Image: Foremost Media.

A chaotic day for the Supersport category saw points leader Jonathan Nahlous claim victory in Morgan Park’s fourth round of the 2024 Mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), the Yamaha rider splitting race wins with Archie McDonald (Stop and Seal Racing).

The class got off to a troubling start with an oil spill in the opening laps seeing a number of the leading riders go down before it was promptly red-flagged. The clean up was significant and caused a lengthy delay, with the race officially restarting following the second Supersport 300 outing.

It was Nahlous and Tom Toparis (Stop and Seal Racing) who led the field, the pair locking into a battle and exchanging the lead on multiple occasions. It came down to the final lap with Toparis pushing hard in tow, however he suffered a heavy high-side in his pursuit for the win, which once again brought out the red flag.

With the race declared, Nahlous claimed the win over Archie McDonald (Stop and Seal Racing) and Olly Simpson (Yamaha), while the top five was completed by Tom Bramich (Yamaha) and Jack Favelle (Yamaha). Hayden Nelson (BCpeformance Kawasaki) sixth ahead of Jake Farnsworth (Yamaha), Jack Mahaffy (Yamaha), Marianos Nikolis (Stop and Seal Racing), and Glenn Nelson (Stop and Seal Yamaha).

Race two saw multi-time champion Toparis absent following his race one crash, adding to what appeared to be a decimated field following a number of incidents over the weekend. It was once again Nahlous at the front from the beginning of the second encounter, and this time he had his hands full with McDonald.

The pair remained within striking distance of each other for the entirety of the race, with Nahlous leading every lap until lap 10, when McDonald pounced on an opportunity to steal the lead. Nahlous was in a position to challenge for the lead, however mistakingly thought the race was over with a lap to go, allowing McDonald to build a small advantage and secure the win.

Kawasaki-mounted Nelson was third followed by Favelle and Simpson, while the top 10 was locked out by Farnsworth, Bramich, Nikolis, Mahaffy, and Glenn Nelson. Pole position granted Nahlous the overall win by one point over McDonald, who he now leads by 32 points in the championship, while Simpson completed the podium.

The Supersport 300 class saw Valentino Knezovic (Yamaha) emerge as the overall winner with two race wins to his name, edging out Kawasaki duo Casey Middleton and Joshua Newman. Knezovic was also victorious in the first R3 Cup event of the year, joined on the podium by Jesse Stroud (Yamaha) and Jordan Simpson (Yamaha), while the Oceania Junior Cup podium was completed by Ethan Johnson (Yamaha), Hunter Corney (Yamaha), and Nikolas Lazos (Yamaha).

The ASBK is set to return to action on 7-8 September at Phillip Island for round five of the series.

Detailed results