Image: Foremost Media.

An all-Ducati clash in the final ASBK race at Queensland Raceway saw McMartin Racing guest rider Harrison Voight unintentionally take down DesmoSport’s Broc Pearson, with the pair later recalling the contact once tensions had eased.

Moto2 European Championship regular Voight made his first Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) start of the year this past weekend, but was ruled out of race one with a bike malfunction.

The second race of the weekend saw the 19-year-old setting up a move on Pearson for P3 into the final turn on lap five, but he lost the front-end on entry and subsequently took fellow Queenslander Pearson down with him. Race direction handed Voight a three position grid penalty for the next ASBK race that he starts.

“Definitely not the highlight and nothing to be proud of, especially taking out one of my fellow mates and a racing competitor,” Voight told CycleOnline. “Broc, he brakes late, he’s good on the brakes and I tried to line him up and pass him on that lap because that was one of my strength to pass there and, unfortunately, I couldn’t make it stick.

“I locked up the front, as soon as I got past him a bit, and took Broc with me. 
I have nothing to say other than I’m really sorry to, first of all, Broc, and to DesmoSport. It’s never a nice feeling to take someone out and it’s actually the first time I’ve ever done it, so yeah, just… we’ll leave it at that. It all happened straight away, just a simple error.”

Pearson was left furious in the gravel directly afterwards, but later cut more of a composed figure after finishing the opening race in third and witnessing a potential podium slip from his grasp. He was also taken out of the final race at Phillip Island during the opening round of the year, rubbing further salt into this weekend’s wounds.

“On the crash, I don’t want to comment too much, but obviously I wasn’t at fault and it’s a real shame,” reflected Pearson. “Like, we’ve been taken out of the races twice this year from people who aren’t contending in the championship and I’m all for everyone to come along and race, but it’s a really hard way to go down that way for guys who we’re not competing with.

“I’m more upset for the team. 
They just put in so much effort, because I’ve got the lucky part of showing up on the day and being very lucky to be able to ride this bike and it’s not like that for them, so I’m very disappointed for the team. I felt racy – 
I still feel racy – and I’m fired up… I want to go out and go again.

“I don’t think there was a gap there to go down and, you know, that was what the result was. I just went to tip in and all of a sudden I was basically just on my head. Anyways, it is what it is.”