The first seven series to be included in the new Road to MotoGP programme have been revealed
The FIM MiniGP World Series begins in 2021 and is designed to unify and standardise MiniGP competitions from around the world under the same umbrella. The newest path on the Road to MotoGP, the series aims to create an equal platform for young riders worldwide and increase their skill and opportunity.
Federations and CONUs (continental unions) from around the world have been applying to be part of the new Series, and the first seven competitions have been revealed: France, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, North America, Spain and the UK.
The seven are the first to have their applications approved and published and Australia misses out for now but there is already a very active scene, particularly in Melbourne, around the Ohvale machinery that will be used in the FIM MiniGP World Series where all riders will race Ohvale GP-0 160cc, the official and sole motorcycle of the FIM MiniGP World Series project.
The good news is that plans are afoot for Australia to be a participant next year. Issues around the supply of machinery and tyres to get here in time for a series to be put in place for 2021 has just not proven feasible in this COVID-19 affected world otherwise we might already be on the list, but it does look almost certain that we will be up and running here in 2022.
2020 Australian Superbike Champion Wayne Maxwell has been a driving force behind the use of the Ohvale machines in Victoria and after he retires from top level competition at the end of 2021 he will be putting a lot of his energy behind the establishment of an FIM MiniGP World Series here in Australia next year.
In France, the FIM MiniGP France Series will be called Mini GP France. Racing begins at the end of May at Le Castellet, and the calendar comprises four rounds. From Le Castellet, the Cup will race in Aigues Vives, Fontenay le Comte and Alès.
The FIM MiniGP Italy Series is the CIV Junior and will be the first to start competition on the 25th of April. Five rounds are planned for the Italian series, including two visits to Modena, and the calendar begins in Magione for the 18 riders on the 2021 entry list.
In Malaysia, the FIM MiniGP Malaysia Series will begin at Sepang International Circuit in June and race until September. A four-round calendar is planned with races at four different circuits and 15 riders are already confirmed to take part.
The FIM MiniGP Netherlands Series will begin in Veldhoven at the end of May. A round at Assen prefaces visits to Lelystad and the legendary Spa-Francorchamps, just over the border.
North America will have a continental series named the FIM MiniGP North America Series. Beginning in June, the Cup will race at Road America, Ridge Motorsports Park, Pittsburg International Race Complex and Barber Motorsports Park in the USA, but the Cup is the first CONU application to be approved and is open to the continent.
In Spain, the FIM MiniGP Spain Series starts at the Circuito Internacional Kotarr, Burgos, from the 5th to the 6th of June. More than 20 riders will fight it out at four rounds in 2021.
In the UK, the FIM MiniGP UK Series calendar takes in five rounds across the UK, with more than 15 riders on the Entry List set to compete on kart or short circuit layouts at Thruxton, Donington, Cadwell, Snetterton and Silverstone beginning at the end of July.
The FIM and Dorna Sports have received further applications from other federations and CONUs, with the inclusion of more Cups to be announced by the 30th of April.
The final deadline for federations and CONUs to submit applications to be part of the new FIM MiniGP World Series is the 23rd of April.
Aussie Sidecars to join ASBK at Winton & Wakefield in 2021
The ASBK Management Team have announced the return of the Horsell Australian F1 and F2 Sidecar Championship to the ASBK calendar in 2021.
The Australian Sidecar Championships will join ASBK at Winton Motor Raceway in Benalla, over the March 12-14 weekend and again at Wakefield, over the April 16-18 weekend. These two rounds will constitute the first and second rounds of the Sidecar championships.
With continued support from Horsell and Pagid Brakepads, the 2021 season is shaping up to be hard fought battle in both F1 and F2 sidecar categories with additional rounds to be announced in the coming weeks. Spectators are also being promised an even better spectacle, with ASBK Sam Redfern excited to make the announcement.
Sam Redfern – ASBK Events Manager
“We are very excited to have the Australian F1 and F2 Sidecar Championship back on track in 2021. The sidecars have always provided race fans with sensational action and close racing at both Winton and Wakefield and we are sure both rounds will attract strong fields. While COVID-19 meant sidecars were unable to get on track in 2020 we know teams will be itching to kick-off 2021 in style at Winton Motor Raceway.”
Additional Australian F1 and F2 Sidecar Championship round dates will be announced in the New Year.
You can find the 2021 ASBK calendar below, with the season kicking off at Phillip Island in February, before being joined by the Sidecars for Rounds 2 & 3 at Winton and Wakefield. Then ASBK heads to Hidden Valley Raceway for Round 4 in Northern Territory, followed by Morgan Park in Queensland for Round 5.
The Bend Motorsport Park will hold the penultimate round in South Australia, while the season finale, Round 7, is yet to be confirmed but is noted down for November.
The Australian round of the MotoGP is currently scheduled for October 24, with the Australian WorldSBK round date still to be confirmed subject to contract, but currently expected to follow the November 12-14 Indonesian round.
2020 St George Summer Night Series Round One Report – Sydney Motorsport Park
By Nick Edards Images: Half Light Photographic, RbMotoLens
Last Friday saw Sydney Motorsport Park host their first official bike race meet under the newly installed lighting system.
St. George Motorcycle Club’s Under Lights Summer Series kicked things off with Round One at 1830 and racing wrapped up just four hours later. In that time three classes had 10-minute practice/qualifying sessions and three quick-fire sprint races each throughout the course of the evening to make for a highly successful first outing.
With sunset kicking in almost on the dot of 2000 and cloudy skies contributing to a quick transition to darkness, the second half of the event would have been impossible without the very effective new floodlight system installed around the entire GP circuit.
St. George MCC had already conducted a couple of night sessions over the past months to work out the logistical challenges of running under lights. Those preparations paid dividends on race night, with everything going off smoothly and efficiently.
The original schedule was for each race to be seven-laps with a contingency plan to trim race lengths if required in order for the track to be cleared by 2230.
A couple of minor track clearance interruptions during the evening did mean that the last rotation was trimmed to five-laps per race, but otherwise the night went off without a hitch.
Michael O’Brien – St. George Assistant VP
“The St. George MCC has been at the forefront of making this happen with ARDC and the great support of Pip Harrison from MA. There was months of work, many meetings, a few debates and here we are. I was personally more nervous than if I was riding and the tension with the senior officials was obvious. The night went pretty well to plan, a few small incidents saw the schedule delayed a little and the strict times of operations leaves us with a few conversations to be had to make sure we can keep to our plan at these night race meetings. What will the race format look like next time? It will be the same classes but maybe we’ll adjust race lengths, formats and race starts… we might throw a Le Mans start or a Handicap race start to keep the riders and crowd guessing. Overall the event was a huge success on and off the track, not just from the riders point of view. I have received many many good reports from officials, media and the spectators that came along to this inaugural night race. Many thanks to everyone involved in this journey, we only got here because of everyone’s efforts. Bring on January 8.“
Apparently the P in VP stands for ‘Pest’ as Michael is always chasing people and pushing boundaries – exactly what’s needed to make something like the Under Lights series happen.
Here’s a look at the on-track action over the three classes, Black Dog Unlimited Division 1, Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 and the Pirelli 600s.
Black Dog Unlimited Division 1
In Black Dog Unlimited Division 1, Glenn Allerton was dominant on the Next Gen Motorsports BMW S 1000 RR, posting three wins from three races with his fastest lap under lights as the track cooled.
Lachlan Epis, also riding a Next Gen BMW as a test ahead of his BSB ride on a BMW in 2021, came home second in all three races.
Yanni Shaw was struggling with bike set-up on the Specialist Height Access/Airoh Helmets GSX-R1000 in the first two races but still managed to card a fourth place finish in the opening race, followed by two third place finishes after upping the pace under the lights.
Brendan McIntrye bought the Western Motorcycles Suzuki GSX-R1000 home just eight-hundredths of a second behind Epis in Race One in a promising start to the night, but a crash in T3 early in Race Two ended his evening prematurely.
Heading towards Round Two of the Summer Series Allerton leads the Black Dog Unlimited Division 1 field on a perfect 75-points. Epis second overall on 60, with Shaw third having claimed 53-points. Timothy Griffith and Nick Marsh completed the top five on 49 and 48-points respectively.
Glenn Allerton – P1
“St. George MCC’s first night race was something totally new. The quick format made for entertaining racing and the atmosphere at the track was awesome, lots of spectators coming and checking out the bikes, and for me the racing was great at night. I personally can’t wait for the next race as it was the best way to spend a Friday night.”
Yanni Shaw – P3
“It was an awesome night of racing. The fact that it’s under lights brings a whole different atmosphere. I have to hand it to St. George Motorcycle Club for pulling it off.”
The championship might have been over but final line honours were still up for grabs and after the disappointment of a machine failure in the opening bout Herfoss was fired up to finish the season on a high.
Yet another holeshot for the new Fireblade but newly crowned champion Wayne Maxwell was off the leash now and took the lead from Herfoss before they started lap two. Maxwell was now riding with a lot more aggression and it showed, the Boost Mobile Ducati protesting as he twisted the throttle hard on corner exits.
Maxwell retained the lead for the next few laps before Herfoss slipped past him under brakes with 13 laps to run after making somewhat of a block pass that made the newly crowned champ stand it up.
Mike Jones was holding down third position ahead of Bryan Staring and Glenn Allerton but that contest was unfolding three-seconds behind the leading duo,.
Ten laps to go and Maxwell was continuing to shadow Herfoss but it did look as though Maxwell might have had the wood on Herfoss in this one.
Maxwell took the lead with six laps to run but Herfoss got him back less than a lap later to move back into the lead.
Bryan Staring had moved into the lead of that second group that were fighting over third place. Allerton, Jones and Halliday his fellow protagonists but their battle was now unfolding seven-seconds behind the leading duo. Staring and Allerton then started to stretch away from Jones and Halliday as the race entered its final laps.
With two laps to run Herfoss started to pull away from Maxwell little by little. The difference three-tenths at the last lap board as both riders struggled for rear grip. A big slide from Maxwell halfway around the final lap was the final nail in Maxwell’s charge and Herfoss went on to take the victory by seven-tenths.
Bryan Staring held off some late attacks from Glenn Allerton to secure the final step on the rostrum, the pair crossing the line ten-seconds behind Herfoss.
Cru Halliday’s fifth place in that race bagged him enough points to secure second place in the championship by a single point over Herfoss.
Bryan Staring fourth in the championship ahead of Josh Waters, who pipped Glenn Allerton for fifth by a single point.
Mike Jones did not have as much of a handle over the new V4 R compared to the booming 1299 twin he rode to the championship last year and ended the season in seventh place, ahead of Arthur Sissis and Aiden Wagner while Jed Metcher rounded out the championship top ten.
A great contest between Herfoss and Maxwell in that race. It will be disheartening for the competition that they were simply not up to the level of that pair this weekend.
2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Round Three – Wakefield Park
Motorsports TV Supersport Race Two
Tom Toparis led the field away ahead of Jack Hyde and Broc Pearson when the final ASBK Supersport bout got underway in windy conditions at Wakefield Park at 1400 Sunday afternoon.
Pearson sneaked past Hyde after finally getting a decent start for the first time and then overhauled Tom Toparis for the race lead and then stretched away.With seven laps to run Pearson had built a two-second lead over Toparis who was trying to stave off the advances of race one victor Max Stauffer and Oli Bayliss.
Max Stauffer got the better of Toparis and pulled away, then Oli Bayliss and Tom Edwards also passed Toparis.Tom Toparis knowing he has the 2020 Australian Supersport Championship in the bag if he brought it home and that is exactly what he did.
A very strong and well deserved win to Broc Pearson.
A very strong and well deserved back-to-back Supersport Championship victory to Tom Toparis.
Oli Bayliss finishes with the #2 plate while Max Stauffer takes third in the championship ahead of Broc Pearson.
Yamaha are increasing their already extensive investments in Australian Road Racing by expanding the official Yamaha Racing Team to a three rider affair in 2021.
Broc Parkes will join existing YRT team riders Aiden Wagner and Cru Halliday in a ramped up assault by Yamaha on the 2021 Australian Superbike Championship.
Broc Parkes will be 39 by the time season 2021 gets underway at Phillip Island next February and comes back to Australia with a massive amount of experience gained in MotoGP, World Superbike, World Supersport, FIM World Endurance, British Superbike and the Asian Road Racing Championships.
Before heading to Europe Parkes won both the Australia 125 Grand Prix and 250 Production Championships. Broc finished runner-up twice in the World Supersport Championship.
Broc Parkes
“I’d like to thank the Yamaha Racing Team for welcoming me back to the family. I’ve been with Yamaha for more than half of my career and had a lot of good times and memories. Now I’m living full-time in Australia, I’m looking forward to racing in the Australian Superbike Championship – it’s come a long way in the last few years. I have a lot of experience with the Yamaha R1, so hopefully I can bring that to the team and we can be at the front, fighting for the championship.”
Yamaha Motor Australia’s Andrew Eldridge
“In a time where we’ve had a mixed 2020, it’s exciting to expand for 2021 and we’re sure it will add a new dimension to the grid. Broc comes to us with a good pedigree in racing, more recently in the Asian Cup, and we’ve been able to assist Yamaha Motor Company who have a lot of faith in Broc and his abilities.”
2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Round Three – Wakefield Park
Kawasaki Superbike
The wind was fairly brutal here this morning at Wakefield Park and track temperatures lower than they have been all this week. Rain overnight also would have washed the circuit and thus changed the grip characteristics of this bumpy circuit.
The wind claimed its first victim when some track signage blew across the circuit and knocked Brandon Demmery from his machine during morning warm-up for the YMF R3 Cup, the incident can be viewed on the MCNews.com.auInstagram.That unfortunate incident understandably bought on some delays as officials checked and reinforced where necessary the signage around the track.
In the Superbike races yesterday it was clear that Troy Herfoss had the pace to deal with any of his competitors. Wayne Maxwell also had an edge over the rest of the field but could not match the speed of Herfoss.
However, Maxwell can finish second to Herfoss here all weekend and will still win the 2020 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship.This led Herfoss to slow the race pace down a few times yesterday to allow the rest of the field to close up to Maxwell, in the hope that one or two of those might be able to sneak past the Boost Mobile Ducati and reduce the points scored by Maxwell.
There was also an important point up for grabs this morning in another qualifying session. Today’s proceedings essentially a repeat of yesterday’s round two, while today is round three.This double-header weekend rounding out the COVID interrupted season that started way back in February at Phillip Island, before the plague effectively shut the country down.
There might be only 18 riders on the Superbike grid here today but there is plenty of depth in that field. Every ASBK Superbike Champion since 2008 is on the grid here today.
I am also glad to report there is also some new blood in the class!16-year-old Luke Jhonston making his debut in the Superbike class after making the big step up from the Supersport 300 ranks, bypassing the normal 600 cc graduation process and jumping straight in at the deep end. He is also acquitting himself very well indeed, qualifying and finishing the races yesterday in front of some very experienced riders.
The track temperature for the opening qualifying session this morning was barely half of that experienced here yesterday.By the time the top nine hit the track for Q2 though the track temp had started to climb and had just nudged past 30-degrees and is not expected to get much warmer during the course of the day.
It was Troy Herfoss the claimed that important point for pole position, a 57.663 much slower than yesterday due to the wind and track conditions here this morning, but still good enough for pole. Trimming Maxwell’s lead to 16-points.
Wayne Maxwell qualified second while Glenn Allerton will join them on the front row.
Things got a little heated in the qualifying Parc fermé with Maxwell making some comments about Herfoss’ slowing tactics yesterday. Herfoss retorted through a clenched teeth smile saying ‘that he is just out here to prove he is the best Superbike rider in Australia’. Head games…
Cru Halliday heads the second row ahead of Mike Jones and Bryan Staring while Aiden Wagner heads row three alongside Josh Waters and Arthur Sissis.
Kawasaki Superbike Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Troy HERFOSS
Honda CBR
+57.663
2
Wayne MAXWELL
Ducati V4R
+57.984
3
Glenn ALLERTON
BMW S RR
+58.051
4
Cru HALLIDAY
Yamaha YZF-R1M
+58.121
5
Mike JONES
Ducati V4R
+58.150
6
Bryan STARING
Kawasaki ZX10R
+58.283
7
Aiden WAGNER
Yamaha YZF-R1M
+58.580
8
Josh WATERS
Suzuki GSXRR
+58.594
9
Arthur SISSIS
Suzuki GSXRR
+59.194
10
Jed METCHER
Yamaha YZF-R1M
+59.328
11
Lachlan EPIS
Suzuki GSXRR
+59.423
12
Glenn SCOTT
Kawasaki ZX10R
+59.461
13
Brendan McINTYRE
Suzuki GSXRR
+1m00.146
14
Luke JHONSTON
Yamaha R1
+1m00.192
15
Giuseppe SCARCELLA
Ducati Panigale
+1m00.859
16
Nathan SPITERI
Suzuki GSXRR
+1m01.255
17
Chandler COOPER
Honda CBR
+1m01.535
18
Michael EDWARDS
Yamaha YZF-R1M
+1m01.832
Kawasaki Superbike Race One Report
All the riders struggled with the wind in qualifying this morning and things had not getting any better ahead of today’s opening race, in fact they had gotten worse with gusts exceeding 70 km/h at times.
Troy Herfoss led the field through turn one ahead of Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton as Mike Jones, Bryan Staring and Cru Halliday gave chase.Herfoss left them for dead over the course of the opening lap, pulling almost a full-second over the field after putting in a 61.878 from a standing start.
The top five then all recorded 58.1s on the first flying lap with Herfoss and Maxwell then both putting in 57.6s on lap three, the gap between them remained the same, eight-tenths of a second.
Mike Jones was looking stronger today, he closed onto the tail of Allerton and that pair started to close in on Maxwell. Cru Halliday also coming along for that ride and was getting faster as the race progressed.
Up front Herfoss was in a race of his own as the battle for the other steps on the podium started to really hot up.Maxwell was responding to the challenges of Allerton and his pursuers, doing enough to keep them at bay but he did not have enough speed up his sleeve to pull away from them.
With six laps to run the rear of Allerton’s NextGen BMW started to consistently break away under power as the grip went away from the three-time champ.That gave Maxwell some breathing space.
Herfoss then had a bike problem with five laps to go! Herfoss rolled to a stop! His championship chase over!
There was no oil out of the machine or any external indications of any problem thus presumably it was some minor electrical fault that had robbed him of his chance at the title.
Wayne Maxwell had two-tenths on a chasing Glenn Allerton who could sniff a potential victory…
Wayne Maxwell holds on though and with it the 2020 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship.
A privateer team run by Craig McMartin with the help of Racers Edge and backed by Boost Mobile are our Australian Superbike Champions.
The no-score by Herfoss in that one also sees him slip to third place in the series and Cru Halliday move up to second place, ten-points clear of Herfoss.
“Adrian, Craig, Julie, Barry, so many people came together to give me the support I needed, so many people came together to make this happen.”
A privateer team run by Craig McMartin with the help of Racers Edge and Adrian Monti, with backing from Boost Mobile are Australian Superbike Champions.
This is Wayne’s second Australian Superbike Championship victory, his first coming with Suzuki in 2013. He also won the 2014 Australasian FX Superbike Championship when that series was at its zenith and the most hotly contested in Australia, thus I think he has earned the right to be classed as a three-time Superbike champion. On three different brands of machinery no less.
2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Round Three – Wakefield Park
Motorsports TV Supersport
Supersport Qualifying
Oli Bayliss got caught out by the wind in this morning’s Supersport qualifying session. The youngster did get back out on his spare bike but that early mistake proved costly with Oli only qualifying ninth.
Times were a lot slower today due to the wind and cooler conditions with Tom Toparis the only man to sneak under the 60-second barrier to take pole position ahead of Max Stauffer and Jack Hyde.
Supersport Qualifying Results
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Tom TOPARIS
Yamaha YZF-R6
59.980
2
Max STAUFFER
Yamaha YZF-R6
+0.028
3
Jack HYDE
Yamaha YZF-R6
+0.586
4
Broc PEARSON
Yamaha YZF-R6
+0.647
5
Tom EDWARDS
Yamaha YZF-R6
+0.728
6
Jack PASSFIELD
Yamaha YZF-R6
+0.747
7
Aidan HAYES
Yamaha YZF-R6
+0.989
8
Scott NICHOLSON
Suzuki GSXR
+1.328
9
Oli BAYLISS
Yamaha YZF-R6
+1.415
10
Noel MAHON
Kawasaki ZX6R
+5.108
11
Patrick LI
Yamaha YZF-R6
+5.278
Supersport Race One
Max Stauffer got a good run off the line and had the inside line for turn one to take the early lead from Tom Toparis and Tom Edwards. Stauffer held on to that lead around the opening lap, setting a 65.085s from a standing start to lead Toparis by almost half-a-second at the stripe.
Stauffer continued to lead Toparis throughout the opening laps and Tom Edwards was sticking with that duo. Edwards on an older machine that didn’t look quite as well set-up, a bit ‘loose’ you might say… That didn’t stop Edwards putting in the fastest lap of the race though, a 59.896.
Toparis made a mistake with eight laps to go, perhaps missing a gear, and lost position to both Edwards and Broc Pearson, the championship leader relegated back to fourth.
Broc Pearson closed in on Tom Edwards as the race progressed and tried valiantly to get in a position to make a pass on Edwards, he had a few warnings from the rear tyre before it spat him out of the seat two laps from the end and that was the end of his challenge for second, he was still a strong third though as he regathered himself and got back down to business.
Tom Edwards took the lead off Stauffer into the fish hook on the last lap but Stauffer got him back into the final complex of right-handers to take the victory.
A great battle and some great rides from the leaders.
Tom Toparis four-seconds behind in fourth place but with a similar spaced gap back to Oli Bayliss in fifth.
Toparis now leads the championship by 13-points over Bayliss, 134 plays 121 with 25-points still up for grabs this afternoon before a champion will be crowned. Mathematically, only Bayliss can beat Toparis to the title.
2020 mi-bike Australian Superbike Round Two – Wakefield Park Superbike Race Two
Herfoss and Maxwell proved to have the pace to break away in the opening bout while Glenn Allerton also showed flashes of pace, including a new lap record, but ultimately failed to stay on terms with the leading duo later in the race. If the NextGen BMW squad can find a little more tyre durability from their set-up ahead of this second encounter, then Allerton looks as though he could get on terms with Herfoss and Maxwell in this second stanza.
The likes of Bryan Staring, Cru Halliday, Aiden Wagner and defending champ Mike Jones refined their set-ups in order to try and close the gap ahead of this final Superbike race of the day.
Wayne Maxwell retained the series lead with that second place in the opening bout, his buffer over Cru Halliday extended to 20-points. Herfoss moved up to third place in the standings this morning, 22-points behind Maxwell.
Forecasts had predicted a 90 per cent chance of 10-20 mm of rain later today. The precipitation was foretold to start around 1500, thus we might just beat the storm, or we might not….
While the rain was still threatening on the horizon as the Superbike riders prepared for the second bout of the day the wind had already arrived. That wind has caused the Supersport competitors some problems in their race and no doubt would also cause a few problems for the Superbike contestants.
Troy Herfoss got a great jump off the line and led the field through turn one again from Wayne Maxwell and Glenn Allerton. Cru Halliday fourth, Bryan Staring fifth, Mike Jones sixth and Josh Waters seventh just ahead of Aiden Wagner.
Allerton was starting to look for a way past Maxwell right from the off but the Boost Ducati rider kept him at bay in the opening laps as Halliday closed in to make for a leading group of four. Jones, Staring and Wagner a little further behind.
Herfoss almost seemed to be slowing the pace up a little, taking a glance over his shoulder here and there, perhaps hoping that would allow more riders to close in on and then hopefully pass Maxwell… He did that a little too much though if that was his tactic as with 14 laps to run Maxwell sneaked past him to take the race lead. If Herfoss won all the races this weekend with Maxwell second then it would still be Maxwell crowned champion, thus Herfoss needed to put some riders between them…
Herfoss showed Maxwell a wheel a few times over the next few laps before finally making a move stick into the final right-handers to push his way back through to the race lead. Behind them Allerton had his hands full with Cru Halliday as that duo battled over third place a second behind the leading duo.
Maxwell put in a concerted effort to get back past Herfoss on the next lap as Herfoss slowed the show up a little once again, allowing Allerton and Halliday to close up once again…
With six laps to run those Herfoss tactics had concertinaed the leading pack back together and seventh-tenths coverd the top five as they condensed. Allerton right on the back of Maxwell, the rear of the BMW looking lively as it pasted rubber into the ground, the team shortening both the wheelbase and gearing ahead of this second encounter.
Three to go…. Herfoss upped the pace again and stretched away from Maxwell a little, the Ducati man though still had the wood on Allerton and Halliday and despite the delaying tactics of Herfoss again followed the Penrite Honda home for a strong second position.
Glenn Allerton tried valiantly to stick with the leading duo but didn’t have the grip late in the race to stay in the main game. Third place for the NextGen BMW ahead of YRT’s Cru Halliday. Mike Jones fifth and Aiden Wagner sixth.
Two laps from the end Bryan Staring had out-braked himself and slipped all the way back to ninth place behind Josh Waters and Arthur Sissis.
There are still 51-points up for grabs in Sunday’s third and final round of the 2020 Mi-Bike Australian Superbike Championship and Maxwell will start the day with a 17-point advantage over Herfoss. Thus Maxwell only needs to finish second to Herfoss in tomorrow’s races and he will still be crowned champion. The tactical games were on in earnest today, it will be interesting to see how proceedings unfold tomorrow… If they trip each other up, the championship will then be completely wide open……