Recapping the 600 and F3 action from Motul Summer Nights Series opener

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St. George MCC
Sydney Motorsport Park – Gardner GP Circuit
Round One – Supersport & F3

Words and images by Nick Edards / Half Light

The opening round of the St George MCC Summer Nights Series (SNS05) took place under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on the evening of December 7.

We’ve already posted a report on the Pirelli Unlimited class races. That report covers the challenges the event faced, and also the three classes of racing (anyone who says Australia is a classless society has never been racing), so if you’re not familiar with how things run at a Summer Nights event, I’d encourage you to go and read that.

Here we cover the AGV 600 F1 & F2 classes, which share track time, and Airoh Unlimited F3 / Five Gloves Retro, which also share track time.

Airoh Unlimited F3

Unlimited F3 is for clubbies not expected to breach a 1m40sec lap time mark and stringent rules are in place that will see racers breaking the bracket time bumped up to Unlimited F2. On track at the same time as F3 is the Five Gloves Retro category, in which there were just two entrants at this round, but hopefully we’ll see more in future.

Qualifying saw Paul Drane take pole with a 1m40.034 ahead of Lachlan Brinkman and Andrew Simson.

Quickest of the two Retros was Phillip Burke on the ZXR750 with a time that put him ninth on the grid in a field of 22.

There was a long delay to attend to an injured rider at the end of this session, his injuries did require hospitalisation and we wish him a speedy recovery.

It was with the best of intentions for Race One to be a seven-lapper but the clouds opened after just two laps and the race was called at that point. Lachlan Brinkman declared the winner ahead of Daing Hassanal and Andrew Simson. Phillip Burke bought the ZXR750 home in tenth overall to take out the Retro win.

Race Two was very much wet from the start and, as with other classes, the conditions led to many racers not taking to the field. Limited to five laps, Andrew Simson took the win from Lachlan Brinkman with Robert Salvia in third. Phillip Burke was the only Retro on track so took out the class win and an impressive fourth place overall.

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The 2230 curfew prevented Race Three being run so the event points were based on just two races. Lachlan Brinkman taking the win in Airoh Unlimited F3 on 45-points from Andrew Simson on 43-points with Robert Salvia in third on 43-points.

In Retro, Phillip Burke took out the class win on 50-points from his two wins. Gregory Farrell, on the RC30, took out second in class.

Airoh Unlimited F3 Qualifying Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Race One Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Race Two Results

Simon Walters – Airoh Unlimited F3

“St George Motorcycle Club has done it again. What a great event the summer night series is. For me it’s all about the people. The fact that all these people love racing motorbikes certainly helps!

“The night itself was interrupted with a bit of a delay and a mad scramble in the pits as riders and teams made the switch to wets. The camaraderie was evident as riders and teams jumped in to help their on-track rivals. It was also great to see the shared excitement and joy shared by riders achieving unexpected success.

“Everything from young talent competing with a BSB champ on a new bike to a rising star winning a race from the back of the grid. For some it was the excitement of racing in the rain for the first time. For others it was just nailing a start. The smiles are everywhere you look. The connection is there and it’s interwoven between everyone involved. From the club racer battling at the back to the ASBK guys flying at the front. From the volunteers, event organisers, photographers, officials, and spectators. I have heard it referred to as a circus. One that I’m glad exists and grateful to be a part of!”

Airoh Unlimited F3 Round Overall/Standings

AGV 600 F1 & F2

Supersport class racing is always exciting to watch and the national class riders in F1 included Jake Farnsworth, Marcus Hamod, Mark Chiodo, Will Nassif (stepping up from 400), Glenn Nelson and Hayden Nelson.

F2, the clubbies class, had some quick club riders on-deck so the evening hinted at some good racing to come.

Mark Chiodo was very quick in qualifying, taking pole with a 1m34.559, nearly a second ahead of Jake Farnsworth in second. Glenn Nelson locked in third with Will Nassif, already impressive on the 600, and Marcus Hamod rounding out the top five.

Fastest of the F2 crew was Alex Tamras with a 1m39.201 which placed him sixth on the grid. Timothy Rodley second in class and seventh on grid, just a half a second in arrears. Leonardo Soffiato Di Lorenzo, Keith Mulcahy and Christian Rossi rounded out the F2 top five.

Race One and it was Mark Chiodo, Jake Farnsworth and Glenn Nelson who battled for the win. Chiodo taking the flag with a little over half a second covering the trio.

In F2, Alex Tamras converted his strong grid position into a class win holding a near three second lead over Rodley after the 7-laps wound down. Mulcahy was third, barely half a second behind Rodley. Rossi and Bojan Bozhinovski took fourth and fifth respectively. Fastest lap for the race also went to Chiodo with a 1m34.647.

Race Two saw a much-depleted field due to a weather front coming in which saw organisers reduce the race distance to five-laps.

To say Farnsworth adapted to the conditions the quickest is a bit of an understatement. Farnsworth’s fastest lap of 1m54.171 was 1.2sec quicker than the best of the rest.

Jake Farnsworth held a lead of 18-seconds from Nelson by the end of the wet, humid and mostly unpleasant five-lap race.

Kristian O’Donnell was not only quickest of the F2 crew but he also took out third place overall. Marcus Hamod (F1) and Tom Fellew (F2) rounded out the top five.

Conditions improved for the third and final bout which took place on a still very damp circuit. Will Nassif showed real form to hold Jake Farnsworth at bay. It’s a shame that battle didn’t get to go full-distance as the race was red-flagged after three laps. There was insufficient time in the schedule to allow for a restart.

Nassif the winner by a shade over two-tenths of a second. Farnsworth still managed to lay down the fastest lap with a 1m47.44, a fraction quicker than Nassif. Glenn Nelson and Hamod took third and fourth while Kristian O’Donnell excelled to finish fifth overall and first in F2 class. Rossi, Rodley, Mulcahy and Bozhinovski rounded out the F2 top five.

Squaring away the points for the night, Farnsworth took F1 honours with his win and two second place finishes giving him 65-points. Glenn Nelson took second with 56-points and Marcus Hamod came away with third place on the podium with 51-points.

In F2, It was O’Donnell on the top step with 66- points, Christian Rossi in second with 55-points and Keith Mulcahy in third on 52-points.

The action will be back under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park for SNS05 Round Two, the first of the double-headers, on 10th-11th January. F3 is just a two-round series with other classes taking their place at SNS Round Three 7th-8th February

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Qualifying Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Race One Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Race Two Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Race Three Results

Jake Farnsworth – AGV 600 F1

“It was great to be back once again at the summer night series. We are using the series as a testing program, developing and trying new things for the upcoming ASBK season. However it was great to have some battles and get a race win on my Pirelli wet tyres.I would like to thank my team and sponsors for all their support and a fantastic 2024.I’d also like to thank the club for putting on a great event. See you all in 2025!”

Marcus Hamod – AGV 600 F1

“Great night at Summer Nights on Saturday last week, It gave us an opportunity to test and try new things throughout the night. Had the chance to ride in the rain under lights on the 600 which is something I haven’t done before. Happy to come away with 3rd overall for the night and i’m super keen for the next one in January.”

Kristian O’Donnell – AGV 600 F2

“With no expectations for this round after being off the road bike for 8 months qualifying and race 1 went as expected. But race 2 and 3, I was not expecting to be up the front but my flat track riding seems to have helped me with my wet weather riding. It was so awesome to be racing at Sydney under light with St George Motorcycle Club again.”

AGV 600 F1 Round Overall/Standings
AGV 600 F2 Round Overall/Standings

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St George MCC