Ford a Happy Hunter at Winton ASBK
Hunter ‘Podium Hunter’ Ford has taken out the overall victory in the Australian Supersport 300 class here at the Spokes.com.au presents Round 6 at Winton Motor Raceway. Ford collected a second place, third place and win to take out the penultimate round of the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK).
Ford was happy to grab the overall victory, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the #20; “Its great to get the overall win, but in race three I was on a borrowed bike so it was tough to ride and I found it hard to stay with the front guys, but we found a win and got the result,” finished Ford.
Oli Bayliss (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja 300) returned to form here at Winton, after a few tough rounds Bayliss looked at home on his Kawasaki and the results showed.
The current Australian Supersport 300 Championship leader Tom Bramich (JLT, Yamaha YZF R3) took out third overall for the weekend and takes the points lead into the final round of ASBK at Phillip Island on October 12-14.
Max Stauffer (Rock Oil, Yamaha YZF-R3) had a breakout weekend here at Winton, claiming two of the three race wins, but a crash in race two put him outside the podium for the overall. Look for Stauffer to continue this form at Phillip Island.
Race Two
In another absolute classic, the Australian Supersport 300 class once again put on a show, with an eight-lap epic between Ford, Bayliss and race one winner Stauffer.
The trio went back and fourth with a pass made in almost every corner of the Winton circuit, but it would be Ford who prevailed taking out race two.
The battle was great, and Ford was stoked to prevail on the last lap; “It was a really good race, the battle at the front between Max, Oli and myself was great and we just tried to pull away from the field. I was just lucky to hold on during the last lap and take the win,” said Ford.
The Yamaha rider ended up taking the victory by just under a second, but on the final lap the battle for second between Bayliss and Stauffer saw both riders pushing it to the limit. Sadly, for Stauffer he pushed it just a little to far and crashed out trying to make a move on Bayliss.
Bayliss would cross the line in second, whilst Stauffer would end up not finishing the race after his crash.
Championship leader Bramich was the beneficiary of the Stauffer crash as he moved up to the final spot on the podium, and his third position saw him extend his points lead to 38 points.
Zac Levy (Puma RV’S, Yamaha YZF-R3) would just miss the last spot on the podium, claiming fourth position behind his Yamaha team-mate Bramich.
Rounding out the top five in race two was Locky Taylor (Shark Leathers, Yamaha YZF-R3) who had good speed throughout the race, but just didn’t have the consistent race pace of the lead group.
Continuing her consistent season in 2018 was Tayla Relph (Earmold Australia, Yamaha YZF-R3) who grabbed sixth position in race two and will be looking to move herself into the top five in race three.
ASBK Australian Supersport 300 Race Two Provisional Results
1. Hunter FORD (Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:21.824
2. Oli BAYLISS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja) 12:22.428
3. Tom BRAMICH (JLT, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:23.492
4. Zac LEVY (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:23.548
5. Locky TAYLOR (Shark Leathers, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:24.010
6. Tayla RELPH (Earmold Australia, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:29.176
7. John LYTRAS (Caboolture Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:39.325
8. Zane FORD (Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:42.998
9. Seth CRUMP (Rock Oil, KTM RC) 12:45.001
10. Troy RYAN (Taree M-cycles, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:45.642
Race Three
Stauffer has taken out race three of the Australian Supersport 300 class here at Winton, it was a clinical display to bounce back after a crash in race two. Stauffer lead a close contingent of six riders throughout the eight laps here, but he held his nerve over the last lap to be first across the line.
Bayliss would have to settle for second, but he didn’t leave anything in the tank, during that last lap every corner Ford was looking for away around Stauffer and, but just couldn’t get the move done and won the sprint to the line behind Stauffer.
Taking the last spot on the podium was Ford, another one who was a part of that lead group throughout the eight laps, he even led at different stages of the race. A drag to the line with Bayliss, saw Ford fall short of second by the smallest of margins.
Just missing the podium was Levy who grabbed fourth, but a positive for Levy is that he gained point on Bramich in the race for the Championship. Speaking of Bramich he would finish only one position behind Levy in fifth.
Taylor would be the next rider to cross the line in sixth and be at the back of that lead group. Taylor was unlucky to finish in sixth as he was only .300s off the back of Bramich in fifth, as the riders at the front were all so close, which is usual with the 300’s class.
In seventh position was Relph who would be happy with her race, but she needs to find extra speed to jump into that top five consistently.
ASBK Australian Supersport 300 Race Three Provisional Results
1. Max STAUFFER (Rock Oil, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:24.095
2. Oli BAYLISS (Cube Racing, Kawasaki Ninja) 12:24.497
3. Hunter FORD (Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:24.506
4. Zac LEVY (Puma RV’s, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:24.636
5. Tom BRAMICH (JLT, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:25.265
6. Locky TAYLOR (Shark Leathers, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:25.525
7. Tayla RELPH (Earmold Australia, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:28.680
8. John LYTRAS (Caboolture Yamaha, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:33.169
9. Joel KELSO (JDS Moto, Kawasaki Ninja) 12:33.341
10. Luke POWER (G. Williams Eng, Yamaha YZF-R3) 12:44.640
The Australian Supersport 300 class will be back in action for the final round of the 2018 season at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on October 12-14.
ASBK Digital Program
ASBK is pleased to announce the arrival of the digitalised Official ASBK Round 6 Program.
The program can be found on the website ASBK.COM.AU.
Public access to the digital ASBK Program will feature many interesting and informative sections including; rider entry lists, race schedules, previous round wrap ups, championship points standings, track information, biographies, getting started in racing information, partnership information, race pictures and so much more.
Stay up to date with all the latest news and updates from ASBK by liking ASBK on Facebook, following the @asbk on Instagram and checking out the ASBK website here.
Remaining 2018 ASBK Calendar Rounds
Round 7- Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC October 12 – 14
Images Courtesy of TBGSport
