Supersport & FSG/400 cc round ups from St. George Summer Nights Round Three

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

Words by Nick Edards – Images by Half Light & RbMotoLens

As promised, here’s the second race report from the MOTUL St George Summer Nights Series 23/24 (aka SNS04) Round Three. The previous report covered the Pirelli Unlimited F1/F2 classes and you can find it here (link). This report covers AMA Warehouse 600 F1 (international/national riders) and F2 (clubbies); plus AGV 400 cc (Kawasaki 400, Yamaha R3) and Formula St George (NSF250, MT07, Aprilia RS660 and more).

AMA Warehouse 600 F1/F2 share track time. So does AGV 400 cc and Formula St George. The latter class was making its first appearance at a Summer Nights event. There was no AGV Unlimited F3 at this third round.

The usual format of MOTUL St George Summer Nights racing applied, with both classes having a short qualifying followed by three sprint races. The format was repeated for both Friday and Saturday nights, this being the first of the double-header, two-night rounds of SNS04.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Friday Qualifying

In AMA Warehouse 600, coming into Round Three, Jonathan Nahlous headed the F1 table ahead of Jack Favelle  and Marcus Hamod.

In F2, Tim Rodley held top spot with Tim Hunt and Kristian O’Donnell in second and third and with Rodley still in their sights.

In qualifying, the top four in AMA Warehouse 600 F1 were covered by a little over half a second with Declan Van Rosmalen taking pole with a 1:34.21

Nahlous, Favelle and Marianos Nikolis all breaking the 1:35sec barrier. Hayden Helson took fifth spot on the grid.

In F2, Tim Rodley kept the momentum going with a 1:39.126 lap, giving him twelfth on the grid. O’Donnell took second spot and Phil Keable, Keith Mulcahy and Tim Hunt taking out the remainder of the top five grid positions in the category.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Qualifying Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race One (Friday)

In Race One, Jonathan Nahlous demonstrated the form in F1 that would stay with him through both nights of Round Three. A near two-second lead over Favelle after the seven-lapper was easily good enough for the win.

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Favelle had established a lead of over five seconds from Van Rosmalen in third, with Passfield and Nelson in fourth and fifth.

In F2, Tim Rodley kept up his challenge for the series win but O’Donnell didn’t make it easy for him, with less than two-tenths of a second separating them at the flag. Hunt, Mulchay and William Binks took third through fifth.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race One Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race Two (Friday)

Race Two and in F1 it was Nahlous and Favelle again up-front but the margin of victory much slimmer, Favelle just seven-tenths back at race finish.

Nikolis was two-seconds back from the lead pair, with Van Rosmalen and Hamod a further five seconds in arrears from Nikolis.

O’Donnell took out F2 from Rodley, Hunt and Mulcahy. The lead pair were six seconds ahead of the second group at the finish, with just two-tenths of a second splitting them.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race Two Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race Three (Friday)

Race Three was the final race of the Friday evening and in F1 Nahlous went three-for-three with a narrow win over Nikolis. Favelle was not able to stay in touch, finishing third some four-seconds adrift. Hamod and Nelson rounded out the top five.

In F2 Rodley took another win, this time from Hunt by a little less than a second. Mulcahy continued his consistent run of good results with a third-place finish. Gregor Robertson and Binks were fourth and fifth.

With qualifying and three more races to run on Saturday, Jonathan Nahlous’s three wins gave him a 17-point lead over Favelle in the F1 points table with Nikolis, Van Rosmalen and Hamod covered by just four-points in third through fifth.

In F2, Rodley’s two wins and a second place were more than good enough to see him at the top of the points ladder on 70-points, 14 ahead of Hunt with Mulcahy, Binks and O’Donnell still very much in touch.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race Three Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Qualifying 2 (Saturday)

Saturday qualifying saw Marianos Nikolis take pole in F1 with a 1:33.875, the only sub 1:34 lap of the session. Nelson, Nahlous, Favelle and Van Rosmalen rounded out the top five.

In F2 Phil Keable scored fastest lap with a 1:29.278 ahead of Mulcahy, series leader Rodley and Robertson.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Qualifying 2 Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race 1 (Saturday)

Race One. In F1 it was Nahlous. Again. But this time Favelle was on top form and just four-hundredths of a second behind in second.

Sean Condon was four seconds back in third closely followed by Nelson. Hamod rounded out the top five.

In F2, Keable converted his good grid position into a win, and Rodley continued to bring in the points with a second place. Hunt, Mulcahy and Shane O’Brien held third through fifth.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race 1 Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race 2 (Saturday)

Nahlous was on a roll and enjoying it. Another win in race two, this time from Nikolis, underlined just how consistent he was through the weekend. Nikolis did well to stay on pace and to only lose out to Nahlous by one-tenth of a second.

Favelle was still in touch at the finish, Condon and Jack Passfield had been dropped by the leaders coming home in fourth and fifth respectively.

Tim Rodley took the F2 win, Tim Hunt hot on his feels, and Keith Mulcahy rounded out the top three.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race 2 Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race 3 (Saturday)

On to the last AMA Warehouse 600 race of the weekend and it was Jonathan Nahlous for the F1 clean sweep, six wins out of six starts so there’s no prizes for working out who took the meeting points win.

His final win of the weekend was with a one second gap back to Jack Favelle who also took out second place in the meeting points total. Hayden Nelson, third in the race and third in the meeting finished some ten seconds back from Favelle, unsurprising as there was nearly one and half seconds difference in their respective fastest laps.

Hamod and Brandon Demmery (#11 Race DNA Yamaha R6) completed the top five in Race Three. Hamod and Nikolis took fourth and fifth in the meeting points.

Race Three in F2 was pretty hectic with Tim Hunt taking the win on his distinctive Daytona 675. No trouble picking up his bike from a distance with its bright orange and blue livery!

Mulcahy scored second, Rodley, Keadle and Robertson took third through fifth.

Meeting points win went to Tim Rodley with 133-points and Tim Hunt took second on 119. Mulcahy, Hore and O’Donnell in third through fifth places in F2.

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Race 3 Results

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 & F2 Overall

With three rounds of AMA Warehouse 600 run, what’s the points position going into the fourth and final, and double header so double points, round?

In F1 Jonathan Nahlous holds a commanding although not unassailable lead of 56-points over Jack Favelle, with Marcus Hamod, Sean Condon and Marianos Nikolis in third through fifth.

In F2, Tim Rodley has a healthy 25-point lead over Tim Hunt but with six races to run and twenty five points for the winner of each, it’s a lead that he’ll have to work hard to defend and Hunt will be on a high with his win in the final race of Round three.

Phil Keable, Keith Mulcahy and Shane O’Brien round out the top five.

Jonathon Nahlous – AMA Warehouse 600 F1

“Another great couple of nights racing under lights. Always such great racing with the boys and again really challenging us and not making it easy. It had me on my toes all race every race. So happy to finally take out the round win over the two nights and extend my lead in the championship. Keen for the last rounds in a couple of weeks.”

Jack Favelle – AMA Warehouse 600 F1

“The racing was really good and it was an awesome event as usual. I had lots of fun and it’s really nice to do two nights of racing in a row and to be able to work on things for two days straight. The team had the bike feeling amazing! That, along with my coach Stephanie Redman’s help, allowed me to do PB’s and to fight with the top guys which I’m super happy about. I hope to keep this progression going throughout the year and it was a super positive way to start off the year.”

Marianos Nikolis – AMA Warehouse 600 F1

“I couldn’t wait to get down to the St George Summer Night Series as I always manage to have a lot of fun and it never disappoints. I was very excited to shakedown the new R6 as it’s still a work in progress. Getting it dialed in, managing to get on the podium with very limited time on the bike and also setting my PB of a 1:33.0 keeps me excited as I know there is room for more. I would like to thank Motoschool Australia for all their coaching and support, Dave Gow for supplying me a great package out of the box, Troy Corser for his words of wisdom and lastly to St George for the great racing and atmosphere that the Night Series provides. Hanging out for the next one!”

Tim Rodley – AMA Warehouse 600 F2

“Many thanks to the club for putting on such a great weekend of racing. The double header of jam-packed racing definitely put the fitness to the test! Overall I had a great weekend with lots of close battles dicing it up with both F1 and F2 riders. It’s great being able to share the track and to try to keep up with some of the national and international level talent. Really happy to be going into the final round holding the championship lead, although I know the target’s on my back now and I have to keep the momentum going. Big thanks to those that help me – Motocity Australia, Rossi Motoworks, and Figtree Gourmet Kitchen.”

Tim Hunt – AMA Warehouse 600 F2

“It was another phenomenal weekend of racing with St George MCC. The Summer Night Series is something special every year and always seems to push riders to new heights. I’m doing my best times at the moment, but so is everyone else! The 600cc field is so competitive right now and I’m absolutely loving it.”

Keith Mulcahy – AMA Warehouse 600 F2

“I’m very happy to get a podium in the F2 class on what was a weekend of very exciting racing. I had a small clutch issue in the first race on Saturday night which we fixed between races. Congratulations to both Tim’s that finished ahead of me on the podium. And a massive thanks to St George Motorcycle Club and all the marshals that made this weekend possible.”

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 Round Overall

AMA Warehouse 600 F2 Round Overall

AMA Warehouse 600 F1 Standings

AMA Warehouse 600 F2 Standings

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Friday Qualifying

As AGV 400 cc and Formula St George (FSG) were standalone events within SNS04, there was no points tally from previous rounds.

Races in this class provided great viewing given the difference in bikes on track. Seeing a Honda NSF250R battling with an Aprilia 660RS fighting with an R3 fighting with a ZX400R makes for great entertainment. The riders reported that it was as much fun on track as it was to watch.

In Friday’s qualifying, Carter Thompson (Honda NSF250R)  set the scene for what would be a very productive weekend by laying down a 1:41.319 in to take FSG pole.

Levi Russo (NSF250R) and Brian Bolster (Aprilia RS660) took second and third with just three-hundredths of a second separating their lap times, showing how these very different machines could be expected to deliver very similar lap times.

Brodie Gawith (ZX-4RR) was fourth.  Keo Watson  on the amazing Ninja 650-engined, 1990 Honda CBR250RR-framed Saint 650RR was fifth.

Fastest of the 400 cc class was Adam Harding (Ninja 400) with a 1:43.471, less than four-tenths ahead of Joshua Newman (Ninja 400). These times gave Harding and Newman eighth and ninth on the grid.

Third through fifth in 400 cc qualifying went to Ryan Larkin (Yamaha R3), Brad Henman (Ninja 400) and Will Nassif (Yamaha R3).

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Qualifying Results

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race One (Friday)

In Race One in FSG, Carter Thompson lost ground off the line to Bolster and Watson but once up to speed made was able to reel them in and take the win by a little over three and half seconds. Bolster the runner-up, with Russo a similar distance back in third, Gawith in fourth and Watson in fifth.

In the 400 cc category, Adam Harding’s pole set him up nicely for the class win, crossing an impressive sixth overall. Joshua Newman was a couple of seconds back but then there was 20-seconds between him and Larkin, the third 400 cc class machine to cross the line. Henman and Nassif took fourth and fifth.

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race One Results

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race Two (Friday)

Race Two, Carter Thompson for the win again in FSG, gapping Henry Snell (ZX400RR) by seven-seconds with Gawith, Watson and Bolster all within a second and a half of Snell.

In 400 cc it was Harding over Newman again and just two tenths of a second to separate them at the flag. Larkin, Lincoln Knight (Yamaha R3) and Nassif were third through fifth.

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race Two Results

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race Three (Friday)

Race three, was the last race of the evening, and Carter did it again, this time by five seconds from Bolster with Watson, Gawith and Snell filling out the top five spots in FSG.

Harding scored a convincing 30-second win in 400 cc with Nassif, John Pelgrave (Yamaha R3), William Hunt (Yamaha R3) and Henman in the remaining top five spots.

At the end of the first evening’s racing, with qualifying and three more races to come on Saturday, in FSG Carter’s three from three gave him top spot on 75-points with Bolster scoring well in all races to put himself in second place. Gawith, Watson and Levi Russo held third through fifth with just an eight-point spread.

The 400 cc class saw Harding on top also with three from three, putting him in a strong position going into Saturday with Nassif, Pelgrave, Hunt and Knight all holding down top five positions.

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race Three Results

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race 1 (Saturday)

In Saturday’s qualifying, Carter Thompson maintained his pace from Friday and took pole with a 1:39.906, three-tenths quicker than Levi Russo.

Snell, Gawith and Watson were all within a second, give or take a few thousandths of a second, of Thompson’s pole position time.

In 400 cc Newman edged out Harding by three-tenths of a second to claim tenth overall on the grid.

Come Race One it was… yep, Thompson again with a six second win over Snell. Gawith was right on Snell’s tail at the finish line and Watson and Bolster, in fourth and fifth respectively, were all across the line within a second of Snell. Lovely close racing it was too.

Newman took the 400 cc class again from Harding with Larkin, Knezovic (Yamaha R3) and Nassif taking the minor places.

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race 1 Results

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race 2 (Saturday)

Race Two saw Thompson win by 10-seconds. And to spare the excitement, yes he won Race Three as well. Snell, Watson, Bolster and Russo were bracketed by six-tenths of a second at the flag for yet more fun racing for them and for spectators.

400 cc again went to Newman from Harding, with Henman, Knezovic and Larkin, third through fifth – separated by less then two-tenths of a second.

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race 2 Results

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race 3 (Saturday)

I already spoiled the surprise didn’t I? Thompson won FSG with Russo second, Watson, Snell and Archie Schmidt (NSF250R) in third through fifth.

Bolster’s DNF would unfortunately see him drop spots in the final points tally.

Newman was well and truly in the groove by now and took 400 cc victory from Harding by eight-seconds. Larkin, Knezovic and Nassif came home third through fifth.

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Race 3 Results

AGV 400 cc & Formula St George Overall

AGV 400 cc and Formula St George gave us some of the most entertaining racing of the weekend and it would appear the riders had a ball too. Let’s hope we see another big field of disparate bikes out under lights again soon.

Points totals for their standalone appearance at SNS04 saw, as you might have guessed, Carter Thompson take out FSG with a perfect 150-points, Keo Watson’s consistency on the Saint ST650R gave him second, Levi Russo, Henry Snell and Brian Bolster all put in great performances for their top five spots.

Finally, the 400 cc class. Adam Harding for the win with a 20-point gap over Joshua Newman. Will Nassif took third, Ryan Larkin fourth and John Pelgrave fifth.

That wraps up the Round Three race report. There’s not much time to kick back though as the fourth and final round of MOTUL St George Summer Nights Series 23/24 will be basking in the light of Sydney Motorsports Parks floods on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th of February.

Adam Harding – AGV 400 cc

“Ecstatic with clinching victory in my first event racing a 400 and doing it under lights made the experience even more special. We had a great start Friday night taking the three wins but weren’t able to reproduce the pace on Saturday night, a great result nonetheless. Exploring my capabilities amongst the talented field added to the thrill. Huge thanks to Mark Watson for the opportunity and the Proworx Racing Team for their efforts in providing me with such a well-prepared bike, St. George for orchestrating a stellar event, the Marshalls and photographers for their efforts.”

Josh Newman – AGV 400 cc

“It was a fantastic opportunity getting to race this double-header round of the St George motorcycle club Summer Night Series onboard the Kawasaki Ninja 400. I decided to switch back to the 400 for this round as I begin to prepare for the upcoming ASBK season. The first night didn’t go exactly to plan when I had a small issue with my gear lever whilst leading the 400 class in the third race forcing me to DNF but I came back on the second night taking first in qualifying in the 400 class and all three race wins. It was also great to battle with some of the faster Formula St George class bikes.”

Will Nassif – AGV 400 cc

“Yeah, it was really close racing and I look forward to the next time they bring the 400 class back.”

Carter Thompson – Formula St George

“It was a great weekend of racing at the St George Summer Series. It was also good racing at SMSP and racing under lights for the first time made it even better. Huge thanks to the St George club for including the Formula St George class for this round, appreciate their support of this class. Really enjoyed getting some racing in before I head back overseas to start 2024 season with Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. It was good lining up on the grid with my brother, Hudson. That doesn’t happen often so I really enjoyed that. Great event, great for the spectators, can’t wait to do another one.”

Keo Watson – Formula St George

“The St George Motorcycle club run a great race meeting. This was my first time doing the Summer Night Series and it was some of the most fun I’ve had on two wheels. The racing this series is producing and the level of riders that it’s attracting is a testament to the organisers, they’re putting on an incredible event. I was stoked to come away with second after such hard battles on track and in such a strong field. Can’t wait to do it all again next time!”

Levi Russo – Formula St George

“The St George Summer Night Series Round Three, for me, was the best training I’ve had in a long time, I love the events put on by St George, it’s always the best racing and fun weekends, It is great to go up against some faster bikes so they push me to go faster and every time I come back I’m always improving. For example this weekend I got into the 1:39s where my last best was a 1:41 so the event, the racing, and the fun is always great. I’d love to see more people down there pushing each other to better the lap times!”

AGV 400cc Round Overall/Standings

Formula St George Round Overall/Standings

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St George MCC

• Round Four: Friday 9^th/Saturday 10^th February