Daniel Falzon loses race one points from Hidden Valley
The controversy from Hidden Valley continued this week as Motorcycling Australia Inspectors made adjudications which again, among other matters arising at Hidden Valley, considered the matter of whether Daniel Falzon should have in fact been allowed to make the race one re-start in Darwin. And thus whether Falzon should get to keep the 15 points the South Australian earned from his sixth place finish at the 2.87km circuit.
A red flag had been produced to stop the opening race in Darwin. Kyle Buckley was injured and left stricken in a dangerous place on the circuit. Buckley and Falzon had come together on the entrance to turn five, as Falzon passed Buckley under brakes before a right-hander.
Daniel Falzon took his place on the grid for the restart and eventually finished sixth.
23-year-old Falzon was stripped of his points after the race by officials on the ground at Hidden Valley, after they took into account the evidence before them, and decided that Falzon had been responsible for the red flag stoppage, and thus should not have been permitted to re-start.
JD Racing, the family backed team that Daniel Falzon rides for, then appealed that decision and the 23-year-old had his appeal upheld. Falzon’s 15-points were reinstated, which saw him level with Troy Herfoss at the top of the ASBK Championship Points Standings.
A further independent enquiry has now deemed that Falzon should not have been allowed to re-start the race. Thus his sixth position in the race is deemed void and subsequently his 15 championship points also cancelled.
With the championship points standings now adjusted to reflect Falzon’s zero points from that opening bout at Hidden Valley defending champion, Troy Herfoss now holds a 13-point lead over BCperformance Kawasaki’s Robbie Bugden. Falzon remains the leading Yamaha rider in the championship with 155-points to Maxwell’s 148. Hidden Valley double-victor Josh Waters is in fifth place on 135-points.
Yamaha Motor Insurance Australian Superbike Championship Points Standings
- Troy Herfoss 170
- Robbie Bugden 157
- Daniel Falzon 155
- Wayne Maxwell 148
- Josh Waters 135
- Bryan Staring 131
- Cru Halliday 110
- Corey Turner 81
- Beau Beaton 79
- Mitch Levy 78
- Matt Walters 75
- Troy Guenther 74
- Kyle Buckley 68
- Michael Blair 65
- Josh Hook 58
- Callum Spriggs 39
- Glenn Allerton 35
- Adam Senior 33
- Aaiden Coote 33
- Alex Phillis 32
Motorcycling Australia Statement
Motorcycling Australia (MA) wishes to advise of the results from two investigations conducted by MA Inspectors and a protest hearing into racing incidents in the Australian Superbike Championship Superbike and Supersport 300 classes at Round 4, held at Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin, July 7-9.
Notice is now given, that determinations following these further investigations at the request of MA, in relation to riders involved in on track incidents occurring in Superbike Race One and Supersport 300 Race One & Three have now been reached.
Superbike Race One
The incident that involved contact between riders Daniel Falzon (#25) and Kyle Buckely (#83) on Sunday 09 July, has now been reviewed by independent arbiters.
The Clerk of Course on 09 July, made a decision allowing Daniel Falzon (#25) to re-start the red flagged Race One, based on the time available, limited incident information and resources at that moment.
Upon further evidence becoming available, and according to General Competition Rules (GCR) and supplementary regulations as they stand, it has since been determined that the Clerk of Course made the correct decision at the time, to then exclude Daniel Falzon (#25) from Race One, as per GCR 10.12.13.4.b.i. Therefore, the original penalty of exclusion is unanimously upheld.
After further inquiry, it was found that the Steward made an error of judgement in the subsequent protest initiated by Daniel Falzon (#25).
Outcomes
- Daniel Falzon (#25) is excluded from the results and points of Race One.
- No action will be taken against Kyle Buckley (#83)
- Operational review has now commenced to improve information flow towards the Clerk of Course during race stoppages.
- Operational review commenced in relation to protest hearing processes.
- An immediate review of the MoMS item 10.12.12 Stopping Events to be conducted by the relevant committees/commissions to clarify and remove any ambiguities wherever possible.
Supersport 300 Race One
Red flag incident at Turn One, involving Corey Briffa (#23) and Scott Nicolson (#39) on Saturday 08 July, has concluded.
Corey Briffa (#23) and Scott Nicholson (#39) were unable to avoid a motorcycle they were closely following Brandon Demmery (#1), when it’s engine suddenly lost power, and therefore are not held responsible for the incident.
Brandon Demmery (#1) had no direct control over his engine suddenly losing power in the manner that it did, and is also deemed unaccountable for the incident.
Accordingly, Corey Briffa (#23) and Scott Nicholson (#39) have been reinstated in Supersport 300 Race One points.
Outcomes
- Corey Briffa (#23) and Scott Nicholson (#39) reinstated Race One
- No action will be taken against Corey Briffa (#23), Scott Nicholson (#39) or Brandon Demmery (#1)
- Operational review commenced in relation to protest hearing processes.
- An immediate review of the MoMS item 10.12.12 Stopping Events to be conducted by the relevant committees/commissions to clarify and remove any ambiguities wherever possible.
Supersport 300 Race Three
Hearing conducted for a protest submitted regarding the riding conduct of rider Jack Mahaffy (#37) on Sunday 09 July has concluded.
The protest related to a determination written by the Clerk of Course in which rider Jack Mahaffy (#37) is accused of “acting in a reckless and dangerous manner”.
Jack Mahaffy (#37) was penalised with a two-place relegation in the results of race Three. Upon review by the Steward, the initial penalty as determined by the Clerk of Course in awarding a two-place relegation, has been amended to a one-place relegation penalty.
Results for Supersport 300 Race Three will now reinstate competitor Jack Mahaffy (#37) into the appropriate position.
Outcomes
- Jack Mahaffy (#37) sanctioned with a one position penalty in Race Three.
Hi-Tec Batteries Australian Supersport 300 Championship Points Standings (Over 300cc)
- Tom Bramich 187.5
- Jack Mahaffy 176
- Brandon Demmery 174
- Billy Van Eerde 160
- Zac Levy 156
- Corey Briffa 144.5
- Tom Edwards 144
- Ben Bramich 137.5
- Ty Lynch 125
- Max Croker 123.5
- Hunter Ford 123.5
- Jack Passfield 94
- Boyd Hocking 93
- Jarred Brook 65.5
- Ryan Taylor 57
In the above matters, MA believes that it has exercised reasonable diligence and has acted appropriately in these separate instances, by examining all relevant procedures and protocols in relation to incident review processes, as set out in the 2017 Manual of Motorcycle Sport (MoMS) in addition to the relevant supplementary regulations (Supp Regs). The above circumstances emanating from Round 4, will add to the overall streamlining and improvement of protocols and processes for the championship going forward.
