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MotorsportsTV Australian Supersport Championship
Tom Toparis has won the 2020 Australian Supersport Championship despite missing the podium in both races of Round 3 at Wakefield Park.
Broc Pearson (Yamaha) claimed victory in the final race of the year, which Toparis (Yamaha) led at the start.
Pearson moved into second when he went underneath Jack Hyde (Yamaha) at Turn 10 on the opening lap while Oli Bayliss (Yamaha), the only rider who could still deny Toparis the title, moved into an early fifth.
Toparis continued to lead until the end of Lap 4, when Pearson slipstreamed past on the main straight, and that was the end of the contest as far as the race win was concerned.
Max Stauffer (Yamaha) had a dice with Bayliss over third before getting by Toparis on Lap 8 at Turn 10, and he would remain second thereafter.
Bayliss used the moment to also pass Toparis on his way to third in the 14-lap affair, one spot ahead of Tom Edwards (Yamaha), and second in the championship.
Fifth was enough for Toparis after he finished fourth in Race 1, earlier in the day, when Stauffer got line honours.
“I didn’t even know if I was going to be doing this race meeting – I was in hotel quarantine when I found out it was on,” said the back-to-back champion.
“I made a few phone calls, I got Ben Richards as my mechanic this weekend and I think that made the difference.
“It was a crazy weekend but it’s so good to see the young guys going so well. Oli (Bayliss) and I are such good mates, we’ve had great racing this year and I think he and Max (Stauffer) are two of the brightest Australian stars of the future.
“We had a bit of drama in the races and I was happy just to limp home in the end and win back-to-back championships.”
YMI Australian Supersport 300 Championship
Harry Khouri wrapped up the Australian Supersport 300 Championship as John Lytras swept the pair of races which formed Round 3.
Lytras (Yamaha) led all the way in Race 1 but took out Race 2 in dramatic fashion when he and Archie McDonald (Yamaha) passed Ben Baker (Yamaha) at the last corner.
Baker recovered one of those spots on the run to the chequered flag when he edged McDonald by 0.050s, and also finished second in the opening race.
Khouri (Kawasaki) put the championship beyond doubt in the day’s first encounter despite losing out in his virtually race-long battle for third with Luke Power (Kawasaki).
“It’s an amazing feeling to come back from overseas and wrap up the championship, I couldn’t be happier,” said Khouri, who was also fourth in Race 2.
“At the start of the day, I started to push a bit hard and chase the lead when I didn’t need to – I made a little mistake, so I decided to back off, be conservative and wrap up the championship.”
bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup
Cameron Dunker and Tom Drane won the day’s two Oceania Junior Cup races, but a second and a third place finish were enough for Marianos Nikolis to wrap up the title.
The three riders battled fiercely in Race 1 and were separated by just 0.4s at the finish, while the margins were even closer in Race 2, with just 0.8s separating the top five.
Nikolis said he was happy to make up a sizeable points deficit leading into the event.
“I was feeling a bit nervous before the weekend, because I was 26 points behind the championship lead,” he noted.
“Yesterday I was able to win all three races, which put me in the championship lead, which meant I was able to be a bit more conservative today.
“I’m feeling great, but I wouldn’t be able to race without support from all the Oceania Junior Cup sponsors and Motorcycling Australia in putting on the series.”
YMF R3 Cup
The R3 Cup title was decided in dramatic fashion, with Carter Thompson defeating John Lytras by a solitary point.
Thompson held a commanding lead after his domination of yesterday’s races, but his title bid took a severe turn for the worse at the start of today’s opening race when he crashed in the first corner, triggering a red flag interruption.
When the race restarted, Lytras took control and rode to the win ahead of Ben Baker and Archie McDonald, setting up a final race showdown for the title.
Despite being knocked around by the earlier crash, a brave Thompson rode to victory ahead of Lytras and McDonald, winning the title in the process.
“I was a little sore in the hand after the crash this morning, and it was a little painful when I was out there riding,” said Thompson.
“I was a bit nervous in the races because the crash knocked me around a bit. I knew I had to win to get the championship, so I did my best to pull away and stay in front.
“I’m stoked to win the title, a big thank you to my team for getting my bikes ready after a couple of crashes.”
