The Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship presented by Motul Pirelli (ASBK) saw the Moto 3 / 125GP class showcase an absolute cracker of a battle between Dylan Whiteside (Aussie Crane Trucks, Honda NSF250R) and Joel Kelso (JDS Moto, Honda NSF250R) that lasted for the entire duration of the eight lap race. Whiteside hailing from Geelong, took the win.
Whiteside took pole position in Qualifying One for today’s race in the Moto 3 / 125GP class. Managing to turn the tables on his rival Kelso, who looked unstoppable in yesterday’s practice sessions. A lap time of 1:40.017 was enough to seal the deal for the Victorian. Dallas Skeer (Ron Angel Classic Racing, Honda NSFR) qualified in third.
It would be Whiteside to get the hole shot into Turn One and lead from the front. Hot on his heels was the Northern Territorian, Kelso. Whiteside maintained his lead but was never able to shake off Kelso from behind. The margin between the two rarely went over half a second.
Whiteside was too canny in defense however, and managed to hang on to his first position, to claim a cool and collected victory in front of Kelso. Behind the leading duo came Dallas Skeer who finished 34 seconds behind. The top three podium placers all riding Honda NSF 250 R machines.
Fourth and fifth place getters were Scott Topping (B-spoke Design, Honda RS) and David Doughty (Fastline GPRacing, Aprilia RS).
Another highlight of the race was the battle between Doughty, Travis Hall (Motorcycles “R” US, Honda NSF250R), Taran Ocean (Keith Ogilvie, Honda RS) and Ross Taylor (GDR, Honda NSF250R) for fifth place, less than a second separating the group when they crossed the finish line.
Ian Hughes stopped Turn 11 with a mechanical issue on lap two. Peter McFarlane (Honda RS) also failed to finish.
Race Two of the Moto 3 / 125GP will kick off at 10:35 AM (AEST) with Race Three scheduled for 15:10 PM (AEST).
Moto 3 / 125GP Provisional Race One Results
1 Dylan WHITESIDE (Aussie Crane Trucks, Honda NSF250R)
2 Joel KELSO (JDS Moto, Honda NSF250R)
3 Dallas SKEER (Ron Angel Classic Racing, Honda NSFR)
4 Scott TOPPING (B-spoke Design, Honda RS)
5 David DOUGHTY (Fastline GPRacing, Aprilia RS)
6 Travis HALL (Motorcycles “R” US, Honda NSF250R)
7 Taran OCEAN (Keith Ogilvie, Honda RS)
8 Ross TAYLOR (GDR, Honda NSF250R)
9 Jeremy HUDDLETONE (B spoke Design, Honda RS125)
10 Dave MANSON (Fastline GP Racing, Aprilia/Honda RSW/RS)
2017 Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship Presented by Motul Pirelli Calendar:
Round 6 SMSP Eastern Creek, NSW 8-10 September
Round 7 Spokes.com.au presents Phillip Island Circuit, VIC 6-8 October
