St George Summer Night Series
Round Three Report – Sydney Motorsport Park

By Half Light Photographic & RB Moto Lens

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Heading into race day, the weather forecast for the third and final round of the St. George Summer Series at Sydney Motorsport Park was grim with persistent rain forecast to turn into thunderstorms just after sunset.

Showers throughout the day didn’t bode well for the evening but as teams made ready for the action to start at 6:30 pm, the last of the damp patches had cleared and while ominous clouds rolled past to the east and west, not a drop of rain fell on the track.

Once again, the meeting ran with three race classes, Unlimited Division 1 for riders expected to lap at 1:40 or faster, Unlimited Division 2 for those expected to not run at that pace, and P600 for all Supersport entrants.

The original schedule had each class running four five-lap races with the track action expected to wrap up close to the 10:30 pm mark. Things didn’t quite go to plan and early evening interruptions had somewhat delayed proceedings already but a serious accident in Turn 5 in Unlimited Division 1 Race 3 which necessitated a long period of medical intervention and chopper medevac lead to the event being called early.

The good new is that David Burch, the fallen rider, wasn’t seriously injured and is expected to make a full recovery and thanks go to all the medical staff for their rapid intervention and the to the pilot of the medevac chopper who had the task of landing on the track under lights.

The end result of this was that Unlimited Division 1 completed three of their four scheduled races. Unlimited Division 2 and P600 completed two each.

Michael O’Brien – St George MCC

“The club and I would like to thank everyone involved in the Summer Night Series 01, #SNS01. Pip Harrison and Peter Doyle from Motorcycling Australia for working with the club and the ARDC team to get the track tested and licensed for night racing. All the riders from Australian champions to first time racers for making the racing not like many race events seen before… plenty of paint was swapped, great friendships were formed but most important to me is that you created a contest that has attracted new comers to the paddock to watch the races which is something that’s been lacking in motorcycling for many years. The volunteers that allowed the riders do what they love doing, thank you. To the people that capture history and allow us to tell stories to them and have memories for ever – thank you for standing out there capturing these moments. MCNews.com.au, thank you for covering the series – we appreciate the support of the local racing and hope you are back for #SNS02. Thanks to our partners, Pirelli for the brilliant prizes, Young Henry’s for the refreshing drinks and prizes. Thank you to every single person that supported the Black Dog Ride by donating on the way into the track. Nick Edards, Rob Mott and Patrick Galang – thank you gentlemen for capturing the great images, putting the great articles together whilst giving up your weekends to complete these only for the love of the sport in return. Thank you lads. We can’t let to many secrets out, but the four round St George Summer Night Series 02 #SNS02, starting November 19, 2021 will raise the bar further than most could imagine a race series could do. We look forward to seeing you all their again. Until then, Elbow Down.”

Dave Gatt – Pirelli, Advertising Coordinator Link International

“Pirelli is pumped to have been a part of the inaugural St George Summer Night Racing series. The turnouts have been fantastic, the action on track frenetic with the shorter races and racing under lights, does it actually get any better? A big congratulations to the entire St George Motorcycle Club for what they have achieved with this series, they’ve really brought some innovation and generated a whole new wave of interest with this racing format. We’re excited to see an even bigger Night Racing Series when it happens again at the end of the year.”

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Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1

With ASBK Round 1 at Phillip Island just a couple of weeks away, a handful of the ASBK crew took the opportunity for some race practice in the Blackdog Ride Unlimited Division 1 class with Glenn Allerton and Lachlan Epis fielding the NextGen BMWs, Cru Halliday on the factory Yamaha and Matt Walters on the Kawasaki Connection ZX-10R.

Also present was current Australian Supersport Champion Tom Toparis out on an R1, racing on a Superbike for the first time, and former Suzuki and Honda ASBK factory rider Markus Chiodo on deck for a hit out – also on an R1.

Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Qualification

UL1 Qualifying was, like all three classes, a ten-minute session which doesn’t give the riders much time to get dialled in and up to speed.

Allerton took pole with a 1:32:84 edging Halliday out by 0.248. with Epis, Walters and Chiodo filling out the top five. Best of the Clubbies was the ever quick Daniel Ayash in sixth spot on the #11 V4 Panigale.

Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Race 1

In Unlimited Division 1 Race 1, Allerton and Halliday gave nothing away for the whole race, with Allerton bringing the Next Gen machine home just five-hundredths of a second ahead of Halliday at the finish. The Yamaha rider was on the yellow line down the main straight with the slipstream effect being a factor right to the end of the race.

Epis was less than a second behind the lead pair in third, while Walters and Toparis rounded out the top five. Toparis would have to be satisfied with that finish after a relatively poor qualifying result had put him in ninth on the grid and his race wasn’t made any easier by an electrical issue that left him with a blank dash during the race.

Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Race 2

Unlimited Division Race 2 saw Allerton take a little more breathing space than in Race 1, holding off Matt Walters on the Cessnock Kawasaki Connection ZX-10R to lead over the line by a little under a second.

Epis finished third on the track but a 10 second penalty for a jump start dropped him to fifth on the results sheet and elevated Halliday to third. Halliday ran Race 2 on the same Dunlops that he used in Race 1, the team testing the new rubber ahead of the ASBK series and trying to get as much feedback from the ultra short sprint races as possible.

Mention should go to Markus Chiodo, returning to racing after an extended break, finishing the race in fourth ahead of Epis and Toparis.

Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Race 3

Unlimited Division Race 3 was cut to four laps after the red flags came out as a result of David Burch’s nasty T5 accident on the #43 BC Performance Kawasaki.

Cru Halliday had a lead of just over half a second on Glenn Allerton at the end of lap four giving him a well deserved race win for the evening. The pair had already built a three-second lead over Epis in third spot when the red flags came out. The top five was rounded out by Matt Walters and Patrick Medcalf.

Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Meeting Points

With the evening limited to three races, the meeting scores saw Allerton come away with 70-points from his consistent run that netted two wins and one third.

Halliday scored 63, Walters 54, Epis, 52 and Chiodo would be very happy with his 47-point haul given his relative lack of race fitness.

Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Series Points

Round 3 concluded the Blackdog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Summer Series and with his outstanding run across the three rounds on the Next Gen BMW, it’s no surprise that Glenn Allerton took out the series title with 215-points.

Team mate Lachlan Epis took out second spot on the ladder on 168 and Timothy Griffith, Patrick Medcalf and Cru Halliday (who didn’t run in Round 1) filled the top-five positions in a series that no one is going to forget in a hurry.

Glenn Allerton – P1

“I had a good night at the final round of the St George MCC night series. We used to night to run through a bunch of new parts on the bike to test for the upcoming ASBK season. So, to come away with pole position, two wins and the fastest lap was all good signs for me and the Next Gen BMW team. Big thanks to my team for the effort in between races getting the bike ready, and big thanks to St George MCC for putting on the events!”

Lachlan Epis – Blackdog Ride Unlimited Division 1

“Another solid night for me and the Maxima Racing Oil BMW Motorrad Team taking three podiums on track but annoyingly I made a mistake in the second race and got a jump start penalty. Really happy with the work we’re doing with the bike, tonight was as fast as I’ve ever been around here in less than ideal conditions. And we’re racing guys who are a long way up the ASBK ladder, so very pleased with the night as a whole. Looking forward to going again with the lads at Round 1 of ASBK at Phillip Island later this month!”

Cru Halliday

“Started the night on new tyres in qualifying, by now everyone knows we are on Dunlops. The track was a touch damp in places and hard to get a clear lap so we ended up in P2 for race 1. In race 1 we stayed on the same tyres and had a battle for the lead which took me a little to get into the groove but then before I knew the race was over. Race 2 stayed on the same tyres purely because I’m new to Dunlop’s I wanted to see how they would hold up for the longer races in ASBK. So I didn’t really have the grip that everyone else had. But we were there to learn about the tyres so I had to be patient and not go chasing and throw it down the road. Last race we tried a new set of tyres that I’ve never used before which was a new front and new rear for 2020 so I had to be a little careful not knowing how they would react. I could tell straight away after half a lap what they could do so I passed Matt Walters going into turn 9 then I had clear track so I could see what they could really do. They felt pretty good so I stayed onto it and realised what we got now for the ASBK 2021 Round 1 which is good because I haven’t tested that much. I was a little unsure of what tyres would go but now we got a little data and info into what we’ve got.”

Matt Walters

“I had a really enjoyable time at St George MCC night races. 5 Lap sprint were a blast, definitely intense and makes you work for it. We had two ok races and one good race that we were right at the front of. We tried a few things in race one and three on used tyres which is where we need to work on most with our bike. When we put new tyres on it, we were as quick as anyone there. I hope they continue to run the night series. It’s a great night of racing for people of all levels I’ll be back every time!”

Black Dog Ride Unlimited Division 1 Standings

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Pirelli Unlimited Division 2

27 entrants made the line-up for Pirelli Unlimited Division 2, as Luke Mills on the TLD Tattoo BMW entered the final round with a 24-point lead over Harley Borkowski on theRB Racing Honda. Andrew Burley on the Duc-Pen Panigale was just 15-points back from Borkowski in third.

The class had delivered some exciting and close racing in Rounds 1 and 2 so the scene was set for a grand finale. Unfortunately only two of the four scheduled races could be run because of events outside of the rider’s control but those two races delivered some good action.

Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 Qualifying

After the quickfire 10-minute qualifying session, Benjamin Robinson on the Candi ZX-10R held pole with a 1:40.75, with less than a second and half covering the top-seven qualifiers. McAnally, Kitson, Burley and Mills held down the rest of the top-five positions.

Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 Race 1

Robinson jumped out to a clear lead from the start, with Andrew Burley pipping first round winner Clint McAnally for second place on the last lap. McAnally was relegated to ninth spot after a 10-second jump start penalty was applied and this promoted Carl Kitson, who was doing double duties in Unlimited Division 2 and P600, to third place on the K-Werks RSV4.

Series leader Mills had electronics issues which left him back in eighth place, losing points to Burley and Borkowski.

Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 Race 2

Race 2 was shortened to three laps because of an on-track incident and once again, Robinson on the Candi ZX-10R took the lead from the start and held it to the end.

Phil Cloros on the immaculate and stunning Mongrel Boots Panigale took out a series best second spot and Matt Franco, stepping up to Unlimited from P600 took out his first ever Superbike podium with a third place finish on the Extreme Fire Solutions R1. Series leader Mills once again was hampered by electronics issues on the BMW which left him in tenth position.

Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 Meeting Points

Benjamin Robison took out the round with two wins from two starts on the ZX-10R and Andrew Burley’s two strong runs on the Panigale allowed him to just edge out Phil Cloros for second place by one-point. Series leader Mills would be disappointed with a tenth place finish to the meeting but the points he scored were invaluable in his chase for the series win.

Ben Robinson – P1

“Last round for the series turned at to be a good one for me. After some sketchy conditions the rain cleared and the track dried. I ended up setting the pace for pole position early on and followed it up with two race wins and fastest lap for each race. Big congrats to Luke Mills for taking out the series overall.”

Andrew Burley – P2

“With the forecast not looking promising we opted to use the same tyres from the last round and have some wets handy. Luckily it did not even require moving them from the trailer. With a good qualifying and two of my best race starts to date, we managed a couple of great results to consolidate our spot in the Championship. I couldn’t be out there without the support of Scott from Duc-Pen Specialists and my trusty pit crew Erin. Massive thanks to the whole St George MCC crew and officials for putting on a series the sport can be proud of. Bring on next year!”

Phillip Cloros – P3

“We were lucky that the rain passed earlier in the day, and we had a dry track for the final round of the St George Summer Night Series. We had quite a competitive bunch of riders up the front of Div 2 with very similar lap times, which made for some close racing. I only managed P5 in Race 1 but got the holeshot in Race 2 before having to settle for P2 after Ben Robinson got the better of me. Race 3 was shaping up to be a cracker, but unfortunately the night had to be cut short. Congrats to Ben for taking two of two wins on Saturday night, and a massive thanks to St George MCC, Mick O’Brien, the flaggies and everybody else involved in making this series happen. A quick shoutout to Mongrel Boots, Craig McMartin and Al Samuels for their ongoing support.”

Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 Series Points

Despite the bike issues that dogged his two Round 3 races, Luke Mills on the TLD Tattoo BMW S1000RR held on for the series win, his consistent results in Rounds 1 and 2 giving him enough of a points buffer to be able to maintain his lead despite his immediate challengers having better fortune in Round 3.

Harley Borkowski has clearly made friends with the Honda FireBlade that he debuted in this Summer Series and second place in the championship was a fair reward for his efforts. A bit more seat time and good coat of yellow paint to match the rest of the RB Racing stable should see him a be a force to be reckoned with through 2021.

Andrew Burley’s consistency on the DUC-PEN Specialist Ducati Panigale netted him a third place trophy for the series.

Benjamin Robinson made his return to racing and found immediate form and Clint McNally wondering what could have been missing after Round 2 rounded out the top-five.

Unlimited Division 2 is for riders nominating that they will run 1.40+ lap times and delivers consistently entertaining racing full overtaking and close battles that are sure to ignite a few rivalries for the upcoming Pirelli Motul Series hosted by St George Motorcycle Club through the colder months.

Luke Mills – Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 Series Winner

“The St George Summer Night Series was a great new format that has garnered a lot of interest for motorcycle racing in NSW. The vibe was great with friends, family and spectators coming to chat and check out the bikes. The racing was great fun, the lighting out there is perfect and had no issues with vision. Also very lucky with the dry weather! I didn’t expect to win the championship in Division2, I was having a few electronic and grip issues so I just tried to keep in the point scoring places towards the front, battling with some really quick riders out there! Can’t wait for the next St George rounds!”

Pirelli Unlimited Division 2 Standings

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Pirelli 600cc

The Pirelli P600 class saw a field of 31 riders lining up for the night, with Aidan Hayes on the Hayes Johnston CA R6 holding a commanding 30-point lead in the series over Carl Kitson on the K-Werks Yamaha.

Kitson held a slim two-point lead over ever-consistent Simone Boldrini on the Singleton Moore Signs R6. Both Kitson and Boldrini, along with Brian Bolster on the SWR/Luddenham Raceway Suzuki,  carry sponsorship from Sydney West Riders and it’s great to see a local bike community group supporting riders this way.

Pirelli 600cc Qualifying

Hayes was fast out of the blocks and used the 10-minute qualifying period to lock in pole with a fastest lap of 1:37.01. Kitson, Boldrini , Zac Jackson and Keith Mulcahy filled out the the top 5 grid spots.

Hayes’ fastest lap was nearly three-seconds faster than Kitson’s 1:39:90 which demonstrated how hard it would be for the field to keep the #46 in check. Or maybe even in sight.

Second round winner Jack Passfield on the Stay Upright R6 was stuck in the garage during qualifying which put him at an immediate disadvantage for Race 1.

Pirelli 600cc Race 1

The dynamic nature of the night races caught up with the P600 class in Race 1. With the whole event crammed into a period of a little over four hours, each race has a time allocation that makes for hard choices when incidents occur. A red flag incident occurred early in the race and by the time the bikes were cleared, the schedule didn’t allow for a restart leading to the race being cancelled and no result recorded.

Before the red flag, Hayes was pulling away from Kitson and Jackson but to no avail as no points were awarded. Jack Passfield had made excellent progress from the rear of the grid but the race cancellation meant that he would be back there for the start of Race 2.

Pirelli 600cc Race 2

Aidan Hayes continued his qualifying form into Race 2 finishing a commanding 15-seconds ahead of Zac Jackson on the #58 ZX-6R and only narrowly missed out on taking the Night Lap Record back from Jack Passfield who held the best time coming out of Round 2.

Respect goes to Passfield on the #42 R6, in just five laps, he navigated his way from the rear of the grid to fourth spot, lapping within 0.3s of Hayes’ times and narrowly missing out on a podium finish by less than a second. Epic stuff.

Top-five for the race was Hayes, Jackson, Kitson, Passfield and Boldrini, with Jackson and Kitson having a paint swapping and very entertaining duel.

Pirelli 600cc Meeting Points

The P600 class lost its last two races as a result of the red flag incident late in the evening which bought the meeting to a close. With Race 1 called and cancelled, it meant that there was only one scoring race for the evening. Once again Aidan Hayes was dominant in that race and Jack Passfield might have expected to finish with more points had he not started the race from the rear of the grid.

The top-five for the meeting was, as result, the same as the top-five from Race 1.

Aidan Hayes – P1

“Well, the weather gods looked after St George MCC once again! Raining throughout the day with predicted storms to come in the afternoon but in perfect style the wind came up and blew the clouds away! Out came the sun which heated the track for a couple hours and a dry track was ready for night racing minus one small wet patch on T5 which was gone after qualifying and stayed dry all night. Heading into the final round of the Summer Night Series I was looking forward to battling with Jack Passfield and giving the crowd a show but unfortunately Jack had some mechanical issues forcing him to start from the back of the grid. Race one I made a break away and had a comfortable lead before the race was red flagged and abandoned on lap three due to four bikes going down in Turn 2! Race 2 was awesome to get the full race in and lead from start to finish. I have enjoyed the Summer Night Racing Series a lot, the meeting is done and dusted and is great for spectators. I can’t wait for this series to come back next summer, thank you to St George MCC and all the marshals for making the event happen and to all my sponsors, friends and family who came to cheer me on and support me.”

Zac Jackson – P2

“With the races that were squeezed in it was a blast! Rain stopped at precisely the right time which gave us some fun and tight racing while I battled for P2. Thanks to St George MCC for organising another great event with even more spectators. Can’t wait until the next series under lights. Special thanks to my sponsors, Honey Moto Racing, LNS Mechanic, Proven Air Conditioning and Wrappit Garage for all the support!

Carl Kitson – P3

“Riding the summer night series with the St George Motorcycle club was as much fun as anyone could have after dark. Honestly, it is so much more than just another race meeting since the dark brings new challenges like different track conditions, different setups, tactics and personal preparation to a regular day event. Being the only rider to race in two classes has been interesting as well, it is possible to do it and be competitive fighting for podiums in both classes. I have raced three classes before during the day events so it was a great challenge to jump between the 1000 and 600 at night.  I’m very happy to place second in the series for the 600s with round trophies to boot on an ageing ’08 Yammy R6. I ran the same set of tyres for all three night rounds too so I guess it’s a testament to the tyre stresses that the Australian heat brings during the day events. I was lacking drive during these last few races compared to the guys I was racing for position. I’d like to just thank my family and my partner Jess for the assistance during the very late nights after a long day of work, its much appreciated. I’d also like to thank C&M motorcycles for the ongoing help when I run out of mechanical talent.  And finally I’d like to thank every one of the people who makes the races happen either volunteers with the club, sponsors of the event and the other racers on the grid, without us all these events wouldn’t be as memorable as they are. And to all of the amazing photographers who spend all night behind a camera, I’ll keep the bike fluro so you can see me coming. Thanks for photos they are truly amazing keepsakes of some great times. I’ve had an amazing time.”

Pirelli 600cc Series Points

Aidan Hayes was the bench mark throughout the series on the beautifully prepared Yamaha R6 sponsored by Hayes Johnston Chartered Accountants, Hayes Electrical, YRD, Sheppard’s Diesel, Peregr1ne Leathers, West Sliders, UD, MSC Moto, GeeTee Motorcycles, Motonational.

Hayes won all but three races on his way to winning the series on 160-points. Mr Consistent Carl Kitson on the K-Werks Yamaha R6 kept racking up points with podium finishes in most races, giving him 123-points and second place in the series.

Only four-points separated him from Simone Boldrini on the stunning Singleton Moore Signs Yamaha R6. The top-five for the P600 Summer Series was rounded out by Keith Mulcahy and James MacIntyre .

Pirelli 600cc Standings