Features 7 Aug 2022

Racefeed: 2022 ASBK Rd5 Morgan Park

Direct updates from fifth round of the season in Queensland.

Follow the 2022 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) with direct SBK and Supersport updates from round five of the season at Morgan Park through Racefeed.

Image: Foremost Media.

Supersport race one:
The opening Supersport race of the weekend saw Ty Lynch (Yamaha) power ahead in the early laps, until pole-setter and current championship leader John Lytras (Yamaha) made his move on lap two. It looked like he would be on his way to victory at that point until a bike issue forced him to stop and reset, before getting going again and he would experience more troubles later – eventually crossing the line three laps down for important points at the rear of the pack in P13. That allowed Lynch to ride to an unchallenged 9.546s victory ahead of Tom Bramich (Yamaha), who got the better of Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) in the latter stages for the runner-up position. Another R6 in Scott Nicholson was fourth ahead of Mitch Kuhne (Yamaha), as Tom Drane (Yamaha), Luca Durning (Yamaha), Rhys Belling (Yamaha), Tarbon Walker (Yamaha) and Troy Guenther (Yamaha) the top 10.

Superbike race one:
It was Lachlan Epis (BMW Alliance Racing) who scored the holeshot from row two with defending champion Wayne Maxwell (Boost Mobile Racing with K-Tech Ducati) in tow. A decisive immediate move from Maxwell saw him hit the front, while unfortunately for Epis, he took an off-track excursion and was bumped outside of the top 10. That left Maxwell to surge ahead and with title-leader Mike Jones taking some time to pass Yamaha Racing Team teammate Cru Halliday on lap five, it was up to Jones to try and track down Maxwell in search of victory. By the conclusion of 16 laps he made it to within 0.195s, but it was Maxwell who held on from Jones, with Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) completing the podium. Fourth was a remarkable first effort from Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) and also bettering team regular Bryan Staring for position, as the top 10 included Glenn Allerton (Maxima BMW), a determined Epis, Arthur Sissis (Unitech Racing Yamaha), Jed Metcher (727Moto Yamaha) and Max Stauffer (GTR MotoStars Team Yamaha). Halliday, meanwhile, remounted to claim a share of points in P11.

Supersport race two:
Following the disappointments of race one and with any apparent electrical gremlins solved, Lytras rebounded to take the race two victory by a healthy 6.199s margin. A comfortable P2 on track was enough for Lynch to clinch the overall in another standout weekend for him. Race two saw Lytras jump out front early and maintain control from there over Lynch, while Bramich managed third this time out. The battle for fourth was tighter again, as Drane edged out Nicholson for position, while Belling, Durning, former champion Guenther, McLaren-Wood and Walter were the top 10. Kuhne was a non-starter this time out, as Farnsworth’s day also came to a premature end when he crashed at turn one. Overall for the round, Lynch topped the podium from Bramich and Lytras, with Lytras now leading the standings by six points from Lynch.

Superbike race two:
A crafty second race win came as an instrumental result for Maxwell, slicing his way by Jones on the final lap and going on to win by 0.574s across the line. It was Jones who got out to a much stronger start this afternoon and led the opening laps, before Maxwell struck on lap seven to take his turn at the front. Equipped with the softer Pirelli rear tyre option, Herfoss then attacked with the quickest lap of the race and briefly made his way into the lead. Still, Jones quickly rebounded and worked his way back into the lead by lap 10 and stayed there until the final turns of the race, only to lose out to Maxwell when it counted. The action didn’t end there as a mishap from Jones while attempting to counter almost saw him crash out of contention altogether, managing to save it and claim critical runner-up points. DesmoSport Ducati duo Staring and Pearson crossed the line in formation for P3 and P4, as Herfoss faded to fifth in the closing stages. Positions six through 10 featured Halliday, Allerton, Anthony West (MotoGo Yamaha) after exiting race one, Sissis and Metcher. The round saw Maxwell conclude with a perfect weekend after scoring pole position and both race wins, topping the podium ahead of Jones and Staring, who scored P3 on count-back after tying with Pearson. In terms of the championship, Maxwell clawed back 11 on Jones this weekend, who now holds a 29-point buffer with two rounds remaining.

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