Wilson and Boujos with surprise Saturday wins
Racetrix rider Daniel Wilson and local rider Tim Boujos (JB Racing) claimed surprise wins on Saturday in the Honda Moto 3 / 125GP and Production
Classes at round three of the 2015 Yamaha Motor Finance ASBK presented by Motul Pirelli.
Both riders put in solid performances to win the opening races of their class at the third round of the championship held at Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia.
Honda Moto 3 / 125GP
It was experienced campaigner Brian Houghton (K1 Racing) who took the honours in the opening class qualifying session, putting 17 laps in throughout and nabbing the fastest time (1:02.817).
Locky Taylor (TAS Earthmoving WA) was not far behind as the only other rider to beat the 1:03.00-mark in the session, while Matt Barton (ETS Racefuels) clocked the third fastest time despite only completing nine laps.
Ted Collins (Mangum Welders), Scott Pettit (Fastline GP Racing) and Tom Bramich (Ron Angel Classic Racing) all had good sessions to finish next in the pecking order.
That time was enough to give Houghton second spot on the grid, thanks to a flying lap from Barton in qualifying session two.
Barton came out halfway through the session, and recorded a 1:02.635 on lap five on nine to secure pole for the opening race.
Taylor could not beat his opening session time but still managed third fastest overall, with Collins and Pettit rounding out the top five.
RACE 1
In the opening race for the round, Barton got off to a great start – capitalising on pole to move into an early race lead.
Behind him Collins and Houghton had settled into third and fourth, but the pair were each passed by local rider Wilson who looked on a mission in the wet conditions, after a downpour delayed the start of the race.
A mishap from Barton saw him drift back into fourth on the third lap, while Collins came unstuck on lap four and fell back through the field.
At the halfway mark of the race, Wilson held a 1.669 second lead from Houghton, with Barton a further four seconds back in third.
Bramich was back in fourth but some 15 seconds behind Barton.
A crash on turn five saw the race red flagged, and the second part of the race was a scheduled five-lap affair.
The second half of the race was somewhat anti-climactic as Wilson rode to a comprehensive win, Houghton was three seconds behind in second, and Barton was a further 15 seconds back in third.
Benjamin Leonard (Salters Engineering) and Taylor rounded out the top five.
Production
In the opening qualifying session of the day, New South Welshman Justin Hall (North Coast RR) led the charges by posting the fastest time of 1:09.302.
Morgan Park class winner Michelle Marais (SP Racing) chimed in with the second fastest lap of the session, while Race Centre’s Drew Sells rounded out the top three with a 1:09.646.
Most riders managed to complete over 14 laps in the session after the delayed start.
In the second session it was Sells recording the fastest time of 1:09.043 from Boujos and Hall – and that is how the trio qualified overall to line up on the front row of the grid for the opening race.
Marais ened up claiming the fourth fastest time overall, while Hayden Spinks (Finnmoto) rounded out the top five.
RACE 1
The opening Production race saw Boujos who got the best start off the line, race into the lead from Sells, Hall and Spinks.
Hall soon moved into second position but with less than half a second separating the top four after lap one, it was clear that this was going to be a tight contest.
Marais soon made her way into the top three, while at the front several riders took their turn to hold the race lead.
At the halfway mark it was Hall from Boujos, Marais and Sells with a 1.266 gap separating the front four riders, while Spinks slightly drifted off the pace.
By the end of lap eight that gap between the top four was lass than half a second, and it was still impossible to pick a winner.
It wasn’t until the bikes got over the finish line that there were any definitive answers from this race, and when that happened it was Boujos who claimed the win.
Hall was edged out by .193 of a second for second place, with Sells claiming third a further .159 of a second behind.
Unluckily for Marais she had to settle for fourth place – finishing .001 of a second behind Sells while Spinks finished the race in fifth.
Club 600cc
The 15-minute qualifying session for the class was a tight affair, with Ray Tschorn (Lloyd Chapman M-cycles) clocking the fastest time of 1:00.667.
Second for the session was Tommy King just .215 of a second behind, while Scot McCue (BPR Racing) finished in third with a 1:01.961.
Rob Connaughton (1:02.020) and Sam Mitchell (1:02.213) rounded out the top-five.
In the opening race for the class it was McCue who took top honours, winning the race 14-seconds ahead of Aaron Linham.
Tschorn rounded out the podium.
Club 1000cc
Qualifying for the 1000cc class was a one session affair, with 15 minutes afforded to riders to post the quickest lap times possible.
Five locals filled the top-five spots with Tim Debryun clocking a 59.693 to grab front spot on the grid for the opening race.
Johan Mutton (Badger Racing) also managed to post a lap time under one minute when on his fourth lap (of four completed) he managed a 59.770.
Mike Howden (SKB Racing), Rob Wasley (VRT Signs) and Anton Jones (BPR) rounded out the top-five.
In the opening race of the class for the weekend, it was Howden who claimed top spot on the podium after a ding-dong battle with Wasley.
There was nothing separating the pair throughout the race, and it was anyone’s guess who would take top honours.
In the end, Howden crossed the line a mere .071 of a second in front of Wasley, with Debryun unable to capitilise on his pole-position in third.
Jones and Dean Martin finished in fourth and fifth places respectively.
For a full list of results from Saturday at Barbagallo, head to http://www.computime.com.au/meetings/index.aspx?MeetID=2015/asbk3/.
For the latest photos, news and information from the round head to www.asbk.com.au.
Images: tbgsport & Jake Skate Images
