Troy Guenther | 2016 ASBK Supersport Champion

Troy Guenther – 2016 ASBK Supersport Champion

As the 15 Supersport riders gridded up for their final ASBK bout hearts were racing as season honours were on the line.

Courtesty of victory in the opening race, young Queenslander Troy Guenther entered the final bout with a single point advantage over Western Australian Kawasaki rider Sam Clarke.

The 14-lap race got underway at 1430 this afternoon as clouds gathered on the horizon over Winton Motor Raceway.

Callum Spriggs got away in the lead while Robbie Menzies scored a jump start penalty. Spriggs sprinted away from the field to the tune of a second a lap over the first four laps, his tyre problems from race one obviously well behind him.

Luke Mitchell was second in the early laps of the race while primary championship contenders Sam Clarke and Troy Guenther were running third and fourth respectively. Early on Clarke had a reasonable buffer over Guenther, who celebrated his 18th birthday only last week.

Guenther eclipsed Clarke with nine laps to go. Clarke responded to try and ensure the Yamaha rider could not pull away, but eventually Guenther proved to strong for him today and slowly started pulling away.

Clarke hung on though, and along with Guenther they pushed Mitchell back to fourth place as the race wore on. Guenther was enjoying a major speed advantage on the Yamaha, as Clarke was on his ‘B’ engine, after damaging his more powerful engine earlier in the week.

On the final lap Clarke squeezed past Guenther in a brave move up the inside, trying to make up in the corners what he was missing on the straights. Guenther got him right back and in one last desparate attempt to salvage the championship Clarke made a huge lunge at the penultimate turn, but it ended in tears with Clarke on his side in the gravel trap. No criticism can be levelled at the Western Australian however, he had to make that attempt if he was to try and win this championship, and he gave it his all. He managed to remount and finish eighth to ensure that he still claimed the #2 plate for season 2016. So close, but yet so far…

The Championship spoils go to young Troy Guenther, a polite, affable and professional young racer that clearly has a big future ahead of him.

At the front of the field though Callum Spriggs was in a class of his own, and streeted the field to finish his season on a high with a resounding victory to finish fourth in the championship.

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Troy Guenther started the season with a massive victory at the WorldSBK support events at Phillip Island. Clarke dominated round two at Wakefield Park. It was Mitch Levy that emerged victorious at Sydney Motorsports Park in a shortened round three while Clarke dominated on home soil when the series visited Barbagallo Raceway. Luke Mitchell won Morgan Park by a single point over Guenther but it was Guenther who secured the final round victory and the 2016 Motul Australian Supersport Championship crown.