Superbike

Mike Jones (Australian Outdoor Living Cube Racing Team) has again stamped his authority on the Superbike class at the third round of the 2015 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) presented by Motul Pirelli.

Jones won both races in the Yamaha Motorcycle Insurance Superbike class to take the overall honours from JD Racing’s Daniel Falzon (second and second).

All weekend Jones looked the goods – as the dominant rider in practice, qualifying and both Sunday races.

Race 1

Falzon got the perfect start with a wonderful jump off the start and moved straight past Jones in pole, leading at turn one with Ryan Hampton (Next Gen Motorsports) moving into third spot.

Cameron Stronach (Northside Timber Flooring) settled into fourth position with Anthony McFadden (MCB Sports) in fifth.

After two laps Falzon and Jones began separating themselves from the field, while behind them Stronach completed the fastest lap of the race with a 56.682 to move into third.

Despite Falzon holding the lead through three laps, Jones made his move down the straight at the start of the fourth, and passed the Yamaha rider into the first turn.

Behind them Cameron Stronach was holding firm in third with Hampton doing well to keep Ben Stronach (Northside Timber Flooring) at bay.

Both Jones and Falzon broke the 56-second lap barrier on lap six, with Jones first clocking a 55.974 before Falzon recorded a 55.941.

Behind them a mishap on lap seven saw Ben Stronach slip back to seventh, with McFadden moving into fifth and Ben Henry (Australian Outdoor Living Cube Racing Team) pushing up into sixth at the halfway mark of the race.

Meanwhile Jones was looking comfortable in front setting the pace from Falzon, though after 10 laps the gap was less than half a second.

Cameron Stronach in third was over eight seconds behind the pair.

Hampton misjudged a corner on lap 10 dropping him back into sixth, as McFadden and Henry moved into the top five.

Henry soon moved into third spot and was looking good before he ran wide at turn one on lap 12 and re-entered in ninth.

McFadden moved up into third when he passed Cameron Stronach, but remained nearly 12 seconds behind the leading pair with two laps to go.

In the meantime Jones had opened the gap up to more than one second on Falzon, and the Cube Racing Team pilot held on to win the opening race of the class.

Falzon rode well but was forced to settle for second with McFadden holding on to claim a podium spot from Cameron Stronach, Hampton and Ben Stronach.

Race 2

Falzon again got a great start off the line in race two, but Jones held his nerve to head into turn one with the lead.

Behind Falzon were Cameron Stronach, McFadden and Hampton with local rider Adam Senior (Senior Engineering) moving up into sixth position.

Towards the end of the opening lap Falzon passed Jones to take the lead, but he could not shake the Kawasaki rider who was hot on his heels.

Stronach was looking to make a name for himself on his home track and stayed within touching distance of Jones, as the trio put a 2.5 second buffer on McFadden in fourth.

McFadden was leading a pack of five riders that were separated by a mere second, while Falzon was doing his best to keep Jones at bay.

Coming through the back of turn one on lap seven Jones made his move – passing Falzon up the inside and taking control of the race.

On lap nine Henry moved into fourth spot – edging his way past McFadden, while Hampton, Ralph Mammoliti (Kawasaki Motors) and Senior continued to battle behind them.

Jones powered away and with 14 laps completed in the race, the gap to Falzon was out to five seconds.

The result was a formality as Jones rode home to claim his second win from two races and sweep the round.

Falzon finished the race in second ahead of Cameron Stronach, while Henry and Hampton rounded out the top five.

Falzon’s two second-placings was enough to give him second overall for the round, while hometown hero Cameron Stronach claimed the overall third spot.

The result has given Jones a 29-point lead in the championship standing from Falzon, with Kiwi a further 18 points behind in third.

Supersport

Brayden Elliott (Brayden Elliott Racing) has continued his brilliant form on the bike, sweeping the Yamaha Supersport class at the third round of the 2015 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli.

Elliott put on a clinical display of riding in front of a huge Western Australian crowd to take hold of the series heading into round four in Tasmania.

Victorian Alex Phillis (Phillis Racing) claimed second overall for the round after finishing third and second from the two races, while the Northern Territory’s Sam Lambert (Sam Lambert Racing) rounded out the podium in third (second and fourth).

Race 1

Elliott was always going to be the rider to beat in the class as he started the opening race from pole-position.

An unfortunate injury on Saturday to Livio Zampieri forced him out of Sunday’s action meaning the second spot on the grid was left empty.

That allowed Elliott to take a comfortable lead off the line with Lambert, moving into second position ahead of Aaiden Coote (Yamaha YRD) and Phillis, with Thyron Van Vuuren (SP Racing) rounding out top five.

Van Vuuren moved up into fourth when he passed Phillis at turn six, but up the front it was Elliott who set about increasing his lead.

At the end of the second lap Elliott had put a 1.5 second lead on Lambert in second, while one-second separated the next six riders.

Van Vuuren and Coote overshot the left hander heading up the hill on lap three and both were forced off the track, and re-entered at the rear of the field.

That pushed Phillis up into third spot, while Ryan Taylor (RTR by Moto Obsession) and Kane Burns (Moto National) each took spots inside the top five.

With Elliott streaking clear of the field, all eyes were on the intense battle for second, with nothing separating Lambert and Phillis.

The pair was already well clear of fourth spot, and while Lambert kept second spot through to the halfway mark of the race, Phillis was working hard to look for a pass.

But the interest shifted to Lambert, who with three laps remaining had cut Elliott’s lead at the front from 2.5 seconds back to 1.89 seconds while at the same time putting some space between himself and Phillis.

Elliott then broke away to take a convincing race win, while Phillis tried hard in vain to catch Lambert who held onto second spot by 0.014 of a second.

Taylor and Burns rounded out the top five, while Van Vuuren worked his way back up to ninth and Coote was forced to settle for 11^th.

Race 2 

Elliott again came off the line and into a commanding lead, while Coote turned at the opening corner in second spot, trailed by Burns, Phillis and Lambert.

Phillis was on a mission early claiming the fastest lap of the race with a 57.820 to move into third, while Van Vuuren had moved into fifth.

At the opening corner of the third lap Coote slipped past the inside of Elliott to take the lead – but it was short-lived as the series leader regained the lead heading into the home straight.

The battle everyone was watching was between third, fourth, fifth and sixth with just one second separating Burns, Coote, Van Vuuren and Lambert.

Worn tyres meant that Coote drifted back to sixth position and had him in a spot of bother, while Burns had put more than a second lead on Van Vuuren in third.

Up front Phillis was slowly chipping away at Elliot’s lead and with six laps left to complete, that lead had been whittled down to .558 of a second.

But the cool head and experience of Elliott meant the result was a formality – winning the race and making it a clean sweep of all three races on the weekend.

Phillis finished the race in third ahead of Burns, and Lambert and Van Vuuren rounded out the top five.

The result means that Elliott now holds a 19-point lead from Burns in the overall championship standings, with Coote a further 17 points behind in third.