2023 St George Summer Night Series Round Two Report

2022-2023 St George Summer Night Series
SMSP Round Two

Words and Images by Half Light Photographic

Round 2 of the St George MCC Summer Nights Season 22/23 ran under the Sydney Motorsport Park floodlights on Saturday 17^th December. Coming just a week after the series opener riders didn’t have much time to recover and prepare for another evening of quick-fire racing.

The format for the evening was the same as Round One, with three classes all scheduled to get a 10 minute qualifying session and three nine-minute-plus-one-lap races.

Some delays during the early part of the evening saw a number of races have to be shortened, and the cancellation of the third Bridgestone 600/AGV Twin Cup race in order to comply with the noise curfew. It’s the unavoidable nature of the event which runs with an immovable start time of 1830 and a curfew falling at 2230, meaning any delays are hard to absorb without disrupting the schedule.

To recap the make-up of the three classes, we have Pirelli Unlimited, IPONE Unlimited and Bridgestone 600 / AGV Cup Twins. Pirelli Unlimited is for racers expected to run sub 1m40 laps. To give the clubbies a fair shot at scoring points for their series championship in the Pirelli Unlimited class, there’s a sub-class for The Super Fast Dudes which maintains its own points score.

The Super Fast Dudes are the national/international series racers and, returning after kicking off their campaign at Round One, were Josh Brookes (#25, M 1000 RR), Lachlan Epis (#83, BMW M 1000 RR) and Max Stauffer (#27, Yamaha R1).  Joining them on Saturday for Round Two was Glenn Allerton (#14, BMW M 1000 RR).

Ben Burke (#60, Kawasaki ZX10RR) had a run in the clubbies (Just Fast Dudes) sub-class of Pirelli Unlimited at Round One, stepping up as a Super Fast Dude for this second round.

IPONE Unlimited is for racers expected to run outside the 1m40 bracket and depending on previous round results, riders may move from Pirelli to IPONE or vice versa. For example, Craig Boyd (#61, Yamaha R1) ran in Pirelli Unlimited at Round One but was able to shift to IPONE Unlimited for Round Two.

Bridgestone 600 / AGV Cup Twins share track time and, as the names suggest, Bridgestone 600 is for Supersports 600s while AGV Cup Twins covers mid-sized twins including Yamaha’s YZF-R7 and MT-07, Aprilia 660 models and Ducati Monster nakeds.

Pirelli Unlimited (Super Fast Dudes)

Josh Brookes came into Round Two holding a narrow points lead over Lachlan Epis in the Super Fast Dudes category. With Glenn Allerton coming into the mix, Max Stauffer improving all the time, and Ben Burke moving up from Just Fast Dudes to Super Fast Dudes, the small but impressive category was always going to deliver some seriously quick action.

In the Just Fast Dudes, clubbies, category, Ben Burke had come out of Round One with the points lead but his move into the Super Fasts meant Brendan McIntyre (#62, Suzuki GSX-R1000) held the lead going into Round Two. Paris Hardwick (#72, Kawasaki ZX-10R), Josh Soderland (#28, Ducati Panigale V4R) and Nick Marsh (#15, Yamaha R1M) his closest rivals.

Qualifying

Glenn Allerton took pole with a 1m30.5670 just two-tenths ahead of Josh Brookes. These two were clearly going to be the men to beat. Lachlan Epis couldn’t quite match their pace and qualified third on the grid with a 1m31.6160. Ben Burke fourth and Brendan McIntyre, fastest of the clubbies, took fifth.

Sean Condon (#26, CBR1000RR), Max Stauffer, Paris Hardwick, Timmy Griffith (#18, Kawasaki ZX-10R) and Peter Graham (#239, Yamaha R1) filled out the top ten on the grid.

Race One

Brookes and Allerton were battling for the lead in Race One when it was red flagged after five laps following a nasty accident involving Brendan McIntyre and Ben Burke at Turn 15. This necessitated a long delay whilst Burke was stabilised and transferred to hospital.

Thankfully, whilst Burke’s injuries have required hospitalisation, he’s out of danger and hats off to the SMP medical team and various NSW emergency assets for making sure he was given the best medical attention possible and under their management within seconds of the accident occurring. Best wishes to Ben and to Brendan for speedy recoveries.

The race was called after the delay and looking back to the five laps that were run, Allerton and Brookes had been at it the whole race, with Allerton able to hold on for the win by two-tenths of a second and scoring the fastest lap with a 1m30.6870.  Lachlan Epis was able to stay on their tails and crossed the line a little over a second behind Brookes.

Tres Hombres BMW had gapped the rest of the field with Max Stauffer home in fourth, six-seconds behind Epis.

First home for the Just Fast Dudes was Condon followed home by Hardwick, Griffith, Dominic De Leon (#63, Kawasaki ZX-10R) and Simon Rees (#322, Kawasaki ZX-10RR).

Race Two

The second bout was shortened to five laps as part of the efforts to pack in as much racing as possible after the lengthy interruption earlier in the evening.

This time around in Super Fast Dudes it was Brookes, Allerton and Epis all the way, with Brookes managing to pull out a near-one-second lead over Allerton, who was battling some clutch issues.

Epis crossed the line third, just two-tenths of a second behind Allerton but bagged the fastest lap of the race, and outright fastest benchmark under lights, with a 1m30.386. That equates to a 157 km/h average speed for the lap. Which is quick whichever way you count it.

Behind the BMW trio, Stauffer was home fourth and, once again, it was Condon leading home the Just Fast Dudes for fifth overall, pretty much exactly 20-seconds after Brookes, which gives some measure of the difference between Super Fast Dudes and the clubbies.

Condon’s best lap was 1m33.8030. Hardwick took sixth followed by Soderland, Griffith and De Leon. Scott Allars (#31, Yamaha R1) rounded out the top ten.

Race Three

Race Three ended up being the last race of the evening and finished at 2230 almost on the dot. This was another five-lap affair and it was again a BMW triumvirate up front, albet not quite as close as the second bout.

This time Brookes took the win by nearly two-and-a-half-seconds from Epis. Allerton home in third a little under a second back from Epis with the clutch issues once again affecting Allerton’s race pace.

Then there was a seven-second gap back to Stauffer in fourth and then Soderland, Hardwick, Griffith, Graham, Allars and De Leon packed out the top ten with six-seconds covering fifth to tenth.

Event Points

In the Super Fast Dudes category, Brookes’ form saw him take out the meeting points win from Allerton with Epis in third.

In the Just Fast Dudes class, Paris Hardwick’s consistency netted him the meeting points win with 60 points, edging Josh Soderland by two-points.

Timmy Griffith took third which he probably would have been pretty happy with given that earlier in the evening ‘one of those days’ had meant he’d had to bench his first-choice bike at the last minute and get the spare sorted.

PIRELLI Unlimited Super Fast Dudes Results

Pirelli Unlimited Results

PIRELLI Unlimited Super Fast Dudes Standings

Pirelli Unlimited Standings

IPONE Unlimited

Qualifying

Bradley Griffiths (#16, Kawasaki ZX-10R) blitzed the field in the ten-minute qualifying session with a pole winning lap of 1m38.9650. Ryan Edwards (#84, Ducati Panigale V4R) was next quickest and less than a second split second through seventh.

Andrew Burley (#121, Ducati Panigale V4S), Clint McAnally (#72, Ducati Panigale V4) and Jacob Roulstone (#12, Kawasaki ZX-10R) took out third through fifth.

Race One

IPONE Unlimited Race One was actually the first race of the evening so it ran before the red-flagged Pirelli Unlimited Race One and thus ran to the full nine-minutes-plus-one-lap formula which ends up being a seven-lap race. Race pace was hot with the top eight finishers breaking the 1m40 barrier.

McAnally pulled out a lead which saw him take the win by just under two-seconds from Roulstone.

Edwards, just three-tenths of a second back in third, had established a two-second lead over the following group with Ryan Jowett (#57, Ducati V4S), Burley and Michael Jeffery (#53, Yamaha R1) coming home with less than a second separating them.

Griffith recorded the fastest lap of the race with a swift 1m36.213.

Poleman Bradley Griffiths bought his ZX-10R home in seventh ahead of Aaron Schereck and Ben Angelidis (#227, BMW M 1000 R) while Andrew Lee #58, Aprilia RSV4) rounded out the top ten.

IPONE Unlimited Races 2 and 3 were shortened to five-lappers because of time constraints caused by the earlier delays.

Race Two

In Race Two, everything came together for Jacob Roulstone and he put in a fine performance to come home half-a-second ahead of McAnnaly. Michael Jeffrey half-a-second further back but with fastest lap of the race honours from a 1m37.771.

Craig Boyd (#61, Yamaha R1) took out fourth with Ryan Edwards in fifth.

Race Three

In the third and final bout Roulstone again took victory, this time beating Jeffrey home by a second and scoring fastest lap of the race at 1m37.325.

Ryan Edwards, consistent all evening, rounded out the night with a third place and Boyd once again missed out on a podium spot, finishing in fourth, just seven-tenths of a second behind Edwards.

Ryan Jowett took fifth and Burley, Griffiths, McAnally, Schereck and Angelidis were the sixth through tenth placings.

Event Points

Jacob Roulstone’s two wins and a second gave him the meeting win.

Clint McAnally, with a win, a second-place finish and a slightly off-script eighth in the final race of the evening, scored well enough to take out second place for the day with Michael Jeffrey in third.

IPONE Unlimited Results

IPONE Unlimited Standings

Bridgestone 600 & AGV Twin Cup

Qualifying

In Bridgestone 600, Jake Farnsworth (#147, Yamaha R6) came into this round after taking three wins from three races in the opening round and he started out where he left off, laying down a 1m35.426 to take pole position.  Favelle qualified second and Benny Baker third.

Harry Khouri (#43, Yamaha R6) made his first appearance in the 22/23 Nights Series and qualified fourth ahead of John Lytras (#308, Yamaha R6).

Reece Oughtred (#121, Yamaha R6), Simone Boldrini (#4, Yamaha R6), Hayden Nelson (#279, Yamaha R6), Timothy Hunt (#75, Triumph Daytona 675R) and Cameron Prentice packed out the top ten.

In AGV Twin Cup, the field doubled in size compared to the series opener with James Morris (#57, Aprilia RS660) and Richard Draper (#67, Ducati Monster 696) joining Carl Kitson (#52, Yamaha R7) and David Nhan Cao (#9, Yamaha MT-07).

Race One

Race 1 ran the full nine-minutes-plus-one-lap protocol. Favelle, showing significant improvement since Round One, still couldn’t quite match Farnsworth, crossing the line a little under four-seconds behind a once again dominant Farnsworth.

Baker was right on Favelle’s tail at the flag, crossing the line less than two-tenths down to finish third.

There was a seven-second gap back to Khouri in fourth and then a further ten-seconds back to Nelson in fifth.

The top ten was completed by Oughtred, Lytras, Marcus Hamod (#13, CRB600RR), Boldrini and Prentice.

In AGV Twin Cup, Morris was first in class, eighteenth overall and took the fastest lap in the class with a 1m44.792. Kitson was P24 overall with a best lap on the R7 some five-seconds off the pace set by Morris on the RS660.

Race Two

Farnsworth was victorious once again and set a fastest lap of 1m34.984 in Race Two.  This time around Favelle crossed the line less than a second-and-a-half behind and Ben Baker again rounded out the podium.

Khouri again fourth ahead of Nelson, Lytras, Hamod, Oughtred, Christian Rossi (#77, Yamaha R6) and Boldrini.

Finishing order in AGV Twin Cup followed the Race One outcome with class finishing order of Morris, Kitson, Cao and Draper.

It’s early days for the Twin Cup and it should have a bright future as a low-cost entry point for racers and perhaps we’ll see more racers like Kitson switch from Supersport 600 to Twins for the challenge they present.

Hopefully Brian Bolster will be back on deck before the end of Summer Nights 22/23 which will add some more depth to the class as well.

Unfortunately Bridgestone 600 / AGV Twin Cup were unable to get their scheduled third race with it being cancelled due to time constraints following the evening’s earlier delays.

Bridgestone 600 Results

AGV Twin Cup Results

Bridgestone 600 Standings

AGV Twin Cup Standings

Rider Quotes


Josh Brookes, #25, BMW M1000RR, Pirelli Unlimited Super Fast Dudes

“I’ve enjoyed the opening two rounds of the series of course because it’s a great feeling to win. But it’s equally rewarding to bring some old faces back to my local circuit and get to know the new ones. Riding under lights has been a great addition to the fun of riding the famous Eastern Creek circuit that’s now known as SMSP and the racing has been just as intense as it was when I raced here over 15 years ago. I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Christmas and new year and I’m excitedly looking forward the next race in January.”

Glenn Allerton, #14, BMW M1000RR, Pirelli Unlimited Super Fast Dudes

“Saturday night was another great event, I really like the event St George MCC put on of an evening. Qualifying went great for me with a 1.30.5 and first position; Race One was a great battle and it was brewing for a close finish but unfortunately there was an accident as we went into the last lap and we were stopped early. Race Two, I lead the first half of the race and lost pace towards the end with a slipping clutch, and in the third race the clutch issue put a stop to me challenging for the win. Still a great night and was awesome to race wheel to wheel with my great mate Josh Brookes. Looking forward to more early next year.”

Lachlan Epis, #83, BMW M1000RR, Pirelli Unlimited Super Fast Dudes

“Another great night with St George at the Summer Night Series. I love the event and it’s always great when a few “Super Fast Dudes” come out to play. To set the fastest ever lap under lights in Race Two was definitely a highlight with how high the level of competition is at the event. A big to my guys for all the effort to get us to this level. Looking forward to the double header in the new year and some more hard racing!”

Paris Hardwick, #72, Kawasaki ZX10R

“Round Two of the Summer Series was held last Saturday night under fine conditions. After qualifying in eighth, I managed to get the win in my class and a fifth overall for the night’s racing which I’m most happy about. We headed out to race 1 on the middle of the third row, I got a good start and after a couple of laps I found myself in a lonely race with Benny and Brendan a few seconds up the road and no one close behind. Unfortunately Benny and Brendan came together (wishing Benny a quick and comfy recovery) the race was red-flagged and we finished that one in sixth.

“Race Two saw much the same with not much competition however I did slowly catch up to Sean Condon who was having a few bike problems but I couldn’t pass him. Race Three and I got in a battle with Josh Soderland and Tim Griffith which went to the flag where I finished in sixth. Awesome night run by St George MCC, it’s always so much fun at the night races. I would like to thank Worth racing for the great bike set-up, we keep making progress with new PB’s at every round lately which is all down to their support. Thanks also to my sponsors, The Construction team for their support. I’m looking forward to the progression of my riding and racing in 2023.”

Jacob Roulstone, #12, Kawasaki ZX10R, IPONE Unlimited

“Thanks to everyone at St George MCC, officials and sponsors who put last Saturday nights racing together.  Great event as usual, and a lot of fun, especially to be riding under the lights.  Its super super cool and I loved being back here racing. I really enjoyed riding the Superbike – it’s such a fast bike and a real buzz!  Thanks so much to Phil Burke for arranging it and Kelvin for his help.”

Josh Soderland, #28, Ducati Panigale V4R, Pirelli Unlimited

“Another Night race meeting done and I’m already looking forward to the next one! This round we were far off the pace in qualifying and not feeling 100% with the setup. We went back to what we had tested on with a slight change and were comfortable again. Fighting through the pack from 18th was great fun and awesome practice, finishing the night in fifth for Race Three, and second overall for the meeting made it all worth it. Big thanks to Gowanloch Ducati, Evo Racing Suspension, Soderland Mc Supplies and Dunlop.”

Mick Jeffery, #53, Yamaha R1, Pirelli Unlimited

“The St George Summer Night Series and racing under under lights around SMSP is an awesome event and thrill to be a part of. For me as the sky darkens and the lights take over, the atmosphere around the track comes alive and as a rider you get a concentrated focus of just the track lit up ahead of you and PB’s are a certainty. There’s nothing else like it, the racing is intense, with close fought battles and super fast pace… I just love it!”

Timmy Griffith, #18, Kawasaki ZX10R, Pirelli Unlimited

“Considering my Round One DNF after the crash in Race Two, Round Two was looking a little touch-and-go. After a couple of late nights during the week repairing the No 1 bike we thought we were ready to go but the rear shock failed Saturday morning which required replacing with an OEM spare. Then, on the shakedown laps Saturday arvo, we had a major electrical gremlin that took most of the electronics out and left us with no choice but to swap suspension, fuel tank, front braking system and fairings onto the spare bike. On top of that, a mercy dash back to BCPerformance HQ by Crystal was needed to get a spare Ktech shock out of a chassis at the workshop. Replacement was completed with five minutes to spare before qualifying which was also the shakedown and thankfully we were ready to rock with a decent 1:34.8. Three races and three ripper battles with Paris (Hardwick) and Josh (Soderland) saw us bring it home in third for the night. Exhausted, but already can’t wait for the double header next month. Massive thanks to Bcperformance, Leafylooks Landscapes, TAG Avionics and Kenma Australia for keeping us rolling and twisting the throttle!”

Jake Farnsworth, #147, Yamaha R6, Bridgestone 600

“Another great event by St George Motorcycle club. I really enjoyed the racing especially with the higher level of riders. Can’t wait for the next rounds as the internationals enter I’ll be looking to pick up my pace as I have been quite comfortable and hoping to rise to the challenge.”

Benny Baker, #72, Yamaha R6, Bridgestone 600

“Round Two of the Summer Night Series kicked off once again for an awesome night of racing, this time with a few more of the front runners in the Supersport 600 class turning up which made for much better racing. I learned a lot and made some massive improvements. Once again massive thanks to mum dad and all the sponsors that make it all happen. Can’t wait to do it all again at the next one.”

Jack Favelle, #33, Honda CBR600RR, Bridgestone 600

“I rode two days of the Mega ride days at SMSP, the day before and the day of the Night Series races. That meant we had lots of time to dial the bike in even more and to try some different things with my riding as well. We made good progress and in the races I was able to crack into the 35’s and battle with Jake Farnsworth for a couple laps which I’m super happy about.”

James Morris, #57, Aprilia RS660, AGV Twin Cup

“A new track, Aa new style of racing for me under lights and a new pack of competitors. Round Two of the St George Summer Nights series was definitely an eye-opening experience for me! I was able to enjoy some good battles and continued to learn and gain confidence in the track as the night progressed. Hopefully I can make Rounds Three and Four in January and drag some more Queenslanders down to support the twin’s class. Thanks to the club and the marshals for putting on a great event, can’t wait to come back!”

Carl Kitson, #52, Yamaha R7, AGV Twin Cup

“It’s always a great atmosphere at the Summer Night Series. I recently decided to commit to a bike change, selling my R6’s and SV650’s in exchange for new challenges.  I have owned the R6 for the last nine years, so changing it for a financial liability, an Aprilia RSV4, and a new Yamaha R7 will make for some good fun.  The R7 seems to need a lot of development, but I’ll work my way through it. Hopefully some of those R7 setup learnings can be passed onto David on his MT-07 and see him continue to get quicker.  More people should subscribe to the Twins class; to add some perspective, my R7 is currently cheaper than a spare set of wheels for the current crop of 1000 cc bikes.  It’s interesting being on the opposite end of the 600s grid compared to what was normal for me, but with some work we will move up the positions on the twin.”

David Nhan Cao, #9, Yamaha MT07, AGV Twins Class

“The summer series is awesome! Where else can we race under lights? And now to have a chance to compete amongst a class of Twins is even better! I’m excited to see this class grow. Big Thanks to St George Motorcycle Club and Sponsors for making this happen and thanks to all the marshals, we would not be racing without you!”

That’s Summer Nights done for 2022

But wait! There’s more…

There’s more to come in the series with three rounds to run in 2023. The big one is the mid-January double header with Rounds 3 and 4 run back-to-back on January 13-14.

With the ASBK Official Test at SMSP early February, we’d expect to see more ASBK competitors coming out to play at the double-header.

With riders of the calibre of Senna Agius, Harry Voight, Oli Bayliss, Daniel Falzon, Cru Halliday, and a Boost Mobile Ducati Rider already confirmed and more expected to come onboard, it should be an awesome couple of night’s racing.

The series reaches its conclusion on the night of February 11.

2022-2023 St George Motorcycle Club Summer Night Series Dates

• Round 3 – January 13^th, SMSP
• Round 4 – January 14^th, SMSP
• Round 5 – February 11^th SMSP

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