Broc Pearson leaves 727Moto
It has been a somewhat tumultuous start in ASBK for the 727Moto squad. The Queensland based team owned by Travis Schmitz recruited some big names in the lead up to their assault on the 2022 Australian Superbike Championship.
Paul Free, the most successful Team Manager / Crew Chief in Australian road racing over the past 20 years was brought in to lead the team and also head up Broc Pearson’s side of the garage. After winning the 2021 Australian Supersport Championship, 21-year-old Pearson was stepping up to Superbike in 2022.
To run Jed Metcher’s side of the pits the team recruited ex MotoGP mechanic Brent Stephens.
And to help guide the project along while also helping to adapt and develop the Yamaha race bikes to the new MoTeC ECU was the vastly experienced Stewart Winton.
The parts looked to be in place for this to be the biggest ‘privateer’ team since the Trinder brothers hit the Aussie road racing scene in a big way with their Bio-Magnetic Therapy Yamaha squad more than two decades ago.
It is fair to say though there has been some challenges along the way for 727Moto and it has been far from plain sailing.
They didn’t get off to a bad start. Jed Metcher bagged 20-points at the Phillip Island season opener, while Broc opened his account with 13. Certainly not the tally they had been hoping for, but not too bad for their first outing.
Next time out at Queensland Raceway, Metcher scored no points after two crashes, while Broc bagged 18-points. Over race distance they were basically two-seconds a lap slower than the front runners, and that on a circuit where a good race lap takes only 68-seconds.
Then at Wakefield Park Broc Pearson crashed durning morning warm-up and hit the deck so hard he was ruled out from racing. Jed Metcher took P11 and P12 finishes but again, over race distance he was more than 30-seconds behind the leaders, after only 20 laps of a circuit that takes only 57-seconds to lap.
I should also note that it is not only 727Moto that have found the going difficult so far this season in trying to match the pace of the front runners. There are plenty of others that at times have also been way behind the front runners to a degree that they are not accustomed.
Perennial leading Yamaha privateer Daniel Falzon has also had a real tough start to the season.
The BMW Alliance squad are clearly struggling for speed and consistency, despite pre-season preparations perhaps more extensive than anyone else on the grid.
Aiden Wagner and his Addicted To Track / Northstar Yamaha squad struggled to make any headway.
Even championship winner Troy Herfoss and Penrite Honda got a bit lost and were nowhere at season start, but have now regrouped and are back in touch with the leading group.
Thus 727Moto are hardly on their Pat Malone on Struggle Street this season. However, there has been what primarily seems to be personality clashes behind the scenes that saw Schmitz start to make changes.
First there was the sacking of Paul Free from his dual role as Team Manager and Crew Chief for Broc Pearson. From the outside looking in, to anyone, that was a big call. Sacking the most experienced bloke in the whole outfit seemed a strange move.
I guess Paul had his way of working and that didn’t gel with the way Brent and Stewart liked to go about things. Like 99 per cent of problems in any scenario where multiple personalities are involved, any dramas most likely largely stemmed from a lack of communication, or were just personality clashes doomed to cause problems from the start. Anyway, the result was that Paul Free was sacked from the team.
That then saw Stewart Winton’s role in the team change somewhat as he moved more from a hands on technical role adapting the team’s Yamaha YZF-R1M machines to MoTeC electronics, to also become Crew Chief for Broc Pearson.
We also recently mentioned that 727 Moto have now brung Ty Lynch under their banner and have contracted Jon Hafey to help direct the Supersport side of the team, and help guide Ty in his quest to win the 2022 Australian Supersport Championship.
So, a pretty big shake-up only a few rounds into the season, and that on the back of the news that the team did not plan to attend the Hidden Valley round of the championship in Darwin as they instead shifted their focus to a mid-season reset and regroup.
Despite the changes though Broc Pearson told MCNews.com.au he is unable to see a way forward in the team, and thinks he will be better off taking a new direction in what is his fledgling Superbike season.
Broc Pearson
“After returning from Wakefield Park, I’ve had to take some consideration into how things were going and where it was heading for the remainder of the year.
“It’s been difficult with the results I’ve had this year. I raced a 600 all last year with the mentality of winning and despite my form being quite strong when I first hopped on the Superbike late last year in testing. I never expected to struggle so much to break into the top ten. I have been very lost with what’s been going on with myself on track and I know there’s more in me than I have been showing.
“The team and I had a different view as to the direction with how things were going to continue throughout the remainder of the season and for my situation as a rookie, unfortunately I’m just too early in my Superbike career to not be attending races, I need to stay on the bike as much as possible.
“While there are still few rounds of the championship remaining, I decided it was the best idea for my career moving forward to make the decision now and to do the right thing by the team and make it clear that I didn’t see a future in us continuing to work together.
“I am very appreciative of the Team 727Moto’s efforts throughout the 2022 season and I wish them all the best for the remainder of the season.”
As we understand it Broc has no ride lined up, so it is not a matter of a mid-season jump to somewhere else where the grass is potentially greener. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
We spoke to 727Moto Team owner Travis Schmitz about the split with Pearson, and the rumours that Broc Parkes would step on to the Superbike to replace Pearson.
Schmitz confirmed that Broc Parkes will ride a 727Moto Superbike for the remainder of the season, and that the decision to leave was entirely Pearson’s.
Schmitz also stated that it is not his intention to release Pearson to ride another Superbike in ASBK, and that he would hold him to that part of his contract. Broc Pearson also had financial contributions to the team as part of that contract, but as long as he doesn’t jump onto another Superbike, Schmitz will not require him to make any further ongoing payments on top of what has already been paid towards his ride.
Travis Schmitz – 727Moto
“It was Broc Pearson’s decision to leave the team, we were happy to continue but it is obvious we have had our struggles this season. With the departure of Paul Free and the bikes not being where they should be it is not ideal.
“However, we have worked hard to try and give Broc and Jed competitive motorcycles to race on.
“He is contracted to us, but out of good faith we are working through releasing him from that contract, but that would only be on the basis of him not competing on another Superbike this season in ASBK.
“We believe we are much more competitive now, after recent successful test sessions, and we have a heavy test schedule in the lead up to Morgan Park.
“I like to think I still have a good relationship with Broc, I wish him for the best for the future but I have to say I don’t think he is perhaps doing the right thing for his future.
“With Broc choosing to leave we are lucky to be able to call on Broc Parkes to ride for the team. I have a good relationship with Parkes. He tested our bikes when we were first putting the team together, and he also tested with us recently at QLD Raceway. Parkes will debut with the team on the ASBK grid at Morgan Park on the first weekend in August alongside Jed Metcher.”
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2022 ASBK Calendar
| Round 1 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC 25 – 27 February |
| SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC, SBK Masters |
| Round 2 Queensland Raceway, Ipswich QLD 18 – 20 March |
| SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC, Sidecars |
| Round 3 Wakefield Park Raceway, Goulburn NSW 22 – 24 April |
| SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC, Aussie Racing Cars |
| Round 4 Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin NT 17 – 19 June |
| * With Supercars – SBK Only |
| Round 5 Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick QLD 5 – 7 August |
| SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC |
| Round 6 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Cowes VIC 18 – 20 November |
| SBK, SSPT, SS300 |
| Round 7 The Bend Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend SA 25 – 27 November |
| SBK, SSPT, SS300, R3 Cup, OJC |
| ASBK Night of Champions Dinner – The Bend 27 November |
mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance
Alpinestars Superbike Championship Points Standings
| Pos | Name | Total |
| 1 | Mike JONES | 132 |
| 2 | Wayne MAXWELL | 109 |
| 3 | Bryan STARING | 102 |
| 4 | Josh WATERS | 94 |
| 5 | Cru HALLIDAY | 90 |
| 6 | Glenn ALLERTON | 88 |
| 7 | Arthur SISSIS | 87 |
| 8 | Troy HERFOSS | 81 |
| 9 | Daniel FALZON | 73 |
| 10 | Anthony WEST | 70 |
| 11 | Aiden WAGNER | 47 |
| 12 | Jed METCHER | 39 |
| 13 | Max STAUFFER | 38 |
| 14 | Mark CHIODO | 37 |
| 15 | Matt WALTERS | 32 |
| 16 | Broc PEARSON | 31 |
| 17 | Beau BEATON | 27 |
| 18 | Michael EDWARDS | 25 |
| 19 | Chandler COOPER | 21 |
| 20 | Lachlan EPIS | 20 |
| 21 | Luke JHONSTON | 7 |
| 22 | Corey FORDE | 3 |
