Zac Levy wins R3 Cup opener ahead of Alderson and Ford
YRD supported rider Zac Levy has taken out the first round of the inaugural YMF R3 Cup in fine fashion at Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) at Wakefield Park by snaring three out of three race wins.
Leading into the races the New South Welshman was not expecting to take all three races after spending two years off a motorcycle but was pleasantly surprised by his results on the weekend.
“From the get go on the Friday I was lapping pretty well,” said Levy. “To qualify in second place I was pretty happy about, but to be able to win three races has just made the weekend even better!”
The highlight race without a doubt was race two when the fishing order between Levy, Hunter Ford (Ford Brothers Racing/Port Performance) and Callum Alderson (YRD/BlueGorilla/Sign Pro) were separated by .182sec, proving this class will showcase some electrifying racing in the rounds to come.
Levy explained that the YMF R3 Cup is a hard class to race in and makes for some close racing. “The class is awesome and the racing is so close which is what we want. I just hope the series grows from here.”
Second went to another YRD supported rider in Victorian’s eighteen-year-old Alderson who racked up a 2-3-2 scorecard, which he regarded as a top weekend.
“Everyone on the Yamaha R3 has rode a great race, and by the looks of it, it should be a great class with some close racing,” said Alderson.
Alderson is confident he can score another good result at Sydney Motorsport Park next time out in mid-April.
Taking the last step on the podium was Hunter Ford who got quicker and quicker during the course of the weekend. Just like all racers, Ford did say he would have liked to have gone a bit better than a 3-2-3 result, but was happy enough to walk away with a third place overall.
“The Yamaha R3 is a fun little bike to ride,” said Ford. “I find it a bit different through the corners as it’s a skinny bike, so I had to try and adapt to that. Overall I believe it will suit me more and more as we get into the season.”
Rounding out the top five was Ty Lynch (Adelaide Motorcycle Recovery/Yamaha Australia) and Aidan Hayes (Hayes Johnston Chartered Accountants/Hayes Electrical).
Meanwhile Brandon Demmery took out the over 300 Production class, taking a clean sweep in all three races, beating Alderson and Hayes.
Brandon Demmery
“The new season is always an unknown. New riders and new bikes turn up for the race and you don’t really know how you are going to stack up against everyone. I had tested at Wakefield Park a few weeks earlier and knew what I could do, but until all the bikes are on track….you just don’t know! The practice sessions were all different. We had a wet track, a drying track and a dry, but cold track. The bike was feeling great going into the two qualifying sessions. I managed to finish both sessions on top to pick up the first Pole position of the year.
“I have always enjoyed riding the Wakefield Park track on the smaller bikes. The technical layout suits the smaller capacity bikes better than the big bikes. To go on and take 3 wins in the Over 300cc Production Class on the weekend was a great way to start off the year. I set the standing lap record there in 2014 (1.08.0) and to be only 0.2 seconds off that this weekend on a brand new bike shows what the new Yamaha R3 is going to be capable of throughout the year.
“We have yet to have the bike on a dyno to be tuned, so HP figures are unknown at this stage but Matt has worked wonders with the tuning of the bike, giving us something capable of running at the front. The bike handles and feels great. Frank Pons set me up a bike I instantly felt comfortable on and know I can push hard right from the start of each race. I am also running the Dunlop tyres again this year. The level of grip and the wear factor of these tyres is great, so good that I set the weekend’s fastest lap on the last lap of racing.”
Round 1Yamaha R3 Cup Results
1st Zac Levy – 75
2nd Callum Alderson – 58
3rd Hunter Ford – 56
4th Ty Lynch – 50
5th Aidan Hayes – 49
6th Michael King – 45
7th James Boyle – 42
8th Glenn Foster – 35
9th Steven Mason – 34
10th Daniel Moore – 33
Round 1 Australian Over 300 Production Results
1st Brandon Demmery – 75
2nd Callum Alderson – 60
3rd Aidan Hayes – 52
4th Michael King – 48
5th James Boyle – 44
