F1/F2 recap from St. George MCC Summer Nights Finale

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St. George MCC
Sydney Motorsport Park – Gardner GP Circuit
Round Four – Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2

Words by Nick Edards, Images by Half Light & RbMotoLens

MOTUL St George Summer Nights Series 23/24, or SNS04 for short, consisted of four rounds of quick-fire sprint racing, much of it held under Sydney Motorsport Park’s magnificent floodlights. It wrapped up over the weekend with Round Four, staged over two nights on Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th of February. Round Three had also been run on the same two-night, double-header format, while Rounds One and Two had been single-night affairs.

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St. George MCC Reports for Rounds One, Two and Three can be found below:

Round One Main Report, Round One Supports;
 Round Two Main Report, Round Two Supports.
Round Three Main Report, Round Three Supports

For round four, three classes got a short qualifying session followed by three nine-minute-plus-one-lap races.

Some riders were only able to attend the Saturday races, so to provide them with an opportunity to get a good grid position, there was qualifying held on both Friday and Saturday. A progressive grid format is employed so qualifying sets the grid for Race One, and then Race Two grid reflects Race One finishing order, and Race Three grid is based on Race Two finishing order. Simples.

So, two nights, three races per night, six races in total, meeting points tallied at the end of Saturday racing and, this being the final round, series points and series winners were also finalised at the completion of Saturday’s racing.

The premier class, and the focus of this report, is Pirelli Unlimited which consists of F1 for international/national class riders and F2 for clubbies. F1 and F2 share track time, so it’s effectively two races in one each time they hit the track.

A second report, which will appear later in the week, covers AMA Warehouse 600, the Supersport 600 class which also has F1 national/international and F2 clubbie categories. That Report will also cover AGV Unlimited F3, the class making a return after giving way to the AGV 400cc/Formula St George at Round Three. AGV Unlimited F3 is for club racers not expecting to break the 1:40sec lap time mark. Regular sub 1:40sec laps can see F3 riders bumped up to F2.

Races may be shortened, or worst-case scenario cancelled, to ensure track action is completed by 2230. With sunset at around 2000, there’s plenty of action under Sydney Motorsport Park’s excellent floodlight system.

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The Pirelli Unlimited F1 line-up for Round Four saw series regulars Josh Brookes (BMW M1000RR), Max Stauffer (Yamaha R1) and Lachlan Epis (BMW M1000RR) return for a final spin under lights, along with an impressive array of ASBK riders.

That included current ASBK champion Troy Herfoss (Ducati V4R), former ASBK champions Josh Waters (Ducati V4R) and Mike Jones (Yamaha R1M), plus hard chargers like former ASBK Supersport champions Cru Halliday (Yamaha R1M) and Broc Pearson (Ducati V4R). The stars were out for the final round of Summer Nights.

Points totals coming into Round Four in F1 had Josh Brookes on 240-points, holding a pretty commanding 35-point lead over Stauffer in second, but with six races to run and 25 points on offer to the winner of each, 35 was far from an unassailable lead.

Mathematically still in touch, but with an uphill battle to knock over Brookes or Stauffer on the ladder was Epis on 147-points. Paris Hardwick (Kawasaki ZX10RR) was just a point back from Epis.

In F2, Leanne Nelson (Yamaha R1) held first spot on 214-points, still within reach of Nelson was Tim Griffith (Kawasaki ZX10RR) on 201. Dominic De Leon (Kawasaki ZX10R) and Carlos Rendon (Ducati V4) were also both still in touch on 198, Chris Dunne (Ducati V4), also absent from Round Four, held fifth on 168-points.

Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2 Qualifying 1 (Friday)

Qualifying kicked off at 1730 under almost perfect conditions and in F1 Josh Waters used those conditions to his advantage to post a 1:29.684 to take pole.

Mike Jones, the only other rider to break the 1:30sec barrier, took second with a 1:29.990.

Lachlan Epis, always quick in qualifying, took third from Halliday and Josh Brookes in fourth and fifth.

Leanne Nelson was fastest of the F2 crew, eleventh overall on the grid with a 1:34.331, four-hundredths of a second ahead of Tim Griffith, Carlos Rendon, Daniel Ayash (Ducati V4R) and Scott Gardner (Yamaha R1).

Qualifying 1 Results

Race One

Red flag delays in qualifying meant Race One started a little later than anticipated, but when the lights went out Josh Waters got his head down and went for it. Only Waters and Jones were able to get under the 1:30sec mark in the opening bout.

Waters took the win by a second from Jones. Brookes a further 1.5-seconds back from the Yamaha man. Stauffer and Epis took fourth and fifth, four-seconds adrift of Waters, but with just two-tenths of a second separating them.

That was all we saw of Josh Waters at Round Four. The Mildura star had not previously ridden the 2023 model V4 R at SMP and the McMartin Racing Team used the occasion as a simple shakedown test.

In F2 Griffith got off the line cleanly and was able to pull out a 1.5-second gap on Dominic De Leon by the finish. De Leon had eight-tenths of a second over Nelson. Carlos Rendon and Scott Gardner took fourth and fifth in F2.

Race One Results

Race Two

Despite carding the fastest lap, and the only sub 1:30sec with a 1:29.966, Halliday wasn’t able to take out the win in Race Two. The victory going to Brookes by six-hundredths of a second.

And yes, they were at it all race. Jones was in close company, finishing just a tenth back from team-mate Halliday.

Epis and Stauffer had done well to keep the front trio in sight.  Epis crossed a little under three-seconds back from Brookes. Herfoss was fastest of the Ducatis in sixth, with Dunker and Pearson in very close company.

Griffith was the fastest of the F2 racers again, this time stretching the gap back to second-placed De Leon out to five-seconds with a fastest lap of 1:34.296. Nelson took third, Ayash and Gardner in fourth and fifth.

Race Two Results

Race Three

Race Three, the final race for Friday, and this time it was Brookes from Jones with Halliday in third.

Epis took the fastest lap, and so nearly got back under 1:30sec with a 1:30.007. His pace was good enough to give him fifth but was not enough for him to overhaul Stauffer.

It was Griffith again in F2, but Ayash wasn’t making it too easy for him, just one-tenth of a second between them at the flag. Nelson, Gardner, and De Leon filled out the top five.

Such was the pace of Griffith and Ayash that they were six-seconds clear of Nelson at the conclusion of the seven-lap race.

Race Three Results

Saturday Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2 Qualifying 2

Saturday gave everyone the chance to do it again, but the weather interceded to put a slight dampener on the evening, more on that later.

It was perfect conditions again for qualifying. Jones, Halliday, and Stauffer all broke 1:30sec with Jones fastest on 1:29.362.

Epis and Herfoss couldn’t quite match the Yamaha guys but were good enough for fourth and fifth.

Brookes had a mechanical issue in qualifying which limited him to three laps and a best of 1:31.083, putting him seventh on the grid. The rapid-fire nature of Summer Nights meant there wasn’t enough time to fix the issue and with no spare bike on hand, an early end to the night seemed likely.

Step up Muhammed Burhanuddin who graciously loaned Brookes his bike, an ex-Glenn Allerton machine, to get Brookes back on track. With a few minor adjustments and a change of bodywork, Brookes was back in action for the evening. Classy act by Muhammed and a round of applause is well deserved for his generosity that kept a key player in the game.

In F2 qualifying Griffith was on top with a 1:34.335, good enough for 10th on the grid overall. His best lap was half-a-second quicker than Nelson in second. Gardner, De Leon and Rendon were all in the 1:35s.

Troy Corser was getting some track time ahead of the Post Classic Racing Association Festival of Speed which comes to Sydney Motorsport Park 17-18 of February. The 1993 Australian Superbike, 1994 American Superbike and two-time World Superbike champion was on his 30+ year old OW01, and turned in a best of 1:40.503.

Qualifying 2 Results

Saturday Race One

Race One and Brookes, on Burhanuddin’s loaner, was the only rider to go under 1:30sec, carding a 1:29.841.

However, the race winner was Jones ahead of Halliday and Stauffer, with less than half-a-second separating them. Epis fourth and Brookes fifth.

In F2 it was Griffith from Gardner by three-tenths of a second, with Nelson just a tenth further back. De Leon and Linkenbagh took fourth and fifth in F2.

Race One Results

Saturday Race Two

Jones, Stauffer and Halliday were all over each other in Saturday’s second race but it was Jones who made the break, if you can call half-a-second a break, to take the win.  Stauffer and Halliday were separated by less than three-hundredths of a second at the flag.

Pearson took fourth, Epis fifth and Brookes sixth. Brookes, Pearson, Stauffer and Halliday were all able to crack the 1:30 mark, with Halliday’s 1:29.817 being the fastest. The Yamaha man also managed to crack 303 km/h through the speed trap.

F2 and Griffith made it five from five, winning by a few bike lengths over Ayash, who had fastest F2 lap with a 1:34.345. Nelson, De Leon and Sander Soosar (BMW S1000R) placed third through fifth.

Race Two Results

Saturday Race Three

St George MCC has had a bit of a reputation as a rain-magnet in the past with a lot of racing held, and some of it cancelled, due to poor or even abysmal conditions. Got to love Western Sydney…

SNS04 had artfully dodged the bad stuff throughout the series, but the weather had the last laugh for the finale. A short sharp downpour late in the evening left the track very damp and only five racers took to the grid for the final race of the night, the event and the series.

Soderland was the only F1 competitor to give it a go. The opportunity to get some wet track practice on the R1, having only recently switched from his long-term Ducati mount, was clearly too good to miss. He took out the five-lapper with a best lap time of 1:46.106.

In F2, De Leon took out the race, his 1:49.106 best lap 15-seconds off his typical dry times, from Griffith, Linkenbagh and Nelson.

And that’s all she wrote. The finish was a bit of an anti-climax to the evening and the series, but no one seemed to care too much. It had been a great weekend of racing and a fantastic series. Then it was time for the bench racing and presentation of prizes.

Race Three Results

Overall Round

First, event points. In F1, Mike Jones took out the win with 108-points, from Josh Brookes on 99 and Cru Halliday on 91.

The rain-affected sixth race denied Tim Griffith a clean sweep in F2, but five wins and one second-place from six starts put him well on top to take out the event on 145-points. Dominic De Leon on 115 and Leanne Nelson on 107 got to stand on the second and third spots on the F2 podium.

The end of the road for MOTUL St George Summer Nights 23/24 was the series presentations, and a good crowd hung around to enjoy the smiles and champagne showers.

The F1 title went to Josh Brookes. Simply the most consistent rider in the series, his 339-points was a clear demonstration of his class and the club is lucky to have a racer of his quality turning up weekend after weekend to put on a show and mixing it with the local riders.

Max Stauffer, one of our best up-and-coming talents, took second with a total of 293 points.

Lachlan Epis on 229 took out a well-deserved third place in the series and chalked up some achievements for Dunlop along the way.

Griffith had come into the final round with a 13-point deficit to F2 series leader Leanne Nelson, but Griffith’s form through the weekend was good enough to jump to the top of the table and take the series title with a total of 346-points.

Nelson held on to second with 321. Dominic De Leon took third spot on the podium, just a further eight-points back.

So there endeth SNS04. What a series it was, the club did it again, pulling off a quick-fire championship that any club would be proud of. The quality of racing across all categories was fantastic.

Anyone who’s been bitten by the night racing bug will be hoping for more of the same when SNS05 gets underway at the back end of this year.

Racing is about the racers, but there would be no racing without the volunteers who keep the show on the road. Orange Army, race control, medics, recovery crews, race announcers and, of course, the organisational artistry of the one and only Mick O’Brien (and anyone else I’ve forgotten). Their names might not appear on the results sheets, but the event is as much theirs as the racers. You are the best.

Pirelli Unlimited F1 Round 4 Overall

Pirelli Unlimited F2 Round 4 Overall

Pirelli Unlimited F1 Final Standings

Pirelli Unlimited F2 Final Standings

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St George MCC