nine races this year, five riders have shared the wins; Demmery has won three, Cameron Swain and Marcus Hamod two each, with Brodie Gawith and Jai Russo rounding out the quintet and as such occupy the top five spots in the points. Hamod and Gawith broke through for their maiden wins in the class at the last round in Ipswich with Hamod nailing a double to claim his first overall round victory to jump well up in the points to sit third from Swain and Russo, 12 points separating the trio.
Consistency has been the key for Brandon Demmery as he leads the way in Supersport 300
In sixth place is Casey Middleton, the leading Kawasaki rider in the field with his best finish a third place in the opening race at Phillip Island. In the previous round at Queensland Raceway, he finished in the leading group of eight riders with less than a second covering them in two of the three races and missed out on another podium by a tenth of a second! Filling out the Top Ten are Henry Snell, Cooper Rowntree and Josh Newman with every one of those riders having their own story to tell of how close they have come to being on the podium.
In the production classes that taste of victory can be so tantalising close but just out of reach in that final mad blast to the chequered flag that often sees the top three covered by a few hundredths of a second. The absence of Wakefield Park from this year’s calendar means that Morgan Park is the tightest track for the year. Success will not be focused on outright speed, but racecraft, with the strategy all about corner speed and momentum to take advantage of the nature of the Southern Downs circuit. All riders will have to be fully switched on as one lapse in thought or timing will see a quick demotion in positions. If the race craft is well thought out during the race and executed as planned in the final few hundred metres, fortunes can change in milliseconds.
In reality, as usual, it will be a mad dash of slipstreaming and guile, as they bounce off each other for the duration of every race!
Good luck predicting a winner in Supersport 300!
Yamaha Finance R3 Cup
The Yamaha Finance R3 Cup has completed two rounds of their battle with three remaining. As with the 300s, Brandon Demmery is the leader of the series but does not have the same comfortable buffer as he is just two points ahead of Cameron Swain with another of this year’s revelation, Brodie Gawith in third, with 24 points covering the top five riders.
Demmery has only missed out on a podium finish twice in the two classes, so far this year and no doubt will be keen to increase that statistic. Swain is another that has been a consistent front-runner, but he is extremely hard on himself when it comes to results. After winning the Oceania Junior Cup in 2021 he has been on an upward trajectory. Morgan Park is his home track so knows his way around there and is sure to be aiming to increase his victory tally this weekend.
The opening race of the R3 Cup at Queensland Raceway witnessed another slice of history as Marcus Hamod claimed his very first win in the senior ranks in the first race of the weekend. It was the breakthrough he had been searching for as his level of confidence and faith in himself has lifted dramatically. Hamod scored a further two wins and a second place in the Supersport 300 during the course of the weekend to take his first overall round win as well. With his recent run and confidence, it is expected Hamod will be right in the leading bunch all weekend.
Marcus Hamod claimed breakthrough victories in both Supersport 300 and Yamaha Finance R3 Cup at Queensland Raceway
Another one to break through for a well-deserved first victory of 2023 was Sam Pezzetta from South Australia. Sam has had a confronting year recovering from an injury that he suffered before the season commenced. Although he was still in some discomfort in Ipswich, the teenager blocked it all out to win an amazing second R3 Cup race with the top three separated by 0.058 of a second. It’s almost impossible to blink that fast! The leading eight riders were covered by less than a second, which is situation normal in the smaller classes. Pezzetta should be back to full fitness this weekend and no doubt will be another that will rise to the occasion now he has tasted victory multiple times in the class.
It is a common occurrence in these classes that a rider may be leading coming onto the straight but by the finish line could be shuffled back down the order to be within a few metres of the leading bike but be lucky to remain in the top ten such is the intensity of the competition. Make a mistake in the closing stages of the last lap by running slightly wide, or an error under brakes, you will pay the price, and your race is run. Precision is the key, and these kids are rapid learners. The added attraction for spectators is that these battles happen throughout the field and to witness the level of racecraft displayed by such young pupils of the trade from the fence is extremely impressive.
The nature of Morgan Park will ensure that the intensity will increase as the tightness of the track will allow those with the corner speed to shine as the track is basically one corner after another as slipstreaming is not as pronounced as other layouts like Phillip Island.
Preview written by Mark Bracks, imagery by Action Sports Photography Australia.
WATCH ASBK THIS WEEKEND
See our comprehensive guide on how to catch all the on-track action from the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul:
For more information on the 2023 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul season, stay tuned to the ASBK website and social pages:
Official Calendar for the 2023 mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul (ASBK)
