New champions crowned in Swann Series support classes –Â Eastern Creek Support Class wrap – Sunday
Simon Galloway, Angus Reekie, Brandon Demmery and Chris Trounson – just a few of the riders who won Championships in their respective classes at the 2014 Swann Insurance Australasian Superbike Championship at Eastern Creek.
Pro Twins
In the opening race, Craig McMartin (Racers Edge Performance) took the lead off the start with Kevin Curtain (Trinder Aprilia Racing) hot on his tail.
There was nothing between them through the first two laps and on lap three of the race, Curtain made his move – a lovely pass propelling him into the lead.
It was a lead that he never surrendered in the race – and despite the fact that McMartin was never more than a second behind, the experience of the Aprilia rider was telling as he took the race win.
Simon Galloway (Cessnock Motorcycles) finished the race in third while Aprilia rider Mario Gonzalez claimed fourth.
In race two Curtain looked the goods early, as he flew off the start, and by the end of the opening lap had opened up a three second gap over nearest rival Paul Dutton.
His caused was helped by the absence of McMartin on the grid, but Curtain still rode hard to widen the gap from his closest rivals.
Gonzalez worked his way into second over the first few laps, and at the halfway mark it was Curtain from Gonzales and Dutton.
That’s the way it stayed for the remainder of the race – Curtain making it two from two and finishing nearly nine seconds clear to take another win.
In the third and final race for the day, it was again Curtain who led from start to finish – getting a great start off the line to take a commanding early lead.
He was followed by Dutton and Gonzalez, before Gonzalez (who received a 15-second jump-start penalty) was forced to retire from the race.
Galloway was running third in class but at the half-way mark of the race was already 10 seconds behind leader Curtain.
Curtain continued his push at the front of the field, and by the time he reached the chequered flag had established an 8.594 second lead from Dutton, while Chris Perini ended the race in third.
Galloway’s fourth placing in the race was enough to hand him the overall championship win, and he admitted that he was in conservative mode to make sure he finished all the day’s races.
Galloway finished the series 50 points ahead of James Arnold (The Little Red Grape) in second, with New South Welshman Kris Keen finishing the series in third spot.
Nakedbikes
Angus Reekie (KTM Racing) continued where he left off on Saturday, by storming to the front of the Nakedbike field in the opening race.
He held the lead from fellow KTM rider Luke Follacchio (Lukey Luke Stuntrider), who had managed to put a three second gap to nearest rival Adrian Pierpoint (Quadrant Dev) after four laps.
Follacchio extended that lead to five seconds heading to the chequered flag to claim second, but it was all Reekie putting in another solid display of racing to take the opening race win.
For a wrap up of race two, just re-read opening race report above. That’s because it was a case of déjà vu, as Reekie worked his way into a huge lead in the opening part of the race.
Follacchio again settled in second, while Rennie Scaysbrook (LTR) and Pierpoint were locked in a tight battle for third.
Pierpoint eventually took the third place honours, but it was Reekie and Follacchio who finished above him on the podium.
In the third race Reekie again led from start to finish – streaking clear early from Follacchio who had Pierpoint hot on his tail.
Follacchio held Pierpoint at bay to claim second spot in the race and second overall for the day.
The results ended up giving Reekie a two-point championship win from Pierpoint – the pair being the only riders in the class to have entered every round of the series.
Kawasaki FX300 Ninja Cup
Off the line in the opening race it was Kyle Buckley taking an early lead from Brendan Demmery, Bailie Perriton and Robbie Phillis.
Perriton moved into the lead on the second lap, before Buckley wrestled control of the lead on the next lap.
Demmery soon took the opportunity to have a turn at the front, and as has been the case all year, it looked like being a game of musical chairs all the way to the finish line.
At the halfway mark of the race it was Demmery from Perriton, Buckley and Phillis and it stayed that way for the next couple of maps.
Then there was movement – Buckley snatching the lead at the beginning of the final lap, while Perriton passed Demmery into second.
There was less than half a second between the trio the whole way around the final lap, and as they turned on the final corner heading to the finish line it was anyone’s race.
In the end it was Buckley who claimed the narrowest of wins, with Demmery moving into second on the line and Perriton having to settle for third.
The second race of this class was much like the first – the top three riders battling and jostling for positions, with Phillis not far behind in fourth.
The race saw every possible top-three combination of Buckley, Demmery and Perriton enacted throughout, and again it came down to a photo finish on the line.
It was Demmery who came out on top – learning from his finish earlier to go one better this time round, and the Noise Guard Racing rider pumped his fist in ecstasy as he crossed the line victorious.
Buckley had to settle for second place, with Perriton finishing half a second behind in third.
The third race effectively became the battle for the championship crown, and what a fitting end to the closest competing class in 2014.
It was a battle between Demmery and Buckley all the way to the finish line – with a championship on the line for the race winner.
Heading down the final straight the pair was side by side as Buckley drifted across the straight pushing Demmery off the track.
The pair came together before Demmery held his nerve and finished in front – which was only confirmed after a video review.
After the race Buckley was disqualified by the Clerk of Course for unsportsmanlike riding, but the disqualification did not matter – Demmery was crowned the champion.
Despite the disqualification, Buckley still finished the championship in second place, while Perriton took out the final spot on the podium.
Formula Oz
The opening race of the class saw Matthew Harding (K&R Hydraulics) jump to an early race lead ahead of Chris Trounson (Gas Honda Racing), Brayden Carr (Fastaway Couriers) and Ben Nicolson (NextGen Motorsports).
Harding set about extending his lead in the early stages of the race, as Nicolson made his move past Carr on the second lap, and then Trounson on lap three to push up into second spot.
A couple of laps later Trounson experienced some issues and fell back down to fifth in the field, as Harding put a four-second gap on Nicolson at the halfway mark.
It was status quo for the rest of the race as Harding impressed to take out the win from Nicolson, while Carr just managed to hold onto third – pipping Paul Byrne (LTR Honda) over the finishing line.
The second race saw the first major racing incident take place for the day, when Samuel Slessar and Simon Barbacetto came to blows on the second lap.
The incident saw the red flag raised and a ten-minute delay before racing recommenced with a full race re-start.
When the race did re-start there was more drama to follow, as Harding came off at the opening turn to force another red flag.
The second red flag unfortunately resulted in the race being called, allowing riders to go back and prepare for their final race of the day.
In the final race of the class, it was Irishman Byrne who pipped Phil Lovett (Cessnock Motorcycles) right on the line to take the race win.
The pair was closely followed by Carr who was just one second behind Lovett, while Trounson and David Johnson (Pope Building Services) rounded out the top-five.
Trounson’s fourth place was enough to give him the championship win – finishing the year a mere three points ahead of runner up Carr.
Despite not taking part in the final race, Harding managed to claim third spot overall.
eFXC
The opening three-lap affair in the eFXC class saw four starters take to the track, with Simon Galloway (ELMOFO) getting off to a good start.
However it wasn’t long before O’Hanlon Electric Motorsports rider Danny Pottage showed his speed, getting to the front and streaking clear of the other riders in the race.
On his final lap, Pottage posted a new track lap record for the class, clocking a time of 1:43.705.
Pottage finished the race more than 15-seconds clear of nearest rival Daniel Ripperton (Ripperton Racing), with Jason Morris (Varley Electric Vehicles) and Galloway coming in third and fourth.
Galloway did not compete in the final event making it a race between three, With Pottage again the dominant rider.
Pottage took the race win from Ripperton in second and Morris in third.
The results gave Pottage a comprehensive 40-point championship win from Ripperton, while Morris was a further 86 points behind in third.
