Supersport opener at The Bend full of thrills, spills and red flags!

ASBK 2023
Round Seven – The Bend
Supersport Race One

The Australian Supersport Championship is on the line at The Bend this weekend.

Kurri Kurri’s Cameron Dunker takes a 14-point lead into this final round but is up against a pair of South Australian locals in the fight for the title. Olly Simpson is ten years his senior and has three seasons of Red Bull Rookies experience under his belt, while only two-points further behind is Simpson’s fellow croweater Ty Lynch.

Adding further spice to the Supersport mix is the return of international riders Tom Toparis, Harrison Voight, Archie McDonald and Harry Khouri to the fold after seasons spent in Europe. While Taiyo Aksu returns from racing in Japan this season to jump back into the Aussie Supersport mix.

Harrison Voight went under the previous qualifying and race lap records on Saturday morning, the Queenslander’s 1m54.618 on his seventh lap of the session setting the Q1 benchmark. That was not his only 1m54.6 though, Voight also dropping in a 1m54.646 on his 12th and final lap of the session.

Tom Toparis ran Voight close though, a 1m54.770 putting Voight on notice that he won’t have it all his own way this time out at The Bend.

Olly Simpson joined them in the 54s, a 1m54.825 good enough to round out that front row ahead of championship leader Cam Dunker.

Tom Toparis has been doing as few laps as possible and spending the time between sessions with his left hand/wrist in a bucket of ice water. The Goulburn rider broke his wrist in a few places only a month ago and has been spending plenty of time in a hyperbaric chamber in order to be able to race here this weekend.

At The Bend last year a then 14-year-old Cameron Dunker won both the Australian Supersport 300 Championship and the separate YMF R3 Cup. Celebrating his 16th birthday here today, Dunker will become the youngest ever Australian Supersport Champion if he can sustain the pressure from his older and more experienced rivals to bring home the silverware.

Olly Simpson and Harrison Voight side by side down the main straight, Simpson weaving back and forth to try and upset Voight, the gloves off right from the off, that’s one way to put the nerves aside, maximum aggression!  Simpson swept across the nose of Voight into turn one but behind them, a melee at turn two unfolded involving Jake Farnsworth, Jack Mahaffy, and others, but it was that pair that ended up on the deck.

With their machines in precarious positions, the red flag was produced for a temporary halt in proceedings, and riders were called back around to the grid for a full re-start over a shortened seven-lap distance after another warm-up lap. There was quite a significant delay before things got underway again, certainly long enough for the nerves of the championship contenders to reach fever-pitch once again…

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All riders got away well but this time around Dunker got a much better start and entered turn one alongside his closest championship rival, Olly Simpsion, while just ahead of them was Harrison Voight taking the early race lead. But again an incident at turn one, and another red flag, this time around Jack Favelle and Harry Khouri the fallers.

Away again for the third time, the distance reduced further to six laps… Voight the early leader ahead of Simpson, Toparis, Dunker and Lynch.

Olly Simpson took the lead as they started lap two, Toparis still third and Dunker fourth.  Voight under Simpson a few turns later though to retake the lead.

Simpson took the fight to Voight over the opening couple of laps but eventually Voight managed to break away, while Simpson then started to come under attack from Toparis.  That trio had a second over fourth placed Dunker as the race reached its halfway mark.

Three wide into turn one!  Toparis, Simpson and Voight side by side under brakes for turn one, but Toparis with the inside line and swoops through to the lead and holds it around the next turns, Simpson second, Voight third. Dunker still watching all this unfold about a second up the road from him, but the championship leader now had a decent buffer over fifth placed Ty Lynch.

Simpson back into the lead with two laps to go, no doubt about how much he wants this… Toparis up the inside late on that penultimate lap though to take the lead once again and chases Toparis down the main straight for the final time, takes the lead into turn one, Toparis right on his tail, Voight in third, Dunker fourth.

Toparis up the inside again, but then highsides violently.

Voight then took the lead off Simpson a few turns later, Simpson and Voight touch on the run to turn 18… The two brush fairings down the chute, nothing between them, Voight gets the nod for victory though!

After the demise of Toparis Dunker takes third.

The championship chase now tightens further, the gap between Dunker and Simpson down to 12-points with one race to go…

Hopefully we can have a final contest with no red flags!

Supersport Race One Results

Supersport Championship Points