Friday support class wrap from The Bend ASBK finale

2021 ASBK Finale – Supports Friday Report

Motosports TV Supersport

The Motorsports TV Supersport class Championship title is a three-way fight, and Queensland’s Broc Pearson has fired the first shot in the dying moments of the free practice today at The Bend Motorsport Park for the final round of the mi-bike Motorcycle Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, presented by Motul.

The 2019 lap record held by two-time Supersport Champion Tom Paris (1:55.912) was broken by Pearson on his last lap of the day, with a 1:55.663.

Broc Pearson leads the Championship with 91 points, from Tom Edwards on 84 points and Max Stauffer on 78 points. All three on Yamaha R6s.

Pearson has spent the past few months aboard a Yamaha Superbike in preparation for his 2022 campaign and took some time readjusting to the 600 in the first practice session today.

Today’s shakedown and free practice sessions showed tomorrow’s qualifying will be red hot in the Supersport class with today’s lap records.

Edwards was fastest in session 1, but in free practice 2 Stauffer and Pearson went toe to toe in the final stages of practice session 2 leap-frogging Edwards.

Stauffer and Pearson dropped into the 1-minute 57s before they unleashed several back-to-back blistering lap times with Pearson coming out on top with a 1:56.010, Stauffer a 1:56.092 and Edwards a 1:56.135.

Stauffer showed today he is well and truly in the Championship hunt this weekend and wants to finish the year on a high before he steps up to the Superbike class in 2022 with his current team.

In practice session 3 Pearson shot straight to the top of the time sheet with a strong of 1:56s laps, and Edwards and Stauffer would finish behind the Championship points leader by the narrowest of margins, Edwards with a time of 1:56.037 and Stauffer with a time of 1:56.146.

2021 Supersport debutant Luke Power would find some extra paced out of his Kawasaki to slip into fourth fastest in session 3 with Moto 3 Junior World Championship competitor and former ASBK Supersport 300 Champion Senna Agius, rounding out the top 5.

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Agius has been running with the front runners in the earlier sessions aboard the Honda CBR600RR and will be looking to pounce in qualifying tomorrow.

WorldSBK Supersport rider, and former Red Bull Rookies Cup ASBK Over 300s Champion Billy Van Eerde found some pace in session 3 finishing in seventh behind John Lytras. We believe Van Eerde is on a bike that is quite a few years old.

While Pearson, Edwards and Stauffer are the Championship favourites and were on the pace today, bike set-up for qualifying tomorrow will be crucial.

Broc Pearson

“I had a slow start as I haven’t been on my 600 in 4months, I just gave myself some time to get use to the bike. I went back to the garage and said to the boys get some tyres warmed up as I going to crack in. I found two and half seconds in the second session and I thought I can drop another half a second in the last session and I went under the lap record. I’m really happy with that as I was having issues with the front end, and I couldn’t really put a lap together. The result at the end of the day leaves me three or four tenths up on the other guys and my main objective today was to enjoy riding and I can tell you I can go home tonight knowing I had a good day. I just need to do the same thing tomorrow and fix the problem I have with the bike and If I can go on pole or the front row tomorrow that would be great. Tomorrow I will just concentrate on my own times, and I hope I can do the same and keep improving.”

With 51 points up for grabs this weekend and a hungry pack of riders, nothing is guaranteed in what will be a sensational Grand Finale in this class.

Supersport 600 Friday Combined Times

Dunlop Supersport 300

As the track temperature hit the mid 40’s Championship leader Ben Baker smashed the 2018 lap record of 2:09.871 three times in practice session 2, lap 1 with 2:08.431. lap 7 with 2:08.038, and on lap 9 with a scorching 2:07.547.

His dominant performance was enough for the NSW rider to sit out the final session of the day, and give him plenty of confidence going into tomorrow’s qualifying session and first race of the weekend.

Ben Baker

“We put on a new set of tyres which we usually don’t do in practice and did some really good laps and I wanted to break that lap record from 2018 which stood for so long. We did everything we needed to do so there was no need try risk tyres or engines. Tracks like the Bend really suits me, all the big flowy corners really suits my style and I’ve been training like crazy to try and get any little advantage. Hopefully tomorrow we can get into the top six which will be amazing.”

Earlier in the practice sessions it was a solid Yamaha battle between Baker, Carter Thompson – the 2020 R3 Cup Champion, Archie McDonald, Tom Drane and Angus Grenfell.

However, in the final practice session of the day, Kawasaki shod Zac Johnson topped the time sheet with a 2:10.146 making him the third fastest rider of the day behind Thompson, with McDonald fourth, and Tom Drane rounding out the top five.

Ben Baker leads the Championship by 35 points after a dominant display at Wakefield Park earlier this year, and despite a very strong showing in today’s free practice sessions, he will have his work cut out for him come qualifying and race 1 tomorrow.

Supersport 300 Friday Combined Times

Yamaha Finance R3 Cup

Ben Baker topped the time sheets in the Yamaha Finance R3 Cup, but not without strong competition from Championship rivals Carter Thompson, Archie McDonald and Angus Grenfell.

In the first hit out for the R3 Cup competitors at the Bend, they didn’t waste any time locking in fast times with McDonald coming out on top in session one.

In session 2 Baker smoked the field with a sizzling 2:08.402 and his nearest competitors of Thompson, McDonald and Grenfell were only able to manage 2:10s.

In session 3 with a track temperature reaching 46.4 degrees, riders were out to improve their times but were unable to beat the earlier sizzling time of Baker.

Baker, McDonald, and Thompson out did each other’s times until the dying moments of the practice session with Baker scoring a 2:09.714, McDonald second fastest with a 2:10.003, Thompson third with a 2:10.120, Grenfell in fourth with a 2:10.265 and the late charging Glenn Nelson with a 2:10.851.

Baker leads the R3 Cup by 35 points, from Cameron Dunker in second, Reece Oughtred third, Brandon Demmery fourth, and Caleb Gilmore fifth, all who are capable of victory if they get the right setup this weekend.

Baker will step up to the Supersport class in 2022 and will be wanting to end the season on a high and a title under his belt, but with the experienced and hungry top 10 field of riders who want success, Baker will be under plenty of pressure from his opposition.

Yamaha R3 Cup Friday Combined Times

bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup

13-year-old Cameron Swain has dominated the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup this year with five victories and a third placing in 6 races, sitting on 143 points, he continued his great form in today’s three practice sessions.

It is the first time the Oceania Junior Cup has raced at The Bend, and Swain wasted no time in getting down to business.

Although he had stiff competition from Terrin Fleming making his debut in the class this weekend, as well as Championship rivals Ryan Larkin, Harrison Watts, Levi Russo, Nate O’Neill and Hayden Nelson, Swain managed to top the time sheets in every session.

In each practice session not only was he able to score the fastest lap times but was also consistently faster than his competition.

Swain (2:36.771) and Ryan Larkin (2:36.945) were the only riders who managed to get into the 36’s, but were closely followed by Terrin Fleming (2:37.556), Harrison Watts (2:37.868) and Levi Russo (2:38.450).

Cameron Swain

“The track was a lot different to what I was expecting, I would just go out do the first lap and then pull in so I could go back on the track and have to myself. Tomorrow I will hopefully get pole position and I can wrap up the Championship in the first race.”

Wind in session 2 and session 3 definitely impacted times, and riders will be hoping for less wind tomorrow.

With the fast and blowing Bend circuit, getting the right slip stream will be crucial for Australia’s youngest racers if they want to ensure a strong qualifying position tomorrow before their first of three races for the weekend.

What has been impressive this year in the OJC is the number of riders who have debuted in the class and have been battling at the front from the start including Ryan Larkin, Riley Nauta, Hudson Thompson, Harrison Watts and Toby James, all of whom are in the top 10, as well as Varis Fleming, and Hayden Nelson who unfortunately crashed out injured at the first round missing valuable racing points but sits in 9th place and will no doubt be at the front of the pack after tomorrow’s qualifying and race 1.

bLU cRU OCEANIA JUNIOR CUP Friday Combined Times

The Bend ASBK Schedule