St. George Motul Summer Nights Series Round Two 600/F3 recap TechTricks365

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St. George MCC
Sydney Motorsport Park – Gardner GP Circuit
Round Two – Supersport & F3

Words and images by Nick Edards / Half Light / RbMotoLens

This is the second and final report for Motul St George Summer Nights Series (SNS05) Round Two which took place on Friday January 10. This covers action in AGV600 (Supersports) F1/F2, Airoh Unlimited F3 and Five Gloves Retro classes.

If you haven’t already, I’d suggest you take a look at the first report (Recapping St. George Summer Nights Round Two from SMP) which covered Pirelli Unlimited F1/F2.

There’s a fair bit of background there on the structure of the series, the meeting, why SNS05 Round Two was a bit different from other Summer Nights Rounds and how the scheduling was impacted by events on and off the track.

Assuming you’re familiar with the context for this report, let’s get into it.

AGV 600 F1 & F2

First up, AGV600. AGV600 F1, for international and national grade riders, had a strong turnout with eight runners, and along with the number of entrants in AGV600 F2 – for Clubbies, promised full grids.

However, a very negative weather forecast (which proved to be largely wrong) and riders dropping out for other reasons, saw a large but not quite full grid line up. In total, there were 34 bikes on track for afternoon qualifying.

Jake Farnsworth came into Round Two leading F1 on 65-points, Glenn Nelson second on 56-points and Marcus Hamod in third on 51-points.

In F2, Kristian O’Donnell lead on 66-points with Christian Rossi on 55-points in second, Keith Mulcahy (absent from Round Two) third on 52-points.

Afternoon qualifying on a damp track saw Glenn Nelson take pole with a 1m42.713, from Will Nassif and Jake Farnsworth. Nelson’s pace was clear from the off – his lap more than a second faster than second spot.

Christian Rossi did the F2 crew proud by dropping a 1m44.201 to place fourth on the grid. Marcus Hamod (F1), Andy Murphy (F2) took out the remaining spots on the first two rows of the grid.

Race One saw Farnsworth and Glenn Nelson slug it out with Farnsworth taking the flag by just one-hundredth of a second. Marianos Nikolis took third, a little under three seconds back but he also scored the fastest lap with a 1m34.249.

Nikolis hadn’t been on track for qualifying and started from the back of the grid underlining how impressive a third-place finish was.

In F2, Rossi impressed again and whilst a handful of the F1 boys got past him, he was strong enough to card a seventh overall and first in category.

Such was Rossi’s speed that he was nearly eight second ahead of second in category – Tim Rodley, at the finish. Damien Adams and Andy Murphy were third and fourth in F2.

Race Two wasn’t such a close affair with Nikolis elevated to front-row of the grid as a result of his third place in Race One. He took the win by over three seconds from Nelson, Farnsworth a further second back. Declan Van Rosmalen and Levi Russo rounded out the top five on track and in F1.

Rossi was once again the first man past the post in F2, ahead of some very strong F1 runners too. Kristian O’Donnell and Tim Rodley were second and third in category. Fastest lap in the race went to Nikolis with a 1m33.929.

Afternoon Race Three was a casualty of the delays across classes earlier in the day and was cancelled due to time constraints. As you’d expect, no points were awarded.

Evening qualifying kicked off just before 1900 and it was Nikolis with a 1m34.331 taking out pole from Nelson (1m34.798) and Farnsworth (1m35.383).

Kristian O’Donnell laid down the fastest lap in F2, a 1m37.449, good enough for twelfth overall and to keep Rossi (1m37.738) one place behind him on the grid. Rodley was third fastest in category, a result that was good enough to put him fourteenth on the grid in a field of 37.

The AGV600 combatants were fortunate in getting all three of their scheduled races in the evening session.

However after qualifying on pole, Nikolis decided to sit out the evening races so didn’t return to the field of play for the rest of the night.

Glenn Nelson took out Race One (and fastest lap with a 1m34.425) from Hayden Nelson by a margin of four seconds. Farnsworth, Nassif, Hamod and Russo followed with less than three tenths of a second covering third through sixth.

In F2, it was O’Donnell again from Rossi and Rodley. O’Donnell’s run was good enough for tenth overall out of 35 finishers.

Race Two was Glenn Nelson’s again, this time from Hamod by less than fourth-tenths of a second. Hayden Nelson third, Farnsworth and Nassif fourth and fifth.

O’Donnell took the F2 win, tenth overall again, with Rossi and Rodley again second and third in category.

As riders left the pits for Race Three, the final race of the evening and the event for the class, the rain started and by the time they were halfway through their sighting lap, the track was wet and all bets were off.

Nassif and Tom Fellew (F2) elected to return to the pits, swap onto their wet bikes and start the race from pitlane.

That Nassif and Fellew finished first and second with a lot of fresh air between them and the rest of the pack shows just what a good choice it was in the heat of the moment.

Some runners had seen the rain coming and elected not to race, but that takes nothing away from Nassif and Fellew’s accomplishments. Glenn Nelson was third overall, second in F1, Farnsworth was third in that category. O’Donnell took second in F2, Rossi third.

So, AGV600 got five of their scheduled six races completed, a better outcome then the Pirelli Unlimited F1/F2 racers had seen, and Glenn Nelson took out the event in F1 with a 110-point tally, ahead of Farnsworth on 96-points and Levi Russo on 79-points.

Heading into Round Three with everything to play for, Nelson heads the table on 166-points, a narrow five-points ahead of Jake Farnsworth.

Will Nassif and Marcus Hamod are both on 115-points so you’d have to think that the winner of the series will be either Nelson or Farnsworth but you never can tell until the races are run. Round Three should be intense.

In F2, Christian Rossi took out the event with 108-points narrowly holding Kristian O’Donnell (106-points) at bay. Rodley took third on 91-points.

This trio heads the series going to Round Three with O’Donnell on 172-points, Rossi on 163-points and Rodley on 129-points. Fellew on 115-points and Tamras on 106-points round out the top five.

Jake Farnsworth – AGV600 F1

“It was a hectic night for us at the Summer Series Round Two. In qualifying and race one my bike had a bad misfire in the high rpms so we had to swap to my spare parts bike that we put together two days before the event. With a under powered bike it was hard to challenge for the top spots but me and the team found a way to manage the situation and come away with second overall. I would like to thank St George for putting on a great event. Its a great way to hone your skills throughout the off season. Also a massive thank you to all my sponsors. See you at the next one.”

Christian Rossi – AGV600 F2

“Thanks to the club for another great event, it was a very long and tiring day with back to back rounds. Happy to take the round win and looking forward to the last one. Shout out to Tom for swapping bikes in the last race.”

Timothy Rodley – AGV600 F2

“Another great night racing with the St George motorcycle club. The double event in one was challenging matched with the half-wet half-dry qualifying and final race on slicks in the rain it definitely kept us on edge. Happy to come away with third in F2 for this round. Thanks to the club and all those who volunteer their time to ensure we all get to go racing.”

Tom Fellew – AGV600
[On his decision to switch to wets at the start of the last race]

“As soon as I rolled out of the garage in pit lane for the last race, I felt a sprinkle of rain. By turn six it was raining quite heavy and the track was quite wet and I started debating a bike swap. As we headed down the straight to the start line, Will Nassif flew past me and into the pits and that’s what tipped me to change. I went into the pits, switched bikes and started from pit lane. Lap One I couldn’t believe how quick I was passing through the field, passing riders I had no business passing. The rain began to lighten, and I pushed as hard as I could to get as big a gap as I could on the field. Within a few laps I could feel the track drying quickly and I had to start searching for wet lines. After that it was managing the tyres as I could feel the back end sliding all over the place and luckily, I had a big enough gap to hold onto second in the race and first in F2, my best racing result ever.”

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Afternoon Qualifying Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Afternoon Race One Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Afternoon Race Two Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Evening Race One Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Evening Race Two Results

AGV 600 F1 & F2 Evening Race Three Results

AGV 600 F1 Round Points
AGV 600 F2 Round Points

AGV 600 F1 Standings
AGV 600 F2 Standings

Airoh Unlimited F3

SNS05 Round Two will be the last showing for the Airoh Unlimited F3 and Retro classes as part of SNS05, their slot will be taken by Kabuto 400cc and Formula St George at Round Three.

Coming into the Round, Airoh Unlimited F3 points leader was Lachlan Brinkman on 45-points. Andrew Simson second on 43-points and Robert Salvia third on 34-points. All three were back for Round Two.

In Retro, Phillip Burke had taken out the previous class win on 50-points from his two wins. Gregory Farrell was second in class and again, both were back in action at Round Two.

Afternoon qualifying saw Andy Dunn on the very pretty and beautifully prepared Ducati take out pole, a 1m49.158 in damp conditions enough from Simson, Lee Patsky, Ben Lucchitti, and Harley Borkowski – who was quickest of the Five Gloves Retro category.

Borkowski bought his VTR along for some Retro fun expecting, as we all did, a very wet evening but as the track dried before racing commenced, and he didn’t have slicks for the VTR, he didn’t take part in Five Gloves Retro for the remainder of the event and just ran his R1 in Unlimited F2.

Phillip Burke scored a 1m53.360 lap on his ZXR750 to give him a third row start with ninth-fastest time.

Race One saw Lucchitti take the F3 class win five-seconds ahead of Andrew Simson, Hugh Jollye in third. Jollye’s 1m41.3302 was fastest lap of the race. John Williams and Robert Salvia held fourth and fifth. There were no finishers in the Retro class.

Luchitti took out Race Two from Jollye by a shade over a second. Williams was third less than half a second behind Jollye and it was Paul Drane fourth who took the fastest lap, a 1m38.722. Burke was first home in Retro, finishing 13th overall.

Afternoon Race Three was abandoned due to time constraints and no points awarded.

Like AGV600, Airoh Unlimited F3 and Five Gloves Retro did get all three of their races in the evening session, so none of the classes got their full complement of races in SNS05.

It was quite an achievement, under the circumstances, to get as many races completed as was achieved, it’s just a shame that the Pirelli Unlimited crew were, as previously reported, so badly affected.

Evening qualifying for Unlimited F3 and Retro saw Rhys Smith lay down a 1m39.652 to take pole ahead of Andy Dunn on 1m40.746. Williams, Lucchitti , Daing Hassanal and Lachie Brinkmann filled out the front two rows. Burke was fastest of the Retros, 10th on grid with a 1m43.748.

Race One saw Smith and Lucchitti in a class of their own, Rhys taking the win from Lucchitti by two-tenths of a second after the seven laps. Rhys also carded fastest lap with a 1m39.149, just a few tenths in front of Lucchitti’s best.

Williams, Dunn and Salvia were the remaining top five finishers. Burke once again took out Retro, finishing fifteenth overall. Farrell was nineteenth.

Race Two and it was Smith and Williams upfront once again, Smith taking the win by a margin of two-tenths. Williams took fastest lap with a 1m41.307.

Lucchitti third, not quite able to latch onto the lead duo but less than two seconds behind at the flag. Brickman and Hassanal were fourth and fifth. There were no Retro runners in Race Two.

Race Three for the evening session kicked off just before 2200, it was an Unlimited F3-only field with no Retro runners. Smith made it three from three for the evening, a whole three-tenths of a second separated him and Williams at the close. Lucchitti third followed home by Salvia and Brinkman.

It was Ben Lucchitti who took out the event, his 106-points just edging Rhys Smith’s 104-points. John Williams’ 93-points gave him third-step on the podium with Salvia and Dunn fourth and fifth.

Philli Burke took the Retro honours ahead of Gregory Farrell.

Robert Salvia’s 78-points was good enough to give him the championship, with 112-points, by the narrowest of margins – just one point separating him from Lachie Brinkman on 111-points. Ben Lucchitti took third.

Phillip Burke took out the Five Gloves Retro class with 100-points ahead of Gregory Farrell on 60-points. Retro is a great class and here’s hoping St George MCC persist with running it alongside Airoh Unlimited F3 in future.

Round Three – February 7 & 8

The AGV600 F1/F2 teams will be back for Round Three, along with the Pirelli Unlimited F1/F2, over the evenings of February 7 and 8.

As noted above, SNS05 Round Two was the last time we’ll see Airoh Unlimited F3 and Five Gloves Retro under lights as part of this series.

Thanks once again to the volunteers who make these events happen. The Orange Army was a bit shorthanded at Round Two and volunteers were stepping up to roles that they were unfamiliar with. You wouldn’t have known it. They all did magnificently.

Airoh Unlimited F3 Afternoon Qualifying Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Afternoon Race One Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Afternoon Race Two Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Evening Race One Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Evening Race Two Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Evening Race Three Results

Airoh Unlimited F3 Round Points

Airoh Unlimited F3 Standings

MOTUL Summer Night Series hosted by St George MCC