2021 Southern Downs Series / QLD Road Race Championship
Round Four – Morgan Park
It was a stellar outing for DesmoSport Ducati’s Oli Bayliss and Mike Jones over the weekend at Morgan Park, with the duo reigning supreme at round four of the Southern Downs Series & Queensland Road Race Championships.
Six-lap sprint races left little room for error and the Panigale V4 R mounted team-mates didn’t hold back.
Race 1 saw Oli Bayliss take the win from teammate Mike Jones by 1.539-seconds, with Aiden Wagner claiming the final podium position, +10.957 off leading pace. Corey Turner and Scott Gardner completed the top five.
Race 2 was a similar affair, with Oli Bayliss taking top honours, Jones narrowed the gap to 0.493-seconds, while Wagner was still more than 10-seconds out in third. Callum Barker and Scott Gardner finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Race 3 saw Bayliss once again dominant, with Jones 0.901-seconds off, while Broc Pearson claimed the final podium position as a more distant third, with Corey Turner and Aiden Wagner completing the top five.
The final Formula 1 race was a similar story with Bayliss completing his sweep of all four races, with Jones taking his fourth runner-up result of the weekend. Aiden Wagner again completed the podium, ahead of Turner and Barker.
That saw Oli Bayliss claim 100-points, to Mike Jones’s 80, with Aiden Wagner third on 70. Callum Barker was fourth, and Scott Gardner fifth.
Callum Barker tops both the Southern Downs and QRRC standings, ahead of Scott Gardner and Scott Allars. Despite competing just one round Bayliss was able to make it into the top-ten of both.
Oli Bayliss – P1
“I’m having so much fun on the bike, and everything just fell into place on the weekend. The Panigale V4 R is working really well, and I feel so comfortable on the bike that if anything, I just wish the races were longer to stay on track more! Mike was pushing me pretty hard, but I never felt out of my comfort zone. This weekend was the first time my nephew Airo has come to a race meeting too, so I’m glad I could win for him.”
Mike Jones – P2
“Although we’ve tested since my crash in Darwin, it’s never the same feeling as racing, so I was really happy to be back on the Panigale V4 R for four races this weekend. We set a fast pace in every session, and Oli and I pushed pretty hard every lap, but in the end, I had to settle for second. Oli rode really well this weekend and he keeps progressing strongly, I’m going to have to pull out a few tricks when we get back on track for the longer ASBK races to stay in front of him!”
Troy Bayliss – DesmoSport Ducati Team Co-Owner
“Mike and Oli did a solid job this weekend. Although there were some ASBK guys here, I think it was expected that we would win. We’re traditionally strong here being our local track and Mike and Oli didn’t disappoint. I think the best time I did here in 2018 for ASBK was a 12.9, and they both went faster than that on a hot track. Hopefully the border restrictions ease and we can resume the ASBK and take up where we left off!”
Next on the calendar for the Motorcycle Sportsmen of Qld at Morgan Park Raceway is Round 2 of the Pirelli Endurance Series, the race length for both endurance classes has been increased to 2.5 hours. The support category will be the “Race and Road Metronome” where competitors are judged on the consistency of their lap times. With 5 sessions per day for less than the cost of a trackday, it’s an affordable way to get involved in the world of competitive motorcycling on any machine, while riding at a pace that suits you.
QRRC/Formula 1 Round 4 Results
| Pos | Rider | Total | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 1 | Oliver Bayliss | 100 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Michael Jones | 80 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 3 | Aiden Wagner | 70 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 18 |
| 4 | Callum Barker | 63 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 16 |
| 5 | Scott Gardner | 61 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 |
| 6 | Scott Allars | 55 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| 7 | Corey Turner | 51 | 17 | – | 17 | 17 |
| 8 | Kevin Pelgrave | 48 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 9 | Albert Baker | 46 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
| 10 | Kyle Maher | 41 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| 11 | Broc Pearson | 39 | 6 | 15 | 18 | – |
| 12 | Sid Vasa | 37 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 11 |
| 13 | Ash Edwards | 33 | 10 | 13 | – | 10 |
| 14 | Jonathan Ward | 26 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 9 |
| 15 | Kiri Welsh | 22 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
| 16 | Brian Wood | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | – |
| 17 | Jason Cleland | 18 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 18 | William Jordan | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 19 | Lachlan Massie | 13 | 8 | 5 | – | – |
| 20 | Benjamin Lowe | 7 | 7 | – | – | – |
Formula 1 Standings – Top 10
| Pos | Name | Total |
| 1 | Callum Barker | 206 |
| 2 | Scott Gardner | 176 |
| 3 | Scott Allars | 165 |
| 4 | Kevin Pelgrave | 156 |
| 5 | Albert Baker | 132 |
| 6 | Brian Wood | 111 |
| 7 | Broc Pearson | 104 |
| 8 | Kyle Maher | 101 |
| 9 | Oliver Bayliss | 100 |
| 10 | Kyle Mountney | 90 |
Qld Superbikes Standings – Top 10
| Pos | Name | Total |
| 1 | Callum Barker | 136 |
| 2 | Scott Gardner | 129 |
| 3 | Scott Allars | 123 |
| 4 | Oliver Bayliss | 100 |
| 5 | Kevin Pelgrave | 94 |
| 6 | Kyle Mountney | 90 |
| 7 | Albert Baker | 85 |
| 8 | Michael Jones | 80 |
| 9 | Brian Wood | 76 |
| 10 | Kyle Maher | 73 |
QRRC/Formula 2 (Supersport)
John Lytras cleaned up in the Formula 2 (Supersport) class, taking all four race wins for a perfect 100-points and in doing so, both the Southern Downs Series F2 title, as well as the Queensland Supersport title.
In a sign of things to come, the opening F2 race saw John Lytras take a clear win, 13.825-seconds faster than Mitchell Kuhne to the finish line, and setting a best lap time of 1:16.825, to the next fastest time of 1:18.637. Thomas Brown rounded out the podium, ahead of Lachlan Sawarde and William Stoute.
Race 2 was a similar affair, with Lytras winning by 13.565-seconds, with little more than a tenth of a second separating the final two podium finishers, Kuhne and Brown, but who repeated their race one finishing order. Sawarde and Stout likewise once again finished 4-5.
Race 3 was another win for Lytras, with Kuhne and Brown completing the podium, while Swarde was fourth and Matthew Edwards relevated Stout to sixth.
The final bout of the weekend saw Lytras win his fourth race, well clear of Kuhne and Brown, while 0.009-seconds separated Sawarde and Stout at the lane, favouring Sawarde once again.
John Lytras
“A clean sweep at round four of the Southern Downs Series today clinching the Queensland SSP championship and the Southern Down F2 overall. Huge thanks to the great team that makes it possible.”
Lytras won the Formula 2 from Mitchell Kuhne and Lachlan Sawarde, with the same top-three in the Queensland Supersport championship.
QRRC/Formula 2 Results
| Pos | Rider | Total | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
| 1 | John Lytras | 100 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| 2 | Mitchell Kuhne | 80 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 3 | Thomas Brown | 72 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 4 | Lachlan Sawarde | 68 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| 5 | William Stout | 63 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 |
| 6 | Cosimo Ubaldino | 54 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| 7 | Steven Relph | 51 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| 8 | Jules Morent | 48 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| 9 | Matthew Edwards | 44 | 13 | – | 16 | 15 |
| 10 | John Burns | 43 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 11 |
| 11 | William Course | 29 | 8 | 11 | 10 | – |
| 12 | Steve Dougherty | 15 | 15 | – | – | – |
| 13 | Ashley Woolford | 14 | 14 | – | – | – |
Formula 2 Standings – Top 10
| Pos | Name | Total |
| 1 | John Lytras | 255 |
| 2 | Mitchell Kuhne | 238 |
| 3 | Lachlan Sawarde | 185 |
| 4 | William Stout | 172 |
| 5 | Steven Relph | 115 |
| 6 | stephen norton | 109 |
| 7 | Broc Pearson | 100 |
| 8 | John Burns | 88 |
| 9 | Steve Dougherty | 82 |
| 10 | Max Stauffer | 80 |
Qld Supersport Standings – Top 10
| Pos | Name | Total |
| 1 | John Lytras | 183 |
| 2 | Mitchell Kuhne | 170 |
| 3 | Lachlan Sawarde | 140 |
| 4 | William Stout | 125 |
| 5 | Steve Dougherty | 82 |
| 6 | Steven Relph | 79 |
| 7 | Thomas Brown | 72 |
| 8 | Paul Ellis | 58 |
| 9 | Cosimo Ubaldino | 54 |
| 10 | William Course | 53 |
In Production 300 Liam Van Booma went 2-1-1-2 for the round win ahead of Mark Organ (3-3-3-3) and Glenn Nelson (1-X-2-1). Mark Barnes topped the Production Clubman.
Glenn Nelson meanwhile swept all four Production 400 races, with Joshua Hall and Nate O’Neill settling for second and third overall.
Paul Ellis took the Formula 3 win with a consistent performance, with Liam Waters dominant run ruined by no points scored in Race 4. Michael Rix was third overall. Formula 4 saw Anthony Carroll win all four racers, with Liam Van Boomer runner up in all four, for second overall. Kieran Mcgeown was third.
Gerard Iriks topped the F1 Pre2K class with consistency trumping, Jason Martin’s three race wins and a DNF. F2 Pre2K saw Karl Korgan win from Stephen Norton and Kurt Grainger with just a point separating the latter two.
Chris Soloman topped the Supertwins, winning all four races, with William Course second and Robert Loveday third.
Neil Turner and Danyon Turner won the Sidecars running 3-1-1-4, from Jamie and Corey Turner 2-2-3-2, with Phillip Underwood and Shelby Turner third overall.
