SMP Stop & Seal Supersport assault
The Stop and Seal Racing Team are heading to race under lights this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park with five talented youngsters at the controls of their quintet of YZF-R6 Supersport machines.
Fresh from contesting the Daytona 200 in the US, Tom Toparis has made the decision to race his Stop and Seal SuperSport machine alongside team-mates Jack Mahaffy, Archie McDonald, Corey Turner and Glenn Nelson at SMP.
Stop & Seal’s Robbie Bolger
“Tom hasn’t ridden the superbike at all this year and after riding our R6 in the World Championship, and with some of the other opportunities that lie ahead for Tom, we decided it would best for him to race his ASBK spec’ R6 in Sydney to stay on somewhat similar equipment. He had some fun in the U.S. and gained some more valuable experience over there, but it will be great to have the whole team together in one box for the first time and really work together to see some strong results across the whole team.”
Toparis has yet to open his Supersport points account on home soil. During the first round of the championship, he raced as a wildcard in World Supersport and finished in the top ten.
Tom Toparis
“I had some technical challenges in Daytona with the bike, and although I learnt a lot, I really didn’t get the chance to show what I was capable of doing there; we never had a session where the bike was working. But I’m really grateful to everyone who made that opportunity possible. I met some amazing people during my little USA trip. Now I’m back home, and I’m looking forward to racing under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park. We did some testing late last year with Michelin in Sydney on the R6, so I’m confident we can get some good results there.”
Archie McDonald was the highest-placed Stop & Seal rider at the Phillip Island season opener and is looking forward to racing at SMP this weekend.
Archie McDonald
“I think Stop and Seal is the strongest Michelin-supported Supersport team in ASBK; even though no one is going to agree with me. There’s still so much for Robbie and Stop and Seal to catch up on with all the technology, this being the team’s first full year getting up and running in ASBK, and it is only early days yet. We will have the fastest team in the class, whether that be Tom Toparis, Jack Mahaffy, Corey Turner, Glenn Nelson or myself, one of the team members will become unstoppable sooner or later. It’s just a matter of experience and development for the boys and the bikes, just wait and see, Robbie Bolger has it all sorted out!”
Jack Mahaffy was on course for a top result at Phillip Island, carding third and fourth-place finishes in the opening two bouts before a mistake in the third and final contest of the weekend left him ruing what could have been.
Jack Mahaffy
“I can’t wait to ride in Sydney again after six years. It is one of my favourite layouts, and I have good memories from there. I definitely feel more relaxed after round one, as I knew where I needed to improve my skills to fight with my competitors. I think the level in SSP600 this year is strong, I feel like this is a factor in pushing me to new lengths in my training, mentality and approach. The Stop and Seal team have been hard at work since round one to help bring out the full potential of our package, and I can’t thank them enough, along with our technical sponsors, who are making all of this possible.”
Corey Turner was another latecomer to the team and had little preparation heading into the season opener. Turner has a good pedigree and plenty of potential.
Corey Turner
“I honestly don’t have any expectations for round two just yet. The Island and SMSP are both tracks I’ve completed the fewest laps at and had never ridden a 600 at beforehand. I’ve been able to complete some laps at QLD Raceway in the lead-up to this weekend, which is helping me adapt to the R6, and I love riding my bike at the moment. So I’m looking forward to round two this weekend and then making a plan based on where we are at for the season ahead.”
Glenn Nelson had a difficult start to season 2024 but has done some testing since Phillip Island and is looking towards making some strides forward after making some big strides forward with bike set-up since the season opener.
Glenn Nelson
“Last time out, we had some technical issues throughout the first round; coming into the next round at Sydney Motorsport Park, we are confident and ready to get some results there.”
There are 26 entrants in the Supersport category for the two 11-lap races at SMP this weekend.
Jonathan Nahlous completely dominated the Phillip Island season opener with three wins from three starts. South Australian Olly Simpson goes into the second round 20-points behind Nahlous.
ASBK Supersport Championship Points
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Pole | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 1 | Jonathan NAHLOUS | Yamaha | 1 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 76 |
| 2 | Olly SIMPSON | Yamaha | 18 | 20 | 18 | 56 | |
| 3 | Jake FARNSWORTH | Yamaha | 16 | 17 | 17 | 50 | |
| 4 | Tom BRAMICH | Yamaha | 10 | 15 | 20 | 45 | |
| 5 | Marcus HAMOD | Honda | 14 | 16 | 14 | 44 | |
| 6 | Hayden NELSON | Kawasaki | 11 | 14 | 15 | 40 | |
| 7 | Archie McDONALD | Yamaha | 15 | 13 | 10 | 38 | |
| 8 | Mark CHIODO | Honda | 20 | 16 | 36 | ||
| 9 | Jack MAHAFFY | Yamaha | 17 | 18 | 35 | ||
| 10 | Corey TURNER | Yamaha | 9 | 12 | 12 | 33 | |
| 11 | Declan VAN ROSMALEN | Yamaha | 13 | 13 | 26 | ||
| 12 | Scott NICHOLSON | Yamaha | 12 | 3 | 9 | 24 | |
| 13 | Luke SANDERS | Yamaha | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | |
| 14 | Jack FAVELLE | Yamaha | 10 | 11 | 21 | ||
| 15 | Corey SNOWSILL | Yamaha | 6 | 11 | 17 | ||
| 16 | Brendan WILSON | Yamaha | 2 | 7 | 6 | 15 | |
| 17 | Jacob HATCH | Kawasaki | 5 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 18 | Glenn NELSON | Yamaha | 7 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 19 | Brandon DEMMERY | Kawasaki | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14 | |
| 20 | Zach JOHNSON | Yamaha | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 | |
| 21 | John QUINN | Yamaha | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 | |
| 22 | Noel MAHON | Yamaha | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 23 | Cooper ROWNTREE | Yamaha | 2 | 2 | |||
| 24 | Simone BOLDRINI | Yamaha | 1 | 1 |
2024 Australian Superbike Championship Calendar
Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 23-25- Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 22-23
- Round 3: Queensland Raceway, QLD Apr 26-28
- Round 4: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD Jul 12-14
- Round 5: Phillip Island GP Circuit, VIC Sept 7-8
- Round 6: One Raceway, NSW Oct 4-6
- Round 7: The Bend Motorsports Park, SA Nov 8-10
