F1/F2 recap from St. George Summer Nights series opener

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St. George MCC
Sydney Motorsport Park – Gardner GP Circuit
Round One – Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2

Words and images by Nick Edards / Haf Light

The St. George Summer Nights series has now firmly established itself as a major feature of the NSW road racing calendar with the events attracting plenty of interstate talent to stoke further interest in the unique series.

Now in its fourth season, St. George Motorcycle Club have taken full advantage of the magnificent floodlights at Sydney Motorsport Park to again put together a quickfire evening racing series that kicks off at 1830 and runs through until around 2230.

With sunset at 2000, the floodlights kick in a little after 1930, and by 2030 the track is lit solely by artificial light which is so effective that some riders will continue to use tinted visors in all races.

This summer’s series-opening contest took place over the weekend and will be followed by another three rounds. The next bout will take place on January 13th, followed by a 26-27th double-header later that month. A February 9-10 double-header then closes out the series.

The opening round hosted five classes with Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2 sharing track time, AGV Unlimited F3 having the track to themselves, and AMA Warehouse 600cc F1 and F2 also sharing track time. Each class/pair of classes is scheduled to contest a qualifying session, and then three nine-minute plus one-lap races.

A glitch in getting the timing set up meant that qualifying, originally scheduled for ten minutes, started about 15 minutes late and had to be restricted to six minutes. 

The challenge with the Night Series is that there’s virtually no flex in the 2230 time for cessation of track action, if time is lost earlier in the evening it’s hard to recover it as the evening progresses. This can, and has, led to races scheduled at the end of the evening being cancelled, so trimming time from qualifying limited the potential impact of the delayed start.

This report is going to focus on Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2, a report on AGV Unlimited and AMA Warehouse 600cc will follow later this week.

Pirelli Unlimited F1 is for International and National (ASBK) grade racers, Pirelli Unlimited F2 is for club racers who expect to break 1:40sec lap times.

In F1, Josh Brookes (#25B Livson Racing, FHO Racing, Pirelli, Aria Helmets BMW M1000RR) made a welcome return.

Max Stauffer (#27 Dr Mak, RS&C, GTR Motostars, YRD, KYT Helmets, Racers Edge, Ricondi Leathers Yamaha R1), has shown fantastic progress in the last year was also back in the mix.

Oli Bayliss (#32 Desmosport Ducati, KYT Helmets Ducati 955 V2) took the opportunity to bring the 955 to track to give him some preparation ahead of his World Supersport campaign in 2024.

Harrison Voight (#29 Link International, PWR, Voight Contracting, McMartin Racing Ducati V4R) was on the McMartin Ducati that Josh Waters took to second place in the 2023 ASBK championship and was a real wildcard. The big question on people’s minds was whether the Queensland youngster could adapt and mix it at the pointy end?

Lachlan Epis, a regular at Summer Nights was also at the track but persistent electrical issues pretty much ruined his evening.

Archie McDonald has just returned from European Supersport 600 racing and this was his first hit-out on the #69 MRE Talent Spain, Fusport, KYT, Shark Leathers, Gow Moto, Speedangle, Earmold Australia R1. YRD support on the night proved invaluable for the youngster.

The ASBK crew in F1 was well represented with Josh Soderland, Michael Edwards, Jake Farnsworth, Paris Hardwick, Michael Edwards and John Lytras all present.

Given other commitments, it’s hard for a lot of the F1 guys to make every race of the series so expect a different list of riders to be there for future rounds.

In F2, there were plenty of hard chargers to ensure that the battles wouldn’t just be amongst the F1 runners. Griffith, Nelson, Dunne, Gardner, McAnally, De Leon et al are all seasoned warriors on quality equipment with significant experience at SMP under all conditions.

Pirelli Unlimited F1 and F2 Qualifying

Voight got straight down to it in qualifying. The shortened six-minute session only allowed riders three timed laps and Harry scored pole with a 1:30.3730.

Jake Farnsworth (#49 Worth Race Developments, Kingsdene Automotive, YRD, Pirelli, Forcite, Motul, RK Chains, AT1 Race Suits Yamaha R1) showed some serious early form to take second place on the grid with a 1:30.7830.

Brookes, Stauffer and Epis took third through fifth spots but that was to be the last appearance of Epis on the M 1000 RR for the night.

Chris Dunne was strongest of the F2 crew in ninth with a 1:35.0430, Timmy Griffith and Leanne Nelson less than half a second off his pace.

Qualifying Results

Race One

Voight took an early lead off the line in the opening bout with Farnsworth, Stauffer and Brookes in pursuit.

Brookes was able to move through into second spot but an engine failure late in the race put an end to his charge. Brookes’ exit so late in the race was a disappointing end to what could’ve been a well-fought second place.

At the chequered flag, after seven laps of racing, Voight had a commanding four-second lead over Stauffer who had managed to push Farnsworth back to third.

How hard was this lead group charging? A near 15-second gap between a very impressive Farnsworth and Oli Bayliss in fourth spot will give some idea as to the pace of the front-runners.

McDonald was right on Bayliss’ tail for an impressive fifth-place finish.

The fastest lap went to winner Voight, a 1:30.2140.

In F2, Chris Dunne (#202 Evo Suspension Ducati V4) just went for it and, with a fastest lap of 1:34.3680, took out the class win by four-seconds from Timmy Griffith (#18 BCPerformance, Leafylooks Landscapes, TAG Avionics, Kenma Australia Kawasaki ZX10R).

Carlos Rendon (#36 Pest Killer Sydney Ducati V4), Leanne Nelson (#52 West Sliders, KTech, Motocity, True Protein Yamaha R1) and Scott Gardner (#88 ART Yamaha R1) took out third through fifth in F2.

Race One Results

Race Two

Race Two was another Voight exhibition in F1, leading off the line and taking the win with a 1:30.0340 fastest lap.

Stauffer was the only rider who could keep in fighting distance of the #29 and was a little over half a second behind the charging Ducati at the flag.

Farnsworth put in another solid effort to bring the R1 home in third but giving away more than a second a lap to the lead duo meant that he was over eight-seconds behind Stauffer at the finish.

Farnsworth and Brookes had an absolute belter of a fight coming to the flag with the BMW man losing out to Farnsworth by less than one-hundredth of a second.

It’s worth noting that the progressive grid format, where race results from Race One determines grid position in Race Two, meant that Brookes’ DNF in Race One put him at the rear of the grid for Race Two so his charge through the field to finish fourth was a magnificent effort.

Bayliss and McDonald secured fourth and fifth.

Chris Dunne took out F2 again, establishing a three-second lead over Carlos Rendon and with only half a second covering Rendon, Griffith and Nelson for second through fourth places.

Dom De Leon (#63 AT1 Pro Race Suits, Airon Helmets, Motohub, BCPerformance, TKR Kawasaki ZX-10R) took out fifth.

Race Two Results

Race Three

Last race and it was all on again. Voight took the lead and had to contend with Stauffer on his tail in the early laps. Max dropped some time mid-race which allowed Brookes’ past and then it was full on combat.

Watching them barrel into Turn 15 (Old Turn 9) and wondering if they were both going to be there at corner exit was heart-thumping stuff. One, or possibly both, of them were out of ground clearance mid-corner, the sound of something hard and unyielding getting worn away on the track surface was a tell as to how hard they were pushing it.

Voight was able to hold his line, and his nerve, and crossed a little under three-tenths ahead of Brookes, with Stauffer having had the perfect ringside seat and perhaps hoping a mistake by one of them might see him improve on third, running home a couple of seconds back.

Farnsworth put in another great performance for fourth with Bayliss in fifth. The fastest lap of the race went, unsurprisingly given the ground he made up on Voight, to Brookes with a 1:29.6820.

Dom De Leon spoiled Chris Dunne’s chances of scoring three from three with the always cheerful Kawasaki rider taking out F2 Race Three. Dunne, Griffith, Gardner and Clint McAnally (#72 Ducati V4) held third through fifth.

Race Three Results

Overall Round

Tallying up the results from the evening, in F1, Voight’s perfect run gave him 75-points, a handy lead over Max Stauffer on 58-points in second spot.

Jake Farnsworth’s hard and consistent effort gave him third-place just five-points behind Max, with Bayliss (49) and McDonald (46) in fourth and fifth.

Brookes’ DNF in Race One really hurt his tally and he’s got a lot of ground to make up going into Round Two on January 13.

In F2, Chris Dunne took out the meeting and heads to Round Two on 70-points, a 14-point lead over Timmy Griffith. Rendon (53), Gardner (48) and Nelson (48) are all very much in the hunt with less than ten points covering second through fifth.

Quotes

Harrison Voight, #29 Pirelli Unlimited F1

“I had a great time competing in the first round of the St George Summer night series on the Superbike. Big thank you to everyone involved to make the event happen and to McMartin Racing for allowing me to race the bike. Had a ball and I look forward to the next one in January.”

Max Stauffer, #27 Pirelli Unlimited F1

“Round One done and dusted. It felt great to get back with St George and run around under lights again. Josh and Harry had great pace and weren’t mucking around. It was nice to get out there and mix it up with those boys and learn a few things. I can’t wait to get back out for the next round and try trying to go a bit faster.”

Jake Farnsworth, #49 Pirelli Unlimited F1

“I’m over the moon with our performance last night. The bike is literally in track bike spec. We only fitted suspension to it last week. I had to ride it hard to achieve the lap times I did. But I have so many amazing people around me, I’m truly thankful for all of them. It was great to ride and learn from some of the best in Australia. I definitely look forward to the next meeting in January. Let’s see if we can make a step forward between now and then. If there’s anyone looking for a superbike rider, don’t count me out!
I’d like to thank St George and all the officials for putting on such an amazing event. 
See you all next year!”

Oli Bayliss, #32 Pirelli Unlimited F1

“Had a great night racing at Eastern Creek for the St George summer night series, the pace in which you go out is incredible which means you’re not just waiting around all night. I went the fastest I’ve been around there after some time off the V2 and I’m keen to get out there for Round Two.”

Josh Brookes, #25 Pirelli Unlimited F1

“Pleased to be back on a bike so soon. I found the racing I did in the last summer series helpful at the start of this year’s BSB season because I’d had regular time on a bike. With that in mind I thought it best to return and do it again this summer. Things didn’t go as well as we’d planned with the engine failure in race one; the non-finish meant starting from the back in Race Two. It was very tricky working my way through such a diverse range of riders but I got through relatively well and almost got third. In the final race of the event, I felt like I was getting more settled on the bike – it’s quite different to the BSB spec I’ve been on all year – and was having a good battle for the lead but the top speed of the Ducati was too much to overcome. I was pleasantly surprised to set a new lap record so that boosts the motivation for the next event.”

Chris Dunne, #202 Pirelli Unlimited F2

“Round One of the Summer series couldn’t have gone much better for me. Being on a new bike and with such a strong field of riders, I didn’t have too many expectations. The weather was amazing and it all came together as soon as I hit the track. It was amazing to win the F2 class, Timothy Griffith kept me honest all the way to the last corner. I’m hoping I can carry this momentum into the coming rounds and keep fighting for wins. It’s a surreal experience to pack up the van and go racing on Friday night. We’re very lucky to have such a good club throwing great events like this. Looking forward to many more races under lights.”

Timmy Griffith, #18 Pirelli Unlimited F2

“Night Racing is back, and we love it! SMSP turned on the weather perfectly after a baking hot day the day before. Unfortunately, my lead-up prep was less than ideal, which left us behind the eight-ball from the get-go and disappointingly, well off the pace. 
It was awesome to see such a packed field of racers line up on the grid with some ridiculously fast fellas at the pointy end!
Huge thanks to the Club, the Marshalls and my team in the garage for making the wheels go round!
Can’t wait for Round Two.”

Carlos Rendon, #36 Pirelli Unlimited F2

“What an amazing night, so well organised. I stopped racing about two years ago and coming back was stress free as it was so organised. The bike was scrutinised in the garage, with no need to be running around the track. It feels like a big family who all care and love riding getting together to do what we enjoy. As a self-employed person it was great to organise my work in the morning and still able to ride of an evening. It was great to also share the experience with international riders.“‘

Stewart Bancroft, Managing Director, Mini Rev Headz

“What an amazing opening round to the fourth Summer Night Series at Sydney Motorsport Park. As always, outstanding rider talent is accompanied by an enthusiastic and passionate crowd, making for a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable event for all. Congratulations to St.George MCC for organising yet another all round exceptional event.
It was both a pleasure and a very humbling experience to be the official trophy suppliers for the 23/24 Series.”

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St George MCC

• Round Two: Saturday 13^th January
• Round Three: Friday 26^th/Saturday 27^th January
• Round Four: Friday 9^th/Saturday 10^th February