Cam Dunker breaks through for maiden Supersport win

ASBK 2023

Round Two – Sydney Motorsport Park

Michelin Supersport Race Two

Jake Farnsworth ran Sean Condon pretty hard in the opening Supersport bout but Condon had held on to secure the victory.

Complicating things ahead of the second and final race of the weekend was some drizzle that drifted across the circuit an hour before the start of race two.

The drizzle ebbed and flowed, stopped and started, in the lead up to this second and final 11-lap Supersport bout of the weekend. By the time riders gridded up the surface was a bit of this and a bit of that, a bit wet, a bit damp in other places, and mainly dry in other areas…

Jake Farnsworth was pushed off the grid and could not start the race from the grid. After that delay the lights went out and Ty Lynch scored a blinder to lead the field through turn one for the first time and the South Australian immediately started streaking away.

By the end of the opening lap Lynch led Olly Simpson by 1.2-seconds. Cam Dunker was in third place, Passfield fourth, Sanders fifth.

Lynch, Simpson and Dunker broke away from the field on lap two. That trio closed right up on the second lap, Simpson right on the tail of Lynch, and Dunker nipping at their heels.

Simpson took the lead at the start of lap three and started to pull away from Lynch. Polesitter Sean Condon was way down in 19th place on slicks… Conversely the riders up front were on wets, or at least a mix of wet at one end and slick at the other.

Cam Dunker took second place off Lynch and then pulled away with ease. With seven laps to run Simpson led Dunker by four-tenths and Lynch was now five-seconds behind.  The leading duo both presumably on wets and only two laps later they had more than ten-seconds on Lynch.

With four laps to run Sean Condon went down at turn six. Defending champion John Lytras was tenth at this juncture. Tom Bramich was 15th.  The man on the move was Jonathan Nahlous, who on lap seven set a new fastest lap of the race after passing Luke Durning and then closing in on Dallas Skeer and Scott Nicholson.

Jack Passfield relegated Ty Lynch to fourth place, the South Australian struggling with a steering damper catching on his triple-clamps after switching to the spare bike and only finding the problem on the warm up lap.

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Up front Dunker was shadowing Simpson lap after lap… Biding his time…

Simpson then ran wide at turn one as they started the penultimate lap, having to save a front end slide opened the door for Dunker to walk right through and take the race lead.

Simpson lost almost seven-tenths on Dunker but immediately set about clawing that ground back, Simpson had it down to four-tenths at the last lap board.

Dunker responded though, stretching it out to seven-tenths through the first split, nine-tenths at the second split, he does it, 15-year-old Cam Dunker breaks through for his first win in the Supersport category in what is only his second event in the class.

A slick shod Scott Nicholson charged hard at the end to take a podium finish, albeit almost 20-seconds behind Dunker.

Nicholson demoted Jonathan Nahlous fourth, Hayden Nelson fifth, Dallas Skeer sixth on slicks, and Jack Passfield painfully pushed back to seventh on the final lap. Ty Lynch eighth ahead of John Lytras while Luca Durning rounded out the top ten.

That victory also gives Cam Dunker the round win and moves him up to fifth in the championship. Ty Lynch still leads the title chase on 82-points ahead of Olly Simpson on 74 and John Lytras on 72. Jack Passfield fourth on 68 points.

Next stop Queensland Raceway…

Michelin Supersport Race Two Results

Michelin Supersport Championship Round Points

Michelin Supersport Championship Points

2023 ASBK Calendar