Follow the 2023 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) with direct SBK and Supersport updates from the seventh round of the season at The Bend through Racefeed.

Image: Foremost Media.

Supersport race one:
Yamaha-mounted Harrison Voight took victory in what was a thrilling opening Supersport encounter at The Bend. The race was restarted after an early incident at turn two saw Jack Mahaffy (Yamaha) and Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha) fall. Upon the restart, another incident at turn two brought out the red flags, this time Harry Khouri (Yamaha) and Jack Favelle were involved. In the third start, a six lap encounter, Voight grabbed the holeshot ahead of Simpson, Toparis and Dunker. On the brakes into turn one on lap two, Simpson slipped up the inside of Voight to take the lead, with the number 29 returning the favour into turn six. On lap four Toparis made his way from third to first in one swoop, taking both Voight and Simpson into turn one, with Simpson moving into second at this point. Also within striking distance of the lead group, Cameron Dunker (Yamaha) began to break away from Ty Lynch (Yamaha). Two to go and Simpson was back in front, again making a move into turn one, with Toparis responding later in the lap, but the South Australian again made his way by into turn one. From there, it was a dramatic last lap with Toparis taking the lead into turn 14, but high-sided on exit, crashing out of the race. Simpson and Voight swapped positions multiple times in the last sector after that, with Voight narrowly taking the chequered flag first, just 0.019s in front. Championship leader Dunker was third, his advantage now 12 points. Fourth was Ty Lynch, ahead of Jonathan Nahlous in P5. Positions six to 10 were Archie McDonald (Yamaha), Dallas Skeer (Yamaha), Hayden Nelson (Yamaha), Taiyo Aksu (Yamaha) and Declan Carberry (Suzuki).

Superbike race one:
Championship leader Troy Herfoss delivered a wire-to-wire victory to extend his championship lead to six points in race one. From pole, Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing) launched to the early lead ahead of Josh Waters (McMartin Racing), with Mike Jones (Yamaha Racing Team) moving by Max Stauffer (GTR MotoStars Yamaha) for third on lap one. The top three remained the same until lap five when Jones took Waters into turn 13 for second, with Halliday also moving past Stauffer for P4, each of the riders within a second of the lead at this point. Herfoss started to stretch out an advantage on lap six, with a new lap record of a 1m50.529s while Jones notched a 1m51.169s before he lost P2 to the V4 R rider. With two laps to go, Waters had closed back in on Herfoss, but the championship leader withstood the pressure to claim a crucial race win, just 0.253 ahead of the number 21 at the end. Meanwhile, Halliday edged teammate Jones for third, as Allerton found his way past Stauffer for fifth. Bryan Staring (MotoGo Yamaha), Anthony West (Addicted to Track Yamaha), Broc Pearson (DesmoSport Ducati) and Ted Collins (Livson Racing) completed the top 10.

Supersport race two:
At just 16 years of age, Dunker sealed the 2023 Australian Supersport Championship in race two. Simpson and Voight traded positions in the early stages, with Toparis unable to start the race after his bike was wheeled off the grid without the rear wheel in it. Lynch was mathematically in with a shot at the title, but a fall in the opening half of the race ruled him out of contention. As the race entered its second half, Voight held roughly a half-second lead over Simpson, while Dunker dropped behind Jonathan Nahlous to P4. There was no stopping Voight, who notched a new lap record of a 1m54.522s, with Simpson putting in a commendable effort to finish second. Nahlous completed the podium, with P4 enough to secure Dunker the title. Nicholson finished fifth, as Skeer, Nelson, McDonald, Farnsworth and Aksu completed the top 10. In terms of the round, Voight was perfect on 51 points, with Simpson and Dunker completing the podium, while it was Lynch who scored the bronze position in the championship standings.

Superbike race two:
A race two victory completed a perfect weekend for Herfoss, securing his third Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship. Waters grabbed the holeshot ahead of Herfoss in second, with Stauffer running third in the early stages before he crashed out of contention. At the lap three mark Waters was still in front, with Herfoss and Jones in tow. Halliday recovered a mediocre start to reach fourth by this point, around 2.5 seconds back from the leading trio. Herfoss took the lead on lap six, with the leading two now two seconds ahead of Jones who was a relatively quiet third. Disaster struck for Waters on lap eight when he crashed at turn six, and from there Herfoss rode to an unchallenged victory to secure the title. A late race shift saw Halliday finish second – instrumental to secure third in the standings, while Jones completed the podium. Fourth was Allerton, while West edged Pearson for P5. Seventh was Mark Chiodo (Honda), as Collins, Sissis and a remounted Waters completed the top 10. Halliday and Jones completed the podium for the round.