Morris claims crown in tightest of finishes –Â Supersport crown decided in last race of seriesÂ
Maxima Yamaha rider Aaron Morris has claimed the coveted Supersport Championship by the narrowest of margins at the final round of the 2014 YMF Loan Yamaha Australian FX Superbike Championship.
Morris went into the final race of the day at Eastern Creek holding a three point lead over closest rival Aiden Wagner (Wagner Soil Testing), with a brand new R1 up for grabs to the championship winner.
In the final race, Wagner claimed victory (making it three race wins from three on the day), however Morris’ second place had the championship tied on points overall.
On a countback, Morris took the outright honours – his season tally of 11 race wins compared to Wagner’s seven, enough to clinch the title.
Race 1
The first Supersport race got off to a flier with Michael Blair (Campbell Home Timber & Hardware) getting a great start off the line and moving into a lead that he held through the first lap.
Behind him, Morris, Wagner and Callum Spriggs (Allsite Concrete Cutting) jockeyed for position, as they set about reeling Blair in.
That happened on lap two of the race, when Wagner pulled off a couple of stunning moves – passing both Morris and Blair before the latter dropped back into fourth place.
Wagner rode a measured and consistent race from that point on – never giving up his hold on the lead and claiming a well-earned first place finish.
The battle for the minor placings was a fairly non-event, as Morris, Spriggs and Blair held onto their second, third and fourth place positions all the way from lap two through to the end of lap ten.
Race 2
As race two got underway, it was Blair taking the lead off the line from Morris and Wagner.
It was as though we were watching race one all over again, as Wagner moved into the lead on the second lap and began to put a fair gap between himself and his nearest rivals.
Coming through the fourth lap Wagner had already built a 4.608 second lead, while less than two hundredths of a second separated Blair from Morris.
Morris made his move on the next lap, and by the half way mark of the race had moved into clear second, but still a whopping 5.5 seconds in arrears of Wagner.
Behind them Blair and Spriggs continued to battle in third and fourth positions, with Spriggs getting the better of the battle and finishing the race in third.
Ahead of him, Wagner cruised to victory from Morris, and the gap in the championship between the pair leading into the final race was set at just three points.
Race 3
As they took off the line in the final Supersport race, Spriggs took the lead from Morris and Wagner.
Morris moved into the lead on lap two, while Wagner slipped through into second.
It then became a championship that was Morris’ to lose – and as Wagner passed him with four laps remaining, the Maxima Yamaha rider just needed to finish the race status quo.
With a nine second gap to closest rival Spriggs, it was a matter of easing through and finishing the race and that’s exactly what the champion did.
Despite a scare coming down the final straight, Morris held onto second, while Spriggs (who finished the race in fourth) clinched third place overall.
2014 YMF Loan AFX-SBK Supersport Final Round Points
1 Aiden WAGNER (QLD) 75
2 Aaron MORRIS (NSW) 66
3 Callum SPRIGGS (QLD) 58
4 Michael BLAIR (NSW) 56
5 Luke MITCHELL (NSW) 44
6 Aaiden COOTE (WA) 44
7 Brayden ELLIOTT (NSW) 43
8 Paul YOUNG (VIC)Â 40
9 Jordan CARLSSON (QLD) 34
10 Michael KNIGHT (NSW) 32
2014 YMF Loan AFX-SBK Supersport Final Championship Points
1 Aaron MORRIS (NSW) 376
2 Aiden WAGNER (QLD) 376
3 Callum SPRIGGS (QLD) 350
4 Luke MITCHELL (NSW) 224
5 Jay PRESEPIO (SA) 193
6 Aaiden COOTE (WA) 187
7 Michael BLAIR (NSW) 164
8 Brayden ELLIOTT (NSW) 164
9 Daniel FALZON (SA) 139
10 Cambridge OLIVIER (ACT) 137
